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more secret lives of dentists
Oct. 28th, 2003 11:18 pmMy former dentist came highly recommended. Although I am not, myself, a pervert [*]with a profound dental phobia, it impressed me that so many such were singing his praises. He was a remarkable listener, who seemed very attentive to informed consent when explaining treatment options. He suggested a signal to let me interrupt him when he was working on my teeth, and responded with patience and respect when I used it.
([*] moderately general term, used here with kind intent.)
( So why is he my former dentist? )
I stopped seeing my former dentist more than a year ago. I considered sending a civil note explaining why I was leaving. (More briefly, I considered sending a nasty note.) I just told the receptionist I did not want to schedule another appointment; I would be seeing another dentist. I paid my final bill, and thought
that was that. Every so often, I get a note from their office, telling me I'm
overdue for an appointment. I'm starting to feel like they're chasing me, because the automatic mail forwarding is over and I'm certainly not giving THEM my new address.
I finally called them to formally ask them to leave me alone. It turns out that there was a minor billing/insurance foulup last summer, such that I owed them $4. The receptionist said she couldn't close my account while I owed them money. This makes sense. It would be churlish of me to resent them for not sending me a bill, all this time. I'm $4 ahead, right?
([*] moderately general term, used here with kind intent.)
( So why is he my former dentist? )
I stopped seeing my former dentist more than a year ago. I considered sending a civil note explaining why I was leaving. (More briefly, I considered sending a nasty note.) I just told the receptionist I did not want to schedule another appointment; I would be seeing another dentist. I paid my final bill, and thought
that was that. Every so often, I get a note from their office, telling me I'm
overdue for an appointment. I'm starting to feel like they're chasing me, because the automatic mail forwarding is over and I'm certainly not giving THEM my new address.
I finally called them to formally ask them to leave me alone. It turns out that there was a minor billing/insurance foulup last summer, such that I owed them $4. The receptionist said she couldn't close my account while I owed them money. This makes sense. It would be churlish of me to resent them for not sending me a bill, all this time. I'm $4 ahead, right?
