This practice chronically overbooks (5 people for the same time slot), and the manager/receptionist…read morewill try to gaslight you into thinking it's a normal and professional practice. I wish I had read the other reviews before booking because three others have complained about the same issue.
A month ago, I realized I had a broken filling and wanted to take care of it before it became painful. I was thrilled they could squeeze me in on the same day to fix it. They took a full mouth of X-rays, then fixed my tooth. Awesome. As they are within walking distance of my job and they take my insurance, I booked a cleaning for July 19.
On July 19, I arrived at least five minutes early for my appointment. I checked in and waited five or so minutes in the reception area. A few people came out of the clinical area to reception and started arguing with the receptionist about suction. I thought that was unprofessional, but needed my cleaning so I sat. The receptionist came over to me and explained there was an issue with suction and they needed to reschedule me. I booked for the following week during my lunch hour (1 pm).
Before I left my office, I called the dental office to see if everything was ok, running on time, etc. I had arrived at the office before anyone picked up (my phone said I was on for 8 minutes).
I showed up on time for my appointment and waited a few minutes and then the hygienist called me in. She put a bib on me and had me gargle with mouthwash. She was confused about why I was there because she said I had had a cleaning the last time I was in. I said, no, it was just the x-rays and filling. (I confirmed with my insurance company that they billed for a cleaning.) Then she walked out without saying anything.
I sat for maybe 10 or more minutes in the chair wondering what was going on. I got up, looked into the other exam rooms (which were open and close to each other, recognized the hygienist working on someone, and asked what was going on. She told me there were several patients in front of me and that it would "be a minute." I asked, "OK, I know it's not literally a minute. Approximately how long?" She said she couldn't tell me. I told her that I was there on my lunch hour and that I only had -an hour-. Fed up, I tore my bib off and walked to the reception area.
I asked the receptionist if the dentist was the owner because I wanted to talk to someone about this. She said no, someone else was. I said something about how a long wait like this is ridiculous. She said there were four people ahead of me and I would have to wait. I asked how long and she said it would be a while, refusing to even give me an estimate. I complained that they should have told me there would be a long wait when I arrived. She said that they had four people ahead of me and I said something like, "Why would you overbook like that when you know you can't accommodate everyone?" She said it was what they said and that it was normal practice. I told her that I am 48 years old and have never experienced this at a dentist. I have experienced it with physicians, but not all the time, and almost all the time they run behind, they tell you. (In fact, at my OB/GYN, the office recommended booking for the first appointment of the day or the first appointment after lunch.) Not only that, I told her I see patients myself and would never book two people in one appointment because it is impossible to treat two people at once.
Given that a dental cleaning takes around 20 minutes, why would they book five people simultaneously? I can imagine they have that many people coming in every half hour because she had offered me appointments on the hour and the half-hour when I scheduled this and the previous canceled appointment.
She kept insisting that booking this many people at once was normal. I told her they should have called me last week before my appointment to let me know about the suction and need to reschedule. She lied and said she did. (I checked my phone- they did not call me other than to confirm the day before.)
I wanted to speak to a manager; lo and behold, she is also the manager. She said, "Do you want to keep your appointment?" I said, "No way." She asked, "Do you want to cancel your appointment?" I said, "Yes, and I'm not coming back here!"
The receptionist said that she was also the manager. I can't believe a manager would treat a patient like that. She could have said, "I'm so sorry, we're running behind today. Would you like to reschedule?" Instead, she treated me like I had outrageous expectations.
Do they think their patients have nowhere else to be so they can sit around for an hour or more for a simple visit? Do they not care that we have jobs? Apparently, not.
Upon returning to my office, I called my insurance company to lodge a complaint.