You are basically dealing with two issues here.

1.  Questionable services and billing by the dental office.

2.  'Insurance' coverage.

I do not know of any offices who spray a rinse on teeth after cleaning
and charge almost 50 bucks.  Sounds bogus to me.

However, it is very possible you are signed up with an HMO type of
dental plan where you have to go to certain 'preferred providers'.

With that type of plan, the dentist agrees to discounted fees and
even providing some services low or no fee.  In order to compensate
for the lost income, some offices toss in unusual charges that the
insurance lists as uncovered.  If the insurance does not cover the
procedure, the patient is usually on the hook to pay.

On the other side of the coin, the insurance company does not care
about you or your dental health.  They only care about MONEY.  They
want to squeeze as much out of your employer, you, and the treating
dental office as they can.  All of their talk about 'quality care'
and helping you manage costs are advertizing mumbo jumbo.

There are sevices they will exclude that may be in your best interests.
Believing the insurance company would cover any reasonable treatment
is a *very* poor assumption indeed.  The insco is not your friend.

Dental insurance isn't even real insurance.  It is a pre-paid dental
benefit.  Your employer and likely you contribute money into the
insco coffer.  Then the insco lets some of it out to buy you
dental treatment.  The insco shops around and finds out how they can
pay the least for treatment that you will accept so it can keep the
most profit.  Might want to look into 'direct reimbursement'.  You
and your employer take care of your money and decide what gets paid
instead of a third party skimming money off of the top and giving
you crap for care.

Do you find the absolute cheapest restaurant, clothes, hair
salon/barber, mechanic, etc.??  At least your hair can grow out
of a bad cut.

So, remember:  There is no free lunch.  Plus:  Sometimes you get
what you pay for, and sometimes you get less.

D

Don't expect insurance to cover ANYTHING that is not in their
financial interest.

The insurance company exists only to make a profit, not to oversee
good dental care. Since insurance companies do not have the education
necessary to determine good dentistry, they are not in a position to
determine what is good or what is bad.

That being said, it sounds like your dental office might be padding
your bill with dubious "treatment" that is just a means to make up for
cheap insurance. I don't know any legitimate scientific studies that
show a single 15 second rinse is of any lasting benefit to you
whatsoever -- but there are lots of "rinse" companies who try to sell
stuff to the dentist on the basis that the dentist will make a
financial profit. That is quite a bit different from selling something
that actually does any good. A single 15-second rinse just doesn't
pass the "stink" test.

By the way -- how did you choose this dentist? Did you ask your
neighbors and friends for the names of dentists who have proven
themselves to be honest and fair for years and years? Did you check
into their backgrounds and education, and discuss their philosophies
of conservative treatment?

Or did you just go to any old dentist that the cheap insurance company
lined up for you?

- dentaldoc

Listen as we sing the "HMO Blues"

Thanks for all the replies. Yes, my employer started a Dental HMO
option for dental benefits, and I am "participating". There aren't
many D-HMO dentists from which to choose in my area, and I chose the
dentist closest to the office.  Seems I need to select the
conventional dental coverage as soon as possible. I wish a method
existed to find a quality dentist with reasonable fees.