Today I took my 3 1/2 year old daughter to the dentist for the first time. He made his recommendations but I'd like a second opinion. Can anyone tell me of a pediatric dentist in the OKC metro that I could consult? And does anyone know if Soonercare would cover a second consultation with a different dentist?
After speaking with Soonercare I tried to make an appt for a consult with Dr Jerome Miller. His receptionist told me that there is no such code to bill a consultation and that I would need a referral from the first Dr to see Dr Miller. So I call Dr#1s office and the receptionist tells me that Dr Miller's office is basically saying that they want to do something that will get them more money. But she would fill out the paperwork for the referral anyhow. I decided to call Soonercare again just to be sure. After being transferred to about 6 different people I finally got a very knowledgeable woman who said that YES there is a consult code and she gave it to me. She also spent some time on the phone with me discussing what Dr#1 wanted to do and she recommended another pediatric dentist to do the 2nd opinion. I was very angry that Dr. Millers office lied to me. I don't really know if she was lying or is she just doesn't know anything about billing, either way I don't care to go there. Plus she was super rude on the phone. After talking to a coworker about what was going on she said that her bff was a pediatric hygienist for Dr Theresa White. So I made the appt and she saw us yesterday. They went ahead and did bite wing xrays of the molars, DR#1 didn't do xrays of the molars. it turns out she has more cavities in between the teeth. Dr White says they need to be fixed and offered us the option of conscious sedation but that would take 2 visits to do all the work. She always said that general anesthesia was an option to do it all at once so that is the one my husband and I chose. The procedure isn't until the end of March so we have some time to get used to the idea, if that's is possible. Thank you to everyone who offered the opinion, advice, and comforting words.
Soonercare WILL cover a second opinion. Do not go to Ocean Dental because they are not specialists(they wanted to pull 4 teeth with only local anesthetic!) or Small World Dentistry (we had to redo a cap TWICE with our little one tied to a board).
I live in Yukon and Dr. Ryan Brackett is an excellent Pediatric Dentist. Not sure about Soonercare but you can go to Soonercare's website for a complete list of providers. I myself would avoid any big dental chains just b/c I've heard some not so great stuff from friends and on 20/20. I read your other post and I definitely have to agree with getting a second opinion. Best of luck to you and your daughter.
OCEAN DENTAL! ! They are great! Dental depot would not touch my son since he would not open his mouth, IMO they didnt try. Ocean Dental has TV's above there dental chairs and my 3yo loves going there.
I know how you feel, when I took my dtr to her first dentist appt at age 5,she had 5 cavities!!!! She only had teeth for four years! They wanted to put her "under" with gas. I was not a fan of that idea but after a long discussion with the dentist and staff I felt better. I always think it is okay to get a second opinion. our dentist and staff are wonderful with kids, not sure about soonercare, but you can always ask. His name is Dr. Gary Rahill in okc. Good luck!
I wouldn't go to Brackett. We went for many years. Then he referred my daughter to an orthodontist. Orthodontist wanted Brackett to remove 2 teeth now and remove 2 more in another month. This was very time sensitive. The orthodontist said that if we timed this right, we could save $1000s on orthodontist bills later.
I was excited, until I called Brackett. His first available teeth pulling appointment was in 5 months. No joke! The receptionist was rude in addition to that. She said that we could get on a waiting list, and she would call if they had an opening. Um, ya, thanks but no thanks. That same day, I transferred all of my kids to Dr. Dukes. They got her in within 2 days. He's a family dentist. He's very gentle and he has small hands! That's all that matters!
