I needed a new dentist in the East Bay so I called this office and scheduled a routine cleaning, xray, and exam. It's a new office and looks slick, they were offering a new patient special. How bad could it be, right?
I thought it was a little strange that they took xrays first, then did the exam. Doesn't cleaning usually happen before the exam? But whatever. I saw Dr. Chen who seemed OK; she was a little bit difficult to understand, though. She recommended a "deep cleaning", and told me I had a small cavity that needed filling (I was already aware of that and planning to get it fixed after the cleaning if I felt comfortable with her office.) Then she blew my mind by telling me that my crown, which is less than 2 years old, was not a crown but just a huge filling that was endangering my tooth. I freaked out a little, because I paid $1300 for the thing and it's supposed to last for 10 years or more.
While I was freaking, she left and sent in some guy... He never introduced himself, just sat down at the computer in the treatment room and started talking. Apparently he was "The Doctor". He had this very arrogant attitude, and started laying on the "if only you had taken better care of your teeth" head trip. That made me suspicious, because my teeth are in pretty good shape and the only time I've had problems (like the alleged crown) is when I've had to have BAD dental care repaired.
The next thing I know, he's handing me a quote for $2,000 and asking about my credit! I was stunned. "I'm just here for a cleaning, " I told him, "and I need to get a small filling." He launched into a whole tirade about gum disease (which I don't have) and preventative care, basically implying that all my teeth would blacken and fall out if I didn't buy their "intensive deep cleaning" program that costs thousands of dollars. "I think I'll just take the regular cleaning", I said, and his answer?"I won't do it." That's when I got up and left, $75 lighter, to make an appointment with my old dentist who is 1-1/2 hours away. It's worth the drive to know I'm getting good, honest care and not being scammed.
People, beware of ANY so-called dentist who offers a new patient "special" and then starts your first appointment by asking about your credit rather than cleaning your teeth. They are bait & switch scammers who give the whole dental industry a bad name.
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