Complaint Review: Evanston Hospital Dental Clinic

I have no dental insurance, so I looked online for an alternative and found Evanston Hospital Dental Clinic.

At first, Evanston Hospital Dental Clinic (EHDC) seemed a great choice. They said you only had to pay 1/2 the cost of procedures. Well, it turns out that only applies to procedures THEY do at the clinic, which excludes all crowns, bridgework, extractions, molar root canals, and who knows what else. For these procedures, they only pay 25%.

Secondly, paying 1/2 may seem like a great deal at first, but their "regular fees" are so high, that when you pay "half price", you probably could have found it at a "real dentist" for near the same price. When I say "real dentist", I mean someone with their own practice, who has been a dentist for more than 5 minutes. All the dentists who will work on you at the EHDC are residents, who only recently graduated. My experience with the "dentist" I was assigned to has taught me that not only do years of experience give you wisdom, but also good "bedside manners". My dentist was so condescending and cold, that I pray if she does get her own practice, that it fails, and she winds up working at McDonald's. Also, if you do get a dentist you like, don't get too attached, since they are only there for one year, then a new group of students comes in.

So If you have a choice to pay slightly more at a dentist with 20 years or more of experience, or save a few bucks at someone just out of dental school, and has no clue how to act, what would your choice be?

Another thing is they started by taking a slew of X-rays, costing me $73.50. If that's half price, omg! Then, they tell you that they advocate removing/extracting all your wisdom teeth (even if there is no problem with them)! Oh - and THEY don't do THIS procedure either! But they won't work on you unless you have hem extracted! They suggest the dental school, which, if you're lucky and get accepted, will make you wait in line about 2 hours - in a crappy neighborhood - and not even guarantee that you can get worked on.

I went there because I had a severe tooth ache with an infection in a molar, and, didn't know why. The "dentist" said it might be because a crown was too high, and ground it down a bit. She also ground down the crown below it, exposing the metal below the porcelain in the process. She, of course, denied doing this. As it turned out, I needed a ROOT CANAL, which - guess what? - THEY DON'T DO EITHER! So I spent money on X-rays, and a second office visit (which I had to wait an hour for because of an emergency), only to be told I needed an root canal, but THEY couldn't perform it there! This visit took 5 minutes, but they charged me $61.00 - just to look at it and tell me they couldn't do the root canal, and to go somewhere else for it. I had an infected tooth and the gums were swollen, and she would have done an I&C (incise and clean) meaning stick it with a needle to let the pus out. But she wanted $80.00 to do this!

I have since found a dentist, with over 30 years experience, who doesn't nickle and dime me for every little thing. His root canal - in a molar - costs $495, compared to the dental school's $475. He is pleasant and I trust him. I do not trust them at EHDC. They led me on, and I paid for two visits which did nothing to help my toothache, and frankly, has given me a headache.

I called them today, to ask them if I could come in and get my X-rays which I paid for. When a dentist losses a patient to another dentist, it is customary to give the client the X-rays, out-and-out, since they paid for them. The EHDC said they needed to keep the originals, in spite of the fact that I told them, in no uncertain terms, that I would never come back there again. They said they would make copies for me - and - yes, you guessed it - for a fee! They want $35.00 to make copies of something they have reason to keep.

If you do not have dental insurance, I recommend that you go online and Google cheap dentists, and then make calls. You will almost assuredly find a real, experienced dentist to help you, who will not lie to you or cheat you, with good bedside manners, and at a reasonable rate.

Mine is named O'Neill, and he is in Chicago.

Achy breaky tooth
morton grove, Illinois
U.S.A.