Center City Emergency Dentist — Local services in Philadelphia

I had a tooth extraction at this dental office before, and it was a positive experience. The procedure was efficient and quick, and I left satisfied. However, during that visit, I was pregnant, so I believe they were trying to expedite the process to minimize any risk. Although it was a tooth extraction, I was never suggested any additional procedures. They took out the tooth and we were done

Recently, I had to schedule an emergency visit for a cracked tooth. My experience wasn't as great as before. I arrived at the office thirty minutes before my appointment time. After X-rays, I was asked to wait in the waiting room for an examination room to become available. I waited around 20 minutes. Once I was in the room, the dentist examined my teeth and suggested that I get both wisdom teeth extracted, as one was cracked, and the other was impacted.

Shortly after, the finance/billing team came in to discuss payment options, which confused me because I have insurance that covers wisdom tooth extraction. The first person tried to sign me up for Care Credit without ever telling me the total cost. When I asked, she told me an absurdly high figure. It was supposed to be an emergency visit for one tooth. Whatever else the dentist felt needed to be done could have been planned during a normal dental appointment.

But they insisted that I had to get everything done at that moment. I wasn't comfortable paying that much money out of pocket and unplanned, so somehow they brought the initial quoted price down nearly half, which made me realize that they had probably overcharged me in the first place.

I felt that if I didn't agree to all the suggested treatments, they would refuse to extract the one tooth that I desperately needed removed due to pain. So, I went ahead and completed the procedures with the new quoted price. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be using this dentist again after my follow-up visit, mostly due to lack of communication and pressure from the billing/finance team. I didn't like how they were unclear and untransparent about the costs initially. Nor did I like how they make you feel pressured into procedures even after I expressed I only wanted the one tooth pulled. The finance team were the ones explaining to me why I needed specific procedures done and tried to convince me to get them. I ended up Googling and found that none of them are required for wisdom tooth extraction, only recommended to prevent bone loss.

The dentist never explained any pros/cons of having or not having bone grafts done nor the other expensive procedures that were not covered by my insurance, nor did I feel like I had an option to opt out of it. Billing made it feel mandatory, which made me feel pressured. The atmosphere was very uncomfortable this time around, and I rarely spoke or saw the dentist outside of him examining my mouth once and putting me under anesthesia. When I woke up, he was gone.

Another thing, when I first asked for my treatment plan, the first girl in billing said she didn't provide those, which was confusing because I had just looked at it with her. She told me to download an app that I never found and get it from there. Before they started the procedure, I asked the dental assistant for the same treatment plan just so I'm aware of what's being done and what I'm being charged for, and he requested it from billing. When she brought it in, she brought in the original with the extremely high price. Again making me feel uneasy because I felt like they were going to somehow throw some extra charges into it as if I was aware. I then requested the treatment plan that they quoted me with the reduced price, and she finally brought it to me, stating she thought the other girl had given it to me (the one who told me she couldn't).

As I read the other reviews, it seems everyone who had wisdom teeth extractions had similar issues. Therefore, if that is your dental issue, I wouldn't recommend this dentist. The dental assistants were very friendly, which is my reason for...

Oh things I want to say about this place and it's employees.... A month ago husband woke up with an excruciating tooth pain. We moved to Eastern shore Maryland and getting to a dental surgeon is about 5 months out. He went to an emergency room, got some prescription pain pills which did absolutely nothing. So after searching online we found this place. He called, they told him they will see him and Monday morning he drove up there. How fast they were able to see him was the only positive here. He went by himself, I stayed behind, we have small kids who were in school, drive one way is 3 hours plus 3 hours back, so it was best for him to go alone. Off topic, husband is one of those people who knows nothing about insurance, medical terminology, billing etc. tell him this paper to treat you today - he will sign it without reading. So when he checked in he made sure to tell them that he wants simple extraction, stitches and local anesthesia - he was supposed to drive back home 3 hours. He didn't want to get an implant later, it was all the way in the back and he didn't feel like spending thousands on it. Of course this place was trying to offer different expensive packages, but he refused and just asked for most basic. As he sits in a chair with his mouth open, after explaining again that all he wants is simple extraction and that he has to drive himself back home 3 hours so only local anesthesia, nothing extra - clerical lady gives him more papers to sign, takes his card and charges $900. Apparently laughing gas that he told her he can't have was a part of the charge. So she says he will get a refund back. At this point all he wants is to get it done and get out of there. He signed everything she gave him so dentist could continue. On his way home, he texted me that it's all done, charge was $900. I thought it was extremely expensive just for a simple extraction and local anesthesia...but I figured at least it's done and over with. But deep down I definitely thought there was something wrong, no way an extraction costs $900 plus insurance payment. 2 weeks later I get EOBs- and sure enough I see charges for bone graft and laughing gas! So I called them and politely asked to have someone reach out to me to talk about charges. They assured me someone from billing will call me next business day....never got a call. Because I got busy at work I kept forgetting to call them. Last Saturday, husband gets a text message - we owe them an additional $100... This just got me and him angry, we called right away. The same woman that checked him in, answered. We both were agitated, really annoyed. Of course we fire at her with all of our frustration. She gets really nasty attitude, it almost felt like it was us trying to defend ourselves and she is the upset patient. Finally after looking at his account she tells us....that they have his written consent on file for all the charges including bone graft!.....it was a wow moment. We expected some sort of "I'm sorry we forgot" type of scenario but they straight up made him sign a paper they already KNEW he didn't want while he was in dental chair with his mouth open, ready for extraction, this was a whole new level of scam. And after all of that she has an audacity to get offended being called a liar. Next thing the woman on the phone tells me that she "was going to help us but since we are attacking her she is going to send all the information to the manager and let them deal with us". By the way she threatened us with this "manager", they must be just as useless and offer 0 help. Still though, it would have been nice to get a call... Needless to say there is no trust in this establishment. I don't even believe they gave him bone graft, consent and all on file. Hopefully his primary dentist will be able to tell once he sees him. Don't go there for any dental needs. Well, unless you really have no other choice, make sure to read every piece of paper they have you sign and keep in mind you won't...

I will preface this by saying: I HATE the dentist, avoid them like the plague. I haven't taken the best care of my teeth, so there is a lot of work I need done, but I usually wait until I am in pain to go because I usually have such a bad time.

CCED was way different than anything I have ever experienced. I went in because I had a chipped tooth from my own fault (not getting a crown on a root canal for years) and a molar breaking at the core. I also still had my wisdom teeth in. I first saw an older male dentist and he just noted all the cavities, but told me that I probably needed to meet with oral surgery and they told me to come back at 1pm (which I appreciated, because it meant I didn't have to wait in the office). I returned and spoke to a really nice woman (didn't get her name) who assisted with the surgeon's procedure. She calmed me down a bit. Then I spoke with the surgeon who told me that he would need to extract the molar and because I would be going under, it made the most sense to also pull all of the wisdom teeth because they were rotting/had cavities. He also suggested a crown lengthening for my root canal tooth so that I could cap it even with the chipping. Before they did anything, I spoke with Jennifer Lopez (the office manager and one of the nicest people I have come across in general) who gave me a full list of my options which was quite pricey and I let her know that was out of my budget and I would need to decline the more optional procedures. The price came way below what I had expected to spend on 5 extractions/crown lengthening and I was really happy that I was not facing random upcharges/"consultation fees" that I had been required to pay in the past. I paid for the work I got done and only that. I had already eaten for the day so they rescheduled me for Saturday.

On Saturday, I came in, and was greeted by all of the staff who remembered me. I wanted to make sure I got my weight correct because I was going under for the procedure and I know height/weight really matter and I asked around and they found me a scale to weigh myself despite it not being normal to ask for. I went in for my procedure and I was terrified (even for the IV) but Jennifer came in to hold my hand and comfort me and M.K. was great (she really can do it in one go). I was a bit uncomfortable with the IV in, but that's normal for me. M.K. and Jennifer and the surgeon's assistant (I didn't catch her name but she was incredible) all made sure I was doing okay while I waited. Surgeon came in, talked to me for a few minutes and got started. The anesthesia knocked me out good so I fully relied on my escort to take down the thorough information provided to me.

I even came back the next day because I was worried I had already dislodged the clot - I hadn't because the surgeon had stitched me up back there. M.K. sat down with me to answer any additional questions I had and provided me with a doctor's note (with no appointment/or warning, I just came in and they came right to me).

I cannot speak highly enough about my experience with every single staff member here. They all care, are calming presences, are not degrading at all about whatever stage of oral hygiene you are going through. But, they are also honest, and they are definitely not trying to make a quick buck off of you - they give you what you need and provide you with additional options if you want them. I moved away from Philly last year and was back in town visiting my boyfriend, but I would literally fly back to get dental work done here because dentists like this are hard to come by. Thank you sincerely for your service in showing me that not all...