The first time I saw Dr. Clemente, her dental assistant put her fingers in my hair with both hands and commented on how nice my hair was, I noticed that she did not wash her hands afterwards. I haven't been to the dentist in a really long time and unfortunatly my teeth suffered, my gums were very tender and although I was visibly in pain during the exam, Dr. Clemente pretended to not notice, I then told her it hurts and she said "um" and proceeded to finish the exam. She only gave me numbing gel after I was moving around so much because of the pain it was difficult for her to continue.
Scheduling a follow up to take care of cavities and perform a gum treatment with her was probably a mistake, but I did it anyway.
This portion of my review is the reason for the 1 star, I'd give 0 stars if I could. I arrive to my appointment 15 minutes early at 11:45 am, my appointment was at 12pm. I noticed there was no one in the waiting room and it didn't sound like there was any other paitents being seen. The receptionist, an older gentlemen, was on the phone with my insurance provider, I knew it was me because he kept saying my name and how much. I found it odd that he was going over the financials while I was there, but I lisened closely to try to figure out what was going on. When I checked my watch I had been in the waiting room for over 45 minutes! I decided to ask if there was a problem with my insurance, and Dr. Clemente told me to just come back because she was ready for me. I didn't feel comfortable having her do work before I knew how much I was expected to pay so I asked again if there was an issue with my insurance. At this time the receptionist was there and he and Dr. Clemente start arguing, in a different language what my total would be. From what I gathered when they did speak in english in front of me, was that it was first $50, then $110, then $165. The price changed 2 times in a matter of minutes and caotic disagreements. I had never experienced this level of disorgination before. She again tried to motion me to come back to the exam room and I told her I wasn't comfortable having work done until I understood how much I was paying and I would like to speak with my insurance company before I did anything. She then got offended and snapped that I had already agreed to the terms when I enrolled, and that no insurer would pay for the full dental procedure. I told her paying for the procedure was not the issue, but I want to know how much I am paying and what I am paying for exactly. With that I left and never went back. Now I'm looking for a new dentist and a second opinion on if those procedures are necessary or if she was just trying to get money out of me. read more