-
Consumer Corner
What’s worse than getting a tooth pulled? Waiting for the dentist to show
I had a tooth in the farthest reaches of my jawbone that was loose and gushy just a couple weeks ago. From my lay-person perspective, I just figured it needed to be disinfected, drained—whatever—and then a root canal conducted on it.
Nope. That wasn’t the case. The dentist said it had to be pulled because the bone around the tooth was basically gone. There was just no saving the tooth.
Have you ever had an adult molar pulled from your skull? (Forget wisdom teeth… they don’t count.) It’s actually quite painless and very quick. The numbing shots are what hurt, and for days afterward! But it’s also that grinding and gnashing sound from that ugly stainless steel gadget they use to extract a tooth that gets y’ all icky and wanting to hurl.
Did I disgust you enough there? Good. Because what was even more disgusting to me—and hopefully to you—was the follow-up visit a week later.
What is it with medical people that they think it’s okay to make patients wait unreasonable amounts of time for a mere cursory visit with them?
Right after they pulled the nasty old tooth from my head, I was told to schedule a follow-up for exactly a week later. Now, I have learned over many, many years that since I am a prompt person then taking the first appointment of the day is advisable. I know I’ll be on time, and also I’ll be the first person in line to see the gods of medicine.
I walked into the dental office in El Centro promptly at 8 a.m. the following week—my appointed follow-up scheduling with the dentist. I actually waited there for five minutes in the front reception area without anyone coming out from the mysterious depths of those dental offices—suites, as they call them at that particular office. I said, “Hello?” a couple of times. Nothing. I looked around for a bell that might be left on the counter for patients waiting for service. Nothing. Still, I felt the need to hold onto my position at the reception desk JUST in case someone else came in and might try to claim my position as the first patient in line.
I could have riffled—undetected—through patient files in that five-minute window if I were a crook looking for Social Security numbers, addresses and other vital info. But I’m not a crook. I am, however, a very impatient patient! If you make an appointment with me, then you darned well better keep it!
Finally, at about 8:08 a.m. I was escorted into a “suite” just so the dentist could eyeball the newly formed canyon in my upper jawbone and tell me whether or not it was healing correctly.
At about 8:15 a.m. I was told by one blue-clad person, “We’re waiting on the doctor. She’ll be right in.” At about 8:20, another blue-clad person walked in and chirped, “How are we doing today?”
“We,” I responded with mild irritation, “have been waiting for 20 minutes to see our dentist.” I explained that I was there promptly at 8 a.m. and if by 8:25 I haven’t been consulted, then I would have to leave because, I too, have business to attend to and certainly wasn’t expecting the dentist to be a no-show.
Am I peeved about that visit? You betcha!
At about 8:22 a.m. another dentist—not the one who was supposed to see me—came in, took a look at my mouth and said, “That’s great… you’re doing well… Goodbye.”
No apologies for his missing colleague. No, “Thank you for your patience.” Nothing.
It took that man longer to sheave his hands with latex, grab a seat, and roll up to the chair I was sitting in than it did for him to look into my mouth and pronounce my healing a success.
Getting my tooth pulled a week before was the more pleasant experience, by far.
I have read media reports recently that the trend is picking up where doctors and dentists are starting to financially penalize their patients who are late to or miss appointments. I hope those are not the medical professionals who cavalierly make their patients wait unreasonable amounts of time.
It seems to be an expected—and accepted—part of visiting a doctor’s office in the Imperial Valley. I have frequently taken my mother to appointments at different facilities and have never seen the doctor within 30 minutes of the scheduled appointment. And a couple of times we had to wait an hour. Much to my mother’s embarrassment I let her doctor have it one day for making us wait so long. His response was more like we should be beholden to him that we got in when we did.
Arrghh!
The moral of this story is brush and floss your teeth regularly and carry around a lot of hand disinfectant.
5 Responses so far
Add a Response
-
About the Blogger
Every minute of every day there is someone who gets snagged as a sucker. It happens to average people like waitresses, teachers, bank clerks, politicians, even doctors and lawyers. It’s even happened to me, and I am a seasoned watchdog of consumer rights and consumer knowledge.My name is Gina Germani. I am the owner and editor of ivnews.INFO. I am also a veteran newspaper and TV reporter of nearly 30 years. And I am an Imperial Valley native. As a reporter in many parts of the country, I saw some of the most awful, heartless scams against good, trusting, and often desperate people. Sometimes I was able to help them. Sometimes I couldn’t.
Sometimes the consumer can just get caught up in marketing and sales double-talk. Nothing illegal about that. But it’s unfair, and it’s not right when a business is trying to separate its customer from his or her money for less-than promised products, pricing or services.
I like telling consumer horror stories and nailing the bad guys. And I hope I’ll be able to do that on these pages. You’ll also be reading a lot about my groans and gripes about customer service. Waiting inordinate periods of time for any Imperial County physician is one of my greatest pet peeves these days. I bet that’s something you wouldn’t mind chiming in on.
The Consumer Corner is all about not getting cornered as a consumer.
I hope I can help.
Previous Posts
The Consumer Corner: Going green with credit: c’mon, it’s a come-on!
| Sat, 16 Jan 2010 3:55 PMFive credit cards weigh a little more than an ounce. Americans currently carry in their wallets more than 6,200 tons of non-recyclable PVC credit. (…)
The Consumer Corner: What’s worse than getting a tooth pulled? Waiting for the dentist to show
| Mon, 24 Aug 2009 7:50 AMI had a tooth in the farthest reaches of my jawbone that was loose and gushy just a couple weeks ago. From my lay-person perspective, I just figured it needed to be disinfected, drained—whatever—and then a root canal conducted on it.
The Consumer Corner: Beware the magazine subscription telemarketers
| Sun, 2 Aug 2009 3:13 PMTelemarketing scam artists know that old folks are polite and won’t have an easy time hanging up on them, so they use that to their slimy advantage.
The Consumer Corner: DirecTV does not carry local Imperial Valley television, but DishNetwork does
| Thu, 23 Jul 2009 6:27 PMBONG! You’re gone, James! My house needs three receivers, which would be a $150 fee. Add that to the “special equipment,” and I’d be out $350 just to put an ugly little gray dish on top of my house so I can get the same stuff that the cable company offers and eventually pay the same price as the cable company charges.
ivnews.INFO Blogs List
- Mon February 06 5:22 PMCurrently in IMPERIAL, CA:
68 °F and Sunny
- 2/6/2012:High: 72 F • Low: 47 F • Clouds giving way to some sun
- 2/7/2012:High: 65 F • Low: 46 F • Partial sunshine
- 2/7/2012:High: 65 F • Low: 46 F • Partial sunshine
- Breaking News
- « More than 40 children's and infants pain relief medications are recalled... Tylenol, Motrin and flavored versions of the medications should not be administered to children »
- « Imperial Valley College remains shut down hours after a bomb threat was issued... a bomb squad and several emergency agencies have cleared the school and are reportedly looking at two different rooms that might contain explosives »
- « El Centro city officials estimate damages to public, residential and commercial properties as of Friday, April 9 to be more than $20 million »
- « Calexico schools will remain closed the week of April 12 due to the Easter Sunday earthquake...city, county, state authorities still assessing damages... parents will be notified of school openings by automated phone service »
Advertising
It might be that your dentist belongs to one of Obama’s death panels, I hear their meetings can run a little long.
I think it’s submissive appreciation that makes valley patients put up with their doctor’s poor professionalism. Most are just grateful that they’re being treated, almost as if it was a favor, and not a paid-for service.
Hee hee hee…
Thanks, Luis. I can always count on you for being insightful. “Submissive appreciation” would be an apt description for patients in search of medical care–especially in the Imperial Valley. I keep getting “advised” by friends and family that just driving 90 minutes to SD or PS, even Yuma, would be best for prompt and reliable medical care.
Have you ever noticed that the very, VERY first thing they ask you at the doctor’s or dentist’s office is what your health insurance number and name are? Makes my skin crawl that their “care” might be driven solely by how you’re covered.
I do not have any healthy respect for doctors or dentists… they’re like the rest of us–extremely fallible!
This is unrelated to your blog but there is a question I would like to ask you. Are you the Gina Germani that used to work at WBFF TV in Baltimore?
Yes I am. You have a great memory.
What a waste of time reading this piece…it sounds like you are just an angry, inpatient, and unlikeable prima dona.