I would never recommend this dentist to anyone after my experience. I have had my six month cleanings done there for the last three years with no problem, so I decided to have an occlusal night guard made.
At first over the phone, the receptionist had tried to talk me out of it, and told me it would be about $700; I was surprised at this figure, but she told me it was because they use a new technology. Well I needed a night guard replacement and figured an investment like this would be worth not grinding my teeth down to a powder.
I was grateful when it was time to pay it only cost $395 compared to the $700. However their new technology consisted of scanning my teeth for almost an hour with an uncomfortable device that took probably three minutes to scan each tooth. During this time I was already skeptical but went ahead and trusted their process; I had already been required to pay for the night guard as well.
About a week later they called me and said the night guard was ready. Apparently it had been made through a 3D printer; they e-mailed the patchy "scan" of my mouth to "the lab" and had it printed with a piece of plastic. I tried it on and it wouldn't even come off of my teeth, it was so tight and uncomfortable.
I am hardly an anxious person but even I was getting nervous as the hygienist said, "Oh geeze" when she couldn't pull it off with all of her might and ran to grab the dentist for help removing it.
It was physically painful to remove and more agitating when they tried to patronize me for feeling this way and saying most clients prefer a tight fit. They then filed the plastic guard down to make it looser, which took another 40 minutes. I was still pretty upset with it, but when I was able to get it off and on without two people pulling it, I left so I could get to work on time and tried it on at home that evening. I couldn't even wear it 1 hour to bed, when I bit down it shifted backwards pulling my front teeth back, and was still tight around the teeth. It was physically painful.
I made an appointment again to tell them I really would just prefer a refund because I haven't even worn this an hour and it is just physically painful. On top of that, they had continued to shave away plastic, and it is impossible to disinfect plastic with holes. They told me they'd have to consult with John Knight to verify a refund and that he does not check his phone on Fridays so they would know on Monday. I left the night guard with them (they still have it). After receiving no call on Monday by the late afternoon, I called and the receptionist was rather curt with me and said they have had a busy day and haven't received an answer from the dentist about a refund. 40 minutes later she called back and said the dentist said he would not provide a refund, "simply because I did not like the way it fit and that they had already sent it to the lab and paid fees." Referring to any website about the 3D printing of occlusal night guards, like this: "https://sprintray.com/digital-dentistry/occlusal-guards-and-splints/"
clearly states that it is only $3 to $8 in materials to have these printed. To be told that it is non-refundable because of fees associated with sending it to "the lab" is absurd.
While I am at least thankful I wasn't charged the original quoted $700, it is still $395 lost, which is a lot for someone who does not make a lot of money, I have had to sacrifice a great deal of things to save up for this including meals.
I'm sure John Knight will use the money to continue to enjoy his 3 day vacations where he keeps his phone off or investing in new commercials to lure in new suckers, I mean "patients".
On top of all this, the other dentist and hygienist continued to lie to me saying that their method (3D printing) is what all dentists were using now, so that if I even tried to call other dentists I would not be able to find any using the tried and true method of creating a plaster mold.
I called five dentists that afternoon, the first five I looked up, and asked if they use plaster molding to create their occlusal guards, they all said yes, of course, they don't trust 3D printers for that job.
I'd recommend looking for a legitimate dentist and not a scammer looking for quick buck to enjoy his next vacation.
by Dissatisfied
xxx.xxx.20.253
November 15, 2019
