How to handle a surprise medical or dental bill

What people tried

Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.

1. 1
   Waiting for the actual bill from the office instead of reacting immediately to the insurance EOB
2. 2
   Calling the office manager to request balance write-offs or clarification
3. 3
   Threatening to contact the state dental board or attorney general office
4. 4
   Ignoring initial or secondary billing statements until corrected

In their words

Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.