We moved to the area so switched our kids to this dentist. They had their first cleanings in…read moreFebruary. My toddler son didn't cooperate for x-rays. We were still charged. We were told our 10 year old needed "sealants" on her molars. I asked the hygienist why she didn't disinfect her teeth before applying the sealant and she said, "they don't need to be disinfected, she just had her cleaning." I said, "But her mouth has bacteria in it. Aren't you just sealing the bacteria in if you don't clean the surface first?" She said, "No, the sealant keeps the teeth clean." I figured the sealant must have some sort of antibacterial property in it, because I am naive and didn't want to argue because I'm not the expert.
My daughter needed teeth pulled. We went in on a Thursday. They put the nasal hood (nose mask) over her nose and turned the machine on. It immediately beeped and shut off. The dentist asked the hygenist why the machine wasn't on and she said, "we ran out." He asked if they have more and she said, "no, we won't get more until Monday." We were still charged for laughing gas even though they didn't even have any in their office.
Fast forward to last week. We came in for our second cleaning here and guess what? They said my 10 year old had a cavity on the surface of her molar UNDER HER SEALANT. They said wasn't visible in person, they said they could only see it on the x-ray. I asked to see the x-ray and it had a bright red mark on it where the "cavity" was. I asked to see the x-ray without the red mark so I could see the cavity and the hygienist said, "that's not possible." Yeah, okay.
The hygienist said, "Ok, for the three cleanings it's $300." I said, "But we have insurance." She said, "I know, that's how insurance works." I said, "What exactly did unsurance cover?" She said, "Nothing. You have a copay plan. $300 is your copay." I said, "But last time it was $25 per child. That was this year. This appointment should be covered since we already paid our copay." She said, "You don't know how insurance works." Now, I'm not an insurance salesman but I was pretty sure I wasn't totally stupid so I said, "Please check again." She did not check again but had another hygienist come in and tell me the same thing. I kept pushing back because they kept insisting that our insurance doesn't cover anything even though they are in-network, even though we had coverage earlier this year and still have active insurance. Finally, one of the receptionists came in and said the same thing- this is how insurance works, you have to pay the copay which is the full price of the appointment. I said, "Then what does insurance cover?" And she said, "It covers two cleanings per year after you pay your copay." I said, "Ok, this is our second cleaning this year. We already paid our copay. This should be covered. Will you please check again?" She said, "No, this is just how your insurance works." Another receptionist came in and again, told me the same thing. I said, "Ok, I'm going to call my insurance," and she said, "WAIT! Let me go to my desk and see what's going on." Then she came back and said, "Oops, you're right. It's all covered, you don't owe anything." I don't know if they were going to charge me AND our insurance.
I, like a naive idiot, scheduled my daughter to have her cavity filled on Monday. They were pushing for us to give my daughter a prescription medication which WE had to pick up from Walgreens then come to the appointment 30 minutes early so they could "administer" this medication to her, and they would charge us $25 to administer it. I asked if I could give it to her myself. Of course not, how would they make money if I give it to her myself? I said, "okay, we aren't going to use the medication." I even texted them last Friday to tell them that we were not going to use the medication and would be there on time, not 30 minutes early as we were not going to need them to administer it. We arrived on time. My daughter said she didn't want laughing gas. The dentist filled the cavity but didn't adjust her bite after the filling so her teeth hit the filling every time she chews. When I went to check out, they said it was $134. I said, "Does that include the medication?" and she said yes. I said, "my daughter didn't use it." At first she said they had to bill me for it even if she didn't end up taking it and I said, "No, we didn't even fill the prescription. I texted the office on Friday and told you that." She said, "Ok, I removed it from the bill." I said, "Wait, did you charge us for laughing gas because she didn't use that either." OF COURSE THEY HAD CHARGED US FOR LAUGHING GAS. And I would have never known if I didn't ask because they didn't itemize their receipts.
THIS PLACE IS A SCAM. I cannot believe they have a single positive review. Take your kids someplace else. :)