This is my first time writing a Yelp review, and I usually avoid posting negative feedback about…read morebusinesses. However, my experience at this dental office--specifically with the office manager, Christy--has left me frustrated enough to share my story. To be clear, my dissatisfaction is not with the dentist, whose care I've always trusted, but rather with the way the office handled a $22.11 payment issue.
I visited the office for a routine cleaning in October 2024, during which the dentist recommended fillings for two teeth. Although I've been skeptical about the necessity of some past recommendations, I trusted the dentist's expertise and scheduled the procedure. Before the appointment, I requested a pretreatment estimate to understand my out-of-pocket costs. When I reviewed the estimate, I noticed it was classified as an out-of-network claim, even though the office is in-network. I immediately contacted the office, and they assured me they would correct the issue.
On December 10, 2024, I had the fillings done. When it came time to pay, the amount presented to me was significantly higher than I expected. After I questioned it, the staff realized they hadn't fixed the out-of-network classification. They recalculated the payment on the spot, and I paid the corrected amount without issue.
Weeks later, on December 27, I received a call from the office stating I owed a balance of $22.11 because my insurance deductible hadn't been met for the year. While I felt this should have been accounted for in the pretreatment estimate, I reviewed the claim and confirmed the charge was accurate. I called the office back promptly and expressed my willingness to pay. However, I was uncomfortable providing my credit card information over the phone, given previous bad experiences. I asked about alternative payment methods, such as mailing a check, paying online, or handling it during my next visit. The staff assured me that paying later would be fine.
On January 9, 2025, I received another call from Christy, the office manager. Her tone was immediately accusatory, implying I had failed to follow up or take responsibility for the payment. I explained that I had already confirmed the charge with my insurance and had been told it was fine to pay later. When I asked where to send a check, she abruptly ended the call without providing the necessary information, before I even had the chance to ask who the check should be addressed to.
Then, on January 16, I received a voicemail from Christy, stating that if I didn't pay the $22.11 by the end of the day, the balance would be sent to collections. I was shocked that such an aggressive approach was being taken for such a small amount, especially when I had already attempted to resolve the issue. Frustrated, I rushed to the office to pay the balance in person.
During this visit, I tried to explain my concerns about how the situation had been handled, but Christy dismissed my points, continued to accuse me of not wanting to pay, and spoke to me in an unprofessional and condescending manner. When I pointed out that she hadn't provided clear instructions for mailing a check, she sarcastically responded, "You know where our office is, right?" This level of disrespect was infuriating.
In the end, I paid the $22.11 and canceled all future appointments. While I still respect the dentist's care and professionalism, I can no longer remain a patient at this practice due to how I was treated by the office manager. This experience has shown me that even excellent medical care can be overshadowed by poor communication and unprofessional behavior from office staff. I have attached one screenshot for my payment of $22.11 and one screenshot of the voicemail that threatened me about the collection, which happened 20 days after initially notifying me of the balance.
