I chose NuSmile because they accepted my insurance and it was close to home.
Both times I visited the office, I had to wait 40+ min after my scheduled appointment time to be seen.
In addition to the lack of consideration of my time, I had the following negative experiences:
1. During the check by the Dr. of my cleaning, she told me that I had a cavity and needed to have it filled. I didn't have the money at the time so I put it off. Several months later, I called back to schedule the appointment. The girl on the phone told me that she'd make sure she pulled my insurance and checked everything before I came in to the office so there would be hang ups when I got there. After waiting 45 min, they called me back to tell me that my insurance only pays for silver fillings and they haven't done those for years and it is going to cost me $150 instead of the $50 I originally thought. I left because i didn't have that much money. I called the insurance company to find out that yes they did cover composite fillings which is what the office said wasn't covered. Not only did they not follow through on checking my insurance in advance but they were wrong. As you will see below, I am now thankful for their mistakes.
2. I called to find out their non-insurance prices as I was contemplating cancelling my pricey dental insurance. When I wanted to know just the cost for the routine cleaning, I was told I would also need to pay for x-rays. I said that I had just had x-rays and she said, that they did not do a complete set (yes, they did) and I would need to pay for the remainder of the x-rays on my next visit or they wouldn't be able to complete the cleaning.
Now, while all of this sounds odd and doesn't make much sense, it all adds up in my final experience:
3. I ended up with new insurance that NuDental didn't accept so I had to go to a new dentist. As required when you are a new patient at any dental office, I had to get an initial exam and x-rays. I waited for the Dr. to tell me about my cavity but instead he surprised me by giving me a clean bill of health. Puzzled, I asked about my cavity. He asked me where I thought it was and I pointed the area of my mouth NuDental said it was. He checked again to be sure and confirmed there was no cavity. In disbelief, I asked if there was a beginning of a cavity...something to warrant NuSmile to go to the extreme of drilling out my tooth. He assured me that there was not a single cavity in my mouth.
It all made sense on the other seemingly questionable instances: NuSmile is not a honest dental practice. My new dentist asked me where I had been that made this diagnosis. When I told him, he nodded his head and said, "Ah, yes, I am familiar with their practices" Clearly, I am not the first person they have tried to bamboozle. I am just thankful that I didn't have a painful and unnecessary procedure and realized what kind of practice they run before it was too late. read more