Complaint Review: Wilshire Dental

This summary is based on my horrible experience with Wilshire Dental in Santa Monica, California.

My first visit to Wilshire Dental was in January 2017, where I received an initial check up.  I was initially concerned by an argument that another patient was having with the front desk staff, regarding an over charge for services.  This should have been a red flag, but I proceeded to remain a patient.  My next visit was for a cleaning a few weeks later.  Again, another customer was complaining about a billing error.  I arrived at my appointed time, but had to wait nearly 30 minutes before I was seen by a doctor.  I was also alarmed by the dental assistant, who had a persistent cough while working on my teeth.

I went in for fillings on 2/11/17 and 2/24/17.  During my visit on 2/24/17, I was initially told that I only needed one filling.  But the dentist told me that she found additional cavities that were missed in my previous x-ray.  She performed two fillings during the visit (suggesting a third!), but I felt that this was some kind of unscrupulous “hard sell” to get more of my money.  This immediately made me suspicious of Wilshire Dental’s practices.  Additionally, the dental assistant was still coughing profusely (that is not very hygienic during a dental procedure).

After reviewing my bill, I believed that I was overcharged for the services on 2/11/17 and 2/24/17.  I contacted my employer’s benefits director to look into the matter.  She contacted my insurance company and agreed that I should not have paid that much out of pocket.  We both attempted to contact Wilshire Dental about the overages.  A woman named Doreen told us to speak with the office manager Jasmine.  We attempted to call Jasmine but kept getting the run around (i.e. she stepped out of the office, she’s not there on certain days, etc.).  Additionally, Doreen was extremely rude to the benefits director when we called, saying “we got your message - Jasmine will call you back!”

The benefits director and I finally got a hold of Jasmine in the first week of March.  We reviewed my bill and she agreed that I was overcharged.  Jasmine said she would send me a bill summary with the adjusted charges and refund my credit credit card.  After several days, I did not receive a bill summary from Jasmine nor was my credit card reimbursed.  I made a follow up call and spoke with Doreen, who took down my credit card number for the reimbursement.  Following several more emails and phone calls to Jasmine, I was finally refunded on March 15, 2017.  However, Wilshire Dental did not refund me the amount they promised and short changed me $10.00.

On March 20, 2017, a filling from my 2/24/17 visit came out of my tooth, causing extreme discomfort and pain.  I made an emergency appointment with Wilshire Dental the next day.  The dentist claimed no liability or responsibility for the incorrect procedure, instead stating “I don’t know how this happened.”  That’s not a professional assessment I’d expect to receive from a dentist.  She fixed the filling and I finally realized that Wilshire Dental is not a suitable dental practice.  Needless to say, I switched dentists soon after the visit.

Dealing with Wilshire Dental has been extremely difficult: rude and unprofessional staff, overcharges for dental procedures, concerns with dental staff hygiene, lack of communication with the office manager, questionable practices by the dentist, faulty/incomplete dental work, observations of issues with other Wilshire Dental patients.  I advised my employer’s benefits director to not refer my co-workers to this dental practice.  This has been by far the worst dental experience I have encountered.  I sincerely believe that a full investigation needs to be conducted into Wilshire Dental’s practices.