July 2017 Update:…read more
Today my daughter had three fillings, and I had my crown looked at by Dr. Ross Sholota, Dr. Chris Sholota's son. Dr. Ross just started, and I assume there will be people who are interested in getting someone else's first impression. He made a great first impression on my daughter and me, he seems like a great dentist, and I would recommend him.
- - original review below - -
I'm conflicted on Dr. Sholota's practice at the moment, but overall, I am a fan.
Dr. Sholota is great, as are the hygienists. The front desk staff are very friendly. My concerns come down to dollars and cents.
Both in my current job, which brought me to Atlanta, and my previous job, which had us in upstate New York, I had a great dental plan, and tried to find great dentists, regardless of whether or not they were in-network. When I first visited Dr. Sholota earlier this year, all of my family's cleanings were 100% covered by our insurance. The only unpleasant surprises were the cost of my children's fillings.
My son's first fillings were two surface composite posterior fillings. My insurance covers up to 80% of the cost, up to $260. However, a two surface at Dr. Sholota's practice is $285.00.
That $15 delta per filling may not sounds like a lot, but the $15 from $245 to $260 is only $3 out of pocket. The next $15 is $15 out of my pocket. Before my daughter had her fillings, I called and asked about the cost. They said they could do a pre-auth for future treatments, and if I wanted to reschedule her treatments I could, but that her fillings would be less than $285.
Unfortunately, I did not realize that her filings would be subject to a different coverage limit. Those were all one surface composite anterior fillings, covered only up to $194, and Dr. Sholota charges $228.00. Each of those fillings were completely uncovered for the last $24.
At this point my wife and I discussed looking at other dentists, but we did have positive experiences with Dr. Sholota, and cleanings were not costing us anything as our coverage did cover cleanings.
My wife's next cleaning came with a bill of $47 that we had to pay. The justification was that despite brushing at least twice daily and flossing daily, she needed to undergo the "difficult cleaning" to ensure her teeth were properly cleaned. This lead to a $149 charge for the cleaning with $47 not covered (the separate $58 oral evaluation was fully covered).
My cleaning, which was very shortly after this, was just a standard cleaning, but I was responsible for $13. The reason I was given via e-mail when asking about this was, "Metlife reviews/changes their fees once a year and Dr. Sholota does as well."
As of this writing, those rates are:
$90.00 child cleaning
$115.00 adult cleaning
$149.00 Difficult cleaning
At this point, my family of four, between cleaning and filling charges that were above my coverage limits have cost more than $200 above what we would have paid had our cleanings been fully covered and our fillings split 80:20. Part of that is the "difficult cleaning", but here is the explanation I got around that, "A difficult cleaning is a more detailed cleaning in which the patient has excess plaque/calculus and bleeding. She may not need that type of cleaning every visit but we are unaware until she presents at her appointment."
Do I have any complaints about Dr. Sholota's work, or the other people who work here? No. But lack of disclosure around rate increases is frustrating, and a lack of explanation around the different rates and coverage limits for different filling types is frustrating. I had a dentist I *loved* in upstate New York who's pricing was in line with my current coverage limits, and I suspect that if I were to look around, I could find a 5* dentist with pricing inline with the limits of my current coverage plan.
The high prices are one thing, perhaps some people would consider service worth the price, but the repeated surprises on unexpected costs are leaving a bad taste in my mouth. I'm on the border between three and four stars, and have decided to leave four stars in hopes that unpleasant surprises are behind me.
