I'm kind of sad that I even have to leave this review, because I really like the office staff, but I really feel it's necessary. The other reviews here are correct - the staff is pleasant and tends to remember their clientele. The assistants are very talkative and make you feel welcome during procedures. I apologize because this will be a long review, but my main complaint is that this office is FAR too pushy when recommending work, and the doctor seems more concerned with making money than listening to his patients' needs.
I had visited this office several times in 2007-2008ish for cleanings. Due to a skiing accident in my youth, I have lots of problems with my front teeth, top and bottom. Dr. Frugoli told me about veneers, and I told him that although that sounded like a viable option for my future, it would not be something I could afford anytime soon. Regardless, the staff would ask me every single time I scheduled a cleaning, "When would you like to schedule an appointment to start your veneers?" This got to the point where it was embarrasing to continuously tell them I could not afford the work. I felt very pressured and therefore stopped scheduling my cleanings, up until this past year when I really needed to go in.
I went in this May for a cleaning, and of course they asked again about the veneers. I again told them I could not afford it, and probably would not be able to for at least 10 years. During the cleaning, Dr. Frugoli told me that one of my front teeth that previously had a root canal needed a re-treat. Ok. I made an appointment for a cold test and also for the retreat after that. When I went in for the cold test appointment in late July, both teeth on either side of the one in question were tested - they did not respond on the front, but did exhibit a delayed response on the back. Dr. Frugoli said we would need to keep an eye on these teeth, but at this point they were ok.
I went in again in mid-August to complete the retreat, however Dr. Frugoli stated he was unable to complete it and had to do it in two sessions. I was surprised at this because he didn't even look at my tooth before deciding he couldn't finish it. Then he proceeded to cold test the two surrounding teeth again, except this time he only tested the front and immediately concluded that both of these teeth would also need root canals. WHAT?!?!? Two weeks ago he had tested the backs of the teeth and said that wasn't necessary, but this time he didn't even test the back??? I was very suspicious at this point.
They finished my "half root canal" as I like to call it, and brought me up to the receptionist. She explained that since my root canal wasn't able to be completed today, it would change my treatment plan and therefore the cost estimate. She was unable to give me an estimate while I was sitting there, and said she would email it when it was available. This seemed very strange to me; I was not comfortable with the fact that they began working on my tooth when I had no idea what the cost of completion would be. Regardless, I accepted the fact that the estimate would be emailed to me and explained (again) that I was very tight on funding and needed to know this information ASAP so I could re-budget. They offered to set me up on a payment plan, which was very nice of them, but I also explained that when my dental benefits renew in January, I would have much better coverage and would prefer to wait on any additional work.
When I received the estimate via email, I was honestly shocked. They had set up a 5 appointment treatment plan for me, and not until appointment 5 were they planning on finishing the tooth they started on. The first appointment on the treatment plan was to begin root canals on the other two teeth. The total of this treatment plan was almost $3500!! How many times have I told this office that I cannot afford huge amounts like this??? To top it all off, they had already scheduled me an appointment for these two root canals that I clearly told them I was not ready to proceed with. Also, they billed my insurance for an "emergency treatment" - there was no emergency whatsoever. I had a scheduled appointment for a root canal re-treat, which should not have been billed PERIOD until the re-treat was completed.
I went to an endodontist (a root canal specialist) for a second opinion several days later. Not only were those other two root canals unneccessary at the moment, but the endodontist stated that it may even be dangerous to start a root canal on one of the teeth because it looked as if it were calcified. Dr. Frugoli could have put me into a whole new world of trouble with my teeth by starting this like he wanted to.
Now that Dr. Frugoli has used up the majority of my dental benefits by billing for "emergencies" that never existed, I will be paying mostly out of pocket for the endodontist to finish my re-treat. Thanks buddy. read more