Question:
i don't have a regular dentist in austin and i would rather not pick a
name at random or by location only; if any of you have had good
experiences with an austin dentist under the united dental plan, please
let me know. if you've had a good experience with southwest dental, please
accept an amazed and unbelieving stare from me because there i encountered
some of the worst service i've ever had from any medical
practicioner/office.
Answer:
We just moved to Colorado from Austin (Westlake, actually) and for 14
years went to Ralph Fuller, DDS. We loved him. I have no idea if he's
under your plan or not, but Suzy, the receptionist, would probably know.
Ralph's office is just him, Bev the hygenist, Suzy and a dental
assistant...he's not open everyday (I think it's M-W-TH), but has evening
hours when he's there. Finding doctors, dentists, etc is a pain,
Man, you can say that again! And here's some more skinny... Southwest (so
I've been told by someone who worked there) charges United patients the
maximum amount possible, since they get so little per patient from the
HMO. I wondered about this allegation until SW told me that a
porcelin-gold crown (covered by United at $195) wouldn't do, I needed a
full gold crown at $395 (not covered *at all* by United). A second opinion
dentist said that prescription was ridiculous. Further, SW wanted to use a
porcelin-ceramic filling on an old filling needing replacement (molar, way
back there, non-cosmetic) at $61 per, instead of the old workhorse amalgam
at $16 per. The irony is that I'll pay less having this work done under
"standard" insurance, (i.e. deductible and co-insurance) than under the
HMO via SW. IMO, Southwest may have agreed to charge the HMO's reduced
price for standard services, but they didn't agree to not drill you for
overkilled services and non-covered materials.
