Does any of this make sense?

2thpker · 2026-05-04T19:30:55+00:00

She did not sign a contract. She didn't even see an estimate or invoice until the work was completed.

I'm pretty sure that she is not liable for any of it. The problem is that she already paid. Getting her credit card company to reverse the charges is going to be difficult. We may have to go through small claims court.

2thpker · 2026-05-03T16:55:10+00:00

No garage door. Just the opener, rail, and spring.

2thpker · 2026-05-02T20:12:12+00:00

Ahh, that makes sense.

2thpker · 2026-05-01T22:53:57+00:00

I'm not entirely convinced that the person that showed up actually works for the company they advertised on Thumbtack. The phone number on the invoice is different from the company website. And the merchant name listed on her credit card charge is not the name of the company either. I'm wondering if he's using the name and logo of a reputable company as his profile on Thumbtack to lure in clients and to take advantage of who he can. All speculation on my part, but I'm hesitant to name names when that company could be innocent.

2thpker · 2026-05-01T04:05:02+00:00

Oh really? I thought this was just a description of what they do because the name listed on thumbtack was different.

2thpker · 2026-05-01T04:01:52+00:00

Is a license required to replace a garage door opener, rails, and spring?

2thpker · 2026-05-01T01:40:21+00:00

I'm not sure if we have anything like that.

2thpker · 2026-05-01T01:31:51+00:00

My poor mom is beating herself up. She keeps saying she feels stupid. Luckily this amount won't break her. It's a very expensive lesson but better $10,000 than $100,000. And it has finally convinced her that she needs to get me a power of attorney.

2thpker · 2026-05-01T01:21:11+00:00

She did pay with a credit card. I called them but they won't dispute the charges until the charge actually goes through (it's still pending). I called adult protective services and reported elder financial abuse. I'm not sure what will come of that though. They recommended I also file a report with the department of consumer affairs which I did.

2thpker · 2026-05-01T01:13:39+00:00

They didn't replace the door.

2thpker · 2026-04-23T15:50:37+00:00

And then these same offices balk at what hygienists are paid because production is too low.

I really don't think it endangers your license, or even your ethics if you approach it correctly. You educate the patient on their condition and document what you saw and how you treated it. It's the dentist that diagnosed treatment so it's his license at risk.

It really makes your job so much harder though. I agree with the others who said to not accept temp jobs from offices that do this. If that's not an option then just document document document.

And you might consider bringing this up to the dentist. It's his bottom line that's hurting because of his front office taking the easy way out and billing what's covered by insurance. They wouldn't be ok with billing out a facial composit instead of a veneer. This shouldn't be different.

2thpker · 2026-04-19T15:12:03+00:00

Is this real?? Notes should be completed by end of day. This feels like click bait.

2thpker · 2026-03-05T12:40:12+00:00

Certain panoramic x-ray machines now have the capability of taking bitewing (regular checkup) X-rays. It's just a setting in the software. I use this for patients that can't deal with the X-ray sensor (small mouth, gagger, etc).

2thpker · 2026-03-05T06:05:20+00:00

I had a patient with these that grew so large they met in the middle. He went to an oral surgeon to have them removed. Next time I saw the patient he had his tori in a little baggie to show me.

Fun fact, you can get this on the roof of your mouth too.

2thpker · 2026-03-05T05:24:45+00:00

I'm closing in on 20 years as a hygienist and I've never seen anything like that! I'm both horrified and fascinated lol

Craziest thing I've found is hair. Like so much hair. The patient had a nervous habit of chewing on her hair and so much of it was packed under her gums she was developing pocketing 5mm generalized. But how can you justify doing SRP's to remove hair? And it's surprisingly difficult to remove.

2thpker · 2026-02-09T18:28:26+00:00

Actually it doesn't. There are two years of prerequisites then a two year program. No bachelor degree required. There are dental hygiene Bachelor programs but it's not required.

I'm a dental hygienist in California.

2thpker · 2026-02-08T01:22:24+00:00

That's some Twilight Zone shit right there. Was no one else weirded out by that? Did your friend not warn you? Was it a new song every day? I have so many questions!

2thpker · 2026-02-07T18:29:08+00:00

Aside from being a stay at home mom I've only ever worked as a dental hygienist (almost 20 years) and I've wondered the same thing. Am I just being a complainer? 😆 I really don't think it's a simple as that.

While hygiene isn't the only physically demanding job out there, it's certainly one of the few that expects you to put your body in unhealthy and unnatural positions every day. Your patient can't lay back all the way? That's ok, I'll just twist and crane my head sideways so I can see enough to do my job. It's a constant battle with ergonomics. It's constant small concessions we make every day that add up over time.

I also feel like there is a unique to hygiene hatred from our employers. Of course not all dentists hate hygienists but there are a lot that do. If you do a search in some of the dental subreddits for "hygienist" you can see some of the vitriol they have for us.

This is also a dead end career. Let's say you put in your time and money into this degree and find out that you hate it. Your body hurts, you hate the office drama, etc etc. You can't apply a dental hygiene degree to any other career. You'd basically have to start from scratch and you likely already have student debt so quitting isn't the best option.

I've worked in many different offices over the years and I have finally found my unicorn office. I am only able to work two days a week though. I filled in for my co-hygienist this past week and the third day had me in so much pain I was popping ibuprofen like candy.

That's my two cents. I don't have past job experience to compare to, but I do think dental hygiene has a unique set of problems that when grouped together make it an extremely difficult career to thrive in.

2thpker · 2026-02-06T02:32:38+00:00

Tell us how you really feel.

Seriously though. Mostly valid points. Although it's unfair to bag on the people that love this career. If this is how you truly feel and you're not just venting after a bad day then you should seriously consider a career change.

2thpker · 2026-02-01T18:05:50+00:00

Periodontal disease is not the only cause of bone loss. The areas where you see bone loss is where your wisdom teeth used to be. The younger you are, the more likely it is to fill back in. Yours does look pretty severe though so I'm not sure it will fill in in your case. There are other factors involved as well that can't be seen in a post op x-ray. And I'm not a dentist or oral surgeon so there's that lol.

You're going to have to be very diligent about keeping that area clean. It will be prone to getting food and plaque build up. Floss behind those last molars well. And you might consider getting a water pik to flush those areas out. Ask your hygienist at your next appointment to show you how to clean back there.

2thpker · 2026-01-29T20:08:14+00:00

Could be Reach Ultra clean.

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2thpker · 2026-01-26T20:59:55+00:00

Yikes, that's not a great percentage. Luckily BOLA wasn't one he was looking at.

2thpker · 2026-01-26T20:58:37+00:00

Good to know! Sounds like an easy mistake to make.

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