American Dental Associates

Horrible. The only reason I went here is that my work offered a DHMO plan that was covered at this practice. I can only speak of Dr. Diraj Sharma and the process of making an appointment and getting a cleaning. Dr. Sharma made it impossible to be able to come in for a scheduled appointment because he cancelled at the last minute on 3 separate occasions. The office staff has a lot of communication issues and the timeframe they give you to get an appointment is not convenient for those who work 9 – 5. Go somewhere else.

When you see the negative reviews listed here… BELIEVE THEM! I actually checked Unilocal before going here and didn’t listen, mostly because I don’t really trust Unilocal reviews and I wanted to see for myself. They don’t do good work (I now need to go to another Dentist to fix what they have done)…this is the kinda dentist office that very clearly wants to charge you as much as possible. DON’T GO HERE… WORST DENTIST OFFICE I’VE EVER BEEN TO!

I got braces about two years ago, my two bottom wisdom teeth erupted so my orthodontist gave me an order to get all four wisdom teeth extracted (it was just a matter of time for my other two wisdom to show up too) I have insurance Human PPO (dental) I looked through their website to see all the providers in my area. I called American Dental located in archer and Cicero just because of the experience of their medical staff. I asked them (to be safe) if they accepted my insurance. I was told yes, and I was scheduled for an appointment. When I went for my appointment I took my insurance and my order. I was given x-​rays (they didn’t want to take the ones from my orthodontist) and they said I needed a CT scan because one of my wisdom teeth was embedded in a nerve (insurance noncovered, $ 300 for CT scan) was given an appointment in their north side location to have the CT scan done. I was given an approximate amount I would pay and what my insurance would pay for the extractions. So I decided to precede with the 4 wisdom teeth extractions. November 2012, I paid $ 340 to have all 4 extractions. I was very nervous and scared but Dr. Katnelson (oral surgeon) did a great job! I was very pleased. When I went for my follow up everything was going well and I was healing well too. On my way out, one of the front girls stopped me and said that I was going to have to pay $ 40 more due to one wisdom teeth being bonny. I was a little confused and she said that the surgeon didn’t notice until he opened the area. So there I go paying and additional $ 40. In April 2013 I received a call from a girl, saying that my insurance needed me to call them to update some information in order for them to get paid for the services done to me. I called that same day and them gave them a call back and told them that it was updated and I was told that it will take approximately 30 days for them to review it. In September 2013 I receive a collections letter stating I failed to pay for the services that were provided to me on November 2012. I called the providers office and spoke with Sabrina. She said that they had sent out numerous letters stating that I had a balance because my insurance denied the claim, and she had no clue as to why. I contacted my insurance and they told me that the codes they were billing the wrong codes. They told them to resend the claim with the right codes, that my dental ppo plan was going to deny it and my medical plan HMO will pick it up. So there I go, I call Sabrina again and tell her what I was told. She insisted that they NEVER bill medical ONLY dental. I had to make a conference call so my insurance can explain to her the codes that need to be bill in order for my medical plan to pick it up, since it was oral surgery that was done to me. I told Sabrina if there are any other issues to please get in touch with me, since the letters don’t ever seem to reach me. May 2015 I had an officer drop off an envelope to my house. I was to show up to court for the same stupid problem that I believed was fixed. Won’t repeat myself because the same thing happened I had to call Sabrina and my insurance. She insisted with the same stupid thing that they never bill medical. I had to miss work to show up to court, to only had their lawyer and the judge be as confuse as I was with the whole «never bill medical», and wrong codes that were billed. I had just graduated from college and I was paying my student loans and now I had to pay this, when I had coverage this entire time. I personally went to speak to Sabrina and asked her to provide me with the information they got when they called my insurance. She refused to give me anything. But she nice enough to read me SOME NOT ALL of her notes, and she read that the insurance told her due to my medical HMO plan I needed a referral authorization and she needs to bill medical. When I asked her why, if they were informed about the correct billing and referral was nothing ever done or I was never informed?! She said that she only does the billing and as far as the things that the insurance asked to do and making changes, someone else is in charge of that. OMG! I was done with them!! I have my insurance through my employer and I went to my HR department and they were nice enough to help with this hot mess. My insurance said that the staff at this location was either NOT WILLING TO OR DID NOT KNOW how to bill the insurance. Three years later I was finally able to get this claim paid for but not after having to pay additional fees (court fees, $ 289) when I had to go to court. Had the staff been more cooperative and not as frustrating I would give this place 5 star and recommend all my family and friends here. But because of the staff, please stay away from this place, it’s such a shame that they have wonderful surgeons but their staff makes this place look and feel like it’s just not worth it. Sorry Dr. Katnelson that your practice has to suffer for the incompetence of your staff.

Really enjoyed my experience here. Probably the best dentist office I’ve visited. The doctor was very informative and kind, this will likely be my permanent dentist.

American Dental Associates, 1610 W Fullerton Ave…
THESE PEOPLE ARE THE WORST: THE DENTISTS ARE FINE BUT THE FRONT DESK STAFF… OH MY LORD JESUS
I went in for a cavity on 2÷11÷14 after having to wait a month to get on their ROSTER. After everything is done they wait for 10 months and then decide, «Oh by the way there is a balance of $ 722 due, your insurance didn’t cover everything.» FOR A PROCEDURE I HAD 10 MONTHS EARLIER!!! I am told that they will try to re-​submit it to insurance again. They update my information in their system and send out one statement, and then they never send anything else again. So I figure everything is fine.
I few months later I call the office (It’s now well over a year) because my tooth is hurting and they inform me that that balance is still due ($ 722). After setting up the appointment the receptionist updates my address (FOR THE SECOND TIME IN 2015) and then 5 days later sends me a collection letter from a law office (what a great way to treat a patient). I keep my cool and decide not to call the office but instead I decide to wait until I see them in person.
I show up for the scheduled and the whole front desk staff is completely new. They tell me that I owe this $ 722 and that they can not see me until I set up a payment plan. They also inform me that I will been sent to collections. She informs me that all the old staff is gone and it is because they were not following procedures and that they allowed patients bills to get racked up. Now my teeth are hurting I could care less about the money I needed to see a dentist. When I tell her I need to see a manager she tells me, «well you are actually off the roster and you can’t see a dentist anyway.» WHY WOULD THEY SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT ANYWAY IF THEY KNEW I WASN’T ON THE ROSTER??? THEY JUST WANT THEIR MONEY AND HAD NO INTENTION OF SEEING ME. I HAD TO TAKE TIME OFF FROM WORK!!!
So I ask to speak to a manager. The manager Sylvia gives me the same runaround and tells me that unless I work out a payment plan i’ll be sent to collections. She tells me I can call my insurance and see if I can get them to pay more (Isn’t that their job?) I am a little upset now and I would rather pull out my teeth with a pair of pliers myself then allow these m@#$#$%^%$#$# to even get close to me. I tell her that it sounds like something shady is going on and they need to get better grip on what their employees are doing. I ask to speak to someone higher up and she gives me the name of the owner Dhiraj Sharma but I sill as of yet have to hear from him.
It sounds to me like there is some serious problems at this office. I can’t be the only person that this has happened to. There might be something in the realm of a class action if there are more people out there. Hit me up on Unilocal if you have a similar story with this place.
FYI my teeth still hurt and I wonder if all the extractions and work they did on me was legit. I saw this horrible Frontline episode about the horrors of modern dentistry and all i’m thinking is were all there procedures actually necessary. I feel bad because I have referred several of my friends and co-​workers to them. You can be sure that have have about a dozen calls to make once I’m done here.

The front desk staff was polite. That was the highlight. To set the scene, I was the only person in there during lunch time! It was literally like ghost town. Unfortunately, I was late for the appointment (still not familiar with the city yet) which I believe was a possible reason for the Dentist’s sour personality. However, i apologized to the front desk and dentist on separate occasions for being late. Apology or noy; that’s who he seems to be at the core. He and the dental hygienist were very impersonable, and brief with their services.
I received two automated calls prior to the appointment, but neither call indicated that I needed to follow up to confirm my appointment. At no point during my visit, from the front desk to the Dentists/​hygienist, did they inform me that I would not have my cleaning done. When I got in the seat he asked where I felt pain, took x-​rays, came back in poked the bottom of my left gum and said he would refer me to a Periodontist. Cleaned up shop and they were done. I felt like I wasted a great deal of time on this dental office.
Prior to scheduling the appointment, their office did a poor job of documenting calls, and filing away important information from my insurance carrier. It was not until I spoke with the supervisor that the ball began to roll. Even then, she failed to believe me when I informed her that her employee received the fax from my insurance carrier. I would like to recommend that Healthcare providers not grow too big for their own good. When that happens they begin to lose sight of the ultimate purpose.

If you have a couple thousand dollars of disposable income and time to bounce between offices, specialists, and appointments then this place is for you!
Moved, found them through my insurance, needed my bi-​annual cleaning and set up an appointment at their Lawrence location. Dr Sharma was great — very kind and professional. Could this be my new dentist?
Fast forward 5 months and a crown from a pre-​existing root canal tooth popped off during a meal and I was able to save it. I called ADA for an appointment and they sent me to their Fullerton location, promising no work could be done that day. I show up for my appointment to a very lush office, friendly front office staff, and a very kind assistant. I was impressed. I saw Dr. M who was super thorough, extremely professional, and very kind. After 2 xrays and an exam of the questionable tooth, she explained the cap was not previously put on tight (by my former dentist) and there was some leaking that was causing decay to the tooth below the cap. She used some temp cement and popped it back on. She said if she used her strongest cement, it would just pop off again and so she gave me 2 long term options:
1. Gum elongation. I would need to set up an appt with a different dr in their office for a consultatiion ($ 125 fee) so they can then retreat the molar, do some crown lengthening, and reapply the crown — ($ 4k before insurance, $ 2k after insurance).
2. Get an implant (which she STRONGLY encouraged because I was young). Of course I would need to set up a consultation appt ($ 125 fee…), take more xrays (different from the set they have at their other office), and get the implant — (Around $ 4k before and after insurance which they probably wont cover).
Before I left they kept asking what I wanted to do and and if I wanted to set up an appointment. I just needed some time to think it over so I left without making an appointment.
Hey guess what, less than 24 hours later my crown popped right off again! I called a different dentist near my job to get a second opinion. He was able to see me same day, inform me that ADA was not entirely wrong about their options, but he was able to give me a third, more conservative option: go in and address my cavity and reapply my cap, ensuring it should stay put for quite a long time… and he did just that — for ~$ 300 ($ 150 with my insurance). And today — it feels great, like the cap/​tooth has been there all along.
I will never go back to ADA. I do not like being sold things and appreciate hearing all options. I am giving them 2 stars for their professionalism and dentists who i think are most likely very talented. But I do not like being bounced around between offices and dentists within the same company (and being charged for each visit). They are probably really awesome for cosmetic dentistry and for folks who are a little bit more financially sound then myself.
Also — this is not a one off… my husband went here for some dental issues and they made him see multiple dentists, different locations, and prodded him for expensive implants too…

They do not perform proper cleanings. They only do ultrasonic which is not necessary of required. Because I wanted to change dental providers they are now trying to charge me $ 25 to obtain DIGITAL X-​rays. Total racket.

This dentist office is a complete joke. Don’t ever go here! They told me that I had 6 cavities, and I’ve never had a cavity in my life. I went to a different dentist 6 months later who told me that I didn’t have any cavities. I’ve heard of dentists doing this to scam money out I patients. It’s pathetic that you can’t even trust a «doctor».

Dr. Danielle McCarron is the best Dentist around I am aching to go back and see her. I even send my kids to her they love her too.

I never write reviews, but I remember when I was looking for a dentist a year or so ago, I came to Unilocal,and saw some negative reviews for American Dental. It made me hesitate, but I am glad I didn’t listen to them.
I originally went to American Dental for a cleaning and they did a very good job. I have been to some dental offices where the actual dentist just pops in at the end and the dental assistants do all of the work. Dr McCarron did all of the work herself and spent a great deal of time to make sure my teeth were clean.
I decided to go with them for my Invisalign treatment this year, and have had a great experience! I needed all four of my wisdom teeth removed, which was done by the oral surgeon there. He did an incredible job at making sure I wasn’t in pain. I can’t remember his name, it was really long, but he was great!
I started my Invisalign treatment back in March, and the results have been great! From what I read, a good dentist isn’t going to just give you all of the trays right away; they want to check up on your progress. They easily just pop in and out and I am pretty sure that I could do it on my own, but it is nice to have the appointments to make sure everything is going well. They are always on time to see me, and the staff there is very friendly. The free garage parking is huge too in busy Lincoln Park. Dr McCarron also said that she would take the time to make sure that my teeth looked perfect for my wedding. That means that I have to have my brackets taken off in the middle of my treatments and put back on after. I know that it is a pain, but she happily mentioned that she would take care of it!
From my standpoint, I have absolutely no complaints and we be continuing to go there for my dental care.

DO. NOT. GO.
I went to her for 2 years. After moving and going to a new dentist, he found NINE more cavities that hadn’t been fixed.
He also believes the root canal I need was ignored by her when it was easily fixable, so she could charge me for the bigger procedure.
Also, he needs to redo the work she has done. Shitty fillings.
Do.
Not.
Go.

I have never written a Unilocal review, but my experience could be a skit for a comedy it was so ridiculous.
The fiasco started when they failed to mention that they have SIX locations when I scheduled my appointment to get all four wisdom teeth pulled. Because of them not clarifying the location, I ended up at an office far on the southwest side, nearly 9 miles away from where I was supposed to be promptly at noon, when I was scheduled. The receptionist there flatly told me I had no such appointment, and treated me like I was insane. When I called the original number I had set the appointment for, the receptionist was so rude and told me it was my fault for not understanding which location, because the phone number was only linked to one location. God forbid she could’ve had apologized for the misinformation. But, she said she could squeeze me in at 3:30, and verbatim told me «not to bother to come in any earlier because they wouldn’t take me». Oh gee, thanks for clarifying.
So, my father drove me from 51^st and Archer during traffic to their Lincoln Park location. The office itself is easy to miss, as there is a separate entrance. That is poorly marked. At that point I was so flustered and irritated… I walk in, early, and my father asks flat out why no one bothered to explain which location I would be having surgery at. The receptionist rudely replied, «well, I didn’t even book your appointment». EXCUSE ME? Are you kidding? I told her just to forget it and give me the paperwork to fill out. After I did, we left for a few hours to kill time, and came back. They called me in at 3:30, only to have me sit in an examination room staring at the wall for another half an hour. The nurse who brought me back there was very sweet, and was the only person all day that had bothered to apologize for confusion and my wasted time.
The surgeon was fine, the operation itself went well, he knew what he was doing and was very skilled. Sort of snappy with staff, but he did a good job on my teeth, and now that I have had the pleasure of dealing with them I understand why. Before the surgery I asked the nurse and the surgeon to keep my teeth afterwards, they said no problem. After the surgery, the surgeon said, he would get my teeth and I walked out front.
A different receptionist handled my follow up appointment, and scheduled it mid morning on the following Monday. I had a mouth full of gauze and was drunk with meds and was trying to tell her that was my first day back at school, but she didn’t bother to listen and just blabbed «call back later and change it then». She called in my prescriptions for me, which was the only courtesy she offered all day. She gave me a bag with all of the info, gauze, and I assumed my teeth were in the bag as well.
I get home, teeth aren’t there. My mother called and asked for them, the receptionist LIED and said she wasn’t allowed to give them to me. Why would both a nurse and a surgeon say I could, if it weren’t allowed? At that point I was so pissed off with her that I dropped it. I called back a day later when I could speak and change my follow up appointment, she was SO rude again and said appointments were only Monday and Wednesday, and on top of it, no one had actually even booked my appointment, despite me having a business card in my hand that had the date and time of the appointment. I said that Wednesday was better. Oh no, she said, every OTHER Wednesday, so this Wednesday wasn’t available and the next two following weeks we won’t be able to because of vacation so you’ll have to wait over a month. Evening appointments? Yes, but not on this only Monday which is the only day available. So, I’m missing my first class of my last year in school for this appointment, and when I am done with this follow up, I am NEVER coming back. Too bad such a great surgeon has such nitwits sitting at the front desk ruining business for him. Never have I encountered such idiocy and rudeness.

For not having insurance for almost 6 years of my life, my teeth were pretty banged up. I nearly had an anxiety attach at the mere thought of going to the dentist because I knew I had something up when every time I drank or ate something cold, I had a shooting pain on the left side of my mouth.
Dr. McCarron to the rescue! Ok, corniness aside, she’s wonderful. As a child and through my teens, I never had the actual dentist do my routine cleanings. It’s always been the assistant or hygienist that does the dirty work and the dentist steps in after for 5 minutes, tells you to floss and moves on with their day. This is not the case here. Dr. McCarron is with you from beginning to end. She actually gets to know you and your teeth so you don’t have to explain your life story every time you return for a routine cleaning. She’s extremely thorough and filled the 4 (eek!) cavities I had from being without insurance for so long. It sucked a little, but don’t all fillings? When I go a long period of time without going to dentist, the anxiety returns but Dr. McCarron fixes my teeth from all the cupcakes and cookies I so love. She’s motivated me to really be good with my teeth and I recommended my fiancé to her, so we both do our nightly flossing together (romantic, isn’t it?).
The actual office is really nice and spacious. A lot of dark wood throughout and they even offer free parking in the adjacent garage. Each chair you sit in is pretty high tech and has it’ TV, so you can catch the news or focus on something else while they’re cleaning you up.
The only thing that is a little annoying is how I’ve always had to wait, even with appointments and even with showing up early. I know she’s popular and awesome and delays happen, but for the past 3 years, I’ve never been seen right on time. No one is perfect and I can deal with this small issue so I will keep coming back!

Love this place (as much as you can love a dentist). I went to several different dental offices in Chicago, before making this one my final stop. Dr. McCarron is so sweet and takes care of the entire cleaning and really pays attention to your teeth. I am also currently receiving invasalign from her, and it has been a great process.

I picked this dentist due to having an HMO and a slim list to pick from. Unfortunately, my experiences (at three of the offices) were not good. I am writing this review to give anyone considering going here a fair chance to escape unnecessary stress. First I will start with the fact that these offices will not let you schedule a future appointment that is over an hour long or considered a surgery unless you put a $ 100 deposit down. This was very annoying to me because I had many appointments that needed to be scheduled and much work to be done. My second area of disappointment would have to be the disorganization and lack of communication between all the different offices. One situation for example: The periodontist that I was sent to see said that my gums looked good. At my next appointment with the general dentist, he said that he could not start working on my tooth until the health of my gums got better. I don’t get how the dentist who specializes in «gums» says I’m good but another dentist says I’m not. Also, the orthodontist said that I was ok after a tooth extraction only to have the endodontist tell me, in the same office visit, that I had a dry socket. ??? I experienced the worst Novocaine shot ever in my life from one of the orthodontists (and I have had some serious work done and by no means am a sissy). There was never a time that I did not have to sit in the waiting room 10 – 30 minutes after my appointment time to be seen by a dentist. To sum it up, it was hard to make appointments and I would have to say 90% of the time I left one of these offices, it was in tears. If basic cleanings is all you need, this might be a decent place for you to go. Otherwise, I wouldn’t recommend them to anyone.
On a side note, I think it’s hilarious that this dentist office is participating in a Groupon offer. They can’t handle the over abundance of clients they already have. So sad.

I just had the worst experience of my life at the dentist’s. I tried to take advantage of the new patient special — $ 49 for a cleaning, exam, and x-​rays. I arrived right on time but was kept waiting for over an hour. When the hygienist came in to take my x-​rays, I stated that I did not want x-​rays, even though they were included. She said I’d have to speak to the dentist. After waiting another ten minutes, the dentist came in and said that if I refused the x-​rays, she would not do my exam. I told her I had never heard of a dentist’s office having such a policy. She said that their x-​rays have 90% less radiation than the traditional x-​rays. I was annoyed but civil and said, «Fine. Let’s just get on with it,» but she said she thought we should cancel because she wanted me to «feel comfortable.» I said no, I’d already invested an hour and a half of my time and I wanted to go ahead. She said I was late. I said I was not late; I arrived at 3:00 on the button. She insisted that I was late and that they were going to refund me. The office manager came in, and I explained to her that I accepted to have the x-​rays and wanted to go forward. The dentist told her no, she would not examine me. Is it legal to refuse to serve a patient, especially when I was not even being rude? I am making a complaint to the Illinois State Dental Society. I wasted two hours of my time for nothing. Unbelievable. Dr. McCarron is very pretty, but apparently she cannot take an independently-​minded patient.

A truly stellar dentist office.
Walked in and was impressed with how clean and new everything looked. Front desk staff were cheery and helpful. Dr. McCarron skillfully filled a cavity, no pain, didn’t even feel the prick with the Novocaine. And get this: the exam chairs have BACK MASSAGERS. Came here with a Groupon not knowing what to expect, but I can safely say that I will be going to this dentist for years to come, and I’m trying to get other family members to do so as well.

Best Root Canal Ever! Okay, that phrase is not one you’re going to hear very often, so let me explain. I was a poor unfortunate soul who somehow managed to get an abscess UNDER a new crown. I tried to deny the pain for three weeks before going back to my regular dentist, who recommended Dr. Pawlak at American Dental Associates as the endodontist who would do the root canal. So, I showed up. As is noted elsewhere, figuring out the entrance to the place and, in my case, how to get my car parked, was a little challenging. The dental office is on the first floor of a condo building, so, if you’re coming from the east to the west, it’s easy to miss. I actually parked in the vacant bank next door and walked over to see if I could find the correct entrance. I did, and she told me to park in the building’s garage. But there was one of those rolling aluminum doors that wouldn’t go up, no matter how close I got to it. I got out of my car and went BACK into the dental office and she said there was this intercom with a button that I could press to get the door open. I went back and sure enough, there it was, a TINY little intercom button over close to the entrance of the condo part of the building. Oy. Okay, so I got into the garage and, in the darkness of the garage, I could barely make out a blue «dental office» sign that pointed to a door. So, after that rigamarole, I was in.
You might wonder, after all that, why the five stars? Well, I would have given my root canal six stars if I could have. I filled out the paperwork, and was led into a great treatment room, with this awesome shiatsu massage dental chair that ran right along the meridian on your back that helps with fear. I don’t know if the dentist was aware of that meridian, or if he thought he was just giving his patients a nice massage while he worked on them.
So anyway, he took a look and told me that he could work very conservatively and save the crown. Awesome! He was professional, asked me how I was doing and if I needed a break, apologized immediately if anything hurt. Then he took a look at my medical history and said, if I needed more than Extra Strength Tylenol, he would consult my physician for the appropriate pain medication that wouldn’t interact with my other meds. I felt completely confident in this guy, in fact, in the entire office. Then he called me next evening to make sure I was okay. Excellent service. You just have to know the secret system for finding the parking garage, and after that, it’s all gravy.

Dr McCrarron is awesome.
I had a dental «emergency» when I cracked my two front teeth that are bonded together and needed to go to a client meeting the next morning. They got me in literally 10 minutes after I called and they were so kind when I arrived. I filled out necessary paperwork and got to meet Dr Mcarron and chat with her before she did the procedure. This was a painless, easy, 45 min procedure and she talked to me the whole time. She is just so friendly and professional!
My teeth have never looked better, so I have now made them my primary dentist here in Chicago. Their prices are also extremely affordable whether you have insurance, medicare/​caid, or out of pocket.
You will not be dissapointed with this office! :)