Our family had been patients of Dr. Core many years ago and always had a very positive experience. After moving farther away, we changed dentists simply because of the distance. About 10-12 years later, we recently realized his office was closer than we thought, and my wife, our two children, and I were genuinely excited to become patients again.
Unfortunately, our experience this time has been extremely disappointing.
At my first visit back, I was told I needed three crowns and a root canal. Following the root canal treatment at this office, I developed severe trismus and was unable to properly open my mouth for approximately two months. It was easily the worst dental experience I have ever had. Prior to this, I had gone 46 years with essentially no significant dental problems beyond one cavity. I also still have what appears to be crown cement on the neighboring tooth that I have been unable to remove.
Despite that experience, I still liked and respected Dr. Core personally and intended to continue seeing him. I was preparing to have a tooth extraction and implant done that I understood would cost approximately $5,000-$7,000, along with another root canal/crown and additional dental work.
What ultimately caused our family to leave, however, was how my wife and children were treated over ONE missed appointment.
A few days ago, my wife and our two children unfortunatly missed their six-month cleanings because we happened to be traveling in Idaho (the appt was scheduled upon checking out of the last cleaning 6 months ago as you typically do). We were in the mountains with very limited or nonexistent cell service and had no way of communicating with anyone.
We absolutely accept responsibility for missing it. I understand that a dental office loses valuable time when patients do not show up, and although $300 in missed-appointment fees is frustrating, I can understand why a practice might charge a fee.
What I cannot understand is what happened next.
My wife was told that because she and our two children missed this one appointment, we owed $300 AND that all three of them were no longer welcome as patients.
There was no history of repeatedly missing appointments. This was one mistake.
What makes the situation even more frustrating is the communication leading up to it. When the office needed to collect payment from my wife after her previous visit, they had no problem repeatedly contacting her by phone and/or text until payment was resolved. Yet for an appointment involving THREE members of our family, the only text reminder we received was on the day of the appointment, just hours beforehand. We did not receive a phone call or text at any point in advance confirming the appointments. We were told that a confirmation email was sent, however again we were out of town, and when that email was not replied to confirm the appointment I would assume the office would call and text.
I realize that remembering an appointment is ultimately our responsibility, but advance confirmation calls and texts are common practice at medical and dental offices. Had someone contacted us even a few days beforehand, we would have immediately explained that we were going to be out of town and gladly rescheduled. The appointments could have been offered to other patients, there would have been no missed appointments or fees, and this entire situation could have been avoided.
It is difficult for me to understand how an office can be so persistent about reaching a patient when money is owed, yet make seemingly very little effort to confirm three appointments before imposing such a severe consequence for missing them.
The part that bothers me the most involves my daughter. She has always been extremely afraid of the dentist. The staff here made her so comfortable during her first visit that she actually became interested in dentistry herself. As parents, that meant a lot to us. She was genuinely upset when she learned she was no longer allowed to return.
Even after my own difficult dental experience, the trismus, and the issue with the crown cement, I was still willing to continue seeing Dr. Core because of our history with him and because I genuinely liked him.
But if my wife and children are no longer welcome because of one missed appointment, I will not continue as a patient either. I will now have my implant, remaining root canal/crown, and future dental work completed somewhere else.
The most disappointing part is that none of this needed to happen. A reminder a few days beforehand probably would have prevented the missed appointments. Even afterward, a reasonable conversation and some understanding could have resulted in a completely different outcome.
Instead, four patients who were genuinely happy to return to this practice after more than a decade are now leaving.
I still have respect for Dr. Core personally, which honestly makes this even more disappointing. We truly wanted him to be our family dentist again. read more
