I tried to like this place because of the high reviews, but both my husband and I have had experiences here that left a bad taste in our mouths.
My husband went in for tooth pain in one back molar, which the doctor identified as a hidden cavity and filled. Upon leaving, he was told multiple times that yes, insurance would cover everything and he had absolutely no cost to pay out of pocket.
Avenue Dental then emailed us WEEKS later, saying we had an overdue balance. Apparently, our insurance only covers a full, complete mouth x-ray once every 3 years and now we were responsible for the cost. Couldn't they have checked with the insurance to see whether they covered this PRIOR to doing this procedure? "No, there's no way we would've known."
There's a lot of questions / concerns here.
- I understand the ambiguities and black box of insurance. However, why go as so far as to assure the patient that there is no cost, only to slap them with a bill that they were completely not expecting? The phrase "you may have to pay around ~$x amount if insurance does not cover it" goes such a long way in terms of transparency and patient expectations.
- Why use a full, complete mouth X-ray when my husband presented with localized pain for one tooth? Why did the doctor not ask whether he's had a full x-ray in the past to ascertain whether insurance would cover an unnecessary procedure?
- We asked if there's a payment plan available and were told no. This is fine for us, as the cost wasn't astronomical. But what if this happened for a procedure that was upwards of a couple hundred dollars?
My own experience was similarly hellish - I went in for tooth pain and was told, without the slightest sign of empathy or care, that "my root canal was infected and I'd probably have to get the tooth extracted or re-do my root canal". I then spent the next month going to the endodontist weekly, spending hundreds of dollars on special imaging all because this one doctor told me it was infected. Surprise... nothing. The tooth was completely fine and months later, I feel fine. Thank God that my endodontist was honest, was completely transparent with the upfront costs and gave me a CHOICE to pay or find alternative ways, and actually discouraged me from getting unnecessary, expensive treatment. He called me checking in on my pain and my tooth - I actually have not heard a single word from Dr. Oh since my first initial appointment months ago.
I refrained from writing a review of my experience because I thought it was better to be overcautious, but after my husband's similar encounter, now I see that neither Dr. Oh nor her staff care about their patients. It took going to a 'good' dentist to see that - so thanks for the referral, Dr. Oh! read more