Fare evasion

U can say whatever u want but in the end, dentistry is still a business. Dentists still need to pay bills and kids' school fees.

So when patients come in, we normally inform them of the cost and ask them to pay on the day.
Of course sometimes u get dodgy ppl coming in, getting work done then say eg. they forgot their wallet in the car and so on so on...then never come back to pay

Interestingly this is how some dentists dealt with it
The dentist numbed the patient up with LA and then asked the patient to go get money before any treatment was carried out. If they run away, u only lose one LA. Save urself some trouble.

Imagine me saying this to patients...

"......Mr. X I'll make u a deal. I'll give u LA for FREE and let u go back to grab ur wallet. This LA is like a 2hrs tram ticket so please come back to see me before it expires......"

Fare evasion is the same, be it Tram or dental work, except while u may get away with not having tram ticket, dental consequence is instant and guaranteed at the moment LA wears off.