To be clear, the assignments we are offering are right now are payment fee + a services reimbursement. We are also discussing some other potential solutions to make these shops more accessible to shoppers. Thanks for all of your feedback!

I will be going to the Salt Lake City area soon. I'm planning on picking up one of these. I don't have any insurance, so it would be a real benefit for me. I talked to my daughter and her spouse about it, and they said the same thing others here have said -- their insurances cover routine care with no out of pocket.

I would need a fee of at least $50 to consider it on top of the reimbursement. It takes time. And then how many times can you get your teeth cleaned?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/02/2017 07:01PM by dulcew.

Please contact me as i would be interested klstern@yahoo.com

I would be interested in these type of shops, but only if a fee of $50 or more was being offered.

@klstern wrote:

Please contact me as i would be interested

This is posted on the job board and the thread here lists the MSC, I would hesitate in posting private info on a forum. I would instead apply via the MSC.

I haven't signed up for these because I get two cleanings a year through my insurance. I'm not sure getting additional cleanings and exams would ever be worth it to me. Plus I'm skeptical of dentists. When we moved, I took my kids to a new dentist. The guy said both my kids had cavaties. This was a first, so I took them back to the old dentist four hours north when we were in town and guess what, no cavaties!! Thankfully we are back in our city and continue to see our dentist twice a year and still, none of my kids have had any dental work outside of cleanings.

I wish I could do insurance fraud mystery shops. I did complain to my insurance about the dentist who tried to put my kids through the fillings but they didn't seem all that concerned.

One reason may be that the pay is the lowest that I have seen. Also, every time that I have completed one of these shops they will not di the cleaning on the same day.

i'm in colorado. would love to perform these!!!!!

There are so many other shops that pay decent money, I think there would have to be absolutely no other shops around for me to do a reimbursement only dental shop. My insurance pays for cleanings twice a year so to come out of pocket for fees and then not get paid for the report doesn't make sense.

Personally I would be interested if I did not have insurance, the total fee was covered and preferably not charged at all and I could go directly to the part with the teeth cleaning. Having a full exam from a dentist first and then coming back for a cleaning as others have said is too time consuming. I do need 4 cleanings a year and have been paying out of pocket for the 2nd two which are not covered so in the past I would not have minded doing this just for the cleanings...now I have secondary insurance though. I have seen and purchased teeth cleanings, exam and xrays on groupon for $30-35. These are dentists evidently looking for new business. So if they are available where your jobs are perhaps shoppers there without insurance use groupons rather than spend several hours plus a report.

There would be reluctance in putting out $100+ for reimbursement. period. You would have to be a reputable company for me to lay out over $25 on a reimbursement. You hear too many stories of non-payment and then you are out the $100+.

Yes, there should be a shopper fee for our time. Definitely. In the health arena, I've only seen $40 and up when you have to give out your real personal information like you would at a Dr's appointment.

I have seen these posted and received the emails. I have a great dentist already first of all. You need a shopper that hasn't visited the dentist in a while. Hopefully most people see a dentist regularly, but I know there are many people that don't. Usually the people that don't have fears of visiting the dentist so they are not going to jump on this shop.

If someone sees a dentist regularly, they have had X-rays in the last year or two. It is contraindicated to have too much radiation in the form of X-rays and I saw this was a requirement of the shop. Edit: I saw the f/u post that said X-rays can be opted out of...this was not clear in the emails. It looked like it was required.

This is your problem: you have effectively knocked out potential shoppers in the regular dentist-visitor category because of the X-ray requirement. Your other category is the Afraid-of-Dentist Shopper and I don't think any kind of reimbursement could motivate that person.

There are also some challenging photos required. I am a 15+ year shopper but after I peeked they sound challenging to get without someone catching on that you are the shopper.

You need the shopper that wants to care for their teeth but has no dental insurance. I don't know how big that category is.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/03/2017 12:38PM by Iguana.

I did not see in the shop email where it said you can opt out of the X ray. You should make that clear. It stated X ray was required.

I have an established relationship with my dentist and doctor. I'm not going to interfere with that just to complete a shop.

@ShopSouthTexas wrote:

I haven't signed up for these because I get two cleanings a year through my insurance. I'm not sure getting additional cleanings and exams would ever be worth it to me. Plus I'm skeptical of dentists. When we moved, I took my kids to a new dentist. The guy said both my kids had cavaties. This was a first, so I took them back to the old dentist four hours north when we were in town and guess what, no cavaties!! Thankfully we are back in our city and continue to see our dentist twice a year and still, none of my kids have had any dental work outside of cleanings.

I wish I could do insurance fraud mystery shops. I did complain to my insurance about the dentist who tried to put my kids through the fillings but they didn't seem all that concerned.

Report him to the board. They would be very concerned about it.

FWIW, the last time I went to a new dentist for a cleaning. I was x-rayed, and the doctor checked out my teeth and told me how many fillings I needed. I asked about just getting a cleaning & I was told there was an appointment available in 6 months. I have no clue where your dentists are located but none around here will schedule an appointment for a cleaning until you are an established patient.

Oh, the chain of Dental places popping up everywhere, they do not care at all about cleanings they want to pull all your teeth out for a full set of dentures. I have dental insurance but it won't pay $9K for a full set of dentures. Its really hard to find a dentist to trust in this day and time.

In the past, whenever MSC representatives have posted in the forum discussions, I believe they were required to have a tagline stating their real name, position, and company they were representing. Odd that this rep posted the job on our website with the MSC name but wouldn't divulge the information in this thread.

Do you know if it:s any dentist mystery shop here in Memphis Tennessee?

The wait time in any doctor's office is always considerable. I would have to allow at least 3 hours for this one shop before I could schedule my next one. Too much time out of my day. On top of that, what if the shop is rejected? That's a lot of lost time that could end in no fee and no reimbursement for an expensive procedure. Where's the upside? It's a gamble I wouldn't make for less than $200.

The ones I've seen have a fee and limited reimbursement (max $25). I'm thinking about it as I don't have dental insurance any more (Medicare does not provide it) and it's time for the annual checkup. The fee sounds reasonable for the work required (I've looked at the survey form). Why wouldn't you do it?

Most of us are saying the same thing, the fee is not enough for the time involved.

@aynur wrote:

"Reimbursement for new patient cleaning, exam and x-rays (up to $59)"

Well when I go to the dentist, all of that would be $300+ as a new patient.

I would think (hope) the low reimbursement is because the dentist has a special new patient deal for $59.

I have done a couple the last time I got free cleaning and 150.00. The write up is detailed but not difficult. You can only do one a year.

I did this job for a company, where you are supposed to get your teeth cleaned, x-rays and an exam. I did it all correctly, called and said I needed my teeth CLEANED, had not been to the dentist in a while, was self pay, no insurance. I got a price for the new patient discount exam and x-rays AND for the cleaning. The MSC would have reimbursed me to a huge amount for all these services. But the fine print says that the services have to be performed on that shopping visit, of course right? No kidding,

So, I got to the dentist office, got the exam, a ton of x-rays done, met the dentist, he made recommendations. And then, I think, ok lets get this cleaning done. Nope, the hygienist sits me up, removed the bib and says "lets go get you SCHEDULED for that cleaning!" I said that I had called FOR a cleaning, why wasn't it being done. They said the doctor likes to see you first, see if you need anything special, a deep cleaning or scaling or repairs first. So we never schedule the cleaning the same day, would you like to come back on Thursday? I have an opening FML! I said can't you fit me in today (because only TODAY do I get reimbursed), I can wait, I took the day off work for this, can come back even? No, the earliest we could do would be Thursday.

So I sat through 16 x-rays, had four staff interactions to note, filled out a ton of paperwork to register as a new patient, and did NOT get my teeth cleaned. So if you decide to do this shop, to make it worth all the work be sure that they will clean your teeth in the same day visit as your cheapo exam. If not, you will be walking out with a sore mouth and dirty teeth.

I would love to do something like this. But I don't know what company offers them.

A post in this thread has a link to a job posting.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/04/2017 02:32PM by JASFLALMT.

@dbakst wrote:

I am a representative of the company. We have had a hard time getting shoppers to sign up for the assignments and we are trying to figure out why. There is no video required, and when I say "free" I mean the shopper gets a complete reimbursement for the assignment, and in some instances can receive an additional bonus. For these assignments, you can bring in your child and allow them to receive the cleaning/exam as long as you stay in the exam room, and you can opt out of completing the x-ray if you are uncomfortable doing that numerous times. We have completed like-minded healthcare jobs in the past, but are now trying to assess why shoppers seem resistant to signing up for these specific dental shops.

So, is it true you are not paying a fee for the "free" shop? If so, I think that's a big part of your answer.

Why are you not paying a fee for the shop?

There is a $50 fee. I looked at the job board posting.

I went to the MSC website a few days ago. At that point some had the fee, others were still reimbursement only with the reimbursement just $59. So not a real high value shop.