My previous review was removed due to a lack of description of first-hand experience (it mostly said to look at all the bad reviews on other sites- and that you should use Yelp rather than 1800dentist, which is true, but I understand that doesn't really have anything to do with this dentist, so now I will post my first-hand experience here).
I made an appointment with this dentist, and then later (on the day of the appointment) discovered a couple of terrible reviews of her and started to feel uncomfortable about the prospect of being treated by this dentist. When I arrived at the office (and was lost for about 15-20 minutes because the building is very confusing and her office very difficult to find) I actually called my mother and asked for her advice, because the building was dirty and run-down, and I told her about the bad review I had read, and that I was thinking of just leaving and finding another dentist. She told me that as long as I was there (it was a fairly long drive) I should go ahead and have my teeth cleaned because it's hard for even a bad dental office to mess that up, so I decided to go ahead and go in once I found the office.
They did x-rays and an exam, which I thought was pretty typical, but then quoted me a price on my filling and did not clean my teeth (even though that's what I made the appointment for), saying that they never do that until a 2nd appointment because they need to determine whether a "deep cleaning" is necessary (thus forcing you to return to her office later on, even if you don't need any work done). Also I've had my teeth cleaned every 6 months my whole life, and I've never heard of a "deep cleaning."
When I left I told them to wait on scheduling me another appointment. I then decided to find another dentist, and called her office to request my x-rays so that I could have the work done by someone I felt more comfortable with. The receptionist said they would send me the x-rays, but only if I would pay them $35 to get them away from her. I was quoted only $38 to have the x-rays re-done that I would need to fill my cavity, so I thought this price was excessive, but decided I was going to have to pay it anyway because I didn't want to be exposed to any more radiation. When I told my mother about the fee they were charging me, she called my uncle who's a dentist and asked him if he'd heard of anyone charging such a fee (my family has been going to the same dentist for years, and whenever we need x-rays sent to anyone, he doesn't even charge us for the cost of mailing). My uncle said not only had he not heard of this kind of fee being charged, but that the ADA doesn't consider it to be an ethical practice to double-charge for x-rays.
I called Dr. Sonin's receptionist and explained to her that the fee was awfully high, and that one of the reasons I had chosen their practice was because their description on 1800dentist.com said that they are understanding with people who have fallen on hard times in this bad economy (and I fall into this category). The receptionist was extremely rude, and kept insisting that all she needed from me was a check for $35 and that she would not release the x-rays without it. As the conversation went forward, I actually told her that my uncle told me it was considered unethical by the ADA and asked her how she would respond to that, and she said, "that's fine" as though she acknowledged that it was unethical and was perfectly fine with that.
Since then, she has sent me a threatening letter stating that she will sue me if I do not remove my reviews of my experience with her. This has truly been one of the worst business transactions I've ever experienced and I wouldn't wish it on anyone, which is why I feel it is important to re-post my review in a manner that doesn't violate Yelp's TOS, so that it will not be removed this time. read more
