We dentists are quick to take the blame. When something we did fails, we will often redo it for free. Could be a filling that fell out in a year, a crown that decayed in 3 yrs, or an implant that got infected - we are expected to do it for free and eat the cost.
But usually, it's not that we did anything wrong - not our fault that THE PATIENT'S HEAVY BITE caused the filling to break, the PATIENT'S HORRIBLE HYGIENE that caused the TOOTH UNDER THE CROWN to decay, or that the PATIENT'S BODY rejected our perfectly placed implant. Doesn't matter, we still redo it and eat the cost.
Much of it has to do with dental insurance. Most insurances will cover a new crown on same tooth every 5 years or more. So they've set the expectation that anything under that is the dentist's fault and should be fixed for free.
To my knowledge, that never happens in medicine. If my PCP fails to cure my cold in 1 week, I don't demand my money back for the visit. Orthopods don't do another hip replacement for free if the first one fails in 3 yrs. And certainly if a patient continues to smoke, drink, and eat garbage, a cardiac surgeon isn't going to guarantee his work either.
So I'm just wondering - is there ever a time when MDs redo their work for free?
But usually, it's not that we did anything wrong - not our fault that THE PATIENT'S HEAVY BITE caused the filling to break, the PATIENT'S HORRIBLE HYGIENE that caused the TOOTH UNDER THE CROWN to decay, or that the PATIENT'S BODY rejected our perfectly placed implant. Doesn't matter, we still redo it and eat the cost.
Much of it has to do with dental insurance. Most insurances will cover a new crown on same tooth every 5 years or more. So they've set the expectation that anything under that is the dentist's fault and should be fixed for free.
To my knowledge, that never happens in medicine. If my PCP fails to cure my cold in 1 week, I don't demand my money back for the visit. Orthopods don't do another hip replacement for free if the first one fails in 3 yrs. And certainly if a patient continues to smoke, drink, and eat garbage, a cardiac surgeon isn't going to guarantee his work either.
So I'm just wondering - is there ever a time when MDs redo their work for free?
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