Disclaimer: If you have the $$ to pay for this dentist and all the extraneous services, my review might not apply to you. This review is only for those not under PPO insurance plans (Famili specifically stated that he prefers PPO).
I had heard horror stories about getting gouged by dentists when you're on an HMO plan, but I wanted to give Famili's office the benefit of the doubt (even after reading the negative reviews). I know somebody who had gone to him before, so he seemed reputable.
However, I was not treated with much courtesy when I finally arrived for my appointment. I was a new patient, so I obviously had no idea how the office was run or what was going to happen. All I knew was that I was there for a teeth cleaning, x-rays, and an oral exam (all covered by my insurance). As soon as I stepped in, I was asked to fill out new patient forms, none of which specified which procedures were going to be performed on my teeth.
After finishing the paperwork, I was shuffled from waiting room to panoramic x-ray machine, back to waiting room, then to one exam room where the dental hygienist Sonya began scraping away on my teeth after she briefly introduced herself. I had never had a hand-scaling cleaning procedure done on my teeth before, so it was pretty painful for me (so many bleeding gums)! I was definitely not prepared for that. After the 15 minutes spent scraping (I obviously had a lot of plaque buildup), she polished my teeth and had me rinse before seating me back down and taking the 4 bitewing x-rays. As she was finishing up, the main assistant Lisa rushed in and whispered something to Sonya. As I got back up, Lisa put me back in the waiting room and told me I would see Dr. Famili next. I watched as the patient sitting in the waiting room next to me was brought in for his cleaning, and waited another 30 minutes before I was brought in for my oral exam.
Dr. Famili showed me my x-rays and the cavities I had, and explained which teeth would need fillings. He pointed out one particular molar, and decided to take a close-up photo with it using a optic camera that he stuck in my mouth in order to show me. It didn't seem like the fillings I'd need would be complicated, so after my exam I made an appointment with Lisa for a filling procedure a month later. When I asked her for the price estimate for the fillings, she said she would have to contact my insurance company to figure it out, and that she would send me the treatment plan through e-mail. I was told to send them an e-mail in a few days and they would e-mail it to me.
When I did e-mail them, they sent me a treatment plan that was pretty ridiculous. When I checked my insurance's benefits, I found that the price they proposed was the most they could charge for fillings. Why was I not surprised?
They also e-mailed my bill to me, which I was surprised to see included a charge for that one picture they took of my tooth, as well as a charge for a fluoride treatment that I did not receive. I called the office, and Dr. Famili picked up and was courteous, but told me that I would have to speak to the hygienist about the fluoride treatment dispute. When I called Sonya a few days later, she informed me that the fluoride treatment was given because she wrote it down on her chart. OK, writing it down really means you did it! NOT. I asked her to describe the exact procedure, and based on what she told me I knew that I did not receive it. She was a bit uncertain and directed me to Lisa, the assistant. Lisa was very polite but would not believe me when I told her I didn't receive the treatment. She believed that because it was written down, the procedure was done. I told her that I was rushed back and forth that day, and she acknowledged that they were understaffed that day and they should have gone through each step thoroughly with me, and would do that NEXT TIME. I was pretty pissed. She tried to compromise by telling me that she would give me the fluoride treatment again when I went in for the filling procedure (in case it didn't happen already). But I would still have to pay my bill right now. How does this make any sense? I was enraged, and she had the audacity to keep asking for my credit card number, in order to "close out" the bill. I was able to shoo her off by saying I'd pay by check, and canceled my filling appointment. I also called up my insurance company to file a grievance.
At the end, my insurance company contacted the dentist, who apologized for what happened and asked me if I wanted to come back for the fluoride treatment. Obviously, I said no. He was OK with that, and comped my bill. THIS is the only reason I give this office two stars instead of one. But seriously? Why did I have to call in the big dogs for some sense to be talked into these people? read more
