Gentle Dental Reviews

My favorite asked me to acknowledge that holding my mouth open for a prolonged period of time could make my jaw ache. Another asked me to acknowledge that medications (not a specific medication but medications in general) can have side effects. Really? Final straw: this practice requires payment in advance even if you have insurance. After they refused to bill insurance first before billing me, the camel’s back broke and I left, never to return.

I needed a cleaning and reluctantly agreed to the deep clean. It was miserable and required 2 appointments, not because of my teeth but because that’s what insurance allegedly requires (my insurance denies this). Both times I left with half my face numb for 8 hours, leaving me unable to work, talk, eat or drink without issues the rest of the day - for a cleaning. Twice.

The first time I had the root canal and prep for the crown first, stupidly agreed to fill one of the “bad” cavities” and then had half the deep cleaning. My bill, with insurance coverage according to their billing department was over $1300. And it still left me with $195 to pay for the other half of the cleaning. Everything dealing with payment is very rushed, for what should be obvious reasons to anyone who’s fallen victim to their billing practices. I’m not ignorant; I’m a government attorney and represented a major federal hospital. I’m intimately familiar with insurance billing practices and collections. But when someone stands over you with a clipboard that gives you the ability to finish your dental work, you sign and pay.

Once I got home I immediately saw I’d been overcharged, even by their own estimate, because they failed to bill my insurance at all for the filling. That was (according to them) and overcharge of $60.90. I was told I’d have a credit. I said I wanted a refund but was told I’d have to wait for insurance to pay the claim and then see if I “owed anything.” That’s illegal. You can’t knowingly overcharge a patient and hang onto the payment on the off chance insurance doesn’t pay what you hope to receive. Insurance is a contract. If the practice accepts a policy they agree to accept the amount the policy pays as well as the patient’s responsibility as payment in full.

I received my EOB from my insurance a week before my second half cleaning appointment, which I was already dreading anyway. Not only had I been overcharged for the filling, I was charged $88 over the agreed price for the crown itself. And the filling? I wasn’t owed $60.90; I was owed $98.90. In total I was owed $191.90. My upcoming appointment was going to be $195.10. I showed my EOB and the billing staff claimed they hadn’t been paid by insurance and offered to credit the $60.90 to my bill that day. I knew if that happened I’d never get the correct amount refunded so I declined. They showed (unsurprisingly) an amount due from insurance that was about $100 over what insurance was going to pay them. Well, that might be due to their bill being off by several hundred dollars at minimum (it stands to reason their amount submitted isn’t the negotiated amount).

Last time for my root canal I paid $700 and they still came to me asking for $90 more a month later. And I can see this is standard practice. I got the staff to admit all new patients get deep cleanings (which is a huge foul when it isn’t clinically indicated - I have no periodontal disease per their own exam). Their next level billing department admitted to me that they overbill this way to collect so patients don’t refuse to pay post procedure. Again, there is zero legal basis for doing this because the billing errors don’t justify holding the correction and refund hostage waiting on insurance to pay. That’s utter and complete crap. I’ll stick with getting my exams from the military when on reserve duty, even if it is only offered once/year. I had a dental emergency that led me down this ridiculously expensive path and was thoroughly fleeced for my trouble. I won’t go back again.

Several weeks after the so-called resolution of my billing issue (in which I still overpaid completely unfairly), and me telling them I would never go to their clinic again, I got a call from Gentle Dental saying "can you come on Tuesday to start on your crown?" Like really?? This crown was never on my treatment plan, by the way, and I never heard about it before. The bottom line: I would not recommend trusting your teeth or your finances to this company, as they might mess up both.

There is no grievance dept for gentle dental in AZ... New manager took over has no clue what to do.. Told me to call other gentle clinics.. Been a runaround is what I went thru---3 years. Still asking for more refund.. Not near what I had to pay for correcting the crooked post- new bone grafting and so on... 3 years of running around they gave me. Old manager says she wants to help me. I have to drive 100 miles round trip...How many more trips will that take to resolve the problem??? Is that called help. Give me my money back uuugghhh. I left gentle dental in a flash.. Again stay away- save yourself grief- runaround- high turnover of dentists, I must have seen 4-7 different dentists while going to gentle dental over 3 years. Each time I went I a new face, go to a different place.

By September I still could not bite down without pain. I called the original office sounding as though they had no idea I was in pain, said I could see their new Endodontist who told me my tooth was broken, would have to be pulled and I would need a $7000. Implant. When I was upset that their Endodontist broke my tooth their office manager said "How can we make this right for you?" I said compensate me for breaking my tooth! They have been giving me the runaround since then and have not responded to my claim with the Better Business Bureau. I have now filed a complaint with Interdent their corporate office and the AZ state dental board.

My daughter Ella, had her last ortho appointment on February 1st. Then, she was scheduled for March 21 for her last adjustments, and also, the same day, she was scheduled for deband on April 1, 2020. In March the appointment was canceled due to Covid19. In March, Ella started to have some issues with her teeth. She complained about her teeth alignment. She stopped wearing her rubber bands that she was wearing for 24 hours.

I tried to get a hold of the Gentle Dental office but they had a voice message asking to leave a detailed message and someone WILL call you back, which I did leave a message but no one called me back. I started calling daily leaving the same voice messages about Ella’s struggles but unfortunately after leaving several voice messages there was still no response from Gentle Dental office. At that time Ella's cheek started to bleed because the bracket was scratching and her K nine was very sensitive. I started to worry.

In the morning, on April 1st, I got a call from Gentle Dental. I was so happy thinking that finally someone is returning my phone call but this was just the front desk assistant calling to cancel our April appointment. I explained the situation and my daughter's struggles but the assistant said they take only emergency patients and she will get this message to her manager and the manager will call me back by the end of the day. Obviously no one returned the call. I got a hold of my local dentist, and they recommended me getting wax from Amazon for the scratching bracket and extra fluoride for the sensitive tooth until I can get a hold of Gentle Dental. Continuously making calls to Gentle Dental, finally, I got through on May 18th and scheduled Ella’s appointment on the closest date on June 1st.

On June 1st, at 7 am, I got a call from Gentle Dental front desk assistant saying our appointment is canceled. I asked what’s the reason for cancelation, she said that she is just an administrator and she has no information about that, but she has been told to call us and to cancel our appointment again. I asked her if she can reschedule for another closest date available, she said she is not sure when the doctor will be available. I was very frustrated, disappointed, and upset about this nonsense.

Later, that same day on June 1st, I was calling to get Ella scheduled but no one was picking up the phone. I left the voice message that I want to talk to their supervisor. After I left a voice message I was still continuing calling and I finally got through. The administrator apologized for what Ella had to go through and said that she will get this message to her manager Natalli and will definitely get back to me by the end of the day she said. Also, she said that Dr. ** has an available spot this Thursday at 3:50 pm.

Of course, I was happy to any availability by this time, but I told her that I still would like to talk to their supervisor and she was promising that Natalli will call me by the end of the day. I lost all my hope and was doubtful that someone would call me from Gentle Dental that day. It is nonsense, insane, irresponsible that in the last five months I couldn’t hold of anyone in Gentle Dental at the same time I’ve been charged on the monthly bases by Gentle Dental. For what?

On June 2nd, I got hold of my friend that refer us to Gentle Dental and asked for help. My friend checked the schedule and told me that Ella is not on the schedule for this Thursday and Dr. ** is not working this Thursday either. My friend told me that my daughter is scheduled for June 25th. I could not believe what I was hearing. She couldn’t find any managers on duty, however, she referred me to Hope, PCC at Kent office. Hope said that she talked to Molly, HC and Molly will contact Dr. ** and the doctor will call me today, June 2nd, for sure. That same morning when my daughter was brushing her teeth, the elastics that haven’t been replaced for five months were completely worn out and burst.

It 8:30 pm and I haven’t received any calls that Gentle Dental promised me. Looks like Dr. ** and her team disappeared :((. At this point, I’m asking that someone at a higher management level will review my concern and take serious measurements on this case. If by end of this week June 6, 2020, I won’t hear from Gentle Dental, I will take this further for additional legal help.

I could go on and on about the problems that I have gone through here, but I just want to speak with someone and resolve these issues. A month ago, they told me that a manager would call me. Turns out that several of the offices DON'T HAVE MANAGERS! Then they told me I should "leave a review" in order to have the director of operations contact me. I tried to avoid that, and the staff said they would try to email her and have her contact me, but after at least a month I have had no response at all. So would someone PLEASE address this!

Dr. ** practiced unclean hygiene by going from patient to patient then back to me without washing his hands!! This lasted for four hours, yes I sat in the chair four hours and went home sick, sick for three weeks now. Because it took so long for Dr. ** to get back to me, I wasn't numb anymore so I had to go through the shots all over again. The procedure involved a crown prep, my front tooth looked like a toothpick when he was done. When I asked why it was taking so long, he whispered in my new patient ears, to paraphrase, ("We are short staffed" and that many of the hygienist were horrible). This did not fill me with confidence. I begged for my insurance company to please find me someone else - they said once a dentist starts a crown they should finish it. He told me he ate mercury when he was a kid.

The end result is a botch - I have a bright white mismatch in color crown, yes front and center and cockeyed too. It doesn't quite fit right, but being terrified as I was, we called it good and I hurried out the door never to return of course. I DO NOT RECOMMEND.

The woman at the front desk continue to argue with me and say there was never a cavity filled and then repeatedly told me and my son that we could not afford the services in an attempt to what seemed embarrassed us or make us feel bad that we We’re not able to pay for her long list of expenses. I would never take my child back to a place that would embarrass somebody and this type of behavior is very unprofessional.

After reading all the reviews on this business I see that they are all one star reviews and I’m assuming it’s all because of this lady at the front desk because we have never had a problem with any of the other staff there, they have all been nothing but respectful of us after spending thousands of dollars in that office over the years. We will be taking our business elsewhere because we will not be treated this way by a receptionist who wants to put others down. I hope they replace her with somebody who is friendly and respectful of all people so that they can regain some of their business back in the future.

Scheduling department is a mess. I got 2 wrong appointment dates and last minute cancellations on my dental cleaning appointment. But the worse is what just happened to me last week. I got recommended two unnecessary fillings, for "potential cavities" that were seen on my xrays. The new dentist said he could see cavities forming on two of my teeth. He never pointed out on my mouth which were the actual teeth he was referring too. I requested for him to see the two previous years of xrays to compare, and he mentioned the cavities were there, but the two previous dentists never mentioned anything about them. The dentist told me that he was going to do two small incisions on the teeth, very minor.

I decided to trust the dentist, and the day of the treatment, he made huge holes in my two teeth, opposite than what he mentioned, and was in a rush between my dentist chair and another patient in another room. I arrived with no pain, and now I cannot chew because I have shooting pain. I suspect this is what is called "drill and fill" just to cash on insurance, and that I got unnecessary treatment done, and opposite to a small incision got a huge ones to turn them into potential root canals = more insurance money, and even potentially a crown, even more money!! I feel I was preyed upon!! After I was done with my treatment the assistant said, "Let's scheduled your next treatment for two crowns..." If you have an alternative, do not ever go to Gentle Dental.

They don’t care about the patient, all they care about is the $. They are out of control! I need to find a dentist in my area that will take Avia Dental Plan and reasonable prices. You could almost lose your home going to them! One last and most important question, are these folks who have so many complaints against them actually investigated with some results???

I told them I could not eat right, self conscious about talking to crews that I ran, and told them I didn't pay thousands of dollars to have see through, uneven teeth that I can't even eat with. They wanted me to do more adjustment appointments. I spent a year doing that and that didn't get me anywhere except living my life around time that was convenient them. One dentist straight out told me to go see someone with experience since that is not her field of expertise and that I was not getting a refund. I still have the dentures until I can afford new ones.

The scam is that they wait until your deadline to file an appeal has passed and then they bill you. The appeal is automatically denied because it wasn’t filed in the allowed timeframe and then you’re responsible to pay whatever is on the invoice. Since the appeal decision, I’ve tried to contact them several times to settle my account, but they won’t return my call or answer the phone. I even visited the office to pay my bill and there was a sign on the door stating they were closed for a week because they were on vacation. My advice— beware!

My sweet Mother in Law decided to call for me because I have been in so much pain. She had Lifetime Dental send a fax to Gentle Dental. The secretary said they did not receive it and made the excuse that they do not have good working machines. The secretary proceeded to tell me the soonest I could get in was the end of March for an appointment, because Dr. ** only works once a month. I am assuming all of this is taking place because of my insurance plan. I have Aetna DMO and no one in Oklahoma takes Aetna DMO except Dr. **.

My experience with Gentle Dental is they avoid Aetna DMO like the plague so they do not have to deal with their policies. I am very disappointed with the way Gentle Dental handles situations. I will not refer Gentle Dental, even if you have full coverage like Aetna DMO wisdom removal, because they will not accept it! My advice would be to pay out of pocket, if your insurance doesn't cover, to Wisdom Tooth Center. They are helpful caring people who get you an appointment right away, and who tell the truth about your situation.

No one ever called back to verify if they confirmed with her insurance, that there is no out of pocket. I made an appointment, for her, with Diamond Dental. She got right in, they confirmed her insurance required no out of pocket expense, the same day, and notified her before her appointment. 3) Because the dentist screwed up my dental work (in 2010), I continued to go there for fear that a new dentist may mistake all of my bad composite fillings as cavities. I went, on Dec 28, 2018, to get 2 fillings. Since the day that I left, one of the teeth that I had filled has been bothering me, and gradually got worse. I called on 02/25/18, to make an appt. to see the dentist. My appt. was made for 02/04/19. I was contacted by one of their (rude) office assistants, at 09:31 (the morning of my appt.). She called to advise me that I would need to pay $109, before being seen.

My insurance didn't pay that amount, and the amount that was quoted was an estimate. Okay, understood, but I asked her why she waited to the day of my appt., to inform me of this, when I made the appt. almost 2 weeks ago. Her response was, I made the appt. on 02/25, and she just called my insurance on 02/01, and found out that I owed a balance. So basically, I have to continue going in pain, due to the dentist's error, until I have the balance paid (that I wasn't informed about until the day of my appointment). These people are so unprofessional, used inferior products on my teeth, and probably billed my insurance and charged me for what should've/could've been used. I will make an appt. with Diamond Dental, and transfer my records there. I can't deal with unprofessionalism, especially when I am paying my money!!!