- Report: #510296
Complaint Review: Cherry Hill Dental AssociatesINC - Columbia Missouri
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Cherry Hill Dental AssociatesINC
2012 Cherry Hill Drive, Suite 101 Columbia, 65203 Missouri, United States of America
Phone:
5734460880
Web:
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Cherry Hill Dental Associates,INC Misdiagnosis, Confusing Office Demeanor, False Advertising Columbia, Missouri
I went to Cherry Hill Dental under the assumption that I was to have my teeth cleaned and receive the free teeth whitening product advertised on the local TV station. I was led to a bay area and asked to sit down. A young lady ( name and title unknown as she did not tell me) took bite wing xrays and a panoramic xray. Then another young girl came in ( name and title unknown as she did not tell me) and proceeded to check my teeth telling me that a count over 3 was indidcative of peridontal disease. She proceeded and began calling out many numbers over 3. When she was done she told me I had peridontal disease and would need a deep cleaning /scaling procedure. Then another older woman came in ( name and title unknown as she did not tell me) and gave me a paper with the pricing of this procedure which by the way was over 1200 dollars !!! She then asked me to sign this paper to which I did BUT in my writing by my name stated " this is an estimate". Then the dentist came in ( without introduction ) and neither confirmed nor denied a deep cleaning was needed.....then another middle aged woman called me to her office to again give me the dollars amounts !! I don't know her name either ....inbetween all these people attending to me other ladies were in and out of the bay area I was seated in...one young pregnant girl, another young pregnant girl....well you get the picture...totally chaotic !! I had no ideal what was going on ! Before I left totally confused and abit upset I asked for my introductory teeth whitening kit to which I was told I could not have because I needed this expensive deep cleaning BUT I was asked if I would like a bottle of spring water ...free !!
The very next day I made appointments with another dentist . I did not mention my plight with Cherry Hill Dental. After the exam I was asked if I would like to make an appointment for a cleaning ? I asked if it was a regular cleaning to which I was told yes. Then I told the dentist of my last dental experience where I was told I had peridontal disease and might I add I was also told if left untreated I would suffer heart disease by the young girl at Cherry Hill , anyway this dentist told me I did not have peridontal disease and then told me the symptoms. He then asked his hygenist to check me over again which she did. She did the same thing the girl at Cherry Hill did ONLY it did not hurt ! I asked her why and she said it was most likely because the other girl had poked the instrument into my gum line too far. She concurred that I did not have peridontal disease. One area in the back upper molar registered a 4, she said a good clesning would resolve this.
Overall my experince at Cherry Hill was negative. I had a 2:30 PM appt and got out of there at 4:52 PM having not a thing done to my teeth. The office was chaotic, the staff did not introduce themselves, the diagnosis was inaccurate,I did not receive the free advertised teeth whitening, the prices way to high ! I feel one is paying for the beverage bar and flat screens in ecah bay area. In my opinion they stink and I would not recccomend this dental service to anyone.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Mary
Columbia,Missouri,
United States of America
Gum Disease is Important
#2REBUTTAL Owner of company
Mon, February 08, 2010
It's unfortunate that you did not enjoy your experience at our office. One in four adults in America suffers from gum disease. When you have gum disease it is not in your best interest to do a traditional cleaning. In fact, in many instances it can make the situation worse. If we ever treatment plan anyone for a deep cleaning, we wait to do the whitening trays until the gums have healed. At any point in the future after the deep cleaning is done, we will be more than happy to do a whitening treatment. Your gums are not the same shape now that they will be after the deep cleaning. Currently because of the active infection they will be slightly swollen. If we make a bleach tray to fit your teeth it won't go as close to the gum as it needs to go after the gums have healed. You make it sound like our "scam" is telling everyone that they need a deep cleaning so that we don't have to give away $500 worth of whitening trays. I can make a list at any time of over 10,000 patients that have been given free whitening trays after receiving a regular cleaning. Many patients prefer to go to a dentist that doesn't even check the health of their gums on a regular basis. I find that this is unethical with all of the systemic links that have been uncovered in the last decade linking gum disease to heart disease, alzheimers, rheumatoid arthritis, etc. Doctors know that this is the case. Before patients get hip or joint replacements they send them for a check up and I have to certify that they don't have untreated gum disease or the doctor won't go forward with the surgery. Also, our team wears name tags as of about 2 months ago but they also introduce themselves as they enter the room. I am probably the doctor that saw you and I can't remember a time when I have entered the room when an assistant hasn't said, "This is Dr. Mary. She is going to examine you today." I'm not sure why it matters whether my staff is pregnant or not. With a staff of young females that happens. With a large family ourselves, we are very happy for our team members when they add to their families. I stand by our diagnosis and I hope that you continue to get good care. I disagree that we did false measurements. I can take a patient with a 6 mm pocket and only place the probe down 3mm and not cause any discomfort at all and tell you that you are healthy and that might make you happy but it doesn't make you healthy. Also, from your review you state that your teeth were not cleaned at your other dentist either. You also make it sound like no one was going to even check the health of your gums until you asked them to. It sounds like the cleaning and the checking of your gum health was an afterthought after you brought it up. We have a lot of patients who come to us with loose teeth after going to the same wonderful dentist for years. They don't understand why their teeth are loose. When we tell them it is because they have had untreated gum disease for years they ask why it wasn't diagnosed before. This is why. Sometimes it is easier to tell people what they want to hear instead of what they need to hear. I respect my patients enough to be honest with them.
