SmileCare

I had gone into this dentist office to get an exam and have some work done that I knew I had to have. What's better than a dentist on post near my home? I was so wrong.

After filling out the paper work, I was taken to x-ray. 1) The xray room is nothing more than some drawers with an x-ray machine bolted to the wall and a really old chair to sit in. The assistant who took my xrays was about to tore my mouth apart, putting little cuts under my tongue and gums with the plastic xray slips. 2) After this I was taken to the dentist, who when I tried to tell him about a medical issue that affects my teeth and gums, pretty much ignored me. He took a little time to look at my mouth and didn't explain anything to me. He left the assistant who spoke horrible English to try to explain it to me.

3) Then came the bill. They were going to need upfront $3000 for a periodontist? l couldn't get a normal cleaning. My insurance doesn't cover all of this because it's not a normal cleaning. I needed a specialist cleaning, not once but regularly forever! Well, when I got home, I found out I have gingivitis which can be fought with more consistent care of my teeth and gums. Instead of 650 dollars for a specialist, I paid $25 at a drugstore for proper gum and teeth care. Apparently, for the $3000 I could also get a root canal and 2 crowns. This is after my insurance covered $1200.

I asked to have the root canal tooth pulled instead to save money, but it would cost me almost $700 after insurance coverage! Again, I researched the area and found I can have a tooth pulled for an average of $250 out of pocket with no insurance. That SmileCare Fort Hood is a bunch of swindlers. They over charge for routine care and have you pay for services you don't need. I can't wait to get to another dentist who cares and won't completely try to empty my pockets and put me into debt the first visit.

Their service is the worst care ever, every encounter I've ever had with this company. Over the phone and in person, the staffs are not helpful, rude. and unprofessional. I would not refer a dead person to get treatment from this company. I had been a patient for 7 or 8 years. So to just get treatment somewhere else would have been such an inconvenience so I stuck it out.

Till one day last year, I had a very bad experience with their staff and the manager. I had to remove my son from being treated after my son's appointment for a cleaning was canceled and they wanted to charge me a cancellation fee. The only reason I stuck with them after this situation is because they did my braces and it would have been to much hassle to have another clinic take over the care.

I went to get a crown done on a previous root canal. While I sat on the chair with my mouth open, the dentist let the assistant finish up so she can do the impressions, another assistant came over and had a private conversation with my DR and the one assisting me, she posed next to me while assistant #2 snapped pictures of her with me in the background, and was said she would posed them on her face book account, I was upset. The assistant #1 kept having a conversation about what she was doing that weekend and talking negative about her co workers, while she took the impressions, she messed up about 3 impressions and on the last one she just said we'll see if they take this one at the lab, the DR was not there through this hole procedure, she was two rooms away working on another patient and didn't once come in to check up on the assistants work.

I had to wait about 2wks for my crown to come in, by then I was out of town and canceled that appt and got a new one, the secretary failed to tell me over the phone my impressions were messed up and had to be redone. When I came in the next time after getting child care for my two children, I was told I had to reschedule to get my impressions retaken because the lab messed them up, which I fail to believe they did. I waited to get a call the next day for an appt and nothing was done, I was in pain and went to the office spoke to the manager about getting my refund back because they had done a terrible job and was disgusted with the service I received.

The manager told me by the following week she would give me a call and tell me what the regional manager (Trisha) had to say about this case. I waited almost 4wks now and not a call even after going by the office and leaving my phone number again for the manager last week. Today Sept. 10, 2010 I went to the office again and spoke to the manager which still wasn't ready with no info in her hand, while searching on her messages she found some info regarding my refund which instead of returning $432, they giving me 20% of this money, I told her no way because the impressions where messed up, the manager said well the lab fees, I responded by telling her if they messed up the impressions there should not be no lab fee, I just want my money back because I suffered when the assistant put my temp filling on while having her conversation, tucking a rubber band inside of my gum's and then the filling, I've always gotten dental work and a bunch of crowns which never once have had a rubber band tucked inside of my gum's. I need this money so I can pay my dentist which I trust to get a crown put on this tooth which I'm suffering discomfort from.