ComplaintsforDental Center of Florence, Kentucky, PSC

• Initial Complaint

  09/15/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have had about 4 visits and the last one the lady had long nails and she pulled on my jaw hurting it. i watched her scratch her nose she did not have gloves on. she kept tossing the instruments on my chest one fill on the floor I don't if she reused it.my teeth look horrible .every time I went there my bill changed they said this is the amount for the next visit and when I would pay it was always more. I called and asked for a manager talked to some one named jenny told her what happened and said I was going to file a complaint but wanted to talk to someone about it first. she called me a liar and said since your going to file a complaint I don't think we are the right place for you because I take that as a threat. i had a appointment for the next day to finish my bottom plate and she said don't come back ,she said they done extra work on my mouth and should have discussed it with me before they did that's why the extra charge. my insurance was only good for two more weeks .

  Business response

  09/17/2021

  To Whom This May Concern,
  Hello, my name is Jenny and I am the clinical manager for the Dental Center of Florence. We take every effort to ensure we give the very best care to our patients without exception. Mr. ******* has not represented the truth in his statement regarding his 09/03/2021. If Mr. ******* would sign a HIPAA waiver, I would be happy to clear up his statements. Most specifically, what Mr. ******* alleged happened on 09/03/2021 date of service could not have occurred.
  On 09/03/2021 I received a message that Mr. ******* wanted to speak to the manager, being the clinical manager, I personally called him. Mr. ******* had me on speaker phone both he and his partner told me my very experienced dental assistant was not wearing gloves, which has never ever happened in this office. (Wearing gloves is not to just protect the patient but also the staff from the patient, gloves are mutually beneficial)   When I challenged him on this statement as not only is: this an experienced dental assistant who has never had a patient complaint, there was also the dentist present in the room with the assistant. Mr. ******* then stated he said “well no she was wearing gloves”. Regarding his statement of “my teeth look horrible.” I reminded him that again the dentist was in the room, the work that was completed as one would expect, his treatment was basic general dentistry.  I did confirm that he was not in any pain or discomfort and he stated he was not.  
  Regarding his bill I reminded Mr. ******* we always give patients a printed treatment estimate. This estimate is based on if their dental insurance pays as it should, it is not a guarantee payment. I further explained to Mr. ******* that an Xray is 2 dimensional while the tooth is 3 dimensional so that the actual amount of decay of a person’s tooth is more advanced than what was picked up on the Xray.
  I never one time called him or his partner any names, actually I advised them that was going to end the phone conversation if they continued to yell and use profanity. Also please keep in mind that Mr. *******’s partner was not present for his 09/03/2021 date of service; which I also question why she was making false statements to an event that she was not present for. Mr. ******* was informed that his next appointment with our office was going to be canceled. He tones became aggressive when I told him that we were releasing him from our office, as he wanted to still keep his upcoming appointment.  He was not able to answer a simple question that I posed to him which was: If you have accused our office of: not using gloves, throwing instruments, doing bad work, over charging you then why would you want any more dental work completed at out office? The patient/ dentist relationship has been compromised; we would be available for the next 30 days for dental emergencies. He verbalized understanding and advised me he was filling a complaint. Please feel free to reach out to our office @###-###-#### if I can be of further assistance.
  
  Sincerely,
  Jenny B*********
  DCOF Clinical Manager

• Initial Complaint

  05/17/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My mother teeth were extracted on April 29th I called the business on that day to find out how long we should wait before coming in and get the same day dentures fitted and they said 10 days I set the appointment for May 13th at 9am. We get there at 9am and did the impressions said to come back at 11:30 and if she liked them they would go ahead and dip them for completion. Went back at 11:30 the impressions were not right, bite was off, she could not even close her mouth, so they said oh we will fix it come back at 3:30. we live over an hour away so we sat in the car. went back in at 3:30 and again the impression was wrong they said since we are soon to be closed come back tomorrow May 14, so now I have to call off work again went there at 11am they said it would be done at 3:30 and again the impression was wrong it was worse. I called to get a refund and they refunded me 1,045.00 but not the remaining 125.00 for the impression which was never right in the first place.

  Business response

  05/19/2021

  Tell us why here...We strive to exceed patient expectations, and we are sorry to know that we didn’t meet the patient’s expectations.  We take pride in educating our patients on the treatment they need and what to expect before, during, and after their procedure.  Our goal is to provide our patients with the highest quality dental care, services, and products.  Unfortunately, at times that requires multiple visits to ensure that we are providing the patient with the best product and service.  We don’t move forward with processing the prosthetics until both the patient and the clinical team are satisfied with all aspects of the prosthetics.  At the patient’s initial appointment, we impressed for the prosthetics.  The patient returned for a wax try-in that was approved, then the patient returned for the seat of the prosthetics.  This is the normal process and steps involved for this procedure.  At the seat appointment, the clinical team had concerns with the prosthetics not seating properly due to the patient’s ridge.  We took new impressions and started the process of fabricating the prosthetics again.  The patient returned the next day for a wax try-in.  We again reviewed concerns with the patient regarding the patient’s ridge and the need in the future for additional procedures to ensure the best results with the prosthetics.  The patient returned later that day to seat the prosthetics.  The patient was not pleased with the prosthetics.  The clinical team reviewed the concerns, the need for additional procedures, and the prosthetics being interim prosthetics as the patient had very recently had the remaining upper and lower teeth extracted.  The patient’s family member became aggressive and non-compliant. 
  
  As it was obvious that we couldn’t meet the patient’s expectations and the fact that we take aggressive behavior toward our team very seriously, we refunded the patient’s services and advised for them to continue their care at another office.  Please note that prosthetics are custom made and typically are non-refundable but as a courtesy to the patient, we issued a refund.  We appreciate the opportunity to treat patients and appreciate patients choosing our office for their dental care, but we don’t feel that we can be at fault for the travel time or distance.  In addition, we feel that we provided the patient with standard of care and set realistic expectations for the prosthetic process. 
  
  The patient was refunded the amount they initially paid minus $25.00 for the exam fee and $100.00 for Diagnostic Casts.  These are non-refundable and these services were performed and completed.  As we don’t feel that we can meet the patient’s expectations nor change the length of travel the patient has plus the aggressive behavior demonstrated by the patient’s family member, we feel the patient would be best to seek the services of another provider.  We would be happy to forward the patient’s x-rays and clinical chart to assist the patient in getting care at another provider’s office.

   

  Sincerely,

  Tami B.

  Customer response

  05/19/2021

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  I do not want any type of medical info sent to the new place she is going to because the cast was wrong in the first place that is why I think I should have a full refund including the 125 because it was a bad experience from day one. my mom couldn't even close her mouth and they didn't even give her a mirror to look at the end result because they knew that they were messed up, also the nonsense of saying well you should try them out over the weekend and see how they feel and if they don't feel right come back and correct them I am in total disbelief they would let someone walk out like that when they had to see for themselves that they were not correct. The new place she is going to said the ridge is just fine,  luckily I found a true reputable place that can make dentures and she is now in the process of getting new ones made this time. and we are happy they are nice and patient friendly where she is not in pain and making her gums bleed, but it is sad that now I have to come up with another $125 just to break even from this awful experience. Correct I was irritable by day two because we sat in a car for 7 hours the first day and 7 hours a second day and on the second day the company couldn't even get anything right we left with no teeth. And we were not the only people who had a bad experience there were at least 3 other people that was just as mad as I was.  
  
  ******* *****
  

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