The staff is friendly, the office is nice. The dentists and hygienists are professional and skilled.
The billing staff and management are incompetent bordering on negligent. When I first reached out to schedule an appointment, they confirmed via email and over the phone that they took my insurance. I received a surprise bill after my second visit for the first for hundreds of dollars. It was at this point, after my first cleaning and set of x-rays and now some drilling and filling, that I was notified they were out of network.
I received a new bill for $800 dollars. When I reached out about it, I was told that the filling they used is considered cosmetic and not covered by insurance. When I asked why they didn't mention this up front, they said because "only old dentists use the non-white filling. The white is better for quality of life, so everyone uses it these days."
When I brought up to their financial manager (Raquel) that I was not told this ahead of time, and I had written confirmation that my insurance was in-network but now was finding out that wasn't the case, she promised to remediate the bill, and instructed me not to pay it until they called me back. This was in June.
In October, I received a threatening letter about my outstanding balance. Raquel had never called me back. I reached out to the practice again the day the bill arrived and left them a message. When I talked to them on Monday, the practice manager Dan heard my story, apologized, and said he'd call me back that day.
I got a call from Raquel this morning (Friday) no word from Dan confirming my cleaning on Monday. I called back, could not reach Raquel, and spoke with somebody, I never got a name. Thoroughly disgusted at this point with the lack of professionalism and what now feels like outright lying, I paid the outstanding balance that they should be covering on account of their own malfeasance, and hung up the phone, canceling my appointment.
Avoid at all costs. They are unprofessional and will say whatever it takes to ameliorate a situation in the short term to stave off responsibility in the long term.
Update: I just received a voicemail from Jessica (who was, as always, incredibly polite and personable) letting me know they wrote off part of my balance. While I appreciate this, the review stands. I said during my first conversation with Raquel that my experience was worth the extra expense, that was continent on a more transparent, informed experience in the future.
The warning to future patients is about their poor communication, lack if internal knowledge, and lack of follow-through on what have now been revealed to be empty promises.
If I had to guess, it feels like somebody in a leadership position is pressuring the staff to provide customer service above and beyond what they as individuals and an organization are capable of taking action on. If that is the case, situations like mine will continue until that culture changes. read more