Dutchess County Dental

Reviews 4

A

A Private User

- $175 for new patient [cleaning, xrays, and exam] vs $250 - $350 in the area. - $150 /yr discount plan offered in house, can be applied to first visit (only $45 w/ plan) 3 cavities filled with white fillings, $215 w/ plan. - Efficient, w/ Ortho in house (mondays) - Email and text message reminders/confirmations I found these guys through google, checked out the reviews. I still had some questions about what it would cost (i have no insurance), so I go into detail about that. Hope it helps the next person. This was my first visit, as a new patient. Their Poughkeepsie office in in the Poughkeepsie plaza mall, which is convenient. I was greeted warmly by the 3 receptionists right away, given some short forms to fill out, and sat in the waiting room for less than 5 min before the hygienists assistant called me in to one of like 6 rooms/chairs. The hygienists assistant did the x-rays in 4 min in the same seat i was in (note: they dont do panorex xrays unless you need it and its not included in the initial visit costs of $175 [cleaning, xrays, and exam] ). The hygienist came in, did a quick exam of my teeth and gums, mentioned i had 5mm "pockets", explained what that was, mentioned a treatment they offer, but said to see what the status was after the next 6 mo cleaning (this was my first in 5 years). Then she went to town on my teeth, using the scraper tool, and then some sandblasting thing. She was quick and efficient, but a little rough, though my gums may have been a little sensitive to begin with and i dont floss. She also did the exam, and found a couple more cavities on the x-rays. ( I never saw an actual dentist, but they said the dentist reviews the x-rays at the end of the day, which is fine by me, probably saves him time and me money) Im also sure that hell just check them out during my next visit to fill the cavities. The hygienist told me to hold off on the discount plan until she saw how much work I needed, then helped me add up the difference in costs and find out if the $150 discount plan was worth it. It brought the $175 cost down to $45, so the difference with the initial visit alone is only $20 more for the plan, which will pay for itself filling 1 cavity. They also have an ortho in house on mondays, so I got a free consult, he recommended invisalign ($6500 for 18 mo), which is kinda pricey, but with the discount plan I get $25% off. Hope all this helps, Ill write another review after my next appt.

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HE

Helena Marie

Part I of my review: My choice was ZERO stars but I had to put at least one..lucky for County Dental. The front office staff is great, but that doesnt help you when you sit in Dr Leroy Sheffers chair! Dr. Sheffer is rude, demeaning to women, talks only about his taste in music and movies and never about the work hes doing. He is insensitive, abrupt, condescending. The owner of the practice, Dr. Fertucci is completely absent and useless, and has no interest in the goings-on in the office. I went in for full reconstructive upper work and have had major problems with Sheffer. Fertucci refuses to meet with me until I give him more than the $10K Ive already given. Sheffer has been talked to numerous times about how he treats women (staff and patients), one female staff member quit because of him, and Fertucci leaves everything in the hands of the office manager who is not allowed to make any decisions of her own or to even speak her own words. I am now being denied treatment (a set of 3 caps came off and they will not see me until I give them more money...even though Ive been trying to get an appointment with the owner of the practice). Why would anyone continue to pay for a service that is shoddy at best and you cant speak with the owner to rectify the ongoing problems. Dr. Fertucci has absolutely no concept about how to treat patients. I have invested a lot of money into my treatment and to have not only the dentist but also the owner of the practice treat me with such disrespect is unconscionable. There is another woman who works for Fertucci named Angela. Angela sat with me, along with Heather, the office mgr, to discuss the things that were going on at one point; Angela swore up and down that from there on out, she would make all of my appointments, and after each, we would meet with Sheffer and discuss exactly what he did that visit. Guess what, Angela never made one appointment and Angela never once met with me again. This is how Dutchess County Dental runs their practice. Nice going Fertucci, Sheffer, Angela, Heather. STAY AWAY FROM DUTCHESS COUNTY DENTAL! If you dont believe me, look up the reviews about Dr. Leroy Sheffer...he is ranked BELOW NATIONAL AVERAGE!!!

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KR

Kristina Macchiaroli

I had to get a new dentist because my old dentist does not take my new dental plan and County Dental was listed on my health plan website. I recently got my teeth cleaned and just got the EOB from my insurance. Anyhow, the EOB total bill was $795 (CRAZY) and it says Im responsible for $122. $47 for the exam because I have a $50 deductible and $75 for an uncovered service so I call County Dental to inquire because all I had was a cleaning/ exam/ x-rays. The girl proceeds to tell me that the $75 is for "ORAL HYGIENE INSTRUCTIONS" that the hygenist would have given me. I then proceeded to tell her that they can take their oral care instructions, their crappy toothbrush that I might use to scrub my bathroom tile with and floss sticks and do something with it. I did not leave with a manual and for the 20 minutes it took the girl to clean my teeth she didnt give me $75 worth of... knowledge.She insisted that this is a very important service that they must bill for and I insisted that medical offices like their are the exact reason our country is dealing with the health care reform dilemma and they should be ashamed! It makes me wonder how many other people just go along with it and pay, and how many insurance premiums are inflated because they do agree to provide this as a billable service.....BTW, when I went to my former dentist I received 3 cleanings per year, 2 of which were covered and 1 which I paid for out of pocket. Guess what they charged me for my extra cleaning $45. Yup $45, now how does that compare? SHAME SHAME SHAME on County Dental.

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A

A Private User

Pros: Clean Office I have had a horrible experience with this office. For my initial cleaning, I felt as though they had never done a cleaning before. They were very rough on my gums and splashing saliva. Afterwards, I felt like they had taken away parts of the underside of my teeth, a feeling I have never had before with any other dentist. Also at the initial meeting, the woman cleaning my teeth commented, your teeth arent that bad, but you could use some veneers. I found this to be slightly disrespectful. At a second visit to get 2 cavities filled, I was told by my insurance company that they would cover 2, 1 surface fillings, at a cost of $10 per cavity. The billing department said that it would be $36 per filling. In addition, they offered to do white instead of metallic fillings, but neglected to tell me that they were more money. I ended up having a $92 dollar bill, with an agreement with the dentist that if I found from my insurance company that I was supposed to pay less, they would refund the difference. I contacted my insurance company, and had them send the office my plan, and have spoken with the billing office twice now, both times, with a promise of a call back. Both times I have waited more than a week without receiving a call. I know that a $72 dollar difference isnt the end of the world, but I would like an explanation as to why I am being charged more or at least the courtesy of a call back. I would not recommend this office or dentist to anyone.

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