Proceed with extreme caution. The receptionists and dentists have all been very friendly here, but…read moresetting up treatment plans and negotiating the costs has been hectic beyond reason. Due to having porous teeth (extremely prone to cavity formation, with a lot of existing tooth decay), I was of course prepared for expenses, however my initial quotes were upwards of $25k for extractions, grafts, basic dentures. The ideal procedure (complete extractions, implants, upper and lower snap-in dentures) priced at over $40k, even for being in-network and my insurance being decent.
Of course, I don't just have $40k sitting around (who does)? I worked out another treatment plan with my dentist, which was still divided into two parts (an extraction, two root canals and two crowns) to be done first, as well as getting screened and fitted for a dental flipper, with a second appointment in a month's time to extract a remaining problem tooth.
Upon further consideration, especially in regard to the porous nature of my dental enamel and the fact that these treatments (still pricey) were only likely to last 3 years at best, I then tried to negotiate simply having the 4 teeth in the worst condition extracted, and a few fillings on my remaining teeth as needed/determined by the dentist.
Here is where the trouble began. Extractions and bone grafts don't bring in as much money as root canals and crowns (obviously), and shifting my treatment plan became a hectic matter in which my dentist didn't seem to understand my request to simply perform extractions/grafts instead of the earlier plan. I was also told that only two extractions could be performed on the original date, but she could not do the filling at the same time, but I could have the additional extraction performed at a later date. Two appointments, of course, runs up two separate charges for dental anesthesia and/or nitrous oxide, neither of which are cheap. Additionally, although my original dentist worked out these plans along with the office manager, apparently additional dentists (an endodontist, as well as an oral surgeon) were also needed - none of the necessary work was able to be performed without them (which left me wondering ... was my dentist indeed a full dentist, or still studying dentistry, or what - I have never experienced this before at any prior office of dental medicine, I've always seen 1 doctor of dental surgery, and only on one occasion, to remove embedded wisdom teeth, an additional dental surgeon who worked in the same office, not a traveling DDS).
It's the latter portion of all this that I've found highly questionable, even shady, and therefore would advise any and all other prospective patients to proceed with extreme caution. I believe this practice, while very kind and accommodating at intake, will endeavor to bill you to excess and add additional hurdles to necessary dental care. I don't believe it to be ethical, but rather highly questionable.
In addition to the above, I received claims paperwork from my insurance, and they've informed me as to what I 'owe' my dentist (however, at each point where I was billed, I was billed at a higher amount than what my insurance notated in their paperwork). This, too, is highly suspicious.
