Remember when Tom Hanks knocks his rotted tooth out with the blade of an ice skate in Castaway? Go…read moreto Sage only if you don't own ice skates.
I went there on a Friday in April 2026 because I had pain in one of my molars. They looked at my teeth and told me I had a cracked filling. They said they'd put a temp crown on, then do an impression of the tooth & send it to a lab to make a new crown, which would take 1 month.
While I was in the chair, they also started doing a periodontal charting exam - which I didn't ask for & didn't want. They told me I had 'scaling with moderate to severe inflammation,' & advised I'd need a $736 treatment. A web search reveals the grading scale, which shows the 4's the hygienist was calling out require better hygiene, not almost $800 of treatment.
I told them I didn't want all these things done, just my molar fixed. They were very pushy & kept insisting I needed this treatment. I asked if I could pay for part of it - just the crown - & they told me I had to finance the entire amount up front.
Their total plan, before insurance, was $6,386. After insurance, $4,175 for 2 crowns & periodontal disease I don't have. Because I was anxious & in pain, I agreed to the total.
I was thinking in the back of my mind that I'd get the amount approved, then get the molar replaced & refuse the other treatment.
I didn't realize when they said 'approved,' it meant I'd be on the hook for the entire bill - and their finance company charges almost 30% interest.
They did the prep & put in the temp crown & took an impression for the perm one. They told me it'd be 4 weeks before the new crown would be ready.
I called my insurance company Saturday & the rep let me know the crown Sage chose - without consulting me - for $1765 - isn't covered by my insurance, but a comparable one is for $420.
The treatment plan they printed shows the amounts covered, so they knew.
I drove back to Sage Monday morning. I came in with all my notes & I recorded the whole encounter on my (concealed) phone. Georgia code 16-11-66 says it's okay to record if you're part of the conversation.
The office manager tried to get me to go into a private room & I refused. I told her I want an itemized bill, I want the payment plan canceled, & I'll pay for the services already performed. She told me I had to pay the full cost for the crown, $1888.00.
She told me they were charging me the full amount even though I told her that wasn't acceptable because it had been less than a full business day since the crown was ordered, & the impression taken would've had to be shipped to the lab where the permanent crown is fabricated. I told her I'd pay the shipping if she could produce a bill of lading.
She rambled on about talking to their compliance dept & she couldn't take that money off the bill or cancel the financing agreement until she spoke with various people w/in her company. She said it would depend on if my insurance paid at the time of ordering or seating the crown.
At that point she didn't know I was recording. When I pulled my phone out of my purse and videotaped her she was very angry & told me that's illegal, it won't hold up in court, blah blah blah. I gave the GA code number for 1 party consent. She then told me to leave, that I was aggressive, and when I turned and warned the patients (calmly, without raising my voice) in the waiting room to watch out for unnecessary services & items being added to their bill, she told the receptionist to call 911.
I left & called my ins co. They said Sage put in a claim saying the crown had already been made. It hadn't, they don't have the capability to fabricate crowns in 1 day.
A couple days after this incident, I got an email from Sage Dental telling me I'd only have to pay for the core buildup that was done to my tooth if I signed a waiver basically agreeing not to sue them.
Yelp doesn't give enough space for me to give the rest of the story, but I'm pretty sure the only reason I got my money back is because I recorded the conversation.
If you have no other option but to go to Sage Dental, make sure you don't get pressured into signing a treatment plan or financing agreement. If you have dental insurance, ask your insurance company to email you a copy of the plan benefits - which should include an itemized list of what they cover and the codes for each service - and bring it with you to any appointment. Double check that you're getting what's covered. See if there's a less expensive but comparable alternative. If they tell you that you have periodontal disease, get a second opinion if you can.
Or maybe buy some ice skates.
Dentistry is yet another victim of end-stage capitalism, and has degenerated into an experience akin to buying a used car from a slimy salesman. The predatory, profit-driven behavior is all about charging you as much as they can to make commissions.
