I was highly disappointed after leaving my appointment a few short hours ago. I was treated with little to no respect and was given the typical treatment of an "out of pocket" person paying. I do want to express that I am a student (in medical school), I have health insurance but I am waiting until residency for dental. If you want to fault me for not having dental insurance and paying out of pocket, by all means do so. As a student, a lot of things are at the expense of loans; however, I do enjoy having my teeth cleaned at least once per year. I completely agree with a previous post that the staff were not welcoming upon arrival. They were initially running late (roughly an hour) and I had to request at the hour mark how much longer they thought it would be. Upon that request, I was brought back almost immediately. I initially came here because of the $99 cleaning special advertised but I highly recommend going elsewhere and spending a few extra dollars.
I was "lucky" enough to have a first day trainee, and on multiple occasions she made me bleed more than normal. We all have to start somewhere and I by no means fault her, only wish the trainer would have taken charge a few times. At one point, I was accused for the bleeding as it must be 'my dental hygiene practices' not the trainee on her first patient doing something wrong. I explained that the bite wings were more painful than normal and asked her to re-position (moving the inside of my cheeks out of the way) and that the flossing was a lot more forceful than I do at home. When they were blaming me, I explained that I have been to the dentist in the past and my gums have never bled to the point where I was tasting it like this. They only polished my teeth, which I thought was weird but figured they would get to the plaque removal part (debridement) eventually. Every dental cleaning exam I have been to in my life, that has been part of the exam.
The doctor spent less than 30 seconds looking in my mouth. She was there long enough to say "you have no cavities, you may leave." I know my face must have looked shocked. She was gone before I could collect my thoughts. I politely asked the two ladies that did the polishing if someone was going to clear the plaque but they said they weren't dental hygienist and were unable to do that procedure but would ask. I told them I would pay for that extra for that part of the cleaning. They asked the dentist next door "your $99 special wants the plaque removal part" and she agreed to come back.
She probably spent 3-5 min on that procedure and at least 3 times (probably 4) she said "this is completely unnecessary; there is no plaque. You don't need this, I am only doing this because you requested it." I am more than happy if I don't have plaque and have not formed plaque in the previous 8 months but I know that is false. I also feel like I shouldn't feel terrible for asking her to do her job and then pay her for doing her job. I am thankful that she came back after her 10 sec look to do the cleaning.
This is likely a combination of my lack of research, lack of communication, and a very unfortunate office who looks at a person and judges them before they get to know them. I am disappointed that society still acts this way. I understand this dentist may be overworked but to treat people with such disrespect is uncalled for. I did not get angry, rude or obnoxious (I did wince in pain occasionally when I started bleeding); I paid and left (never to come back again). You live, you learn, then you move on and hope you can prevent another from going through the same experience. It could very well be a rare occasion - we all have bad days and no matter how hard we try, we must just start fresh the next day. read more
