More residents submitted letters to Ocala-News.com to share their thoughts on the topic of dental care in Ocala/Marion County and surrounding communities.
“I am a snowbird from Washington state. The dental system in The Villages is terrible compared to what I’ve had in Washington. I’ve been trying to find a dentist that I am happy with that takes either Delta or United insurance. I’ve been running into dentists that charge a lot and do little or have really bad ratings,” says Darrell Mclean, Lady Lake resident.
“I went to my first dental appointment shortly after we moved here 9 years ago. I was told I had four cavities, I needed a root canal, and I needed four crowns as well as a deep cleaning. My total cost would be approximately $7,000. Being on a fixed income, I could not afford this. Of course, they have a financial company I could go through. They would not even give me a regular cleaning, which my insurance company would pay for. I went to a second dentist who said I needed a deep cleaning, and I had one cavity and needed 10 crowns. My bill would have been around $15,000. Of course, they told me I could get financing through a company they worked with. Once again, I couldn’t get just a cleaning. I desperately need dental work after all these years but cannot afford it,” says Ocala resident Kim Eckroth.
“Aspen Dental tried this with me, then I caught them in a lie. They almost got off with $800 for work they didn’t do. When confronted about it, they told me to leave the office. I did get my money back,” says Kathy Thomas, Silver Springs resident.
“I recently was hospitalized for serious dental issues. Upon release, I was told to make an appointment for dental care, and I was given numbers to three different clinics as I have Medicaid. All three clinics weren’t accepting new patients and didn’t have appointments until March, so therefore what are we to do?” says Ocala resident Roxann O’Hara.