I had a nightmare experience at Matthew Smiles, and I hope to save you from having a similar experience. TLDR; this office is a "drill and bill" practice with terrible customer service and abysmal quality of care. I weirdly have always loved going to the dentist. But Dr Matthews has changed that for good.
In December, I was flossing my teeth and felt some sharp pain. I made an appointment with Dr. Matthews and I told him the whole story. He checked me out and said there wasn't anything stuck in between my teeth but they noticed some minor decay on the X-rays. He recommended a "small filling." - no explanation about what or why, just that it would be a quick visit. I asked the front desk about my estimated portion and why there were two charges. The girl said it would be a four surface filling - a major procedure. I said, "Oh, Dr. Matthews just described this to me as a small filling." She responded sharply, "It's a four surface filling."
At my next visit Dr. Matthews completed the filling and said I was all set. No special care instructions, no pain meds mentioned. After I left the office, the numbness wore off and I started experiencing incredible pain - which I quickly knew wasn't normal, so I called Dr. Matthews' office. Julie picked up and was short and dismissive and said, "Like I told you before, this was a four surface filling..." I interjected, "Dr. Matthews told me this was going to be a small filling." She continued in a rude, condescending tone, "You basically just had surgery on your tooth. Of course it's going to be sore. You should take some Advil." I was upset but followed her instructions. I took the maximum amount of Advil but even then was up all night in pain.
I called back the next day, on the verge of tears, and said I needed to speak to Dr. Matthews or an assistant. The assistant I spoke with informed me that the pain I was experiencing was not normal. She said I probably had an infection and would need antibiotics, and she prescribed me stronger prescription pain killers. She told me if the pain didn't go away, I would probably need a root canal. I was shocked. At no point was the possibility of a root canal ever mentioned to me when I was in the office!
After a week of antibiotics, and continual pain, I called back saying it wasn't getting better. The assistant said I needed a root canal. I asked to come in and speak to Dr. Matthews about what happened, and to discuss my options--if I truly needed one. Another rude front desk girl said, "We're swamped with patients wanting to get in before the end of the year. I'm not sure we have any appointments." She told me the only time I could be "fit in" was 10 am and that I would be waiting for Dr. Matthews for two hours. Unbelievable. I also asked her if Dr. Matthews was an endodontist. She said, "he has taken lots of extra courses so he can do root canals." I pressed again: "Is he an endodontist?" She said he wasn't an endodontist per se, and that they'd call me if they could get me in. She then called back and said she spoke to the Dr. and he could take me at 3pm (that day) for the root canal. Not a consultation. I had wanted to talk with him about everything. I told her I could possibly do that but I needed to call and make sure I could cancel my afternoon commitments. I told her I'd call right back. She said, "If I put you down for this appointment and you call me back and tell me you can't make it, we're going to charge you as a no show." I was shocked. This was the straw that broke the camel's back. I told the girl I was not going to take the appointment and would be finding an actual endodontist, not a dentist, to fix their SNAFU.
Later, the endodontist that performed my root canal told me that I had an infection in the tooth caused by the shoddy work done by Dr Matthews.
Sadly, I am not alone. There are a plethora of negative reviews on yelp (several under the "not recommended" section) and on google. STAY AWAY! read more