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S'pore woman quoted S$903 for scaling at Jurong Point clinic, dentist allegedly didn't know insurance was capped
$$$$.
After her dental appointment, a Singaporean woman went to settle the bill — only to be told that it came up to S$903.61.
The woman, Shannon, had visited the Q&M Dental Surgery outlet at Jurong Point on Dec. 22 for scaling and polishing.
But she was told that she'd have to pay over S$200 in cash as the bill exceeded her company's insurance limit of approximately S$600, she told Mothership.
Taken aback, Shannon decided to review the bill.
She noticed that she had been charged for items that were allegedly not performed during the 30-minute visit, including multiple fillings and a root canal cap.
"I refused to pay and was brought back to speak with the dentist," Shannon said.
The amended bill came up to S$660.54 — over S$300 less than the original, she said.
Alleged overcharging
Even with the reduced charges, her bill still contained multiple additional procedures that Shannon says she neither agreed to nor underwent.The actual services rendered were only a consultation, scaling and polishing, fluoride treatment, and two X-rays.
These would have amounted to S$239.80.
Shannon told Mothership that the doctor had also said that her X-ray results were good, with no decays.
"I came in and out of the dentist room in 30 minutes," she said.
She added that she was "deeply concerned" as the matter involved "significant overcharging for treatments that were not rendered".
When she tried to get the original S$903.61 bill from the dentist, the counter staff found out that the old bill had already been thrown away, she said.
Not the first time
Suspicious, Shannon decided to check the invoice for her previous August visit, which had been fully covered by her company insurance.She realised that she had been billed over S$500, despite it also being a simple scaling and polishing appointment, she said.
When she tried to pursue the matter with a clinic staff member, she was allegedly told "don't complain me, complain the doctor".
She subsequently lodged reports with Q&M, the Singapore Dental Council, and the Singapore Police Force.
Q&M investigating
In an email to Shannon from Q&M, the clinic apologised for her experience and said they would investigate the matter.No results have been shared with her as yet, she said.
A spokesperson from Q&M confirmed with Mothership that they are conducting an internal review and will follow up with her, but declined to share more details due to patient confidentiality.
In response to Mothership's queries, the Singapore Police Force confirmed that they had received the report.
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