I just moved to the area and chose A Gentle Dental as my new Dentist because it was off the same exit as my office; and I was also attracted by the name.
When I was seen on Monday we discussed that I was insured by Delta Dental of Minnesota and they confirmed that they accepted that insurance.
They took several x-rays and examined my teeth. They concluded that I had gum disease and that it would take 4 visits to complete deep root planing in each quadrant of my mouth and that I would also need 2 follow up visits for maintenance cleaning. They also advised me that I would need to have all 4 wisdom teeth extracted. I requested a break down of the costs that I could review on my next visit. They said they would have that for me when I came in.
My first visit seemed to go fine, but when I came back in on Wednesday of the same week, there was no breakdown of costs. I was quickly briefed on the dental procedures they had in mind for me; one of which included getting a night-guard like tray for my teeth to wear for fluoride treatment.
I had told them on my first visit that I knew that would be too expensive for me (they can be up to $800 and most insurance companies do not cover them) and on this visit I said the same. But, I was assured that it was part of a large care package and that it was necessary for my treatment. They said altogether the package would cost $600 and this included an electric toothbrush and a hydro-floss and so on, so I thought that seemed ok. I still thought that my insurance would be covering half of the cost.
Well, then I find out that my portion of the total costs at the end of it all would be $1,300. That seemed like a lot and I could not figure out why it would cost so much, and I didn't have a proper breakdown of the costs to understand. I went ahead with the rest of the visit.
My appointment was at 8 am and I started work at 9 am. I was there an hour before I had to start work and was told my visit would only take an hour, so, because I was in a rush I agreed to apply for dental financing and figured that I could decline any expensive treatment in the future once I had a copy of all the possible expenses. For the moment I just needed to get in the chair to get my teeth cleaned so I could get going.
Well, there was a mix up with the financing paperwork and I started to see this office was very disorganized. Then when I was having my teeth cleaned they could not proceed with repairing my fillings because they had lost my x-rays. So, I was going to have to do that all over again.
During the cleaning the dentist was spraying water all over my face, and the assistant was allowing the water debris to go down my throat. I told them I was swallowing the water, but they were still not able to suction me properly.
Then as I'm sitting there; my face still numb, waiting for them to locate my x-rays; another dental assistant approaches me to tell me she figured out my costs wrong and that actually I would be responsible for paying $2,600 out of pocket.
At that point there was nothing I could do, I was shocked and I was basically at their mercy because my work for that visit had still not been completed. So, I just said "ok", figuring I could sort things out later when I saw the breakdown, and again I requested a copy of the costs. She told me it'd be ready when I leave.
I was approached by the front desk person after that, while I was still in the dentist's chair, to sign a new financing form showing the larger amount, which I found very unprofessional and stressful to be having work on my teeth done while also having to deal with the costs of financing, and the shock of the price doubling! The whole situation made me feel very uncomfortable.
Then someone else approached me to fit me for the teeth guards and make a mold. This surprised me because I didn't have time to think about whether I wanted night guards because I didn't know the cost of them yet. I spoke up about this and was told they were part of my package and that they did not cost as much as night guards because they were fluoride trays, but still I was not told their exact cost, and I was not given the option to pass on them or offered an affordable alternative.
Next, I was taken to another room to review 2 videos about dental health and the products they were giving me in my home care package. Then, I was shown how to use the products and what my daily regimen would be.
After that was through I was brought back out to have another mold taken of my mouth since the first 2 did not come out correctly. Once that was done they wanted to do my x-rays again, but at that point it was 11:15 am and I was supposed to have been at work by 9 am, so I told them that would have to wait and that I needed to go.
When I went to the front desk I asked for a copy of all the costs and it was still not ready! They said I would have to wait until next time to see it. I made an appointment for Friday morning at 7:30 am on my way out.
When I got to work I was reprimanded and had lost 2 1/2 hours of pay because I was stuck at that Dentist office for 3 hours!!!
I decided then that it would not be wise for me to continue as a patient there. I did not feel comfortable with my visit. It seemed they were overcharging by a lot and were not forthcoming and clear about the costs, and they were very disorganized and unprofessional.
Also, there work was sloppy and I could not afford to miss hours of work because they couldn't keep track of my x-rays and were unable to get my molds right the first time. I just had a bad feeling that my next visit might probably end up very similar.
So, I asked some co-workers for Dental referrals and then called around. I compared costs and found that what Gentle Dental was charging was outrageous! Another highly referred dentist was charging only $140 for a gum care management system when Gentle Dental was charging $600!
Also, the dental assistant at another office I contacted knew of Gentle Dental and said that it had a bad reputation. She had even worked there for a day and said she didn't go back because they were very "fishy". So, that sealed it for me.
I called A Gentle Dental that same Wednesday I had my visit, and told them I wished to go elsewhere, they told me someone would call me back. I called again and their office was closed.
The next day I called again and was able to voice my concerns and I was told I would get a call back from the office manager. I received a call back and was told that I owed Gentle Dental $2,300 for the work I had done and the dental care kit I took home. I explained that I was willing to pay for the quadrant cleaning and the electric toothbrush because they had demonstrated it to me and it had been put in my mouth, but I was going to return the rest of the package of items that were unused.
The woman told me the items were non-returnable and non-refundable. She said I had signed a paper acknowledging that. I told her I did not recall that information, and that I only remember signing something that said if I did not stick to their dental care plan I could not expect a reimbursement or free dental work if my teeth still had gum disease.
She just repeated that I signed that form and that I could not return the items. Also, she stated again that I would owe $2,300 for the visit. I asked why and what everything cost and she did not answer.
She said they were not certain what my insurance would cover, so they were just going to make me pay that amount up front.
Well, this was completely unacceptable and I told her exactly what had happened during my visit and that there was no way I was going to pay that kind of money to have a quarter of my mouth cleaned, x-rays that were lost and to be stuck with items I was not going to use.
She was stubborn about me paying but eventually said she was told to call to tell me how much I owe and that she'd have to have the office manager call me back about those other issues. I thought I was talking to the office manager, so again I found that to be very unprofessional.
They could've offered to fax me a copy of the breakdown of costs or apologized that I had been made to feel uncomfortable, but instead because it turned into an argument I felt even more like I was being taken advantage of and as if they were just determined to rob me of a lot of money for a whole lot of nothing.
I called my insurance after that phone call to make them aware of the situation and I discovered that only 1 of Gentle Dental's dentists is a participating Dentist, and it was not the one that had done my cleaning. For that reason the insurance thinks that is why they wanted to charge me out of pocket because they would not be able to charge the costs to my insurance.
This made them seem even more suspicious to me. Why wouldn't they have had me seen by the Dentist who works with my insurance so that way my costs would remain low?
I proceeded to research them and found other negative reports on this site and on the Better Business Bureau.
I also called the financing company they signed me up with to see if they had charged anything yet and I discovered that they had charged $2,677.00!!! Apparently, they pay themselves in full as soon as you have your first visit. They assume that you will go forward with all your future visits and agree to all the products and treatments they sell without even making that clear.
I thought they would be charging my visits one at a time and that I could decline any expensive services, but they went ahead and charged everything without my understanding. The company said I will be receiving a bill in the mail and to get it overturned the Dentist would have to return the money to their company. I'm shocked as well that after all the conversations I had about my bill no one ever revealed that they've already charged me.instead they are avoiding it.
By the end of the day I had not received a call back from A Gentle Dental. So, this morning I went in to return the items they had given me and to settle my account with them. I was told by the front office person that I could not return the items. Then I asked to speak with the office manager. She went in and spoke with her and came back and repeated that I could not return the items. I said I was not keeping them and that I wanted to speak with the office manager. She went and spoke with her again then spoke with someone else.
The other person was an administrative assistant who had demonstrated the dental kit to me. She took me in another room and of course repeated that I could not return the items. She said they were mine and that I could give them to my husband or whomever I wanted if I didn't want to use them, but that I could not return them. I told her that I still needed to see the costs of the items and what my insurance would pay for and that I would not agree to keep these items since I had not used them and since I would be receiving dental care from another office.
If I can give these items away, then surely they can keep them and use them for themselves or a demonstration kit. I should not be obligated to pay out of pocket for a kit they have marked up, when they knew I wanted to have treatment that my insurance would cover, and when I have not used the items.
During this conversation I requested to see my costs again and I was informed that my breakdown was still not prepared and that it would be mailed to me by the end of the day. No compromise was offered and no final agreement was made.
Later that day, I called in and requested to have them fax the bill to me, they refused, but said they would call me so I could pick it up at the end of the day.By 4:30 I had still not heard from them and so I called to ask if the bill was ready. It was not. The office manager, who I was speaking with, was very rude and said that the bill was not promised to me today, and that it might be ready Monday.
In conclusion, I am completely dissatisfied with my experience with A Gentle Dental. I feel that they are trying to swindle me and I refuse to pay any money to them for services they have not rendered and items they refuse to accept but that I am willing to return.
They are establishing a very poor reputation in the community and I doubt people who are already frightened of the dentist would want to subject themselves to an experience like mine.
Beware of A Gentle Dental...
Briana
vista, California
U.S.A.
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