1 /5 Joey Johnsen: On January 24th it was recommended to me that I get an occlusal guard to prevent enamel loss. I was provided a quote for this guard I was quoted that the dental work suggested would cost: $230.40
After my January 24th appointment, I was encouraged at the time to pay the bill upfront with the promise of a 5% discount. As a single mom and teacher, I was hesitant to make that big of a purchase. Knowing I could buy a mouth guard over the counter, I felt I needed to think about it and review my budget to make an informed decision. In my hesitancy, I was told I would only receive the 5% discount for 24 hours. After going home and thinking about it, I decided that I could make the $218.88 fit into my budget for a dentist approved guard and made an appointment. On January 25th I made the $218.88 payment. No one told me that the cost could increase. No one had me sign anything that said this was an “estimate”. I was told if I pay the WHOLE bill up front I was rewarded with a 5% discount.
On February 9, I came in and had the images made for the guard. No one told me at that time to expect any additional costs.
After February 9, I did not hear back from the dentist.
On February 24th I called the office to ask about the status of the occlusal guard. I was on the phone for 3 minutes and the receptionist had no idea what I was talking about. She said she would call me back. She never did.
On March 3rd I called again to ask about the status of the occlusal guard. Again I was put on hold for 10 minutes. Finally the receptionist came back and said something like “Oh yeah, I found it” and helped me make an appointment. She could not get me an appointment for another week! I asked her why no one had called me to tell me the guard was ready for me to pick it up and she said (again paraphrased) that “I’m not sure, I dug around back there and finally found it with your name on it”.
Had I not called.. NO ONE was going to call me and have me pick up this occlusal guard. You did not care about the health of my teeth. You cared about getting my money. You were more concerned about me paying within 24 hours than you were about making sure I had that occlusal guard as soon as it was available for me.
Finally, on March 11th I was fitted with the guard. I cancelled all my future appointments and was ready to be done with Hilde Family Dentistry and then you call me and say I owe you $321.20 more??? This is ridiculous. If I hadn’t called you in the first place, you would have never even given me the occlusal guard. Not only that, but I was very careful to make a wise financial decision and would not have purchased the guard at that price.
This makes me sad. I had originally really appreciated this dentist. My whole family is seen there, and I have referred others. However, this blatant disregard for patient care and but diligent focus on the money/payment leaves me disheartened. I will post this experience on yelp and google an and hope that other people seek dentists that are truly about patient care.
