Go to the dentist

I got a letter from my dental insurance that said they’ve signed me up with a different dentist. Hopefully, the staff will be nice to me when I try to make an appointment next week.

I decided that the staff people at the last dentist I tried to get an appointment with were too rude, so today I looked for another dentist. This time, I picked one closer to work than home. That’s really a better idea anyway. I mailed the form to insurance and will need to wait for confirmation before I make an appointment.

The people were rude and made me jump through hoops, and I still don’t have an appointment.

They don’t have an appointment available for a new patient until April. The lady acted frustrated with me when I couldn’t take the first appointment they had (it was a Wednesday, and I always have several meetings on Wednesdays).

After asking me a few questions and maybe doing something on a computer, she told me I’d have to call my insurance company and have them “fax my eligibility.” She did not tell me the fax number, so I asked, “Just tell them [whatever] Dental, and they’ll know where to fax it?” Yes.

I called the insurance company, and they knew what “fax my eligibility” meant, but didn’t know the fax number. Luckily, I quickly found it on the internets. I stayed on hold until they said the fax went through.

I waited about 30 minutes and called the dentist office back. I said, “This is Kim Novak, and I need to finish setting up my appointment.” It was a different lady, and she acted frustrated with me, like I was putting her out. I told her the insurance company “faxed my eligibility”, and she said she didn’t have the fax. I told her that I was on hold with the insurance company for a long time until they said the fax went through. She asked me what I meant by “the fax went through.” Gah!

Then she said she was sitting right by the fax machine and there was no fax. She asked me to call her back tomorrow, and maybe it would come through. I asked if I should call the insurance company back to fax it again. She said they were really busy trying to get the end of the day stuff done and that I should just call her back tomorrow. Geez!

I hung up on her.

I’m considering getting a different dentist, but I don’t know if the insurance company will let me change again so soon.

I picked a dentist today and sent the form to my insurance company telling them whom. That’s the first baby step.

I also picked a new doctor because me and my old doctor moved in opposite directions, and I was having to drive many miles to see him. The new doctor is fairly close to home. Maybe next time I get sick, I’ll actually go to the doctor.