Park Slope Dentistry Seventh Avenue — Local services in New York

I agree with most of review I had to skim now because I decided to write myself one, which I actually do quite rarely, if ever. I have no qualms about or complaints with the quality of the dentist work done for me, that was quite professional, fast, satisfying, and even when a front tooth that the office fixed for me got a chip a few weeks later - which is of course not pleasant - they agreed to take me in soon and fix it up again. My issue, however, and the main reason for the very low score is the way they treat the customers / patients who start asking questions about something they apparently perceive as unpleasant. I did read 3-4 reviews here as well that exactly confirm this kind of an extremely unpleasant experience, which does make me think that my feel about what is going on - because I was just so surprised with how rudely I was treated on the phone - is not a one-time occurrence but a clear pattern.

I received a bill after the fact of the treatment, months later, with a few hundred dollars that presumably I have to pay now because "my insurance refused to pay the dentist office what they promised they would." (There's also a longer post from the office on this matter already from earlier with a similar case). And here's my main problem: First, you have to make clear to the patient at the moment of signing treatment agreement (it was a pricey onlay) that the amount they're agreeing to out of pocket may change if the insurance happens to "deny" them payment for whatever reason. It's not my first time in the dentist office, and the amount of annual allowance is clearly visible and/or calculable based on your insurance plan's modalities. Or, if it's not, you - the dentist office - have to go the trouble of calling the company beforehand and making sure there are no unpleasant surprises.

The office clearly didn't do that and instead led me to believe that the high amount of out-of-pocket would be all I need to pay. This is extremely unusual to me, precisely because - as they themselves acknowledge - the insurance companies, apparently, may change the amount after the fact. If that's the case, why not give me heads up at the moment of signing the agreement? Maybe because you are afraid the patient will hesitate, because they're already paying a significant amount and don't want to be open to an unforeseeable future liability in addition to that?

So that's number one: misleading the patient against your better knowledge the price they're paying is final.

But second, and much more importantly: I've never, ever had someone treat me with such disrespect, arrogance, lack of attention or any shred of professionalism at any doctor's office trying to attempt to resolve the issue at hand. The person on the phone - a female, I presume, who refused to give me their name though they themselves suggested that I talked to someone else before just hanging up - was inexplicably and utterly disgustingly attacking me by yelling at me, slowly and steady raising the voice and, in the end, dropping the call at the very moment we agreed that I would talk to someone else. I'm still affected by this "conversation" as I write, I have to say. Because this receptionist just added insult to injury, failing not only to help me address the issue at hand - me having to overpay for a service after the fact, which frankly, I don't think anyone can appreciate (in their own reply post, the dentist office comfortably blames this on "multibillion insurance companies." If you know that, then you should do all that you can to help your patients, perhaps?)

But also, treating me as if I'm some kind of a piece of garbage. And for what? Just asking the questions about the bill? Really?

Thankfully we live in a neighborhood where there are many good alternative options. Sometimes you lose your patient/client just over...

The dental care is good, and the office is clean.

I had a very bad experience, however. The office told me that I would be charged a fixed amount for a cleaning and filling, and that my insurance would cover 100% of the remainder. The office didn’t qualify this, by, for example, telling me that the actual amount paid out by my insurance could vary. Instead, the cost to me was presented as definite. I then got a bill for $600 - more than $500 over what I was I would pay. I called the office to inquire, told them I was unhappy and that I would reach out to insurance, and urged them to try and resolve this on their end while I was doing so. I also told them that if this wasn’t resolved, I’d be sure to tell my friends to avoid the practice. I called back shortly after to ask for some more information required by my insurance. I was transferred directly to the office manager who wouldn’t let me get a word in. She told me I was rude, had been yelling, and had called her staff liars. None of that was true. I had to repeatedly ask her to let me speak. Without my asking for any accommodation (again, I had just called back to get information for insurance), the manager wrote off $300 of the bill. Although I was still out of pocket more than $200 over what I had been definitively told I would need to pay, I decided to accept to be done with it. The office manager was hectoring, rude, and dismissive of me. I even explained to her that I understand preliminary insurance verification, but my issue was only that no one at the office ever gave me the slightest indication that the figure they quoted me for my procedures was in any way conditional or preliminary. Had they done so, I would have requested a firm amount before proceeding.

To be perfectly clear, I don’t have any reason to believe that anyone at the office is dishonest or doing anything untoward. I didn’t and don’t think that’s the situation, at all. My complaint is only that 1) they gave no indication that there was any chance that the amount they quoted me was at all conditional and 2) that the manager was incredibly unpleasant when I called back to get more information. Like I said, I understand that preliminary coverage verification can be part of the process of determining the amount a patient will be billed. But the practice needs to communicate that fact, and not that a quoted amount is definite.

Like I said, the dental service was good, so it’s a shame that I had such a poor experience. I had really thought that I had found a good local dental practice. But I can’t recommend a place that charged me hundreds of dollars more than they said they would, and that was then seriously unpleasant when I called about it.

If you do go, ask tough questions about the nature of any quote you get...

I was in extreme pain, feeling like a knife had been thrust through my tooth and nerves. X-rays were taken, I looked at the x-ray of the offending tooth, with the dentist. She gave me two options: Option 1: Have a root canal operation and a crown fitted. Option 2: Pull tooth out and have replacement fitted. I was injected with anaesthetic, and left so the medication could start working. After waiting a while the injection started making me dizzy/confused, and I was still in pain. The surgery manager came to show me the price of my two options. I was shocked at the prices, but I had to stop the pain, and solve the tooth problem. I signed over $2600 for Option 1 (a root canal and crown). The dentist came back after around 45 minutes to start the operation, and said I'd have the root canal today, but had to return to the surgery in two weeks for the crown. I had a gut feeling that something wasn't right, and to be extra cautious, to be 100% sure, I asked if that meant the crown would cost extra. Yes, the dentist said, I'd have to pay another $2100. I'd been made to think that when I'd paid earlier I was paying for BOTH the root canal and crown (Option 1). When I questioned this discrepancy I was gaslighted by the dentist and blamed for misunderstanding. To sum up: Options 1 and 2 on the written agreement (that I had to sign and pay) were different from the two options given to me verbally by the dentist. I was asked to pay whilst in pain and feeling dizzy (not the best time to be given a written agreement, and to sign away $2600). So I now have a $2600 non-crowned tooth, with a cavity forming in the soft part of the unfinished tooth. I checked other reviews to see if I was misguided in how I'm judging this situation but other patients have had a similar experience. I kept this review as objective as I could. A week later from writing this, I’m updating my review: Because the tooth wasn’t crowned I now have a hole forming in the temporary cap placed over the tooth that had...