Emergency Refused, Forced Procedures, and Opaque Billing…read moreReason for Visit: Broken Tooth & Severe Pain (Initial weekend visit and subsequent appointments)
My experience at Signature Smiles in Pikeville, KY, was extremely disappointing, painful, and ultimately led to a frustrating and unclear billing dispute.
My initial visit was due to an urgent issue--a broken tooth causing significant pain. Despite the emergency nature of the visit, I was immediately refused treatment for the broken tooth. I was told I needed a cleaning and X-rays first. Over the next several weeks, I returned multiple times due to persistent pain from the original broken tooth, but the staff and providers continually prioritized non-urgent, revenue-generating procedures instead of addressing the source of my pain.
During these visits, I felt pressured into receiving services that were non-essential and secondary to my primary concern, including a full cleaning, tooth enamel scraping, and polishing. While these are routine maintenance procedures, my sole reason for being there was the debilitating pain from the broken tooth. I felt my urgent health needs were ignored in favor of general dentistry work.
When the team finally agreed to perform the necessary root canal and repair on the broken tooth--months after my initial emergency visit--I paid the required co-pay. However, months later, I received a demand for an outstanding balance of over $580.
This balance was presented with zero transparency. The office has been unable or unwilling to provide a clear, itemized bill detailing the services performed or an explanation of benefits (EOB) showing exactly what my insurance paid and what they didn't. Given that many of the procedures performed (cleaning, scaling, polishing) were not what I asked for or needed during my state of emergency, I have serious questions about the validity of these charges.
This practice demonstrated a failure to prioritize patient comfort and urgent care, followed by highly questionable billing and collection practices. I strongly advise anyone with an emergency or who values clear financial transparency to seek treatment elsewhere.
