This is a very honest and fair review. I was recommended this dentistry practice by a website with positive reviews, so I decided to come here.
Positive:
-Cleanliness, free bottle water in mini fridge to your right when you walk in (don't know if they still have that). Plenty of chairs that are sturdy and clean as well. Computers are situated so that patient's information is protected, in compliance with HIPAA. However, they should be more careful with their paper charts being exposed in an area that people are walking by who can glance at them. They should be closed or flipped over when not in use. HIPAA violation charges are not cheap, but money should not be the driving factor as any good customer-centered practice would want to place their patients' safety and well-being as priority.
-The dentist, Dr. Tran has a caring demeanor and good bedside manner, so he meets his mission, but as a whole practice and team, I cannot state the same. He has about 20 years of practice experience, so he is competent and has certain skill sets that not every dentist around the area has. Some of his dental hygienists (Phin) are very thorough and also have caring, positive attitudes. Occasionally, there are temps or agency ones that do things a little differently, but they still get the job done.
Negatives:
-I understand this is a business at the end of the day, but you can still practice as a business without being deceptive and display behaviors that suggest greed for money. The office manager (Tina Tran) has on many occasions pushed deep cleaning on me. My insurance did not cover, so she would tell me I would have to pay out of pocket $1000 or more per session. I did not hear a peep from the dentist or dental hygienist about my need for one, so the next time, I asked the licensed healthcare (dental hygienist) about it, who told me I did not need one after a quick test.
-I have had one charge on my insurance bill and had to pay copay where a procedure was charged on a visit that was not performed. So, service was not rendered but they were quick to charge. Someone later told me that is grounds for possible insurance fraud, since you cannot charge for a procedure that was never done. I was glad I looked through my billing carefully and pointed it out. Instead of an apology or explanation, all I got was Okay fine, we'll refund you. I'm going to give them a benefit of the doubt and write it off as possible honest mistake, but all the other little things I see just makes me feel like I can't trust them.
-Their obsession with x-rays is over the top. I'm young with no significant dental history, so there should be no need for 3-4 x-rays per year. At most, twice a year. I've had to decline it on one or two occasions because they couldn't even give me a reason for why on earth they are doing. There was one visit where one person took the wrong chart and got confused because I had already gotten one recently but she did not see or didn't know what she was doing.
-Back to the manager here and another assistant named Maria. They failed to confirm my insurance as being up to date as I ask every time when I come in if they can confirm and if everything is still working, they say yes. One full year later, as I come for my 2nd visit, after the procedure has been done, and I had paid the copay, Maria told me my insurance doesn't work anymore and that I'm responsible for payment for the previous year and this visit in full. Apparently, it stopped working one year ago and nobody at this practice was courteous enough to notify me. Worse, they told me to call the insurance and sort it out so that I could come back and continue seeing them again. If I were a practicing business and most especially associated with healthcare and focus on quality care, I would pick that phone up and call the insurance myself to advocate for my patient. And because it's part of going above and beyond for your customer. I was never informed by my insurance nor the office about the issue, so I ultimately, I called my insurance to rectify the issue. Then after payment, I realized they did not subtract my copay that I paid out of pocket last time, so I had to ask them. That shouldn't even happen since it's all there in the computer--every cent that I owe them they ask for, but they conveniently did not see that I paid a copay? I talked to some of my friends who are practicing dentists and dental hygienists and they told me as a business, they would absorb the charges because customer service is more important than the money and also the staff failed to verify and confirm that insurance was still valid, which should occur at the beginning of every visit--not one year later when the insurance authorization failed and then they noticed because they did not get the money.
-This is my own experience and observations, and I do have a background in customer care and a keen eye for details, so I expect more than just a "friendly smile." read more
