Grinding Teeth

I had a really frustrating experience at the dentist last week. I've been seeing the same practice for over 30 years, with two owners in that time frame. I knew the practice had been sold, and there was a transition in progress over the past year. I'm not sure what happened over the past 6 months, but I don't see myself going back.

None of the old staff were there anymore, and this was a place that kept people for 10+ years. Aside from the general configuration of the building, nothing was the same. They overbilled me and my insurance, had no knowledge of my history — things that had been monitored over a period of years — and then tried to convince me I needed a bunch of unnecessary work. It's an astonishing way to lose a longstanding customer over a couple hundred dollars. They tried the same hustle on my parents as well, so I have to assume they are burning through their patient roster at quite the clip.

I'm not so sentimental that I'm getting misty-eyed over my dentist retiring, but it's another entry on the list of constants in my life that have changed within the last 12-18 months. On the positive side, this is more of an inconvenience than a hardship; at least it's a boring problem.

PUBLISHED: 2026-05-20

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