TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE. Please, PLEASE read this in its entirety and save yourself unnecessary medical and financial troubles.
I feel for the ladies at the front desk because it seems they are inundated with complaints and take the blunt for this gentleman's tasteless business tactics (that are completely unethical as well).
Went here because every other dentist had a long wait list, but you can get right in here, don't worry! I should have known there was a reason he has no waitlist.
First appointment they took over an hour to call me back (not exaggerating), but that is small in comparison of what's to come. I wish I would have left like I wanted to, but they urged me to stay when I started walking out!
He took x-rays and this quack says I have FIVE CAVITIES! I was shocked as I've regularly gone to the dentist since I was 5 and have never had more than 1 cavity in a single visit. But I figured he was the professional, so I made a follow-up appointment to get them filled. Office quote said I would be responsible for $258 if I had all 5 cavities filled after insurance. I had a bad feeling, so I only authorized 2 fillings, but instead, they proceed to apparently fill 3. I specially said only fill two because I wanted to take my x-rays to another dentist to verify I truly had 5 cavities (which by the way I did, and my original dentist confirmed I had ONE FILLING)!! THEY DRILLED INTO MY MOUTH MULTIPLE TIMES FOR NOTHING!! The fillings they performed are still sensitive months later which I am now having to fix.
On my way out after having the fillings done, my mouth is numb and I want to get out of there, but they demand I pay the entire $258 + $7 servicing charge for using debit card upfront. Normal practice is dentists bill the insurance company and THEN bill the patient. I paid as I was in a hurry but didn't realize this was way too much considering I had half the work done from the original quote provided.
When I called and pointed the overpayment out weeks later, I was greeted with excuses that didn't make any sense. Nobody could explain to me the reason behind overpayment when it was clear they overcharged. Instead of a refund or apology, I was told that I'd get a call from the doctor to discuss. There's nothing to discuss, just issue the refund. However, the dentist calls and immediately gets defensive before I could even speak! He seemed irritated I would call and challenge this. He starts saying things like, "I'm an honest businessman" and talking over me. I never said he was dishonest at that point (his reaction is why I know he's done this before and probably gets these calls all the time). I simply asked him to explain the charges and when he couldn't, he started raising his voice which was crazy to me! The entire thing was weird, never had any conflicts like this with a medical professional. The next day, I get a call back from the front desk saying not only would I not be getting a refund, he was charging me an additional $150 for the type of fillings he did! I think I laughed, blatant attempt of retaliation for me pointing out his mistake. He had already billed my insurance, they verified it was not possible to even do that.
After multiple phone calls between the insurance company, emails, me going to the office, and wasted time, they finally issue the refund. It's pathetic at the amount of effort it took me for a measly $100, I guess this guy he really needed that extra $100! I don't even like wasting time writing this, but people need to be warned.
Dean, seems you're hurting financially and need to overcharge patients and/or come up with fictitious diagnoses to compensate for your lack of business. I know it may be disappointing since you've probably invested a lot of time and money in schooling, but this profession is for people with integrity. Do everyone a favor and get out of this field. Try used car sales, you'd probably be phenomenal!
Ps. He claims xrays are necessary to determine the "type of cleaning needed", they did the teeth cleaning prior to x-rays, such a joke. read more