Headline: Elitist, Predatory, and Medically Negligent--A Blatant Bait-and-Switch…read more
1) As a healthcare professional, I am horrified by the conduct at South Hills Dental Arts. They practice a blatant bait-and-switch: their website and Yelp explicitly state they 'accept most insurance' and will file claims for you. However, once I was in the chair on my second day, the staff rescinded this and presented an astronomical $21,000 treatment plan, stating point-blank they 'don't accept any insurance.' Take note: you should receive the total bill estimate on day one, before anything is done.
When I disclosed my full disability and limited funds and asked for a payment plan or sliding scale (standard in ethical practices), the staff (biller) literally scoffed. I was told they 'don't like' taking Medicaid (my plan, surprisingly, would have covered absolutely everything they wanted to do) patients because it 'doesn't reimburse enough' and they 'have bills to pay.' Their elitism is only matched by their dishonesty; they performed X-rays and impressions on the first day, then waited until I was back on day two and 'ready to start' the procedure to reveal the full, confusing bill--a direct violation of the 'Federal No Surprises Act'.
Most disturbingly, their post-surgical care was nonexistent. After an extensive bone graft and infection debridement, I was left in 'uncontrolled wild pain' for three days with no sleep. I was repeatedly ignored and told to 'just take Tylenol 3, Motrin, and use ice,' which was so medically inadequate that I was forced to go to the ER to get basic pain relief. It is a sad state of healthcare when dentists are so terrified of the FDA that they refuse to follow the drug guide for acute pain, abandoning their patients to suffer.
My father was a surgeon who never turned away a patient in need; this office represents the exact opposite of that medical integrity. Not only did he accept anyone, whether they could pay or not, but he also made sure pain was adequately addressed, as it's vital to healing and considered the 6th vital sign; it's so important.
Do not trust them with your health or your wallet. While I take responsibility for not doing my due diligence and reading the excessively poor reviews before I went there, I trusted my case worker to do right by me and make sure the office she chose either accepted my dental insurance or at least charged reasonable prices similar to what other dentists in Pittsburgh charge, not high-end boutique-level NYC prices. To add insult to injury, I simply asked the biller to provide a clear bill in which the numbers and procedures matched the appropriate days, and she took it as a personal attack and got mean. I have never been scared of the dentist until now. I really wish I had the confidence to walk around without my front tooth rather than to bear subjecting myself to the rest of the brutal procedure and suspected lack of appropriate pain control.
It is especially disturbing to. know that a peer from high school's father would run a business like this. I would be too ashamed to show my face in public. On the flip side, it made me so incredibly proud of my dad, knowing he was a surgeon who wouldn't turn anyone away, no matter whether they could pay the bill. South Hills Dental Arts represents the exact opposite of that medical integrity. Do not trust them with your health and your wallet. The multitude of bad reviews, sadly, say similar things, showing this isn't new; it's a pattern.
I want to be very clear, though: Dr. Yousuf (my dentist) and all the staff except the biller and, I assume, Dr. Crandall, the owner, were phenomenal. I can thank them for a lesson in poor business ethics and a newfound extreme fear of dental procedures.
