First things, first. I have been a patient here for close to twenty years - through three different…read morepractice owners/dentists - and have always gotten great dental care. Brenda is probably the best hygienist I've ever been to. Personable and pleasant, thorough and knowledgeable - an all-around excellent hygienist. Dr. Settles is equally great. I cannot say enough good things about them or their treatment and skill level.
The office staff, on the other hand, is abysmal. They routinely send out "bills" based on " insurance estimates", even after the participating insurance company has paid. Most recently I called to question a bill that both I and my insurance said was paid and that I owed nothing. This was the second time I received this bill and was now "past due." (Delta Dental told me it was paid within one week of my visit.) "Susan" initially took my call. Three different times I gave her my name and account number, and each time she tried linking me to a totally different patient. Finally, she transferred me to "Tina", the office manager.
I have never been treated so rudely nor unprofessionally as Tina treated me. Tina first told me that the bill was automatically generated and there was nothing to be done about it. When I challenged her, she told me that was just the way it was and to ignore it. I pressed her by saying it needs to be fixed and that I did not want to end up in collections due to an automated erroneous "bill" (that is based on an estimate.) Again, Tina blew it off so I followed by saying that she knew there was error and wouldn't fix it, and that if I ended up in collections I reserved the right to sue for false billing; she/her office needed to fix this, that I was done dealing with it. Things went horribly sideways from that point on. Tina said she'd just "de-list" me and I'd never hear anything from them again. I replied by saying I had no intention of quitting the practice, only that I wanted the billing corrected. From that point onwards, Tina constantly over-talked me and wouldn't let me say anything. I tried telling her that I had already called Delta Dental, that Delta Dental told me I owed nothing, and that Wytheville Dental Group had been paid on June 21, 2023 for my June 14, 2023 office visit. I also kept trying to tell Tina that Delta Dental had provided a reference/event number. Tina kept over-talking me and wouldn't listen. I finally told her to "shut up and listen to me for just a minute." Tina then hung up the phone on me. I never got a chance to give her, nor anyone else, the reference number from Delta Dental. I tried calling back for the next fifteen minutes, but my calls were never answered. I can only presume Tina told the front desk to ignore my calls.
I then reached out to Wytheville Dental Group via their Facebook page. Within an hour, someone named "Sherry" responded, saying she would call me "around 9 am" the following morning.
Edited to add that Sherry is the overall practice manager. She called as promised, and was very professional and very apologetic, and she assured me that this issue will be addressed. Thank you, Sherry.
