I've hesitated to give a bad review. But, if I don't warn other people, problem dentists will continue to be able to get away with things. I've run into crooked dentists in the USA, and while living outside of the USA.
I trusted Dr. Roach, and found him to warrant that trustworthiness for the five years that I saw him, while living in Austin. My dental insurance has changed, I've since moved around, etc. The last time I went to Dr. Roach was in 2016, to get another opinion on a tooth that my downtown Austin dentist said needed half-crown, the prior week.
Actually, Dr. Roach was my fourth's dentist's opinion on the same tooth over a 6-month period, while I was traveling - 1. "cavity", 2. "non-urgent cavity", 3. "half-crown" in Downtown Austin, 4. Dr. Roach visit in NW Austin. I brought my dental x-rays with me, etc.
Before looking at the x-rays, Dr. Roach said there was another tooth in my mouth that needed a filling. As I was protesting, I found him shooting me up with novocaine, and going to work on the tooth. Cha-Ching! Then, he asked me why I still had my wisdom teeth, recommending that he pull them. Cha-Ching! Then, he looked at the tooth I came in for.
Instead of a half-crown, Dr. Roach said it needed a whole crown. Cha-Ching! When I questioned him, he said it was because the tooth had a filling with decay around it. He also said that the tooth next to it had a cavity. Cha-Ching! He was so aggressive with me, along with his reception staff.
I made up an excuse, that I needed to come back another day, etc., for the additional dental work. They called to follow up, pushing me to come in, etc. I made up an excuse, finally, when the receptionist didn't seem to want to take my polite no for an answer. The crown was going to be about $1,400! Plus the filing!
I went back to the first dentist in downtown Austin for the half-crown, instead. Way less with my insurance too, around $200. But, first, I asked him if I needed a whole crown, and additional filling, passing on what Dr. Roach recommended. Fortunately, this downtown Austin dentist was honest. He told me, "I don't see any filling on that tooth (nor add'l decay), and I don't see a cavity in the tooth next to it." He repeated this twice to reassure me. Fortunately, he was honest. (Although, pretty rough on my mouth. But, I'll take rough over dishonesty.)
It was so odd to me that Dr. Roach really became aggressive with me this last visit, saying I needed additional work on my teeth. Cha-Ching! I've run into this with other dentists as well. Even to the point of telling me I had 5 or 6 cavities without even looking at my x-rays and just tapping on my teeth with the back of their dental pick (in another country). Turned out I only had one small cavity per another dentist I saw the following week.
My dental solution now has been to change my diet according to a researcher dentist, Dr. Weston A. Price, to try to avoid cavities in the future. Especially, since I'm only in Austin part-time to make it to the honest, downtown Austin dentist. I gave him a decent review, because I really appreciated his honesty. Although, I also hesitate to recommend him here, because he was so rough on my mouth, which I also mentioned in the review in a nice way. He's still fairly young. Although, he may not stay as honest - oy vey!
I think they should do a 60-Minutes on rip-off dentists. I've been to 9 dentists in the last 6 years. And, all but the downtown Austin dentist has tried to rip me off, or sell me something I haven't needed. Scary! read more