"You're a bad parent"

[Akasa]

I have a friend who didn't have dental insurance for a few years and so didn't take her kids to the dentist, and her kids are of the age(pre-teens) that she figured they were brushing their teeth on their own so wasn't riding their case about brushing and flossing. So she takes them to the dentist and that fucking bitch tells her she's a bad parent IN FRONT OF THE KIDS for not keeping up with their dental hygiene.

[Andara Bledin]

Nice.

Way to encourage her to ever go back there.

I'd totally have a chat with her boss over her complete lack of tact and appropriateness.

^-.-^

[Eisa]

I haven't been to the dentist in a couple years. Any dentist who starts riding my ass about it, I'm walking out of. That's NOT the way to get anyone to go back OR to take their kids back.

And hell yes, preteens should be able to brush and floss well enough that they don't have a horror show in their mouth, barring any sort of dental problems/illnesses/etc.

[tropicsgoddess]

That definitely warrants a report to the boss. That's incredibly tactless and unprofessional of her to say that to your friend. So long as the teens/pre-teens keep up on brushing their teeth they should be okay. Just sucks that insurance can be so expensive, let alone the costs for any procedure.

[AdminAssistant]

Dental insurance is basically a joke. Fiance and I can both see a top quality dentist twice a year for less than what his dental insurance would cost.

What the dentist said was unprofessional, but, damn straight a pre-teen needs to be seeing a dentist regularly. Look my folks never had much money, but we went to a dentist twice a year, we got braces when we needed them, and we had our wisdom teeth removed when we needed that. This isn't a new IPod or a game console, it's a child's health.

[DrFaroohk]

I don't know if its like this for all dentists or not, but the ones I've been to want you to pay them up front, and then 6-12 years later the insurance company will reimburse you. To me that defeats the purpose of the insurance. If I had 500 dollars for a procedure just lying around, I don't really need the insurance to begin with.

[siead_lietrathua]

I don't know if its like this for all dentists or not, but the ones I've been to want you to pay them up front, and then 6-12 years later the insurance company will reimburse you. To me that defeats the purpose of the insurance. If I had 500 dollars for a procedure just lying around, I don't really need the insurance to begin with.

i know with mine, they bill the insurance company first, then bill me after for the unpaid portion. but things may be different in canada than the states.

[Greenday]

i know with mine, they bill the insurance company first, then bill me after for the unpaid portion. but things may be different in canada than the states.

That's how it worked last time I went to the dentist (July) too.

How bad were the kids' teeth?

[Akasa]

I don't know, I just know she was really upset. Crying upset.

[tabbyblack13]

That was downright rude and unprofessional. The dentist needs to have a talking to about this behavior. Dental procedures are not cheap and when you don't have insurance the cost can be too high. The lack of insurance is not her fault and there might not have been the opportunity to get insurance. This does not make her a bad parent. If the kids didn't have toothbrushes or toothpaste because she spent the money of jewelry then that would make her a bad parent.

I honestly didn't go to the dentist in my preteen years and it didn't affect my teeth a lot. I had cavities when I was a teenager but that is what happens when you have a sweet tooth and love pop. My parents where not to blame for that.