I was incredibly sad to see Dr. Atchison retire; he was a kind man, a great dentist, and his office was cozy, his staff was friendly, non-judgmental, and were fun to see, as well as laidback.
I had an appointment for a cleaning. Gone are the paintings and the touches of home, instead replaced with in your face dentistry brochures and a large unmissable banner in the lobby. None of Dr. Atchison's staff stayed. The credit card machine sits in the lobby, instead of in the office, so now all your business is being overheard by everyone.
I had to sign brand new, new patient forms. $50 cancellation charge if you don't provide 48 hours notice. Also, there is a charge if you want them to do an oral cancer screening. That's odd, if they saw something suspect, why wouldn't they tell you?
When I went in for my cleaning, they took my blood pressure. This makes me uncomfortable as I know I have high blood pressure. Having the test only gives me anxiety, the very thing you are trying to mitigate while at the dentist. Also, why do you need to do this test, I never had to have it before. Anyway, they needed to take X rays. That's fine, new practice, I thought. After, the hygienist then wheels in a large flat panel TV screen and wanted to do a 3d scan of my teeth. Don't worry, it's free! This procedure doubled my time at the dentist, but ok, whatever. Then she explained what she saw, how cool this thing is, etc. I just want my teeth cleaned and leave. While I was getting my teeth cleaned, I noticed all the TVs in the rooms where you could focus on the news or the history channel while you're getting your teeth worked, all of those are gone. Comfort, apparently, is no longer a priority. Anyway, the hygienist said I needed a deeper clean, which I suspected I would need, no problem there. I made an appointment for the following week, when the dentist would be there, and they'd do an evaluation. Evaluations are quick, no problem.
So yesterday I came back for the doctor's evaluation. While I was waiting in the lobby, country music. Yuck. But I get it, it's mid Missouri, they're trying to appeal to the demographic. An older man came out and was confused about his bill; what I gathered was their new systems and Dr. Atchison's systems weren't talking to each other and his insurance was under the mistaken impression he had procedures done this year when in fact they weren't. I don't know. He sounded like he was sticker shocked, tried to understand his bill, and they were trying to get it sorted. Good on them.
My appointment was at 10. I didn't get seen until 10:30. There were contractors walking in and out presumably upgrading rooms. The staff, the dentist, all nice. If I was judging the office on just that, I'd go back. Well...almost. I have a tooth that for the past six months has had pressure sensitivity. I told them about it, and they said I *might* need a root canal. 50-50. Okay, sounds about right. And another tooth in the back, possible crown. Hm, I don't have any issues there, but ok.
Appointment is over, now go wait in the billing coordinator's room. That's not what they called it but you get the jist. I felt I was in a loan officer's room. What is going on? This was supposed to be just a short evaluation. I waited a few minutes, then a staff member came in with a printout, and explained the future procedures' cost to me. About $200 after insurance for a deep cleaning, yeah that sounds about right. Then they said here's, $514 / per. each. crown (after insurance). Oh and sign this to show we've gone over this with you. This. This was the last straw. I'm signing a piece of paper before the dentist even knows I need a crown, saying I agree we've gone over the prices discussed. I never had to do this with Dr. Atchison's office. I get there's an argument for transparency and knowing what you are in for. But, how am I supposed to trust the dentist that maybe a crown *isn't* what I need? Apparently if I've pre-approved all if this, then doing so, I've removed any wiggle room. Suddenly I flashed back to buying a car and agreeing to having my undercarriage cleaned. You know that whole, sure you can get by with the basic package but you know, there's a chance it might not last, wouldn't you be happier with our premier line? Gross. Moreover, everywhere I look is an advertisement for some procedure they think I need, or some fancy tool that *someone* is going to be paying for, and I get the sinking feeling it's coming out of my mouth. I don't mind paying for a procedure I need, but at this point I can't trust the office, because it feels like I *might* be price gouged.
So that's it, I'm out and I'm looking for a new dentist's office. What a shame. read more
