I was referred to Dr. Levine by a friend who likes his work a great deal and assured me it was a good office for someone with a lot of fear/anxiety. I have a limited amount of insurance, so I try not to do anything unnecessary like having umpteen x-rays. Dr. Levine's staff is magical and delightful. Dr. Levine himself was brusque/rude.
So, on the recommendation of the friend, I called about 3.5 weeks ago and Dr. Levine gave me a phone referral to an endodontist for a root canal. Everyone agreed I needed a tooth extracted. So, post RC, I made an appointment for an assessment with Dr. Levine. He wanted to do a LOT of x-rays, and when I mentioned I had a panoramic x-ray done a few weeks prior, he got testy and said they could use that in a clipped tone. He wanted to refer me to an oral surgeon for an extraction. I explained I could not afford that and would likely get the tooth removed at Highland Hospital's dental clinic. Fine. So I do that, and there are some complications. Dr. Levine wants me to have a cleaning, which I book for about a week after the extraction, and when I get there I ask if it's safe to have the cleaning so soon after the extraction, which I mention I think is either going into being a dry socket, or infected, or both. His hygienist looks at it, makes a concerned face and says "Yeah, I think I see some pus. Dr. Levine should look at this."
He comes in, looks for 2 seconds and then answers every question I have about it with "possibly". Am I risking diminishing returns on results by taking the same antibiotic 3 times in a row? "Possibly." Is this infected? "Possibly." Is it a dry socket? "Possibly." Just totally dismissive of my fear/concern/pain. Brusque and rude. Walks out of the room as he says "We're done here." Not goodbye, good luck, let's reschedule that cleaning for after this heals more, none of that. Writes me a scrip for antibiotics after I ask for them, I have to ask twice for a pain med, doesn't even bother to put enough pertinent information on the scrip to have it filled. Walgreen's has to call him to iron it out.
I feel as though I have been treated poorly by Dr. Levine because I am low income and dared to ask questions. He made me feel like I was bothering him during my appointment, and the endodontist he referred me to overcharged me for my root canal.
I would not recommend Dr. Levine to a friend. It is highly unlikely that I will return. Again, his staff is awesome: caring, considerate, gentle, friendly. The support staff bent over backwards to make me feel comfortable, which wouldn't have been necessary if Dr. Levine wasn't such a stiff.
2 stars for his staff, and for not charging me for the office visit when I went in for a cleaning and didn't get one.
UPDATE: Dr. Levine called me today to apologize. He spent about 10 minutes on the phone with me giving advice and was big enough to admit my situation could have been handled better. He gave instructions for getting me through the weekend on my current meds, and we will touch base on Monday. Now he seems a bit more certain that I may have a dry socket, and will be consulting with an associate oral surgeon on my behalf.
I appreciate when someone can admit they are wrong/dropped the ball. Thank you Dr. Levine for owning up. Upgrade to 3 stars. read more