This is my first time at this dental clinic with dentist Youstina, the experience was terrible. I wouldn't recommend this place because they seem to be in it only for the money. The front desk service was also very rude. I'm here because I switched from a PPO to an HMO plan. I originally just wanted a routine cleaning and to have an old filling redone. It had been less than six months since my last cleaning, but the dentist here recommended a deep cleaning and a root canal on my previously filled tooth. She claimed that the filling was sitting right on the nerve, so I had to get a root canal, otherwise I would lose the tooth!!! That filling had been there for 6 years with zero pain or issues. When I asked why she recommended it, she firmly insisted that if I waited until I felt discomfort, it would be too late for a root canal, and I would lose my tooth. Not wanting to lose it, I agreed to the procedure. Since their clinic doesn't have a root canal specialist, they needed to bring one in from another office and scheduled the procedure for 5 days later. The dentist said that on the day of my deep cleaning, she would remove the old filling first to "prepare" the tooth, claiming it would take less than ten minutes. I asked why we couldn't just wait for the specialist to do it in 5 days, and she said it was to get everything ready so the specialist could go straight into the root canal. She then spent less than 10 minutes drilling into my tooth, exposing the nerve, and placing a cotton pellet and temporary filling material inside.
At first, I didn't think much of it. After doing some research at home. I realized my tooth didn't even meet the criteria for needing a root canal. The next day, I went back to my original dentist who only accepted PPO, who had previously suggested just re-filling it without a root canal. He took new X-rays and photos, compared them to my old ones, and explained that the filling was actually still a safe distance from the nerve. Since it had been fine for 6 years without any problems, there was basically no issue. However, now my tooth had been drilled open in a spot that wasn't even part of the old filling--it was my natural, healthy tooth structure. Luckly, I have not felt a lot of pain on it, still have very small chance to save my teeth, I paid $250 to get a refill back from my previous denticity without insurance cover. And there's a higher chance I will need a root canal in future.
I realized the dentist Youstina had intentionally opened up and damaged my tooth early just to trap me into getting the root canal done at their clinic. I canceled the root canal appointment next day 4 days in advance and asked for a refund of the $500 I had prepaid. They still tried to charge me a $100 cancellation fee and a $70 fee for "removing the filling"--even though what she removed wasn't a filling but my actual tooth. On top of that, they never informed me about any cancellation fees when made the appointment.
My advice to everyone: do your research before going to a dentist!! read more
