Should I Change My Dentist/Ortho?
Hi everyone, I just need an honest opinion or advice ☺️. I’m currently stressing myself out over a situation with my ortho clinic and I want to terminate my contract due to unexpected fees
Here is the breakdown:
Day 1: Had my braces installed. Total contract package is ₱80k. I paid a ₱20,000 cash downpayment upfront.
Note: All my initial pre-treatment procedures (Treatments, cleaning, etc.) were settled and paid for separately, so the 20k was purely for the installation and hardware (including the Xray, Photos, and Ortho Kit)
Day 16 (Present): Suddenly, the clinic is dropping heavy "urgent" dental work on me that they didn't emphasize before the installation.
They are now demanding:
- Urgent teeth fillings for 7 teeth. For context, the last time I had a single filling done by them, it cost me ₱5.5k for just one tooth. Seven more fillings at that rate is insane.
- Urgent extraction for an impacted tooth which they are quoting at ₱20,000.
I feel like I'm being milked for money. Because of these sudden, massive costs, I want to completely terminate the contract and back out. I already sent them an inquiry asking for the cancellation process and a cost breakdown. They replied asking for documentation/justification, and the vibe is making me incredibly anxious.
I am more than willing to completely forfeit my ₱20,000 downpayment just to walk away, rather than continue with a treatment plan that is clearly going to cost me an absolute fortune.
My concerns:
My biggest fear: I am paralyzing myself with anxiety thinking they will try to demand that I pay 50% of the total contract price (another ₱20k) just to terminate, even though I've only had the braces for 16 days, have consumed zero monthly adjustments, and am already letting them keep the initial 20k.
Realistically, can a clinic force a patient to pay a massive cancellation penalty for a 16-day-old treatment because the patient is backing out over unfeasible hidden costs?