It's been about a year since my last updated review of Westgate and unfortunately, this one has…read morebeen triggered by some detrimental experiences and changes to my once favorite... now former dental practice.
I have had a lot of dental work done, multiple crowns and two root canals in addition to a 2 root planing & scalings, and thus insurance covers a quarterly cleaning ("perio maintenance") vs just 2 per year. Also had my silver fillings replaced with ceramics... suffice it to say I know all the proc codes and am familiar with preventative, restorative and major dental tiers and how insurance and copay's function.
This is relevant because of the recommendation from Dr. Kics (founder and owner) about a treatment plan on visit 3x the cost and plan pushed for a signature by one of the financing sales representatives (very like a car dealership) for about $8K (not factoring in my new dental insurance).
Major dental work like the recommended bridge and 3 crowns would have to be delayed 6 months, but Westgate staff didn't mention this, or even care. They tried to get me to sign a contract at retail cost. Said they could discount it a little (no insurance or negotiated pricing factored) and pushed getting a credit line. I have plenty of credit, don't need more, but did not appreciate this pure car sales vibes money grab, no consideration. Corporate dental business model is what this is called, as I have learned in my recent dental search journey.
Back to the story... Westgate has become insufferable and here's why.
First, I started noticing odd changes in my last 2 visits. such as:
HOURS
Changed to corporate (weekdays only) and hours (7am to 5pm), no longer convenient early or late days or Saturdays. Asked about it and got some questionable "staff get more time with families" canned response... riiight. Split shifts are unheard of, and how did you manage the prior 4 years I have been coming here?
AMENITIES
Amenities in the waiting area... seem to be disappearing. The coffee is not stocked, the mini fridge with water and drinks are empty... no more Starbucks gift cards for checking in... I haven't delved deeper but are they going out of business?
SERVICES
Going 4x a year for a checkup and cleaning, I get pocket checks on gum depth, like a report card on my teeth. I have a 4-step routine, and the checkups tell me which areas need better care on brushing and flossing. If the hygienist is not doing a good cleaning and not taking accurate measurements, that is a problem... which is likely what happened for the last 2+ visits.
I had a throbbing and intermittent pain in my top right side, back 2 molars. Why I think the hygienists were wrong, they listed the depths at a 4-5, even when I went in the last week of June 2024. I talked about the pain, got x-rays and the dentist (Dr. Hart) did not seem to find anything - but she didn't really even check on my teeth despite the complaint, because I went to another dentist later, and they found a pocket depth of 9 in one area of the tooth.
The Westgate hygienist listed it as a 5. so, I think a liar or slacker that just used my last numbers for the report. Moreover, if that tooth was at a depth of 9, when it had been a 5, then it hadn't been cleaned well 2 visits ago. That would explain why it was throbbing 3 months later... wtf guys?!!! I trusted you to do good work.
Anywho, Dr Hart sent me to an Endontist (Renovo) to see if I needed a root canal, and she seemed excited about the possibility of billing and making a crown using my former (excellent) Metlife insurance. The endo didnt think I needed a root canal, just by hitting the tooth with a tiny hammer... there was a scan he could have done to check if it was fractured, but he didn't... just then billed my insurance a lot for hitting my tooth like a miner with a pick.
The scan thing is important BECAUSE back at Westgate, the line Dr. Kics gave me was "I can't see if the tooth is fractured so I recommend extraction and a bridge" ... even though the normal thing is to start with smaller solutions first... after the 8K sales pitch, I asked for this emailed over along with the pocket check summary report so I could review.
Second opinion on my issue with another dentist the next day... the put me on antibiotics and chlorhexidine (script mouthwash) to cut down the pain and pocket infection - which worked and suggested a root planing & scaling (gum surgery and deep teeth cleaning) ... kicker, Westgate had given me one of those a year ago on June 2023!!! These are supposed to happen infrequently. WTAF?!!!
So long long story, I found a new place and DUDE the modern stuff that newer places have!!! They have 2x 3D printers to make crowns and mouthguards on site, 2 panoramic scanner machines that can detect dental fractures like the endo... etc. Stuff I suggested at Westgate but didn't know was commonplace at modern places nowadays. Westgate has some great staff, but its service levels are IMHO such trash.