Aspen Dental

Reviews 3

KE

Ken Johnson

I wasnt impressed. I have multiple issues with this Aspen clinic as a whole. I first went to this Aspen clinic on a specific day, and was evaluated by a dentist. The reason I was there was because of tooth pain from a certain tooth; specifically, I needed an extraction. The evaluating dentist looked over my mouth, and she gave her results to the "money guy" Levi, whom I was to meet with after her evaluation. After she looked over my mouth, I went to see this Levi guy, who told me that I needed several thousand dollars worth of dental work, said work including a $130 cleaning (seriously? every other dentist that Ive EVER been to charges a max of $50-$60 for a cleaning, and thats the absolute maximum, $130 for a cleaning is just absurd...) At any rate, it gets worse. The majority of the prices that I was quoted were VERY high compared to other dentists that Ive seen, and thats bad enough. But what really annoyed me was the fact that they tried to double charge me, and at different rates, too. I was evaluated late in the week and was told that the tooth that was causing me pain would either have to be removed or I would have to see an endodontist to try and save it. I elected to have it removed. When I met with Levi the Money Guy after my evaluation, I declined all of the overly expensive dental work he offered except for the extraction, since I desperately needed it and I couldnt get an appointment with a different dentist within the week, and we set up an appointment for the following week. He told me at that point that it would be $130 for the extraction, at which point I said "Ok, thats fine, but Ill pay the day I get it done, right?" To which he replied, "Well, we prefer you to pay now..." At any rate, I went ahead and paid ahead of time. This has to be the first dentist (or doctor) Ive ever encountered that expects you to pay several days AHEAD of time. I have no problem paying the day of, just before Im seen or before a procedure is performed on me, but to expect me to pay several days in advance is ridiculous. Nevertheless, I did pay ahead of time. Several days later when it was time for my appointment, when I came into the lobby who should be at the front desk but Levi the Money Guy, the very same person I paid for my extraction those several days prior to the actual day of my extraction. I signed in, and after a few minutes he called me up and informed me that it would be $180 for the services I was about to be rendered, and asked how I wished to pay. I was momentarily speechless... after I recovered my equilibrium, I told him that I had not only paid when I had first been seen several days before, but that I had paid him specifically, and, furthermore, I had been charged $130, not $180, and that I had the receipt if he wished to view it, and finally that I was curious as to why the cost of my extraction had gone up $50 in the last few days... He hemmed and hawed for a bit, but after I started to get visibly angry and frustrated he said that it was just a mistake, a clerical error, and that he was very sorry. Bullshit. As far as Im concerned, he is the primary reason that I will never again deal with an Aspen clinic. The actual dentists seem fairly competent, but the Money Guy Levi comes off as a total scuzz, and Im given the overall impression, at least from a financial view, that its all about the money. I really dont appreciate their attempt to double charge me. Also, the tooth that they removed had a gold cap on it, and I requested that they let me keep the cap. For some reason, this was incredibly humorous to the dental assistant who was assisting my dentist, as well as several other employees outside of my range of vision (but not outside of earshot, as they all had a good laugh at my expense while well within range of my hearing, never mind that I got almost $60 for the cap.) At any rate, do yourself a favor, and find a good dentist. Aspen is a huge disappointment and rip-off, at least in my humble opinion.

AN

Andreana McVicker

I had gone to the office off of volunteer parkway several days ago because all four of my wisdom teeth are in, and I have been in so much pain that at that time I hadnt slept in 5 days. Obviously I wasnt at 100%. I wrote down my name, as I had been there once before for an exam and how much it would be to have them extracted over a year ago, but never had it done. Since then my information had all been updated, new phone number, new address, and I actually had insurance. They took forever to find my file because it was misplaced I told the lady I had insurance and what I had, moments later she said it was going to be $114. I was thinking "hey not bad" after I reviewed my dental plans, while waiting almost 2 hours in the lobby. They called me back to do the X-rays. Dr. Whoever he was, walked in and asked if I was ready to have those teeth pulled. He then walked out and got the office manager. She said its going to be $687 to have them pulled. I said "what is my insurance covering? " in a very sarcastic and demeaning tone "well I guess they are going to cover half of it" I said what was the $114 for, which she responded in the same manner, " I guess that was for the X-rays and exam, but youll need to talk to the receptionist" so I go back to the front, the lady at the desk proceeds to tell me that yes its for the X-rays and exam, and I had no insurance on file. I know I was in horrible agony, because of these dang teeth, and I dont know how to do her job. But never once did they bother to update my information, address, contact number, insurance, nothing. At this point Ive handed her my insurance card and the office manager walks up and asks if there was an issue. Yes, yes theres an issue. I wasnt given new paper work to fill out for ALL of my update information. I havent been able to eat or sleep, Ive missed several days of work, and your employee doesnt know how to do her job. The office manager handed me my check back. Since this was at roughly 11:55(ish) and they close at 12 on Friday, I needed to reschedule. I told her that I will find another dentist. Tuesday I went to another dentist who was able to refer me to an oral surgeon and am having these teeth removed tomorrow. The dentist himself was a very polite gentleman, and seemed to be worried about the pain I was having. And if you arent in pain and know where they keep their paper work and are able to make a copy of your insurance card, I would recommend them.

JO

Joseph Rzeczycki

I used to go to their Johnson City office until their male dentists left there, and the female Asian dentist there was WAY too rough and I did not think I wanted her to be my dentist so I was going to Bristol and am seen by Dr Carle, a male dentist. But, Dr Carle can be unpredictable, make random, fast movements, hurt you, and then not apologize, but overall hes done good work on me. The dental hygienist (Debra) in Bristol leaves some things to be desired. 1) She canceled my appt that she had made for me 6 months prior, and then after I called her back to reschedule an appt as she asked me to do on my voicemail, she left me a new voice mail telling me she wanted me to call her back yet again to confirm the new appt. I thought this was unusual and quite unprofessional. When I asked her in person why she canceled, her reply gave me the impression she was making things up as she went along. She said she "had to go to the doctor" but gave no explanation beyond that. 2) Shes can be too rough. She hurt when she flossed my teeth. Whether it was an accident or not, doesnt matter. She hurt me. There is NO need for this. Im not sure if Ill put up with any more of her roughness. She would not floss herself that roughly, I guarantee that. This last appt, she was more gentle, and hopefully we will be OK from now on. I will now edit my review of them and give them another star to make 3 stars. Will update later as need be. UPDATE : 9-14-2015 : Aspen Dental (Dr Carle) refuses to let me get dentures there. I had 2 root canal teeth extracted by an out of town DDS last Winter, and then my front teeth began to get chipped. Aspen refused to fix them, referred me to an very expensive specialist for a complete oral reconstruction that I cant afford. I think the patients should be able to make their own minds up about which route they want to take with their teeth. I cant afford the $15,000 to $20,000 they wanted me to get at specialist dentists. With my dental discount plan, I could have got full dentures for less than $3000, but they refuse to because they say "I have viable teeth". But, what good are viable teeth if you cant afford to keep them up? Thanks for nothing Aspen Dental, and thanks for limiting my options. Now enjoy the 1 star feedback you totally deserve.