My child has liked going to the dentist (they play Netflix shows during the appointments, so this has been a good selling feature for the kid), however, my experiences with the office have all been either completely unremarkable or really unpleasant. However, as the experiences weren't harmful, we continued with the practice because my child did at least enjoy going to the dentist enough that it wasn't an ordeal for them.
We used Al-Aswad dental for several years, because the fact that my child enjoyed going to the dentist was enough of a positive for me to deal with some of the more negative experiences that I have had from an administrative experience. At the very first appointment, I was glad I happened to check the receipt before leaving, as they initially included a charge for a treatment I'd specifically turned down.
The staff are all pleasant enough, they worked well with my kid. Dr. Al-Aswad was good at explaining things to my child as they went through the cleaning process, especially for the first few appointments.
However, my own interactions with her often felt condescending and pedantic, particularly if my own opinion about something differed from her recommendation. And from some of the earliest appointments, she was very quick to start mentioning how my child would absolutely, definitely need braces or a spacer, and that it would definitely require extraction (note that this is before all the baby teeth were even fully in, let alone permanent teeth). After several appointments, I got a surprise estimate of costs from my dental insurer telling me how much these things were covered...despite us NOT expressing interest in pursuing this avenue at that point. When I called to express my concern about them submitting these coverage requests, I was basically told that they do it "as a service to us" and after I advised them that I can research coverage myself (or request their assistance IF needed), I was informed that they "don't need our permission to submit this" (which tells me that this request wasn't necessarily being done as a service to us but so that they could see how much our coverage was for the procedure(s) ). This further soured my opinion of the practice, as all the dental office needs to know is that they will be paid. They do not need to know my benefit coverage for a service that we haven't agreed to, and if they're requesting it as a service to me, it should only be requested if we're looking to pursue the procedure and if we want to find out the coverage.
The final straw was when I was advised that I couldn't accompany my child into the exam room for the last appointment. They stated that since the exam doors are kept open, I'm welcome to peek in throughout the appointment (which, as I thought on it later, bothered me from a patient privacy perspective, to restrict parents from the room but to allow them to walk over to check in, passing other open rooms as they come and go). I indicated that as the parent, I would be present to be my child's medical advocate, and was informed "what if we told you it's our policy that parents do not come into the room." When I informed her that I would be finding another dentist, I was advised that this was the policy at ALL dentists.
We did stay for the cleaning, as my child needed one, and they conceded to my coming in halfway through. I found this sudden shift in their process bothersome, especially since my child has never been problematic in the appointments while I'm present and I have never done anything beyond be present. So I remained in view where I could see and hear the appointment until I was "invited" in. I was especially annoyed how at the end of the appointment, Dr. Al-Aswad indicated that she likes to "instill independence" in the patient (child!). It is not THEIR job to teach my child independence (they are very much so, however, a child should not have to be their own medical advocate in an appointment).
When I got home, I quickly found two dental practices that welcome and encourage parents to remain in the room with their children, one of which is the dentist that I see (who seemed genuinely surprised that I would ask the question of whether we were welcome in the examination room!). read more
