I went to this dentist for the first time few days ago, chose to go here since they have good reviews. I was in a lot of pain couple of days before I visited and wanting to get a consultation to figure out what's going on.
There was confusion about my appointment even after I told the receptionist over email of why I wanna come in for consultation prior to the appt. They insisted they have me for new patient so I need to go thru the service which is cleaning, Xray and consultation. They told me there and then it would cost $500. Wasn't aware of this, I told them I can't do cleaning today since I'm in 10/10 in pain.
There was a lot of waiting and then they did the X-ray. Waited again. Then the dentist came in, I thought I would get a run down of the X-ray review but, I didn't. She started poking the area where it hurts, i told her I can't pin point it because everywhere seems to hurt. Most pain is at the upper left corner tho.
She concluded that it's my wisdom tooth coming out and ended the consultation there. I asked a couple of questions before she leaves, if there are other tooth that's problematic on the same side, she said it all looks good. Just need the wisdom tooth removed.
In total, consultation only lasted total 5mins. This is not including the long waiting time on the chair:
They told me at the desk that I'll have to pay up front and they'll send the receipts to my insurance, which is fine. I wish they told me this upfront tho.
They made a referral to an extraction clinic, told them it would be best if they can say it's urgent and expedite since I'm in a lot of pain. Dentist gave me prescription for the pain and says they are not sure when I'm gonna get a call so just keep taking the meds til they run out and wait for the call.
I paid total of $220 for the unsatisfactory service. Had to email them back to send me Xray copies and receipt. Haven't heard back from the referral after 2days and I'm still in a lot of pain. Told me to just keep taking the meds.
I ended up directly contacting a clinic (TEMFS) to book a wisdom tooth removal and they told me the X-rays from Balsam Dental were no good and they would need a set of better X-rays. Doesn't even show my wisdom tooth area. I am scheduled right away for the extraction after the call.
Basically, I could've totally skipped the step of visiting Balsam and not pay more than average dental fees just for a 5-min consultation and some X-rays that are no good.
The staff are nice but I didn't find them attentive. Also, the fee is higher than standard and i don't think it's fair. I expected more clarity and info from them, but sadly not provided during the service.
I had high hopes and really wanted to like this clinic, hoping I can come in often since I'm close by, but NO. I don't think I'll be coming back. read more