Festival Dental Group Big Problems with these guys Surprise, Arizona

I went into this office several months ago to get a tooth fixed.  The filing fell out.  They told me I needed full xrays because it had been over 1 year since the last ones.  Then, I needed a full scale cleaning.  Then, the dentist spent 5 minutes replacing the filling in my tooth.  He said it was, "any easy one".   It was a top, front tooth, no pain killer was necessary - very simple.

While sitting in the chair waiting for the dentist, the finance girl came in needing my signature.  I am fortunate to have insurance and was told that my ONLY out of pocket expense would be $35, which I paid when I was there.

Several weeks later I received a notice from my insurance company that they were billed $2,000 and was only paying about $300.  This leaves an overhang of about $1,700.   Looking at the charges they submitted to the insurance company, it looks like they are inflated with multiple charges for the same thing.

If I had been told by the staff that the Insurance company may not pay or that I might get stuck with a bill for $1,700, I would have passed on the xrays and cleaning.  I just wanted to get my tooth fixed!!!  Most of my top teeth are capped anyway and I don't think I really needed the xrays and cleaning - especially if it's going to cost me $1,700!!!  I do not have an extra $1,700 laying around to pay for something THEY told me the insurance would pay.

I was not provided with accurate information so that I could make a informed decision concerning which services to agree to.  I don't know if they are incompetent or unethical but the bottom line is that you can not rely or trust what they tell concerning the cost of their services, especially if you have insurance.

Festival Dental Group is a local, neighborhood office.  They are conveniently located to where I live and it is regrettable that my patient experience is horrible because I will never go there again.  They may have fixed my tooth but they have damaged their reputation and demonstrated to me that you can not trust the information they give you about cost. 

I tried calling today (Saturday) and no one picked up.   I have an appointment scheduled for a cleaning on 1/23/12 which I am cancelling.  They want you to go in there every 3 months for a cleaning.  There is NO WAY I will return for any services they provide.