Dentist Dr. Michael Johnson, of Aspen Dental, Sevierville, Tennessee, Overcharged Me Twice; Worst…read moreDental Outcome Of My Life -- Avoid This Office.
I am 78. I have used two or three dozen dentists over a lifetime of moves around the country. In my personal opinion, Dr. Michael Johnson of Aspen Dental / GSM Dental PC, 1419 Parkway, Sevierville, is the most incompetent dentist I have ever used. He owns that office, and he treated me. Based on what happened to me, I would tell any new patient -- especially any other senior -- to avoid this practice, which I assume is some kind of franchise.
On December 23, 2024, I signed his treatment plan. It showed a remaining balance of $0 after my payments of $2,676 and $1,245 applied by my dental plan, for a total of $3,921 for this work ($4,136 in listed fees minus a $215 coupon). At my insistence, they broke out every major charge before I said yes, including the root canal, hard-tissue tooth lengthening, core buildup, and crown. My dental plan's price for the tooth lengthening was already built into that quote.
I paid $1,617 that day and $1,059 on December 30, 2024, when Dr. Johnson did the root canal, the tooth lengthening, and the crown-prep work on a front tooth. Then I had to come back for a separate visit after the crown was manufactured so he could seat it. On his own plan, the crown was listed at $1,437.While he was doing that work, and while I was in significant pain, he kept talking about money. He bragged about trips he takes and things he can buy. I have never had a dentist do that during a painful procedure.
On January 6, 2025, at that return visit to seat the manufactured crown, the office charged my American Express another $1,059. I told the woman at checkout I had already paid that amount on December 30. No matter how much I complained, she required me to pay again before I could leave. She said she would look into it and get back to me. She did not. I had to dispute it myself. Later, they finally reversed the overcharge of $1,059.
They later sent yet another bogus bill for $76 for the same tooth-lengthening work. I did not pay it. I disputed it because that procedure was already itemized on the original plan and fully covered under my dental plan in the treatment plan I approved. Their own paperwork made the arithmetic obvious. They had no excuse for trying to overcharge me again. The $76 was later reversed after I fought it. I am still pretty good with numbers. My concern is that other seniors who aren't as good with numbers might not notice similar overcharges.
I have had nearly a dozen crowns. This is the first that cracked, and it cracked in less than a year. I have never had dental pain like the pain from Dr. Johnson's work. That pain lasted about 14 to 15 months. In 2026, my current dentist and a root-canal specialist found debris at the root, and a gum infection at the root of that root canal is so serious that I am now facing extraction and an implant quoted at about $4,000.
If you see Dr. Michael Johnson at this office, get the plan in writing, keep every card receipt, and do not pay a second time until they pull up the first payment. I would get a second opinion before letting him do a root canal or a crown. I personally find this dental practice so egregious and so untrustworthy that I would not return under any circumstances - even for a free replacement of the cracked crown. I would never send my family to this Aspen Dental franchise.
I have the receipts, the treatment plan, the statements, emails, etc. I intend to file a complaint with the Tennessee Board of Dentistry through the Department of Health Office of Investigations. I am also posting this account on Google, Yelp, the Better Business Bureau, and various physician review sites to warn other citizens of Sevier County, Tennessee - and hopefully warn any of the many hundreds of thousands of visitors who visit Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and the Smoky Mountains each year who might need some kind of emergency dental work.
If you have time, ignore the AI-inspired, insipid, ingratiating cut-and-paste "customer support" responses, and read the multitude of other one-star and two-star reviews of this dental practice that, regrettably, reiterate the abysmal service experiences I had with this Aspen Dental franchise. Caveat emptor!
