Dental Associates

The staff here has been constantly changing over the last few years and its gotten worse. The Billing Manager really gave me attitude over my primary insurer and my secondary insurer. And let me say this, I have great coverage. She constantly sends me bills without explanations and if I question her she becomes impatient. The dentist themselves have been there for years and I don’t understand why. They can be very testy at times. And if they aren’t happy with you they start to play head games. On my last appointment I did nothing but wait around for him to come back into the room as he would leave and took his time coming back. It was so bad that the procedure which should have taken about 2.5 hours ended up being over 4. And the work he performed was terrible. Caused me a lot of pain and he was very slow to relieve it. A Dentist who is listed under the ADA makes a voluntary oath to Self-​Governance, Do No Harm, Do Good, Fairness, Truthfulness. Believe me, he did none of these things. And my feeling is he could have said NO when I first inquired about having the work done but he didn’t and because of this he has caused me a lot of problems. I will not be returning.

The staff is so friendly and nice. I can’t speak to the billing process as I have never had any issues — everything has been processed through my insurance without any hassle.
The one thing that stands out about my experience is the following anecdote. I have to take medicine before I go to the dentist and the last time I came here I had forgotten and realized I forgot on the short walk down the street. I felt awful and was worried that I would have to pay a fee to re-​schedule. The hygienist and the front desk staff were so understanding. They re-​scheduled my appointment for the following week and called in a prescription for me right away. I didn’t have to pay a fee and left feeling relieved that everything worked out.

Update: It was indeed a computer error. After I called them (they didn’t call me), the very helpful office manager was able to clear up the misunderstanding and elucidate the situation. I’m not bumping them up any more, though, because the billing associate who originally called me was so freaking combative, rude and clueless. Like Flora, the office manager, said, I shouldn’t have had to talk to her to get the answers I needed.
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STAY AWAY FROM HERE.
My dentist, Dr. Taylor, was fine and nice. She deserves a star.
I was a patient here when I was a kid. Unbeknown to me, my parents chose to stop bringing us to this practice because their billing department is a tangled mess. I don’t know if it’s their software or what.
But I read the favorable reviews on Unilocal and thought I’d give it another try. Well… I filled out new forms with my insurance and financial information and signed statements saying that I would financially guarantee the costs of my treatment.
However, they didn’t delete the old record that my parents had on me.
Two weeks later my mom and asks why I’ve been going to Dental Associates. Turns out that they messed up on billing her ten years ago and she ended up having to pay hundreds of dollars out of pocket. (She works in government. Ten years ago, her coverage was pretty darn good.)
THEY SENT HER A BILL for my visit in January 2009 stating that that the charges were over 31 days old when in fact my appointment was only 15 days before that.
I was beyond confused at this point and checked my insurance — yup, they had already filed a claim and the claim had been paid four days before the bill to my mom.
So I called the practice on Tuesday about this and spelled out clearly that CHARGES THAT HAD ALREADY BEEN PAID ON MY ACCOUNT (which had a one account number) HAD ALSO BEEN MAILED to my parents’ account (another account number). The woman who received my phone call required repeated explanations and then thoroughly denied the POSSIBILITY that my visit could have been double-​billed. I brought up the fact that my parents had stopped coming to this practice precisely because of the magnitude of their billing staff’s incompetence, and that they had to pay hundreds of dollars out of pocket because of mistakes that they REFUSED to correct. She said: «That would NEVER happen.» (Ha – I said. Sorry, I’m going to believe my mom over you, not only because she’s MY MOM but also because you guys have messed up so badly with me!)
Finally, when I started getting angry and walked her through step by step so that the issue was absolutely crystal clear and she could no longer respond to me using circular logic about how the bill was correct, she cut me off and said that she was «confused» (DUH) and that the manager would have to get back to me.
I haven’t gotten a call yet.
If they send my parents a second bill for the follow up visit I had for a filling, I’m going to break something. Or someone.

These people are the greatest! Even the receptionists are awesome! Dr. Taylor is the greatest dentist ever — she explains everything & reassures you while she’s working on your teeth — very professional. Plus, I had a major tooth problem & she squeezed me in at the last minute. She rules!
Great place — you won’t find many that aren’t out to do unnecessary dental work. These dentists and hygienists are the real deal.

KUDOS to a friendly, professional practice that keeps you well informed and feel empowered to make choices in your healthcare.
The reason I gave this place 5 stars is:
EVERYONE is friendly and is really interested in what’s going on with you, what you do, etc. I even met a few dentists and hygienists that knew people that I knew. I found out things about lost friends that I didn’t know.
This is a large practice. You can request to keep the same hygienist and dentist if you wish. If you have specific schedule needs, you may need to see different ones.
Forget your appointment 6 months out? Don’t worry. They call you before your appointment to remind you.
Are they on time? 95% of the time. Easy in and out. They do a good job. They will explain things to you and advise you on better proactive care. They even have coupons and free samples. I’m now hooked on my electric toothbrush.
They’re very thorough. Top notch care here!
How to get there?
They are off a bus line, but not sure what. They have a private free lot.