Smile Design Tarpon Springs

Reviews 3

HE

Heather Schulman

FIND A NEW DENTIST ASAP -- DO NOT GO TO DR. ALEDO! I have been to multiple Smile Design Dentistry location(s) and this by far is the **worst dentist office** I have been to in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area. After going to cleanings every 6 months and not having a cavity for over 3+ years. I decided to follow my hygienist to her new location in Tarpon Springs. Little did I know that DR. ALEDO is god awful! He claimed I had 6 cavities total. I was completely shocked since I hadnt had a cavity in over 3+ years. I decided to let him fill the three cavities on my left side. He spent over 2+ hours attempting to fill my cavities (he was having trouble because my teeth are slightly tight together). Please keep in mind these were "small" cavities. NOT ONCE, did he stop to explain himself and communicate with me what he was doing and WHY he was having trouble. I finally got to the point where I was in tears and had to ask him what the hell he was doing (please note I never cry). What upset me was he acted as if my mouth was his and he owned it! After wanting to just run out of the dentist office -- I left him finish the 3 supposed cavities (2 were small). PLEASE NOTE: because he spent so many hours filling my cavities and how rough he was on my mouth. DR. ALEDO actually prescribed me a high dose of Advil. I have never been prescribed a prescription when leaving the dentist. After leaving the dentist, I had severe pain on the left side of my mouth for over 2 months. My mouth was sensitive to cold and hot. Not to mention the bottom cavity he filled -- now when I floss has massive amounts of food that comes out the cavity he filled. AND not to mention the top cavity he filled, now has a huge hole that I can feel with my tongue. Both will eventually need to be crowned due DR. ALEDO! I decided to go see another local dentist that was recommended by a friend/co-worker the following week. I had to call DR. ALEDOs office multiple times -- attempting to get a copy of my records. DR. ALEDOs office finally sent over a blurry copy of my x-rays to my new dentist and would not send my detailed health records to my new dentist (just an itemized receipt). My new dentist (out of the kindness of his heart) took new x-rays and saw ZERO cavities on the right side of my face. REMEMBER -- DR. ALEDO claimed I had an additional three cavities on the right side of my face. The files that were reviewed by my new dentist also did not show any cavities that he decided to fill on his own -- and claimed I had only one cavity out of the total six he claimed that needed to be filled. Again, DR. ALEDO claimed I had a total of six cavities and only ONE needed to be filled. I found multiple reviews online about DR. ALEDO with similar situations like myself. Please also note that Smile Design Dentistry completely re-designed their website to where you cant see the original reviews straight off their website. I truly believe that they had to re-design their website due to the multiple complaints and bad reviews from DR. ALEDO. I attempted to be get refunded for the money I paid out of my pocket and got no where with DR. ALEDOs office. I also had zero follow-up with Smile Design Dentistry corporate office and was super disappointed due to the fact Ive been to two other location(s) -- one in Tampa Palms and one in Citrus Park. If you have bad situation with DR. ALEDO -- remember to make a claim to your heath insurance. It is ILLEGAL to make fake/false claims to your health insurance just because you are an awful dentist. I recommended going to a different dentist in Tarpon Springs -- DO NOT USE DR. ALEDO!

MI

Michele Riedmueller

THREE YEARS AGO - i submitted a FIVE STAR review of this dental facility. While I am willing to uphold my initial impression of Dr. Aledo and his genuine caring and concern for his patients, since then, Ive experienced some challenges with office staff - namely office management and billing. The original review from 2014, is as follows: "I was referred to Dr. Aledo by my Pulmonologists Nurse. After having been examined by and consulted with two other dentists, I found Dr. Aledo to be the only one that truly LISTENED to the problems I was experiencing and HEAR what I was saying. He is also very current in his knowledge of dental health, both preventative and symptomatic. My son, daughter (and soon, hubby), are all receiving quality care from Dr. Aledo and his extraordinary staff (Amy, Hilda, etc). Three words: Patient centered care." The problem is that during the past few years, Ive come to learn, through my husbands employers dental insurance, MetLife Dental, that the office has not been filing claims correctly. Since Ive no proof to dispute what MetLife is reporting, as would be evidenced by Smile Design Dentistrys records,, it would appear Dr. Aledo has not received payment for services rendered from MetLife Dental, since December 2014. WE, however, HAVE BEEN CONTIUOUSLY APPROACHED TO PAY OUR OUT OF POCKET AND CO PAYMENTS. According to MetLife Dental, the reason claims have remained unpaid is because Smile Design Dentistry has failed to comply with proper claim filing procedures (including, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, requests for follow-up information and reports). In browsing through the Google reviews of previous patients on this thread, I have noticed that, while Dr. Aledo and the professional staff continue to provide exemplary patient care and treatment, their efforts are met with counter-productive behavior by office management and billing staff in not complying with insurance filing protocol. The most disconcerting part is that all of the challenges can be simply alleviated if only the office management/billing staff were willing to participate in a joint effort to remove the barriers to success. To put it more simply, attempts to communicate (emails, phone calls, letters, etc), with Smile Design Dentistrys office management/billing staff have failed as they simply choose not to reply. We are not a family of thieves. We do not request that for which we are not willing to pay. My advice to anyone considering obtaining treatment from this particular Smile Design Dentistry location is to be aware that although you will be hard pressed to find another dentist as caring, talented, and attentive as Dr. Aledo, you will do yourself a HUGE favor if you request all copies of all claims and billing notices to be provided, in writing, AT THE TIME OF TREATMENT, and then to remain aware, using your insurance providers web site/portal, to track the filing and payment of claims.

0L

0lе Mor

Awful experience! When I came for my first visit Dr. Aledo recommended me to start with cleaning procedure, so we made another appointment that would be almost in a month. I also complained on a strange sound when opening my mouth and I was shocked when Dr. Aledo said: "Well, it happens, there is nothing we can do, just DONT EAT HUGE BURGERS". Really, doctor? Has he ever heard of TMJ at all? Im not even talking about the fact that I dont eat burgers, period! How unprofessional was his advice! Of course, I started looking for another dentist right away, but a few days later I lost my tooth filling and had to make emergency appointment with Dr. Aledo. They made me wait for 4 days and when I came for my appointment Dr. Aledo didnt spend even a second to take a look at my problem! He sent some assistant instead, who told me that they couldnt fix my tooth until they perform teeth cleaning first! Despite on the open hole in my tooth, my pain, and almost a month till my appointment for teeth cleaning! This was so indifferent, they could tell me all this bs over the phone, instead of wasting my time! If you really care about your health - look for a caring specialist!