Dr. Grace is a charmer and I was inclined to buy into everything he was telling me. The first thing I explained was that I was on a tight budget, but regardless, soon I was opening my wallet wider than my mouth. In the end, it was too much and I had to go elsewhere for treatment. Here's my experience...
I came with a decades old filling that disintegrated and split my tooth and so I needed an extraction and implant. Before I could get treated, I had to consent to spend $400+ dollars to have x-rays, molds, photos and even video of my entire mouth. Then three cleanings, each over $200, because apparently it was necessary. But I do have to say that, Nancy, who did the cleanings was awesome. I'd go back to her in a heartbeat.
Okay... So, finally I think I'm at the end of the rainbow--certainly I'm almost at the end of my money--and now at last, Dr. Grace can deal with the tooth in question.
So, for this part it's important to know that I first found Dr. Grace by Googling "dental implants". His ad came up #1. Advertising dental implants for $2,499, and that's for the ENTIRE procedure including abutment and crown. It's an amazing offer, but try to get Dr. Grace to honor it. Or even come close.
In my case, they referred me to an outside periodontist for a tooth extraction and implant, one they apparently have some relationship with, and the implant alone was quoted to me at $4,400. That's *without* the abutment and crown.
That was outrageous to me--highway robbery--and needless to say, I'm DONE with Dr. Grace.
So, I'm out all that diagnostic money and went to Aspen Dental in Hanover. I couldn't believe the difference. No bullshit, they quoted me a fair price, thousands lower than Dr. Grace and associates, and moreover, I had complete confidence that they weren't just about picking my pockets. I was charged nothing for the consult and nothing for an x-ray of my tooth. They did the extraction and a bone graft, made a flipper for me, and locked in a fair price for the implant, abutment and crown. My new dentist, Dr. Aaron Burnett, is a godsend and without him I'd be screwed.
The Hanover Aspen Dental does everything in house. Extractions, implants and even a lab where temp solutions, like a dental flipper, are crafted right there in a matter of hours. It makes a huge difference and the quality of their work is outstanding.
It all comes down to this. When you go to the dentist you're completely at their mercy, especially if what you need is urgent. They can tell you anything, because what do you know about dentistry? So, buyer beware!
I didn't get to find out if Dr. Grace does good work or not. He probably does, since he's been at it long enough, but for what he wanted to charge me I could get the same thing done at Aspen Dental and be picked up and dropped off in a chauffeured limousine, see a play, dine in a 5-star restaurant, and still be way ahead money-wise. And it's not about comparison shopping. It's about this. With one dentist I'd be broke, missing a tooth and miserable. With the other, I'm completely taken care of. read more