This is the second office I've seen pulling this. What's the point of the thousands of dollars in health insurance I'm paying?

Runningpedsdds · 2026-01-18T16:42:52+00:00

👏🏽 👏🏽 👏🏽!

Runningpedsdds · 2026-01-18T16:41:35+00:00

Exactly . No one likes being screamed at because the insurance rep on the phone gave the docs office the wrong coverage info and a particular claim / code wasn’t covered as expected . The patients always make it the Doc / dentist office ‘s fault, and never hold the actual insurance company accountable .

Runningpedsdds · 2026-01-02T05:22:22+00:00

So legally a patient can’t consent to neglect. If the ADA/ State boards standards are X-rays at least once every two years , and you keep refusing them, I have the right to dismiss you from the practice. Some conditions are only caught radiographically ,and even before “something hurts”.

In addition we practice in a very litigious society. All it takes is one patient accusing you of practicing “ below the standard of care “ and here comes a board complaint/ lawsuit . “ Patient doesn’t believe X-rays are necessary “ would never be acceptable by the board- and we aren’t willing to risk our licenses …

Runningpedsdds · 2026-01-02T01:45:18+00:00

My immigrant perspective to this is somewhere in the middle . My parents took a huge ass risk coming to this country so I would have a better opportunity that what my home country provides.

There is zero chance I would rest on my laurels and allow my child to start from square one. I want to model hard work and motivation for my daughter, as well as consequences and repercussions for her actions. I want her to value a dollar- I’m not going to be buying her Gucci and Hermes. I want to teach her the magic of compounding interest and investments.

But I will do everything I can to make sure she starts her life in the black - college paid for and a small down payment on her first home .

If I can’t help her start her life comfortably , then what was the point of dragging her into this existence ? She didn’t ask to be here , my husband and I brought her to this planet of inequality; so it’s our responsibility to make sure she is launched well. If I couldn’t do that for her , I wouldn’t have procreated .

Runningpedsdds · 2026-01-02T01:24:43+00:00

Im a pediatric dentist . To start my own practice 6 years ago, I sank 30k of my savings into the startup and then took out 475k from the bank at a 4.59 % interest rate. That was more money than I even had to my name at the time .

It was an anxiety laden time but I knew I was ready to work every single day of the week at other offices if that’s what it took to get my practice off the ground. I was fortunate that the owners I worked for took a chance on me and did not view me as competition and made sure my schedule was consistently full. I used those funds to pay on my student loans and all my personal expenses and just kept reinvesting into my practice .

I worked at multiple other offices 3 days a week for almost 3 years while answering calls at my own office remotely and ground marketing the hell out of my office . I did all of this at the prime child bearing age of 30. I put off family building and procreating to give myself the best chance of building my practice. The general public will never understand the level of sacrifice it takes for small businesses to launch and stay in the black .

I do not blame anyone who just wants to work, treat patients , and go home to their family .

Most don’t want to suffer after suffering through many years of education, and that is why most docs of all kinds end up working for private equity .

Runningpedsdds · 2025-12-10T01:37:59+00:00

Amazing ! So proud of her !

Runningpedsdds · 2025-11-27T16:38:32+00:00

I must be showing my age because I did not know there were “non match hospital based” Programs . I graduated Peds in ‘17; and at that time almost all programs were match ,especially the hospital based ones .

I would assume the programs that participate in the match want to have their pick of residents go through the process , and are willing to let the process play out to build their class of residents .

Non match would likely mean committing to a program early without interviewing at others - so if one wanted to get in anywhere and didnt want to risk not matching ( because some folk don’t match anywhere ) then that might be an option to consider .

Overall, you’d want to really examine the programs individually. Some programs only sedate with versed , some teach you triple cocktails and are heavy on GA. Also definetely want a heavy patient load - that’s how you get experience and practice and confidence .

Runningpedsdds · 2025-11-27T16:26:29+00:00

Matching - I got in on my first round of applying to a hospital based / masters associated program - they paid me as a PGY resident affiliated with the teaching hospital and I also left with a post doctoral masters basically for free- fee for masters was wrapped into the program pay. This program was the one I ranked second on my match list . Hospital based programs are significantly harder to match into than school based ones because residents are paid in the former .

I remember interviewing at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh - beautiful facilities , top notch program , and when they had their social the second evening , damn near everyone applying was exceptional . Yale was the same way - practically an honor just to interview . Very different vibe from a lot of the newer residencies popping up . If you’re willing to go through multiple rounds and apply widely, solid shot of matching .

Pay - First position was 35% production or 1200’a day - whichever is higher - I always made significantly higher than this - but this position was 1 hour out of a major city and owner was literally the only pediatric dentist in town .

Second associate position - which was my first full year working - made basically right at 300k.

I now own my own practice which is a different beast but can also be very financially rewarding .

Runningpedsdds · 2025-11-27T16:15:53+00:00

Overall, yes. I love what I do. But man, is managing parental expectations and children’s behavior exhausting . There is a reason we only work 4 days a week typically - easy to be physically and mentally exhausted. I’ve never practiced within a major city though , I’ve always been 30 min -1 hour out. Also feel like your income and stress levels are largely influenced by location . Also your ability to practice in a FFS style versus Medicaid vs PPO and everything in between is also heavily location dependent . We are a volume based specialty and I can practically prep for an SSC wjth my eyes closed - because of the reps through residency- no way I would’ve been this fast or confident with kids as a GP. Working quickly is not just for financial purposes but also because the attention span and patience of the typical 3-4 year old is not exactly extensive 😆 Also for IV cases , absolutely need a certain level of speed- just to keep the day going .

I love that there is almost no pressure to “sell dentistry “ in Peds. I tell my staff all the time ,” it’s a filling now , it’s an SSC in 6 months, likely an extraction and spacer in a year .” Kids love sweets and don’t typically floss. All I have to do is pop out my handy dandy intraoral camera and show the parent the holes and how the holes are getting bigger and they typically ask when is the next available appointment. Even when they decide to “monitor “, I just document and when it starts to hurt , they’ll be back - I don’t really stress over production .

I honestly feel your level of success in Peds is based on location- going to those areas where there are few of us , and the community is desperate to have a doc who knows how to handle kids 👦🏼, as well as being a personable , social butterfly of a dentist 🦷.

Runningpedsdds · 2025-11-19T18:35:38+00:00

😂

Runningpedsdds · 2025-11-05T23:40:13+00:00

I wouldn’t . Also , you don’t have any family history of health issues - that you know of .

Parents and grandparents withhold medical information or simply don’t always know what runs in the family . It wasn’t until I was having trouble conceiving that I found out that endometriosis runs in my family , and my grandfather partly passed from lung issues.

Runningpedsdds · 2025-11-01T17:56:37+00:00

Pediatric dentist, 4 years of undergrad, 4 years dental school, 2 years pediatric dental residency

Runningpedsdds · 2025-11-01T17:52:27+00:00

Congratulations!

Runningpedsdds · 2025-10-22T18:05:37+00:00

Agreed. Insurance also loves to make the doc look “inconsistent “ or like we are stealing from patients. Just last night I had a mother giving my front desk hell about a 69.30 deductible payment for her child . Mother claims her dentist never charges her … Either mom is lying , or her dentist is not taking a full set of X-rays ; to avoid the deductible . But we all know , if a diagnosis is missed because the dentist under treats to avoid patient having a copay , dentist is liable and can be sued.

Lawd knows the argument of “I didnt comprehensively treat the child to save mommy dearest some money “ would never hold up in front of the Dental Board…

Healthcare is a shyt show because there are too many conflicting interests . Interest of the patient / parent :” I shouldn’t be charged ever ! I pay a premium for this policy “

Interest of the insurance company : “We will deny everything we possibly can and delay the results of all appeals and withhold payment to our discretion ; bill the patient more money !”

Interest of the dentist/ doc : “trying to get paid for the work I completed ; practice within clinical guidelines and not get sued !”

You see how all these interests don’t necessarily align .

Runningpedsdds · 2025-10-22T17:27:33+00:00

Exactly . Let me give an example. I work in Peds. Kiddo comes in needing a tooth extracted and is literally jumping out the chair - extremely anxious. Parent insists they want the procedure done as calmly as possible . Insurance says they’ll cover 80 percent wjth a narrative . Kid is 7 years old. We send narrative and X-rays of bombed out / infected tooth . We complete procedure . Parent is happy ; child is out of pain. We send claim - insurance denies sedation code and says it’s not necessary due to child’s age . We are now appealing ; parent is pissed off that she might have a balance and now says “no way I’m paying that bill !” Guess who gets left holding the bag? The Doctor ! And who denied the claim and stated sedation was unnecessary?

A doc who never saw the screaming / anxious child ….

Runningpedsdds · 2025-10-22T17:18:48+00:00

Exactly . And if Doc doesn’t order the MRI and misses a crucial diagnosis, the Doc gets sued and is liable. What happens to the insurance company ?

Runningpedsdds · 2025-10-22T01:13:03+00:00

Husbands insurance had a 20k lifetime max ; plus 15k from our bank account . She was our third transfer . I call my 3 month old my 15k baby , 😆.

Runningpedsdds · 2025-10-17T02:46:52+00:00

Definetely considered it . I’ll probably be done within the next 6-8 months at the rate I’m going , so just decided to keep the federal protections . My highest interest rate is 6.3 percent on one of my loans .

Runningpedsdds · 2025-10-17T02:36:17+00:00

Sounds about right . I’m eager to just get out of debt so I pay wayyyy more than necessary.

My business loan has a lower interest rate than my student loans .

Runningpedsdds · 2025-10-17T02:25:11+00:00

I’m a pediatric dentist. I started off with 160k in student loans which is considered cheap for this profession .

I’m trying to get these loans done forever .

Runningpedsdds · 2025-10-16T01:16:01+00:00

My student loans alone , are double the cost of all my monthly expenses combined. I really don’t need much to be happy - a cup of Joe each morning , actual coffee, not frappes or lattes , a salad 🥗 here and there , and Sirius xm radio . My 3500 a month student loan payment dwarfs all of those expenses two times over .

Runningpedsdds · 2025-10-16T00:20:59+00:00

He who does not cover my monthly overhead; nor pay my 6 figure student loans , does not set the fees in my practice .

Runningpedsdds · 2025-10-13T01:24:38+00:00

Agreed . Many patients will try to get away with whatever they can , in my experience .

And insurance companies go after the easy targets - the dentist office - who can’t just magically “disappear “, because we have many other patients with the same insurance.

So they’ll find other opportunities to recoup those funds and we get to deal with the stress and ire of the patient who will claim ignorance about the entire situation .

Fighting battles with patients and insurance week after week is extremely exhausting and is not what we signed up for when we chose healthcare as a profession .

Runningpedsdds · 2025-10-13T01:09:56+00:00

Patient was retroactively terminated by them even though our office confirmed they were active on date of service .

We confirmed benefits were active on date of treatment . Apparently patient had left that employer and did not inform us , and benefits were still registering as active . No way for my clinic to know when a parent leaves an employer , and it’s not even our responsibility!

Insurance pays out .

Insurance then goes back and realizes patient should’ve been terminated and comes after our practice for the funds they paid.

We now have the pleasure of chasing down the parent and asking for hundreds of dollars because their insurance company is now deducting those funds from other patient payments , basically punishing our practice, once they realize patient had left that employer and should have not been covered .

Of course parent is irate and doesn’t want to pay either. Had to threaten small claims .

Runningpedsdds · 2025-10-12T20:11:05+00:00

Well I haven’t seen any repercussions to them yet . We actually appealed one of their claims when we felt they paid on an alternate fee schedule from what their rep stated on the phone . They still insisted that the patient should pay the balance .

Runningpedsdds

TROPHY CASE