Some background: I am not someone who is nervous about the dentist. I have never had a problem with dental work of any sort, nor any bad reactions to any of the medications. I've never even experienced pain or jaw cramping after extensive work. I have been a patient of Dr. Chen since December 2011. I have had multiple fillings performed by Dr. Chen prior to the awful encounter I recently had. Each filling done by Dr. Chen prior to this involved numbing via oral shot, then a 15 minute wait time for the medication to take effect. At every filling prior to this, after the 15 minute wait time, I was asked if I was fully numbed. If not, they waited an additional 10 minutes and then asked again. I was never worked on until I had stated that I was fully numbed.
HOWEVER:
10/16/2012 appointment was for 3 fillings and a set of whitening trays. 2 shots were given. Dr. Chen returned approximately 5 minutes later to begin. Informed Dr. Chen I was not fully numbed and she decided to begin regardless. When Dr. Chen began drilling, I was able to feel it, and stopped her. She then moved to the 2nd tooth, which I was able to feel as well, and I stopped her again.
At this point, Dr. Chen gave me another shot on each side. She then moved to the 3rd tooth, which was fully numbed. She drilled the 3rd tooth successfully, then moved back to the 1st tooth. I was able to feel the drilling still, and stopped her. She moved back to the 2nd tooth. I was still able to feel this tooth as well, and stopped her. She gave me another shot at the 2nd tooth's location. Without any waiting at all, she moved back to the 1st tooth. I was still able to feel the drilling, and stopped her yet again.
Dr. Chen insisted that I "hang in there" and continued to drill. The pain became unbearable, and I stopped her. She waited approximately 1 minute, and then began again. The pain was still prominent, and I was still able to feel the drilling. I stopped Dr. Chen again, but she again said to "hang in there", and continued drilling. After finishing with the 1st tooth, Dr. Chen moved back to the 2nd tooth. I was still able to feel the drilling, and protested. Dr. Chen paused momentarily, then began again, once again telling me it was "almost done", though drilling continued an additional minute and a half.
I was completely unable to speak at the end of my appointment and was charged the full amount without any consideration for what I had endured even though I had made it clear I was in pain during the procedure. I was unable to open my jaw to speak for 2 days. When I was able to speak, I left a voicemail at the office of Dr. Chen explaining the ordeal and asking for some sort of resolution.
I received a voicemail on 10/19/2012 from Dr. Chen's office saying only that I needed an appointment to pick up my whitening trays. I received a voicemail on 10/22/2012 from Dr. Chen's office requesting I make an appointment for my whitening trays.
I called Dr. Chen's office on 10/24/2012 and spoke with the office manager, Nancy. I explained my ordeal and my frustration. I was informed by the office manager that the issue would be discussed with Dr. Chen and that I would be able to meet with Nancy to resolve the issue during my appointment 10/26/2012. Earlier today I arrived at Dr. Chen's office, picked up my whitening trays and had one filling's bite adjusted. I was not approached by Nancy and had to request her. Nancy informed me that they would not do anything to resolve the issue and would not refund even half of the amount charged for the two fillings that I was able to feel.
Needless to say this was one of the WORST experiences I've ever had for anything. I have a high pain tolerance, I've broken my arm, and had 2 wisdom teeth surgically removed. Neither hurt as bad as this drilling. Their customer service is non existent. Their office staff are inefficient and don't give a flick for making things right with customers. Amanda the hygienist is amazing, which is really unfortunate since I'll never go back to this location again. Dr. Chen definitely has the whole 'I don't care about inflicting extreme pain' thing down, and their office manager's excellent at trying to spin every situation into the customer's fault. I spent 20 minutes with her just trying to find new ways that it was *my* fault I was put through such agony.
Update: It was determined by a different dentist that the more painful filling was done improperly and needed to be redone. After replacement by that other dentist, it's fine. However the insurance company conducted an investigation and found out that Castle Dental had been billing me out of pocket 100% for many items that were fully covered by the insurance. They overcharged me by $500 just this year alone and are having to process a refund now that they were caught! BEWARE! read more