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your dental experience
 

Recently an xray shows I have a tooth abcess and it is part of a bridge denture,so the dentist recommends me to see a specialist who does root canal work.
He took xray and said there is a lot of bone loss on that tooth,so I said why bother spending $1600 plus cost of removing the bridge,why not just extract it
My insurance does not cover dental work,but it does give me some cash for dental/vision and hearing expenses.by issuing a VISA debit card.
So back to the regular dentist,he removed the bridge and extract the tooth,I paid with my VISA debit card ,he charges 4% for using card not cash.
what next?
He expects me to go with dental implants but I refuse,he is shocked .
My question is
does any one of you have tried dental implants ?
Is it legal to charge 4% for processing a debit card?

Re: your dental experience
 

Card charges are pretty normal no? Lots of places charge 2% to 5% even seen them go as high as 8% for Amex. So long as they tell you about it before its perfectly legal to do so

Re: your dental experience
 

Now I heard more merchants do not accept cash.
No ,most places I shop do not charge a fee for card usage,but then they are large stores like Walmart,Kroger,Bestbuy.
In fact if you use your Paypal debit card as a credit card,you get 1% cash rebate,but WMT is smart enough to tell the differnce and treat it as a debit card

Re: your dental experience
 

Really depends on the country. But small bussiness will nearly always prefer cash to cards.

Re: your dental experience
 

Yes,small stores are glad to receive cash and make a trip to the bank to deposit cash.
But big companies do not want to be bothered,sending an employee to the bank after store closed is not a good idea
I WOULD think the last thing any merchant wants these days is a personal check.

Re: your dental experience
 

4 percent is a cash grab on the part of the dentist - trying to make more money off of you to be honest - credit card processing fee is around 2 percent...3 tops

Re: your dental experience
 

yes,I think 4% is too high,last time his wife asked me to write a check made out to her husband ,not the business to avoid tax.
I would not be going back to this dentist anymore,he is disappointed I do not go for dental implants which is good money for him,he is very good but too far for me.
My health insurance does not cover dental,but gives us $3000 for dental,vision and hearing to spend with providers within its network and he is not in the network.
We also get $175 each quarter to purchase OTC items related to vision,hearing and dental needs and $725 /year for anything we want to spend on dental,vision and hearing ,loaded on a VISA debit card,also unlimited free Lyft rides to doctor appointments.
Also free dental cleansing,Xrays twice a year.
This is a new program,quite generous,I wonder if it is because UNITED HEALTHCARE is moving onto its turf ?
anyway,I enjoy my free LYFT rides and met interesting drivers,there must be tons of them driving around as I have no problem getting one in 5-10 minutes.

Re: your dental experience
 

wife asked you to write a check to husband instead of the business....hah definitely a fraudulent dentist - i'm not a fan of tax either but this request also puts you at jeopardy since no formal proof of dental work is recorded...liability purposes.

I wouldnt go back

Re: your dental experience
 

I dont need a receipt,he is a dentist.
These days it is hard to beat the standard deduction,unless one has huge medical bills.
BUt I am not going back,he is very good but too far and he is not in my insurance plan network,I have $3k I can spend,but not with someone outside the network.
I have the feelings consumers are skipping dental care.

Re: your dental experience
 

you always need a receipt - dental work if anything happens [rare but it can happen], you need it for legal purposes...

Re: your dental experience
 

The dental implant prevents your teeth from becoming deformed over the years.
It is not legal that they charge % for visa card use

Re: your dental experience
 

There are pros and cons on dental implants,some patients may not have enough bone ,and the gum recedes after a few years,not to mention it is very expensive.
Personally I dont care for any metal stuff imbedded in my mouth,I prefer denture which I can remove .
I cant believe how much dental work cost,one place the lady just whipped out the whole procedure from xray,extraction,implants,crown etc ,total is $37K,FINANCING is available.
Some said it is legal to slap a surcharge ,I dunno,but I know with MA.VISA,if your store advertises MA/VISA ,you cannot say it has to be over a certain amount,like $25 ,
One dollar store cringes when they see people buying one dollar item and use their credit card!

Re: your dental experience
 

technicall speaking, it is 'legal' that they pass the percent on to customers but it's frowned upon bu consumer associations and can be bad for business

Re: your dental experience
 

I am surprised they prefer cash or check instead of cards,where his business is located,I doubt many of his patients carry that much cash/
His wife is Vietnamese,may be the Vietnamese carry that much cash??
We have an auto repair shop in our neighborhood,it no longer accept personal check but cards and cash.
I know there is a fee for accepting credit card,transaction fee of 10 cents and a rate of 1-3 %,debit card fee is lower.

Re: your dental experience
 

they prefer cash and check because that way there is no formal track of payment...nothing to be surprised about...i can see them declaring less income for tax purposes if there is more payment in cash - they can alter their books...

Re: your dental experience
 

IRS has ways to find out.
The reason why businesses accept credit card is many customers just do not have the cash,and they dont like personal checks ,because they bounce.
Our local car repair shop no longer accept personal checks.NSF for him would be at least $35.probably more now and it is not that easy to go after the deadbeat,in the mean time he has bills to pay,payroll to meet

Re: your dental experience
 

I've had a dental implant for nearly 20 years, had no problems with it at all.

Re: your dental experience
 

thats good to know.

Re: your dental experience
 

I would be a little scared to use the implants with screws directly into my jaw.

Re: your dental experience
 

It is also very expensive.but good money maker for the dentist

Re: your dental experience
 

that's what they train for - those, crowns, and braces...quite the money maker

Re: your dental experience
 

Mine was £1500 or one tooth. Long time ago though.