In April, I had a routine appointment for a cleaning and exam. I was told that I had a tiny little…read morecavity on my lower right molar, which Dr. Ruba Maatouk had noticed back in October, and she decided to repair it with a filling.
In May, I made an appointment for Dr. Ruba Maatouk to look at the filling because it was too high, and I was still in pain. She filed down the filling. About the pain, I was told a numbing solution was applied during the filling, and that the pain should go away in several weeks.
Between May and July, I called the office and was told that I could have pain for up to six weeks, which was normal.
Six weeks of pain for a filling seems a bit unusual.
In July, I made an appointment because I still had pain and sensitivity. The first thing that occurred was that Dr. Ruba Maatouk pulled out old X-rays. She then said I needed a root canal, which was very confusing since I was told it was a minor cavity. There was never an indication of a root canal during my October or April appointment.
Then, during this appointment, Dr. Ruba Maatouk told me that in the next several weeks they would not be accepting Medicaid patients because they were not getting paid their full payments, only half for a treatment. She also mentioned that they had an expensive lab and Medicaid does not cover the full cost. I asked her when she was going to inform her patients that they were canceling Medicaid, and was told a letter would be going out in the next several weeks. A year has gone by, and I never received the letter that they'd be stopping Medicaid.
As the conversation continued, Dr. Ruba Maatouk said they could put a cap on the tooth, but it could take up to a year for the pain to subside, and there was no guarantee. I agreed to schedule in the next couple of days so that Medicaid would cover the tooth before they cancelled their contract, but was told by Dr. Ruba Maatouk, that I would have to pay out of pocket because they were not going to submit to Medicaid since they were not going to get paid in full by Medicaid.
That is insurance fraud and Medicaid fraud. I cannot believe Dr. Ruba Maatouk was dumb enough to openly admit that.
Yes, I called Medicaid and confirmed that that cap was covered by their insurance.
I had to decline since I could not afford it. Dr. Ruba Maatouk then offered me an option to prescribe a prescription for a toothpaste called Sodium Fluoride, which I accepted. I took the prescription to,Jewel/Osco. Osco notified me that they needed prior authorization, so I contacted the dental office and was told that they do not do prior authorizations and they refused even after several calls from me and the pharmacist. It wasn't because they didn't do prior authorizations. They didn't know how, which I came to find out. How do you as a medical practice not know how to do prior authorizations?
Yet another red flag. I then spoke to the owner of the dental office and told them I had no other options but to contact the IDFPR. They finally agreed, and Osco was given prior authorization, and I received my prescription.
As I was leaving the office upon my last visit, Dr. Ruba Maatouk said, I would have an exceedingly difficult time finding another dentist, in a very snarky condescending manner.
I was extremely disappointed in the behavior of this dentist and her poor ethics and commitment to her patients and Medicaid.
As of today, regardless of Dr. Ruba Maatouk, I found a dentist who confirmed I didn't need a root canal. The filling that Dr. Ruba Maatouk did was done incorrectly, which is why I was having all the pain. Another thing Dr. Ruba Maatouk told me is that I grind my teeth and kept trying to sell me a night guard. More lies from this doctor just to make money off her patients.
Stay away from this dentist office. There are so many more honest, ethical, decent, dentists in the northwest suburbs.
