All Smile Dental Corp

Review: I have two issue with All Smile Dental. First, poor service from the dental office. [redacted] did horrible job of root canal on me teeth. After the root canal at her office, my teeth is still in pain and sensitive to cold water. I visited another dental office, the dentist found there are still some nerve left on my teeth which explain why I am still in pain even after the root canal work. I would never to visit All Smile Dental again. Second, their billing office is a mess. In July 2010, they failed to file the claim on my behave and passed the filing deadline. My insurance company refused to pay them. I spent many hours working with my insurance company to solve the issue. My insurance company finally agree to reimburse me if the All Smile Dental can contact them directly. The insurance also told me the dental office should file the claim not patient. During that time, the billing office at All Smile Dental changed the people every few weeks and no one really followed up with insurance company. Instead, they kept sending me the bill with interest every other week. Every time I contact their office, they promised me to solve the issue and next time I contact them again, that person left the office and I have to explain that person for the situation again. It was very frustrating to deal with this office.Desired Settlement: Stop to send me the bill and deal with insurance directly.

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted],

We are in receipt your

complaint through Revdex.com today. Your settlement proposal is not acceptable because

you had agreed to pay for dental services not paid by your insurance company

per written agreement attached for your review.

Our

understanding of your complaint is as follow:

Review: Good afternoon. I am filing a complaint against my former dentist All *mile Dental with offices in Escondido and Carmel Valley. I have *een them multiple times in 2011 and 2012 for *everal procedures that I needed to bring my dental class category to within military *tandard in order for me to become deployable. During those times, me and my wife had *everal procedures done and every procedure we received we were told that our insurance provider (two at that time) will cover the procedures. To make the long *tory *hort, they never asked my insurance company a pre-authorization for *everal of our procedures therefore we ended up paying the entire bill of more than $1600.

Due to my negative experience with All *mile Dental, I posted a review of my experience on Yelp on February 11, 2013. I was contacted by All *mile Dental Customer Care Manager named [redacted]. on April 29, 2014 through Yelp and demanded that I remove my review. I replied that I will not remove my review *ince it was my experience and I wanted others to know how my experience went. All *mile Dental Customer Care Manager ([redacted].) then went and informed me that they will audit my record and within *everal hours they informed me that they found undercharged procedures which they will *end a ledger and I will be responsible for the difference. They also *aid that the charges might be *ignificant that it might warrant a claim to be filed through *mall claims court. They also called and left messages on my phone.

I *trongly feel that I am being harassed by All *mile Dental because of the review that I posted on Yelp. I already contacted *an Diego County Dental *ociety but was unable to assist due to the fact that it was not their member dentist who was making the harassment but they *uggested contacting Revdex.com, Dental Board of California (DBC) and Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA).Desired Settlement: This dental business *hould *top harassing me because of the review that I posted. It was my experience with them and every thing that I posted were true and accurate. They *hould also look into how they conduct their business in order for them not to receive negative reviews.

Review: In this letter you will find the following:

1. Documentation of our experience outlining areas of unethical behavior of business staff & dentist

2. Documentation of communication attempts

3. Billing issue (unethical service, unethical billing)

1. Documentation of our experience:

On October 21, 2011, during a routine visit the All-Smiles hygienist (male) recommended that [redacted] receive periodontal scaling and root planning (i.e. a "deep cleaning"). This was based on only a few areas with moderate deep pockets > 4mm. At the time of this recommendation [redacted] stated that he preferred to wait to see how things look during the next visit since he has always had good overall oral health, including no cavities during his lifetime and no history of peritonitis. However the hygienist (male) became very pushy and insisted this was an urgent issue that needed to be addressed, that it was covered by insurance and that after being completed. [redacted] was also told that if he got this procedure done his insurance would cover more frequent visits for routine periodontal maintenance.

[redacted] further resisted but was then confronted by Dr. [redacted] who stated the procedure was urgently required that day, and also by the office admin who stated insurance approves the procedure and [redacted] only needed to pay the out of pocket co-payment of $326.80. [redacted] finally consented to go forward with the deep cleaning on the condition that insurance would approve this procedure. He was told by the billing person (female) that based on his dental insurance requirements need for approval, he met the requirements for having the appropriate deep pocket locations. [redacted] fully paid the amount $326.80 during the same office visit.

Until this point the account of [redacted] and Wife was completely paid in full with no history of late payments. We also completely paid for all following visits and dental work while we remained patients at All Smiles Dental with the exception of this procedure on October 11, 2011 as indicated above.

On January 27, 2012, [redacted] had a follow-up appointment for the deep cleaning at All Smiles Dental. Visit was routine and no mention of an outstanding balance was made during this visit.

In March 2012, [redacted] and Wife received the first account statement from All-Smiles Dental in the mail indicating that our account had an overdue balance, included in that balance were late fees (although we had not previously received any bills). There was no explanation on the bill regarding what the account balance was from. Wife immediately called All Smiles Dental on March 5, 2012 and learned the charge was from [redacted]'s office visit on Oct 21, 2011. [redacted] then called All Smiles Dental and explained that he was told at the October 21, 2011 appointment that the deep cleaning was already approved by Delta Dental at the time of the procedure and that all out of pocket costs had already been paid. The office admin stated that they had not yet received payment from Delta Dental and to disregard the bill as they would re-submit it for payment.

2. Documentation of communication attempts:

We have tried to communicate with your office to resolve this situation ______ times since we first received the bill on March 2012. Here are the dates and details of our attempted communication to resolve this billing issue.

On April 27, 2012 [redacted] had a routine check-up and cleaning appointment. Upon arrival at the appointment [redacted] was requested by the admin to sign a waiver form indicating that the patient is responsible for any costs not paid by insurance within 45 days of treatment. [redacted] refused to sign the form until getting confirmation that the previous outstanding balance had been resolved. The admin informed him that Delta Dental had denied the claim for the deep cleaning performed on 10/21/2011and requested that he pay the outstanding balance. [redacted] stated that he felt it was All Smiles responsibility to work out this issue with Delta Dental since they had pressured him into the procedure and previously indicated that it would be covered. [redacted] completed his routine appointment and paid all new charges in full. Following the appointment [redacted] called Delta Dental to review the claim and was told an appeal would be fruitless since the information provided by All Smiles does not even remotely meet the requirementsfor a full 4 quadrant deep cleaning. They had nothing in their records indicating any prior calls coming from AllSmile nor were any approval given for the deep cleaning on 10/21/2011.

Upon hearing this news from the insurance company, [redacted] contacted AllSmile to inquire as to why this unethical behavior had occurred and to again request AllSmile zero out the balance.

On Sept 10, 2012 after receiving another account statement indicating an outstanding balance from AllSmile, [redacted] called AllSmile office to attempt to resolve the issue once again. He was put in touch with a new billing manager (female/Patty?). She informed [redacted] she was hired to clean up "the complete mess" in the accounts at AllSmile. [redacted] and Wife's account was reviewed in detail line by line from their very first visit in 2009 to the current date. It was determined that prior to 10/21/2011 everything had been paid in full (she waived an old mistaken $5.39 finance charge and noted that there was actually an instance where AllSmile did not bill insurance correctly on 9/4/09 for Wife's bitewings which she believed insurance should have owed [redacted] and Wife $42). The Billing Manager also confirmed that everything after 10/21/2011 was paid in full. The only outstanding payment was for the deep cleaning on 10/21/2011 which cost $1082.20 of which $326.80 was paid as a co-payment by [redacted] on the date of the appointment, and $135 by insurance for only the specific areas requiring treatment. After [redacted] explained the full situation around the deep cleaning on 10/21/2011 she stated that AllSmile had significant issues with that particular hygienist (male) who was discovered to be recommending this procedure when it was not required to gain a commission and behaving unethical in general. The Billing Manager further confirmed that this person was no longer employed at AllSmile. She also stated that the hygienists at AllSmile work partially on commission and earn more when they perform these procedures. The Billing Manager said that a lot of customers were dealing with the similar issues but she was working to get everything straightened out and apologized for the hassle we had experienced. Since we were excellent patients with a perfect history of payment she stated they want to keep us as customers and that the outstanding balance would be waived. The Billing Manager further stated that she would consult with the business manager to see if we can recover the initial $326.80 co-payment, and promised to call [redacted] back later in the week to let him know.

[redacted] did not receive any calls back that week and left several inquiry messages with the receptionist at AllSmile over the next several weeks with no response. [redacted] tried to get in direct contact with the business manager [redacted] but again got no response.

On December 7, 2012 after receiving yet another account statement with even more late fees, Wife sent an email inquiry to [redacted] (Billing Manager) at AllSmile on to address the ongoing billing issue. She received no response. She also sent an email via the online web form to the attention of Dr. [redacted] on 12/7/1012. She received a response from the Business Manager, [redacted]:

From: [redacted]@allsmile.net

CC: [email protected]

**bject: RE: Web Form Contact

Date: Fri, 7 Dec 2012 17:47:16 -0800

We are in receipt of your inquiry today. We'll provide a written response next week. We thank you for your patience in this matter.

All Smile DentalTrust Your Smile to ALL SMILE !!

Business Manager 4653 Carmel Mountain Rd., **ite 306

San Diego, CA 92130-6650

[redacted]@allsmile.net

www.allsmile.net tel:

fax: 858-350-4703

206-202-0916

By December 14, 2012, despite being promised by [redacted]'s email we received no response.

On January 3, 2013 Wife sent an email directly to [redacted], cc'ing the general AllSmile contact email, requesting that we be contacted to resolve the issue. No response.

On March 19, 2013 we sent another email to [redacted]. requesting again that we be contacted directly by the business owner Dr [redacted]. No response.

In April 2013 we left numerous voice messages at AllSmile with receptionist and also at the voicemail of [redacted]. No response.

After emailing [redacted] again in May 2013, we received this email on 5/6/2013:

From: [redacted]@allsmile.net

CC: [email protected]

**bject: RE: account balance and claim dispute

Date: Mon, 6 May 2013 18:20:29 -0700

I apologize for not being able to help you resolve the outstanding balance to your satisfaction. However, our records show that our front office staff [redacted] had contacted both you and explain the sources of your outstanding balance on 3/5/12 and on 9/10/12. She had offered to help in your insurance appeal but you had declined her offer.

We'd audited your account balance and verified that the current balance in the amount of $649.15 is severely past-due and payable immediately to avoid collection that may affect your credit.

All treatment performed were necessary and fully documented as such. [redacted] had signed the attached agreement dated 9/11/2009 as well as detailed estimates of each procedure before treatment start. You had agreed to the following in writing:

Insurance Claims and Payments The Patient’s dental insurance benefits, if any, are specified in the agreement between the Patient and his/her insurance company. ASDC is not a party to that agreement and, consequently, payment for all professional fees and costs for dental services provided are the responsibility of the Patient or Guarantor, and not the Patient’s insurance company. As a courtesy, ASDC may assist the Patient in completing the appropriate insurance claim forms but is not required to do so. The estimated co-payment of all procedures is due at the time of service. However, any balance not paid by the Patient’s insurance company within forty-five (45) days of treatment, will be become immediately due and payable by the Patient or Guarantor. Patient and Guarantor agree to indemnify and hold harmless ASDC for any and all information collected from his/her insurance company and/or employer used in Patient’s treatment plan and knowledge that such information is NOT a guarantee of payment by the insurance company.

Our records show that All Smile Dental is in full compliance of the agreement.

On May 7, 2013 Wife responded via email (below) requesting further information. No response.

To: [redacted]@allsmile.net

CC: [email protected]

**bject: RE: account balance and claim dispute

Date: Tue, 7 May 2013 13:17:01 -0500

Thank you for your response.

1. We never declined help with insurance but were told it was an unnecessary procedure by insurance even though the dental tech (male) assured it would be necessary and covered by insurance. We were notified a year ago that this tech was let go due to unethical behavior with customers similar to our situation. We also know the biz and tech received commission for the procedure that was not necessary for my [redacted], which questions even more unethical behavior.

2. We have been trying to resolve this for over a year. No responses have been given, we should not have to pay late fees and interest because your office has refused to respond.

3. We have requested to speak with the owner Dr. [redacted] for months and have received no response. We request she sees the communication here.

4. My husband never agreed or signed any forms. We requested a copy of this form you claim he had signed and have never received a copy of this form. We again request a copy.

We look forward to another immediate response and a call from the owner of this business.

Wife

7/15/2013 1:00 PM - [redacted] left message with receptionist who indicated the business manager, [redacted], would call back momentarily. No response.

7/15/2013 4:00 PM - [redacted] left voice message for [redacted] requesting call back. No response.

7/18/2013 11:00 AM - [redacted] left voice message for [redacted] requesting call back. No response.

7/22/2013 9:00 AM - [redacted] left message with receptionist requesting a call from [redacted] or [redacted]. No response.

7/26/2013 – Wife talked with Dawn, the new Billing Manager who requested documentation of the events above with a promise to resolve the issue as soon as she received details about our experience.

7/31/13 - a certified copy of this letter was mailed to Dr. [redacted] Y. [redacted], business owner of All Smile Dental.

3. Billing issue:

We have always paid our bills in full, immediately, with exception to [redacted]’s appointment on October 21, 2011. We also have had other cleanings and charges following that date that we paid in full, immediately. We believe this issue is a result of AllSmile Dental acting in an unethical manner through its communication from the hygienist (male) and Dr. [redacted] on October 21, 2011.

1. After discussing the situation with Delta Dental, [redacted] was informed that the AllSmile Dental never contacted the insurance company about the procedure on October 21, 2011. This was conflicting of what AllSmile Dental told [redacted] on Oct 21, 2011, which was that AllSmile Dental had gotten pre-approval for the procedure from Delta Dental.

2. Back in 2012 [redacted] also requested that Allsmile provide medical documentation/x-rays, files, etc. to prove that he had the necessary "deep-pocketing" they claimed he had, according to Delta Dental's requirements for coverage of this procedure. No documentation was ever provided to [redacted] from Allsmile.

3. As noted in an email from [redacted] back in 2012, AllSmile also claims [redacted] signed a form approving this procedure, which he never did. And when [redacted] requested a copy of that signed form, non was every provided to [redacted].

4. Lastly, Allsmile Dental only sends bills every 3 or so months, always with just the amount owed, never with itemized details to what the charge are from. AllSmile always adds finance charges as well, even though the first bill [redacted] ever received was more than 3 months following Oct 21, 2011, they still charged monthly finance fees.Desired Settlement: Resolution Requested:

The closing of our account with a zero balance owed to AllSmile Dental & reimbursement of out of pocket co-payment of $326.80 paid Oct 21, 2011 by [redacted].

Review: I have not been to All Smile Dental since 2013. I just received an invoice from them for $14.07 that is over 90-days old.

This is the first I have heard of it and when I called they could not tell me what it was for but that I needed to pay it or go into collections. In 2013 I was pressured into paying invoices that came from nowhere and was fought with frustration with the company. I am reporting them to the dental board. The complaints on this Dr is adding up. I would think something could be done to take away his license but I understand that is not your department.

I am looking at all options at this point as I would like to put an end to the injustices caused by this Dr.

Thank youDesired Settlement: Explain why I am being charged 3-years after my visit.

Business

Response:

Complainant account adjusted accordingly to zero balance. Offered $100 credit to be used for future treatment as a courtesy due to clerical error that occurred.