Lincoln Place Dentistry, P.C.

Complaint: ***I am rejecting this response because: While I might have blindly trusted thisdoctor before; I will not make the same mistake twiceThere is an appt madethis Sunday to let her see how one of the teeth on the bridge she made me hascracked and split in halfThis work will have to be completely redone, but notby this lady. She is NOT to provide service…The receptionist told me, when I asked to speak to the doctor again - ON THEDAY the bridge was put in, to bring any complaints to the doctor on my nextvisitShe told me the doctor was too busy and could not see me, even though Ihad just left the dentist chair and was in the waiting room I was never told WHEN to start paying on the work to be performed. I cansee, and understand, how the doctor is upsetHowever, there were no paymentplans or arrangements set up from the beginningHow was I supposed to read hermind? My understanding, usually I life, payment is due upon COMPLETION of theworkIf there was a down payment required, that should have been discussed;which it wasn’tThe doctor’s receptionist has never answered the phone when I call.I have left several telephone msg’s and only once, in the beginning, has anyoneever called me back. This work will have to be re-done, and I should not have to paytwice to have a pretty smile, The front teeth hurt to bite into foodThe firsttooth to the side of the two center front teeth has cracked and broken offThisis not a service worth $as the bridge which was removed to make room forthe new one, lasted ten years longer than this oneThis one hasn’t even madeit to months before it began crumbling apartIn her response, she mentioned a remaining $worth of workthat was scheduled but never performedThis work was never done, but since whendoes a simple filling cost $3000? I had the same work done by another dentist,completely out of my pocket because Dr Laurie used all my insurance in doingthe work to the bridge that is now falling apartThe lack of communication between Lincoln Place Dentistry and it’sclients almost cost me another $because I was on the door step of needinga root canal because Dr Laurie refused to put a $filling on my paymentplan? The filliing I got, which I paid CASH for was only $I am stillwaiting to see if a root canal will be needed in the near future.The only resolution I will accept, is a complete refund of themoney we have paid them AND for her to forgive the remainder of the debt shesaid I oweI will not pay her and another dentist to fix her lack of skill,communication and customer service.Regards,*** ***

To whom it may concern:
I will preface my response by saying that we have been open for years, and never oncereceived a complaint regarding our business practicesWe do our best for thecommunity, and very much advise patients to pay us as they are able, within reasonWehave
rarely had a problem with this, as generally, patients are grateful to have the workcompleted before we ask for 100% of paymentWe aim to provide the best quality careand we hope that patients do not attempt to take advantage of our leniency withfinancialsUnfortunately, where there is leniency, there is always someone willing toexploit it.When we first saw this patient, we examined him and put together a treatment plan.Because he came to us on a weekend, we were not able to verify his insurance, but weput together a treatment plan for him regardlessOnce we were able to verify hisinsurance, we provided him with the estimate for the phases of treatmentAt this visit,the patient did sign a financial agreement, agreeing that payment for services would bedue at the time services are rendered(Again, we do provide leniency, but INWRITING, we have a signed form by this patient that he understands that generally,payment is due at time of service)The first phase of treatment included doing bridgework on his front teethWe calledhim several days prior to his scheduled appointment to let him know this estimate forthis phase would be around $The patient again was told that this could be paidoff within reason without being sent to collectionsHe wanted to move forward withtreatmentWe completed this treatment in two appointmentsThe first appointmentwe prepared the teeth for the bridgework and he wore temporary bridges for a fewweeksThis visit was hours longHe paid nothing at this visitThe second visit, weseated the bridgework (cemented them in place)This was about an hour longappointment, and we verified with the patient that he was indeed satisfied withaesthetics and comfortThe patient was very pleased, but being numb, we instructedthe patient (as we do with EVERY patient that is numb for anything) that if ANYTHINGdid not feel quite right when the numbness wore off, he should call us for any additionaladjustmentsThe patient also paid nothing at this visitWe took impressions at thisvisit as well for a free custom night guard, to help protect this new bridge from clenchingand grinding, which would wear them fasterThe patient cancelled his next appointment to have fillings done, due to a work conflict.We heard nothing about any problems with the bridge at this timeNothing.When we heard back from insurance, we sent our patient a statement showing that heindeed owed about $after insurance had paid, and this amount was now dueWeasked that he begin making payments, which he was insulted aboutHis wife sent us acheck for $With $a month, this would take the patient over years to pay usfor the work already completedThe additional work to be completed had an estimated cost of another $3000.We called the patient to let him know that we would not be able to continue treatment,as this would add to his bill, of which he already owed $5500, with only a smallcontribution paidWe called and told him about a week before his next appointment,then again a few days before his appointment that we would have to reschedule hisappointment for a time when his balance would be below $minutes before hisappointment, the patient phoned us back saying he was coming anywayHe left amessage, proving he had received these callsWe still have the message on ourvoicemail proving he received these messagesIn the meantime, we told the patient that despite the fact he hadn’t paid us reasonablyfor the procedure, we would still honor the promise we made of providing him with afree night guardThe patient promptly came in to pick up the free appliance (value of$165.00), and again did not schedule for an adjustment to the bridgeHe now is stating that the bridge is “crumbling” and “painful to eat on” mostly because Iwill not continue working on him until a reasonable balance is reachedI have several emailexchanges between the patient and myself regarding his anger in this ordeal (Iattached them to prove I have been as accommodating as possible)In these emails, Ialso have offered MANY times to have him come in so I may see the problems with thebridgeIt has been almost days since it was seatedFor me, if something isbothering me, I generally don’t wait days to have the person responsible looking at it.Additionally in these emails, he begs me to continue working on himIf I thought thework someone did wasn’t good, I also wouldn’t want him/her to provide me with anyadditional workWould you?
We never made any promises to “bundle” all work togetherThe work is presented inphase formatAnd we reserve the right to not continue working on a patient for ANYreasonIf trust is lost between patient and provider, there is no reason to continue withtreatment

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Complaint ID:[redacted]Response to Claim issued 9/18/17There are detailed notes on this account regarding this...

case: [redacted] called on 8/4/2017, about a month prior to her son’s appointment to see if we accepted her son’s new insurance.  We informed her that we did not accept her son’s insurance, and that she would owe cash fees for the services that would be completed.  She informed us that she would call back if she wanted to cancel this appointment.  In her complaint, [redacted] claims to have accomplished this; however, our records indicate that she did not.  I’d be curious to see her phone records, where she claims to have called to cancel this appointment, whom she talked to or whether a message was left (we have continued access to all of our voicemails).We send automatic reminders for appointments 4 days prior (email), 2 days prior (phone) and 1 day prior (text), so patients have ample opportunity to be reminded and to cancel their appointments, if the times do not end up working with the patient’s schedule.  We send these confirmations to the contact information provided by [redacted] on 3/17/17 (see attached contact info).  [redacted] cannot deny receiving these, as we have detailed records that indicate she received these. She also admitted to having received some of these in her complaint.  For the final reminder, [redacted] confirmed her son’s appointment with our office: “Appointment is confirmed".  We also have documentation of this: please see attached record revealing confirmation for [redacted] 9/18/2017 at 10:00am.10 mins prior to her son’s appointment on Monday (Sept 18th), [redacted] called our office to say, “I cancelled his appointment a month ago!.”  I don’t know why she thought to call 10 minutes prior to her son’s appointment, but that is when she chose to call us; as a side-note: we were open on Saturday (Sept 16th) and Sunday (Sept 17th).  We asked if she had received the confirmations, and if she recalls confirming this appointment the day previous.  She said that she only confirmed it to “stop the harassing messages.”  We informed her that by confirming this appointment, she was now agreeing to the appointment and to the terms of our cancellation policy, which asks patients to cancel their appointment 2 business days prior to their appointment time (see her attached signature on this cancellation policy).[redacted] was extremely unpleasant when she demanded that it was our mistake; she demanded the mistake was ours, and that she would not be paying any missed appointment fee.  We informed her that we are human beings, capable of making mistakes. However, if it truly was our mistake, then she had ample opportunity to rectify the situation when she received the first, second, or even third auto-confirmation for this appointment.  Instead she chose to CONFIRM the appointment, and call the next day telling us she cancelled the appointment. Had she acted in a manner that was reasonable, without yelling, or making demands of our staff, we probably would have forgiven this missed appointment.  We would have apologized for the inconvenience of receiving auto-confirmations for an appointment she claims to have cancelled, and we could have all moved on from this situation.  It is rare we charge for missed appointments; however, we do reserve the right to do so, and in situations where patients consistently cancel their appointments last minute as well as patients that are argumentative and rude, we feel this is a necessary evil.Now she is contacting the Revdex.com regarding a matter that we have evidence of confirmation of appointment, and proof that she understands our cancellation policy.  I believe this is her last effort to have this fee waived; we refuse to waive this fee due to her behavior.Please see attached proof of everything I have discussed.Thank you for your considering our response.Laura H[redacted], DDSLincoln Place Dentistry[redacted] 
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To whom it may concern:I will preface my response by saying that we have been open for 6 years, and never oncereceived a complaint regarding our business practices. We do our best for thecommunity, and very much advise patients to pay us as they are able, within reason. Wehave rarely had a problem...

with this, as generally, patients are grateful to have the workcompleted before we ask for 100% of payment. We aim to provide the best quality careand we hope that patients do not attempt to take advantage of our leniency withfinancials. Unfortunately, where there is leniency, there is always someone willing toexploit it.When we first saw this patient, we examined him and put together a treatment plan.Because he came to us on a weekend, we were not able to verify his insurance, but weput together a treatment plan for him regardless. Once we were able to verify hisinsurance, we provided him with the estimate for the phases of treatment. At this visit,the patient did sign a financial agreement, agreeing that payment for services would bedue at the time services are rendered. (Again, we do provide leniency, but INWRITING, we have a signed form by this patient that he understands that generally,payment is due at time of service).The first phase of treatment included doing bridgework on his front teeth. We calledhim several days prior to his scheduled appointment to let him know this estimate forthis phase would be around $5500. The patient again was told that this could be paidoff within reason without being sent to collections. He wanted to move forward withtreatment. We completed this treatment in two appointments. The first appointmentwe prepared the teeth for the bridgework and he wore temporary bridges for a fewweeks. This visit was 2.5 hours long. He paid nothing at this visit. The second visit, weseated the bridgework (cemented them in place). This was about an hour longappointment, and we verified with the patient that he was indeed satisfied withaesthetics and comfort. The patient was very pleased, but being numb, we instructedthe patient (as we do with EVERY patient that is numb for anything) that if ANYTHINGdid not feel quite right when the numbness wore off, he should call us for any additionaladjustments. The patient also paid nothing at this visit. We took impressions at thisvisit as well for a free custom night guard, to help protect this new bridge from clenchingand grinding, which would wear them faster.The patient cancelled his next appointment to have fillings done, due to a work conflict.We heard nothing about any problems with the bridge at this time. Nothing.When we heard back from insurance, we sent our patient a statement showing that heindeed owed about $5500 after insurance had paid, and this amount was now due. Weasked that he begin making payments, which he was insulted about. His wife sent us acheck for $100. With $100 a month, this would take the patient over 5 years to pay usfor the work already completed.The additional work to be completed had an estimated cost of another $3000.We called the patient to let him know that we would not be able to continue treatment,as this would add to his bill, of which he already owed $5500, with only a smallcontribution paid. We called and told him about a week before his next appointment,then again a few days before his appointment that we would have to reschedule hisappointment for a time when his balance would be below $1000. 20 minutes before hisappointment, the patient phoned us back saying he was coming anyway. He left amessage, proving he had received these calls. We still have the message on ourvoicemail proving he received these messages.In the meantime, we told the patient that despite the fact he hadn’t paid us reasonablyfor the procedure, we would still honor the promise we made of providing him with afree night guard. The patient promptly came in to pick up the free appliance (value of$165.00), and again did not schedule for an adjustment to the bridge.He now is stating that the bridge is “crumbling” and “painful to eat on” mostly because Iwill not continue working on him until a reasonable balance is reached. I have several emailexchanges between the patient and myself regarding his anger in this ordeal (Iattached them to prove I have been as accommodating as possible). In these emails, Ialso have offered MANY times to have him come in so I may see the problems with thebridge. It has been almost 90 days since it was seated. For me, if something isbothering me, I generally don’t wait 90 days to have the person responsible looking at it.Additionally in these emails, he begs me to continue working on him. If I thought thework someone did wasn’t good, I also wouldn’t want him/her to provide me with anyadditional work. Would you?We never made any promises to “bundle” all work together. The work is presented inphase format. And we reserve the right to not continue working on a patient for ANYreason. If trust is lost between patient and provider, there is no reason to continue withtreatment.

I was a patient for a year and really had no problems with the dental staff or dentist. The office staff however are horrible and have no idea how to bill correctly and customer service is foreign to them. Due to incorrect billing procedures they wanted me to pay for preventative care that was not my responsibility and then lied and blamed me for the mistake. I was treated so rude and disrespected by the office staff to the degree I decided not to return as a patient. The young woman there refused to let me talk to a manager and said I could only talk to her or the dentist. I have never received a call back from the dentist to share my concerns and the office staff acted as though it was no big deal to lose a patient. I would highly recommend another dentist and office that can provide both quality dentistry as well as customer service and expert billing.

To whom it may concern:This patient doesn't look/listen/read/respond well at all.  $3000 for a filling IS absurd.  This patient didn't just require a filling.  His treatment plan was e-mailed to him, so he knows that that is not all he requires, but he is sticking to his lies, I see.  He requires a lot of fillings and additional crown work.  So $3000 for additional work sounds about right to me, since he utilized his insurance on the two bridges that were done.  He did indeed come in a couple Sundays back for me to take a look at his bridgework completed a few months back.  He has managed to chip a tooth on one of them; (I did provide him with a FREE night guard/athletic guard, so I'm not sure how he accomplished this since porcelain is harder than tooth structure).  Additionally, no guarantees were made in regards to this bridge.  This is mostly because he could easily walk out of here, attempt to open a beer bottle with his teeth, and break his false teeth.  According to his philosophy, this would be my responsibility.  It's a lot like a door-ding on a new car.  No dealer would refund his money (but if you read on, I am offering this).I offered to smooth this chip out to appear more natural, but he was not satisfied with this.  What I have now offered him in writing (via a statement sent to his home) was a full refund on this bridge so he may have this bridge completed elsewhere.  However, the other bridge completed for him is in-tact, functional and any dentist would agree, in great shape. He still owes his portion for this in-tact bridge (that will not need to be replaced to fix his other issue).  He didn't have biting complaints on this in-tact bridge, only on the other one. What he wants is something for nothing. I have indeed offered him a fair resolution.  A full refund for the bridgework he deems unsatisfactory.  However, he still owes for the bridgework that is satisfactory, functioning, and he is utilizing.I personally told him (which he acknowledges) that if something didn't feel right about the bridge after any numbness wore off, he should call to schedule an appointment.  He is lying that my receptionist told him differently.  He seems to call when we are not in the office.  He also seems to never leave any messages, since we never received any (other than his one acknowledgement of his cancelled appointment).  We are not mind-readers, and can't know if he called without any messages left.He expected me to complete ALL work on the treatment plan without receiving any payment until he wanted to pay. He was planning on paying whatever and whenever he felt like it, interest free.  We have on ALL of our paperwork that we have the right to expect payment in 30 days from date of service in full and interest will be accrued if not paid.  However, we do say to all patients that as a courtesy, we allow you to make reasonable payments until the balance is paid, without going to collections.  This patient heard what he wanted to hear.I have never had this much trouble with a patient before. I can't even fathom his line of reasoning.  And we both agree we cannot work with each other in the future.  But he will go to collections if he does not pay for the in-tract bridgework completed.