I'll be piggybacking on Shaina R's review of Highland Dental Group down below because her experience was very similar to mine.
This was my first appointment here after switching insurance carriers with my new job. Parking isn't bad and the inside seems very clean/organized. They were not crowded and I was immediately prompted to sign about 4-5 forms electronically. The receptionist briefly went over them, but I believe it would be more professional and courtesy if they offered to go over them in detail - or offer to provide me the forms I signed.
I was called back very fast, so kudos for that. Dr. Polumbo immediately brought me into an office briefly to ask a few questions. I thought this was a nice gesture. He was kinda flexing his dental school rankings saying, "my uncle always tells me Chapel Hill is a top 5 dental school" but hey it's cool.
They took lots of x-ray pictures, which is expected. Michelle cleaned my teeth and was very friendly. Overall, the staff were all friendly and approachable. No issues with the team at all. :)
Everything up to this point is 4-5 stars.
After cleaning my teeth, Dr. Polumbo comes in and informs me I need crowns and it's very likely I'll need a root canal. This was shocking to me, as the tooth they were suggesting needed fixing was treated by my previous dentist 1.5 years ago. He showed me my x-rays, and explained the process of why he believes a crown and root canal are needed (I have no background in dental sciences). He talked about the various crown options (pointing to a poster conveniently there in the room) and suggested the option that was obviously the most expensive "because it's the best bang for your buck." I walked out to process the information, as it was $1489. That's a lot of money so fast! And they were slightly pushy about taking care of the issue at that very moment.
Immediately after, I contacted my old dentist for a 2nd opinion. After talking to my old dentist, he said I'm not close to needing a root canal and it seems a little ridiculous as I was in no pain or discomfort. He also suggested I didn't even need a crown, as the decay Dr. Polumbo saw didn't encompass 50% of my tooth. He suggested all I need is a filling and it looks like my old filling cracked, allowing bacteria inside. He took care of it then and there, removing the filling and cleaning out my tooth, and filled it back up. Free of charge.
I can't speak for the quality of work Dr. Polumbo does and as far as I know, could be amazing. However, he seemed to be on the manipulative side as evidenced by him flexing his school, convenient-placed posters, pressuring his patients to make ill-informed, expensive choices quick and on the spot. These all seem like devices used to garner trust and a feelings of assurance. I walked out feeling this dentist's primary goal is to make money by pressuring unnecessary and expensive procedures.
If you see this dentist, look into getting a second opinion before doing a procedure recommended by Dr. Polumbo. It saved me minimum $1489 (and even more for a seemingly unnecessary root canal). This seems to be the pattern of other Yelp reviewers. read more