Essence Dental Care

April 14, On February 25, 2014, patient [redacted] arrived for her am appointment at Essence Dental Care located at [redacted] , MD *** When patient was seated, she stated that she does not want any orthodontic assistant working on her but [redacted] ** [redacted] was already occupied with another patient and another assistant was assigned to her appointment Dr [redacted] explained to ** [redacted] that all assistants were capable of the same caliber of work Patient was upset that we were unable to fulfill her request and left the treatment areaShe approached the front desk and requested her records She refused to schedule her next appointment.Should you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at [redacted] ***Sincerely,

April 14, 2014
On February 25, 2014, patient [redacted] arrived for her 11 am appointment at Essence Dental Care located at [redacted], MD [redacted].  When patient was seated, she stated that she does not want any orthodontic assistant working on her but...

[redacted].  **. [redacted] was already occupied with another patient and another assistant was assigned to her appointment.  Dr. [redacted] explained to **. [redacted] that all assistants were capable of the same caliber of work.  Patient was upset that we were unable to fulfill her request and left the treatment area. She approached the front desk and requested her records.  She refused to schedule her next appointment.Should you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at [redacted].
Sincerely,

Review: Essence Dental is not customer service oriented and it starts with the dentist. On frequent occasions I have made appointments and came into the practice and was turned away by staff

Today I had an appointment at 9:40am for orthodontist (new rubber bands ) and for a refill on 2 teeth. I arrived at the appointment on time. Paid the necessary fees that my insurance did not insure of $81.40.

After the rubber bands were removed from my mouth, the brackets had to be removed as well in order for the dentist to reach the teeth that needed fillings. The dental student removed the brackets and sent me in for treatment. After the dentist filled my tooth of concern, I was sent back to the orthodontist so the brackets that had been prior removed could be replaced.

I was told earlier that the orthodontist leave at noon for lunch. Well today, the orthodontist left before11:38am regardless of the fact that I was there. Thus, I was told from staff I could leave and/or wait till 1pm from 11:40am, because the orthodontist was the only one who could authorize my brackets being put back that was prior taken off. About 1:10pm when the orthodontist returned, the dentist student then took me back finishing at 1:39pm. The practice only have one dentist and one orthodontist on Staff. The rest are young adults who have minimal education that cannot move without approval. The orthodontist cares nothing about the patients, and only about financial transactions. The staff shouldn't have booked both appointments together if they couldn't be fulfilled before the orthodontist went to lunch. Customer service is everything! If the orthodontist cared, he would had to take a later lunch or whatever that was necessary that a patient should not been waiting from 11:40-1:10 because he left. The appointments shouldn't have been booked on the same day. There's no reason a patient should come into a dentist at 9:40 and have to spend a whole day on a problem that is less than one hour. I had to further take off for the remainder of the 8-hour day since I spent many of my hours in Essence Dental Care PC.Desired Settlement: With further steps! Practice operations is unacceptable! I'm paying to get screwed, unacceptable!

Review: My complaint with this office is regarding how unorganized this office is with billing. My insurance covers $1,000 maximum for ortho work and every time that I go into this office to have them re-tighten my braces it seems that there records are never updated with what the insurance company has issued out them. As of 2/03/2014 my ins has issued out $ 779.44 of the $1,000 maximum. The office only shows that $450 have been issued to them. Every time I try to talk about this to a staffer, they always tell me that the lady that handles the financial part is not there and she only comes there once a week. I have left them a copy of the Explanation of Benefits as well as a number for the lady to call me back so we can discuss the matter but I never receive a call. This has been going on far too long and it's time for me to go search for another Dr., while I'm still in treatment. This office is unprofessional.Desired Settlement: What I would like is for their records to include all of the payments that they have received for my ortho so I can be done with them altogether.

Business

Response:

April 14, 2014On February 25, 2014, patient [redacted] arrived for her 11 am appointment at Essence Dental Care located at [redacted], MD [redacted]. When patient was seated, she stated that she does not want any orthodontic assistant working on her but [redacted]. **. [redacted] was already occupied with another patient and another assistant was assigned to her appointment. Dr. [redacted] explained to **. [redacted] that all assistants were capable of the same caliber of work. Patient was upset that we were unable to fulfill her request and left the treatment area. She approached the front desk and requested her records. She refused to schedule her next appointment.Should you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at [redacted].Sincerely,

Review: On January 17, 2014 I went to the dentist office for my six month visit to get X-rays, teeth cleaning etc. I was told by an employee named [redacted] that I needed a full mouth debriment but it would take several weeks to get an approval from my insurance company to do the work. She asked me if I could pay for the service which was $55.00 and once they submitted everything to the insurance company that I would get a refund once they received payment from my insurance company. I asked her if she was positive that I would get my money returned and she said yes. After about 6 weeks passed I called a Essence Dental to inquire about my refund, I was told by [redacted] that the claim was submitted incorrectly and that she spoke to [redacted] who would correct the claim and resubmit. This claim was submitted 3 times and was denied every time. The last time it was submitted my insurance company denied it because they said that I did not need that service. I was deceived by Essence Dental, they told me I needed a service that my insurance company says I did not need. I have spoken to [redacted] and [redacted] and could not get any results of getting my refund. I asked to speak to [redacted] the a Office Manager, who was in the DC Office. I called and spoke with [redacted] who assured me that she would return my phone call on April 21, 2014 and she did not return my call. I have called today yo speak with the owners and was told that ** had yo leave a message and they would call me back. I am requesting a full refund of $55.00 because ** was told I would get a refund but also because they told me I needed this service that my insurance company says I did not need.Desired Settlement: A full refund of $55.00 and a letter of apology.