Fountain Valley Children's Dentistry

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
Revdex.com,Thank you for taking the time to respond. The dispute is not who the money went to but the fact that I was not properly informed of the cost prior to the appointment. The younger receptionist that was there the day of the consultation who advised the money was due “whenever” was not there the day of the procedure. It was not stated on the voicemail left for me the day before the appointment (which I have saved) nor was it implied by the anesthesiologist on his call or the day of as well. At no point was I informed that this was due in full on the day of the procedure. Had I been aware, I would have clearly rescheduled the appointment knowing that I was not financially prepared. I was left sitting in the middle of the dentist office with no option of a payment plan and no guidance while my son was sedated. Subsequently I had to call my sister who ended having to pay with her credit card so I could leave. In my opinion this is an unethical way to handle business which is why I have reported the incident to your office.Respectfully,[redacted]

The consumer has left out some very important facts.  Her son's appointment was not a routine dental visit, but a 2 hour dental general anesthesia case, AKA I.V. sedation, administered by a dental anesthesiologist.  This is due to management needs of the patient. Her disputed purchase...

price is the fee that was charged by the anesthesiologist and this fee goes straight to him.  Our office protocol calls for a $100 deposit when the appointment is made and this amount is transferred to the anesthesiologist at the time of the appointment.  Therefore, the $580 purchase price and the $480 disputed price is consistent with what we do.  The anesthesiologist has no professional affiliation to our office, rather he is an independent contractor who we use to provide anesthesia service while we provide the dental treatment. Her son's dental treatment is 100% covered by her dental insurance, and she did not pay a dime for the dental work to our dental corporation.  The $580 total fee she paid was to the anesthesiologist.  Our corporation received $0 for the anesthesia service. Our normal protocol for IV sedation is as follows. When a patient is determined to benefit from IV sedation at the initial dental visit, IV education is given to the parent along with information about our anesthesiologist and the fees charged by him.  It is explained to the parent that the IV fee is due at the day of treatment and it is stressed that no payment plans are available.   We stress this point because many parents ask for payment plans.  Yes, we understand it is a big chunk of money, but this is not a policy we make.  It is the policy of our anesthesiologist.  2 days prior to the appointment, our anesthesiologist contacts the parent to review pre-anesthesia instructions and answers any questions the parent may have.  This is important because of the innate risks associated with IV sedation.  This is a discussion to be had between the patients parent and the anesthesiologist.  Our dental office does not have this preoperative discussion. So when the parent called us with IV sedation questions, we cannot answer the questions.  In summary:1) The purchaser's son received IV general anesthesia and it was not a routine dental visit2) $580 paid by purchaser was for the services of the dental anesthesiologist, not for the dental treatment. 3) 100% of the dental procedure was covered by the insurance and our dental corporation received  a net gain of $0 paid to the dental corporation from the patient.  4) Payment in full is always informed when $100 deposit is paid for the IV appointment.  This is a policy set by the anesthesiologist, not our dental corporation.[redacted], D.D.S.

Review: I missed the confirmation call for my sons dentist appointment . When I called back to confirm the receptionist was extremely rude... I said I wanted to confirm my sons appt and that I had a few questions. I asked what the protocol was before going under anesthesia and she answered. By the tone of her voice I was instantly frustrated and it was never stated that $480.00 was due the day of the appointment! 8 am rolls around and they just give my son the shot. Once all the work was done she said that will be $480.00. I said that the last girl I spoke with at previous appointment said I could make payments. She was again completely rude and said that that wasn't possible. I asked to talk to office supervisor and she was "not there" that day. So now in tears I am calling everyone I know to come up with $480 so that my son and I could leave.Desired Settlement: I am a single mother on med-I-cal and in no way was I prepared for almost a $500 bill. I was also treated very poorly by the staff and felt the situation over all could have been handled better by a children's dentist team .

Business

Response:

The consumer has left out some very important facts. Her son's appointment was not a routine dental visit, but a 2 hour dental general anesthesia case, AKA I.V. sedation, administered by a dental anesthesiologist. This is due to management needs of the patient. Her disputed purchase price is the fee that was charged by the anesthesiologist and this fee goes straight to him. Our office protocol calls for a $100 deposit when the appointment is made and this amount is transferred to the anesthesiologist at the time of the appointment. Therefore, the $580 purchase price and the $480 disputed price is consistent with what we do. The anesthesiologist has no professional affiliation to our office, rather he is an independent contractor who we use to provide anesthesia service while we provide the dental treatment. Her son's dental treatment is 100% covered by her dental insurance, and she did not pay a dime for the dental work to our dental corporation. The $580 total fee she paid was to the anesthesiologist. Our corporation received $0 for the anesthesia service. Our normal protocol for IV sedation is as follows. When a patient is determined to benefit from IV sedation at the initial dental visit, IV education is given to the parent along with information about our anesthesiologist and the fees charged by him. It is explained to the parent that the IV fee is due at the day of treatment and it is stressed that no payment plans are available. We stress this point because many parents ask for payment plans. Yes, we understand it is a big chunk of money, but this is not a policy we make. It is the policy of our anesthesiologist. 2 days prior to the appointment, our anesthesiologist contacts the parent to review pre-anesthesia instructions and answers any questions the parent may have. This is important because of the innate risks associated with IV sedation. This is a discussion to be had between the patients parent and the anesthesiologist. Our dental office does not have this preoperative discussion. So when the parent called us with IV sedation questions, we cannot answer the questions.