On May 7, 2026, I, Sandra Brezina and Terry Brezina, my husband, went into a special room to speak…read morewith Lydia, a finance person, to find out what the cost for my dental procedure would be. She went over what was to be done, how much Delta Dental would cover and we were pleased with the pricing as it fit into our budget. Lydia stated that there would be no other charges for the upcoming dental appointments with Dr. Puha. We gave Lydia our credit card and she proceeded to charge $3,228.50. Delta dental insurance paid Burns Dentistry on May 7th, 2026, $48.50, on May 1, 2026, $46.00, on May 14, 2026, $ 1,230.00, and May 22, 2026, $721.00. To the best of my knowledge then, Delta Dental insurance paid Burns Dentistry a total of $2,045.50.
On September 8, 2026, I went to my appointment, and the dental assistant, sat me in the dental chair and said, oh, you will owe I believe she said $1,500 for today. I tried to explain that Lydia had told us on May 7, 2026, that no additional charges would be needed. That I had already paid on Care credit to Burns dentistry $3, 228.50 on May 7th. I told her to please talk to Lydia. She went out to talk to Lydia. She came back shortly and said, "oh, yes, you have a credit and you would not owe any money. So, Dr. Puha came to the room and proceeded to take the small cap off the implant. He didn't offer any topical pain medicine or Novocain. He said it would take 10 or 15 minutes. He applied very hard pressure to my gums around the implant. It was extremely uncomfortable. I had to ask him when to come back to finish up and he said, in 3 weeks. The dental assistant escorted me out to the scheduling desk and the 2 ladies working there stated to me that "yes, I owed $998.00". I was totally baffled and I didn't have the money or my care credit card with me. The lady taking the payment said she had my care card credit number and would process the payment of $998.00. I told these office ladies that I needed to speak to Lydia and that I tried to tell them that I had made an agreement with Lydia and that the dental treatment had been paid for future visits. They said that Lydia was on maternity leave. They didn't offer to contact Jessica who is taking over for Lydia. I had to pay $998.00. This payment of $998.00 maxed out my care credit and I asked if I would be paying more money for the upcoming visit in 3 weeks. They said no. I wouldn't need to pay anything more. I was shaking and very distraught over this. I know what Lydia originally had told Terry and me. I came home and told my husband, Terry my husband also recalled that Lydia had told us on May 7, 2026, that the $3,228.00 was the total cost of all the upcoming visits. We have paid $6807.00 so far and we are afraid that they will ask for more money on the next visit while I am in the dentist's chair.
I came home and my left lower jaw hurt after the procedure. I had to take Tylenol PM to help with the jaw pain and got no sleep last night. I was disappointed with Lydia. Terry and I never remembered Lydia saying there would be possibly additional charges. She convinced me that between the insurance money and our payment of 3,228.00 was all that would be required.
I am afraid that I will have to pay even more money for my upcoming appointment to finish the implant and crown. Lydia needs to be told that she should tell the patients that there might be additional charges.
