Laguna Hills Dental Care - Dr. Farshad Saghatchi
$Con-Artist Dentist$ ILLEGAL Work Ethic. No Concern For Patient Well-Being

On November 6th I went to Laguna Hills Dental Care as a new patient. On this same day, Dr. Saghatchi told me I needed several things taken care of. He did a comprehensive exam, full mouth x-ray, and full mouth debridement. I was told I needed to have five fillings done because I had abrasion on teeth numbers 4,5, 9,12, and 13. All the fillings were 1-surface fillings done using a composite material and all were billed to me at the same price of $275 per tooth. Dr. Saghatchi also did two crown preparations on tooth numbers 14 and 30.in addition to the crown preparation, Dr. Saghatchi also did a core-build up on each tooth which was billed to me at $15 per tooth. Lastly, Dr. Saghatchi also performed scaling and root planning on two out of my four quadrants and administered a Chlorhexidine rinse. The Chlorhexidine rinse was billed to me at a fee of $152 for every two quadrants ($304 full mouth). Dr. Saghatchi created a treatment plan for me with all the work I needed and my out-of-pocket cost for each procedure. All of this work was done on the same day, within three hours.

As a Secure Horizons member, I felt that since Laguna Hills Dental Care was a providing member, I was going to be in good hands. Before the work was started, I specifically told Dr. Saghatchi that for all work that I needed, I only wanted to do it if it is covered under my insurance plan. As an everyday American citizen, I am not familiar with 90% of the terms used in the dental field. Upon reviewing my treatment plan with a family member who is in the dental field, I was notified that I was charged a large sum of money for procedures that the insurance doesn't cover fully or even partially.

The crowns that were ordered by Dr. Saghatchi were Captek crowns. These crowns are not covered under my insurance plan and Dr. Saghatchi charged me an out of pocket fee of $764 per tooth. Since I am not familiar with dental terms, I was assured by Dr. Saghatchi that this was something covered partially by the insurance company, but after speaking with an insurance representative at Secure Horizons, I was notified that it is not covered and I am paying the entire fee that the crown costs. The very next business day that Laguna Hills Dental Care was open (November 10), I notified them that I did not want Captek crowns and I only wanted porcelain fused to high noble metal crowns which would leave me with an out of pocket fee of $480 plus the cost of the precious metals. Upon bringing up this matter with Dr. Saghatchi, he told me that the crowns cannot be changed because they have already been sent to the lab. Having a family member in the dental field, I was informed that dental labs will change an order if given notice. However, Dr. Saghatchi refused to change the order or give me the name of the dental lab so I could call myself.

After further discussing the crowns with Dr. Saghatchi the next day, he told me that he would change them but will charge me additional money for the other services already performed on November 6. If I had known Dr. Saghatchi wanted to charge me extra for work that was already performed, I would not have had the work done in the first place. I was presented a treatment plan with fees stated to which I and the dentist agreed to and signed at the time. However, now that I realized that I was being charged for crowns that I did not ask for and wanted to change them, Dr. Saghatchi is threatening to raise the prices of all the other procedures.

Recently, I received a letter from Dr. Saghatchi notifying me that he will finally honor my request to have the crowns switched from a Captek crown to a porcelain fused to high-noble metal crown. However, upon changing the crown, Dr. Saghatchi refuses to refund me the extra amount of money he charged me for the Captek crowns. So even though my request has been met to change the crowns from a Captek to a porcelain fused to high-noble metal crown, he is still charging me the same amount of money. Additionally, he is now changing the price of the core build-up from the original $15 per tooth that we had both agreed to and signed off on, to a staggering $275 per tooth, after the work has already been performed.

I understand that when I signed the treatment plan, I was agreeing to the fees. However, I was not aware that the crowns Dr. Saghatchi was offering me was not my only option. It is Dr. Saghatchi's job to present me with all my available options. It is not his job to raise the prices on a procedure after it has already been performed and a set price had already been agreed upon.

During my initial visit to Dr. Saghatchi, he also did a one-surface filling on teeths 4,5, 9,12, and 13. Dr. Saghatchi diagnosed the teeth as having only abrasion. Since my insurance does not offer coverage for a tooth if it only has abrasion, I paid $275 out-of-pocket per tooth to have the procedure done. I was able to obtain my x-rays from a previous dentist office that was taken October 25 (duplicates enclosed). After having another dentist review the x-rays, I was informed that my teeth did in fact have decay, not just abrasion. Had Dr. Saghatchi diagnosed the teeth properly as decayed, my out-of-pocket would have been $45-$66 for each tooth, depending on which tooth it was. Again, Dr. Saghatchi displayed a behavior of dishonesty.

After having such a horrible experience with this dentist, I have also requested that I be refunded for the two quadrants of root planning and scaling along with a Chlorhexidine rinse that has not yet been performed, but already paid for by me. However, just as with the crowns, the dentist has threatened to raise the price on the two quadrants that have already been scaled and rinsed even though we had both already agreed and signed off on a set price. The total price I paid for the full-mouth root planning and scaling plus Chlorhexidine rinse was $384. Since only half of the work has been performed, I am requesting a refund of $192, which the dentist will not honor.

Upon further research, I was advised that Dr. Saghatchi was unethical and unprofessional. It is very difficult for a professional dentist to do a comprehensive exam, full mouth x-ray, full mouth debridement, two quadrants of scaling and root planning, two crown preparations, and five fillings within three hours while still providing the type of quality work a dentist should be providing. Additionally, I was informed by another dentist that it is very unusual for a dentist to perform two crown preparations on both sides of the mouth at the same time. Because of this misfortune, I have been left unable to chew my food on either side of my mouth and am in a great deal of discomfort.

I have already filed a complaint with my insurance company and filed a report with another company. Dr. Saghatchi is aware that I have filed reports. Now in the fifth week since my initial visit, I am still without my crowns. Dr. Saghatchi has told/threatened me by not putting my crowns in my mouth until I retract all my complaint reports, even though everything has been fully paid for. He told me that he will place the crowns in my mouth once I have erased the complaints. Does that sound fair? Not to mention the root-planning and scaling that I have already paid for and has yet to be completed.

If you are looking for a dentist that can provide you with the quality work you deserve, the care, compassion, and honesty you want, in an environment that will make you feel comfortable and relaxed without having to worry about what problems you are going to have to deal with next, than avoid Dr. Saghatchi and Laguna Hills Dental Care at all costs. If you are an HMO insurance carrier, there are PLENTY of other HMO-accepting dental offices in the local area that will treat you without a problem. If you are a PPO insurance carrier or a cash-only patient, then don't even take the risk. South Orange County has some of the finest dentists in the country and they would be more than happy to help you. Don't let one bad dentist give you a bad impression for all dentists.

Company: Laguna Hills Dental Care - Dr. Farshad Saghatchi
Country: USA
State: California
City: Laguna Hills
Address: 26534 Moulton Parkway
Phone: 9498318100

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