Please be very cautious going to this location. I have had two appointments this week with this Stillwater location. I had been to the West St. Paul Aspen a year ago (when I lived closer) for some tooth pain and swelling/mouth sores. And they did exactly what any patient hopes a dentist would do... they listened. They were able to extract a tooth that was causing me bad swelling and pain. They listened to me with me and worked with me, before and after the extraction. They gave me prescriptions for a really good mouthwash, some antibiotics that were necessary so my swelling would not spread, and a few days of Tylenol 3 for the pain. After a few weeks of the mouthwash and antibiotics, the swelling went away and there was no infection! I was so happy to be able to chew again, talk easier again, all without pain. Anybody who has had a major dental issue will tell you it takes the joy out of literally everything you do in life until it is addressed.
From the moment I stepped in at Aspen Stillwater I felt like I had a barcode across my forehead- 90% of the time was just paperwork and signing releases and going over insurance costs to see how much I could pay up front. I opted to extract another tooth this time as well, rather than try to repair it- it was so painful I just wanted it out. No sleeping, eating, and I did not call out sick or anything for the 3-4 days I had this painful mouth sore on my tongue where my upper molar was cutting my tongue and swelling it. The first appointment I get to see the doctor. I let them know I was in the system, just for a different location- and I had the same chief complaint this time, just with a different tooth causing the infection. After they took my debit card info, they said I could leave and come back tomorrow for the extraction. I had to ask the office staff if I could get an antibiotic, she asked the doctor and he said he would send it to my pharmacy in Oakdale.
Being winter, the roads were pretty bad- my pharmacy was 30 minutes away with traffic. When I arrived, they said they had not received anything yet. That's okay, I figured maybe they were busy and didn't get a chance to send it over. So I waited. I called back an hour later, and they said they had sent it, but sometimes it may take time to show up on Walgreens end (this was a lie). Okay... waited another hour, it still was not there, so I went home with a jaw that was tender from the swelling and potentially spreading infection. Turns out, they had called and left a voicemail on my wife's phone. They called her as she was my "emergency contact" (they did not attempt to call me) and said on the voicemail that something was wrong with the system sending over digital prescriptions. She said on the voicemail they would have to write out a paper prescription and that I could grab that on the way out after my extraction that next day. After another sleepless night, I went back for my extraction appointment. I honestly thought they were going to be apologetic about me being stuck at the pharmacy for so long with no call, they did not even mention it. After the extraction, the doctor said if there was pain or swelling to take ibuprofen and he walked out, they handed me some paperwork and left me so they could get to the next patient. No written prescription even existed. I called back for the last time after a few hours later of no sleep or food- and asked if they could send through an antibiotic- the office staff put me on hold, came back and said the Dr. said that the tooth that was infected was just pulled, so I should not have any pain or discomfort. I said I did indeed, and if the infection spread to my tongue or other parts of my mouth it wasn't going to just go away with the tooth- I really needed something to knock down the infection. She sighed, put me on hold again, and asked me what pharmacy they could send it to. Low and behold, they did send it that time! Turns out third time is a charm as long as you do all of the legwork. The Amoxicillin they sent, after a pill every few hours, really started to cut down the swelling and helped with the pain. Just like it did with Aspen West St. Paul. Except Aspen West St. Paul was proactive to help me and not reactive like Stillwater. It's a real headscratcher why they didn't even suggest an antibiotic in the first place? I figure it is either gross medical negligence, a greenhorn dentist, or just as bad- if not worse, the dentist just had a callous indifference about his so-called "patients".
This place only cares about money in dentistry and belongs inside one of those big box stores next to the bathrooms, and feels so much more like a car dealership than it does a professional dentist. They are clever in their deception however; they were smart enough to have me pay for the following two visits at the same time. However, I will not be going back for those appointments, and they can keep their money. read more