TOTAL SCAM! This dentist was good a while back but now they've changed owners and told me my cleanings were more than double because I have periodontal disease. Brushed flossed and even more to get rid of it, they said I still need it. Their dental plan they sell I purchased and STILL expensive. I gave up and found a better reviewed dentist my mother has used for years. Total they said no I have no signs of the disease and questioned why they said I have it! Athens Smiles then sends me another bill for what we already paid plus their plan renewal. Then submitted it against my credit which I'm disputing it. Will be reporting them to the BBB. Don't get scammed like I have and many in reviews below! read more

I went to this place knowing a friend of mine pays $300 a year for 2 cleanings without insurance. I called ahead to ask if they took my insurance and when they said yes scheduled an appointment. Imagine my surprise when I go to check out and they charge me $212 for my cleaning even though my insurance covers 2 cleanings a year. I told the lady at the front desk that can't be right. She seemed nice and she went on and on about how she hates insurance because they're scammy. To be honest I was in shock and stressed out from being at the dentist so I just charged it but I very much regret it now- I was using my Medicaid dental insurance so I really can't afford a surprise $212 cleaning but I didn't know what else to do. After this they billed me an addition $226 putting my total bill at $438 for my cleaning. After the headache of going back and forth- I finally got an itemized receipt and went through it line by line. They had added on a mysterious service that costed over $500. I looked it up and it was basically them looking at my gums. I wrote in an email explaining I didn't consent to anything more than a teeth cleaning. I explained I had my bases covered with my insurance before I ever walked in there. I did all the math and I should've only paid them $52 based on my insurance and what I had done. Took about a month for them to drop the second charge of $226 after multiple calls and emails. At this point they still needed to refund me $150. When I FINALLY got the office manager Diane on the phone she told me my insurance wasn't in network. I told her I obviously checked with her office to make sure I was in network before booking. She said their office can't tell if my insurance was in network or not prior to coming. Now I've been to plenty of dentists and doctors and I've never had a facility try to dodge accountability so hard like this. I told her even if what she's saying was true - the fact is her office told me I was covered and if they didn't know they should've told me when I asked up front. I would've never scheduled with them if they had told me they had to wait until after my cleaning to find out if my insurance worked- also I have Anthem lol. They know if they take it or not. They know what insurance works and what doesn't. I want to believe it was somehow a mistake but now that I've read other people's reviews I know it can't be a mistake if they do this over and over again. It's truly predatory the way they lied to me to get me in there and then added over $500 in services I didn't ask for to my bill on top of it. I've never written a bad review in my life but I hope people read the bad reviews before coming here because this place is set up to exploit you. I cannot believe I paid $212 plus my monthly premium for a teeth cleaning. I would've saved $158 if I paid out of pocket (including my premium). What a joke. I've never experienced anything like this in my life. I will likely be taking legal action because I don't want other people to experience this and there needs to be accountability for actions like this. It's not a huge amount of money but it's scary to go through the reviews and see how many other people had this experience and just pay it and move on. read more

Worst experience with a dentist ever. Charge patients twice. Tell patients to use their insurance when there was no insurance left or charged both insurance and patients. Went in for a filling and was not numbed properly, she didn't wait the allowed time for gum to get numbed and dentist ran the drill across another tooth that she wasn't working on deliberately. Maybe because I told her assistant that I hated when she came in with the needle. Not a nice dentist..... read more

I ended up switching to this dentist last year because I needed one in my network. I love them. They are wonderful and very understanding about my finances and are working with me on getting my teeth fixed up. I also had an emergency issue a couple weeks ago and they got me in quickly and helped me figure put a solution that I could afford. read more

BEWARE these people are scammers. They will try to tell you your insurance isn't any good and you should sign up for their "program". The girl behind the front desk tried in vain to get me to do this and then someone came from the back and said she couldn't tell me how much a cleaning was because I might need a deep cleaning. I said ok I'll just get a cleaning and she said they couldn't clean my teeth without X-rays and I'd have to pay $460 and sign up for their program. I have good dental insurance! And this dental clinic is in the network. I walked out. My old dentist isn't in the network but I'm going back to him. He's honest and trustworthy. read more

Very friendly staff, great with kids, had good Covid measures in place such as taking temperature at the door. Overall great environment, staff and dental care read more

New to the area, just started grad school here at UGA and cane in for a routine cleaning. Coming to the dentist is always unnerving, but I was met with nothing but kindness and comfort!! The technicians do a great job, the workers and dentists are extremely nice, the workspace is very well kept and clean, and the people here really know what they're doing! I've never enjoyed the dentist, but I would come back here every time for a clean-up if I could!! read more

My husband went to Athens Smiles after having a bad experience at the last dental practice. After 4 visits to the office, he still does not have any filling completed. They are not willing to fit you in in a timely manner (even when you are in pain) and have been very difficult to deal as a whole. I spoke to Nicki at the front desk several times and she is short and impatient over the phone. My last conversation was with Mandy (Manager) and she thinks its a communication issue. I do not think this is the case. If you have an appointment and you sit for over an hour, it is bad customer service. It appears that patients are over booked and not a priority. We will not return here. read more

I went to Athens Smiles to replace a crown that had broken. They were very friendly and helpful. The procedure went well and I was very happy with the results. They also are in network for the ACC School District dental insurance. I will be going back to get all of my dental services there in the future. I would give it five stars, but the new patient paperwork was a bit cumbersome and repetitive. Other than that everything was top notch. read more

I am new to the Athens area and saw Athens Smiles had good reviews, so I decided to try them. My initial appointment for a cleaning a few months ago seemed relatively smooth and the receptionist and my hygienist were very kind. After being told I had a small cavity, I scheduled an appointment to return. They told me I may need an additional part (cost $53) on top of my cavity filling (about $80) but that they wouldn't know until they did the filling. I went in today for the filling and was less impressed. I typically like to be walked through a procedure (letting me know it's going well, almost done, etc) and my dentist seemed very standoffish. She was also about 10 minutes late so I sat in the chair with numbing gel in my mouth until she got there. She didn't apologize, nor did she really say anything to me. A few times during the procedure I was getting uncomfortable and no one asked how I was doing. Then when I checked out, I was charged for that additional part but of course, that was not communicated until I asked at check out. It was just a mediocre appointment & I definitely would have appreciated a little bit more guidance and thoughtfulness through the procedure, as I am not a huge fan of dentist appointments. The receptionist, however, is so kind and made the end of the experience better. read more

I was very disappointed with my experience with Athens Smiles and I would not recommend that anyone receive dental work there. I went in as a new patient having no insurance. I had learned of their insurance policy where you can pay $275 a year for free xrays and two free cleanings, among some other benefits. When I went, I told them I was there for a cleaning. They took probably about 30 xrays of my entire mouth which is never a fun experience with my bad gag reflux. I sat there gagging and they continued to make me gag while getting their 30+ pictures of my teeth. Then the hygienist did the exam by testing my gums. She then told me that I was on the verge of gum disease in my whole mouth, and that one quadrant of my mouth was already at the gum disease point. They measure it my millimeters and they told me I had mostly 3's, and some 4's and 5's. The dentist then came in to confirm what the hygienist already told me: that I would need a special deep cleaning to fix the gum disease. Of course this treatment plan was not covered by the insurance I had just purchased with them, and they stated that it would cost me $282, even with the 25% off I received through their insurance. It would have been closer to $500, but they would use one of my free cleanings to cover it, meaning that I would only have one left for the year. They also wanted me to come in again for the deep cleaning, and then about a month later for another regularly cleaning, meaning that about two months into my insurance plan I would have used up both of my free cleanings. Mind you, I am 23 years old and have gone to the dentist religiously every 6 months for my entire life and I brush twice a day and floss daily. I never have bleeding gums or any other symptoms of gum disease. I thought this seemed fishy, so I told them I wanted to decline that treatment and just take advantage of my regular cleaning that I had already paid for. They of course told me I couldn't do that. I spoke to the receptionist and the office manager, both of whom kept telling me that I had gum disease, this was a very serious thing, and they could lose their license. I talked to my previous dentist who told me there was no way I had gum disease, and I threatened to go back to him. They told me if that dentist was willing to risk their license then that was fine, but that they weren't. The office manager, Diane, even told me, "if you were my sister, I would tell you to get this treated because this is a very serious thing." I told them I felt they were ripping me off, and that I didn't have gum disease. They continued to tell me my numbers would suggest otherwise. They eventually gave me $82 back of my $275 since I told them I would not be going there. I then went to another dentist in Athens who not only confirmed that I did not have gum disease or anywhere close to that, but that they figured I had come from Athens Smiles because they had other patients say the same thing about them. I am extremely disappointed that Athens Smiles would do that to their patients, and disgusted that they are allowed to continue practicing dentistry. I would highly recommend staying far away from them as it seems to be a huge scam. I have no idea how they got 4.9/5 stars, but my experience was definitely not that. read more