I began going Sept. 12, 2007 to have new dentures made. After two months, the dentures were finally ready. They made the uppers much bigger than they had to be. The lowers gave me such pain that I had to go back 6 times to have them adjusted - but that didn't help. Eating became an ordeal of pain.

Finally, they said they would make new lowers. Two months later, when they were finished, they were way too large for my mouth and were the wrong color. So, back to the drawing board. I just received the new ones on July 1, 2008. They tried to charge for an office visit during the time I was going for preparation to make the new lowers, but I complained and they say they will cancel that charge. That remains to be seen.

The dentist, Dr. Casey, was very nice and very upset when the second ones came in with the wrong color. He said the technician was terrible. Dr. Casey has since left the company. And, I was told that the technician has been replaced. Who knows?

It has taken almost 11 months and a lot of money to have a decent set of dentures made, and they still aren't that great.

Beware of Aspen Dental!!!

Three months ago I set a appointment with Aspen Dental for extensive dental work. I was told they could not see me until I contacted my insurance co to make sure the insurance was set up for their E.Long MA office. This took almost 3 weeks. I finally get in I told I need a lot of work I should also sign up for careington Dental discounts and I already had care credit. I do not seem to be having luck getting in for appointments they are over booking and you can only get in onces may twice in a month for extensive work. The accountant lead me to believe my insurance, careinton dental discounts would be used then my care credit account would handle what was not covered by insurance. A few weeks ago I get a threat call from care credit stating I have a $7000 bill and owe over $342 for a minimum payment. I am clueless on what the charge is for since no work been done. I rush in the payment worried about my credit to find Aspen billed upfront no work done charges to care credit. I contacted the recent account person was lead to believe I would be refunded and only billed for services done a few cleanings and a filling that should have been billed to my dental insurance. That was not done they do not have openings for appointments, the computer system does not work and the phone system shut down at this office for 3 days. The account original person never cleared it with me and quit the new person is clueless and I am now fighting to get refunded, no work is done and I can not go to a new dentist until I get my care credit refunded for the $7000 . Care credit says it may take 90 more days and Aspen said they do not know how to refund me. I am out of money and no work done. I need to get to a dentist and I can not move on from this. I am upset and stressed out. I am getting the run around from Aspen Dental and Care Credit on my refund. I am now going to try to find a lawyer or contact the MA attorney general office for help. I am ripped off and cheated.

Last month (May, 2008) I sent a complaint to Better Business Bureau, Inc. about Aspen Dental in Wilkes-Barre, PA. In a response to my complaint, Aspen Dental only explained why they had to take the whole amount of $1512 in advance. As a big company, I tried to understand their policy to have the patient’s financial responsibility for services treatment planned paid in full up front. I also tried to understand why it took them over one month to refund $1084.50 to my Care Credit Card.
Unfortunately, I don’t feel like my complaint has been adjusted yet. Here are 4 reasons why I feel that way:

1. Aspen Dental sold me a tooth brush for $135 and a tooth paste (Flu 1.1 Neutral Sod Gel) for $24 that I would never buy if I knew the prices for them in advance. On my first visit I asked Aspen Dental for detailed bill information that they avoided to give me. On the second visit I insisted to get detailed information. The girl from the front desk didn’t really want to give me anything and after I almost got angry, she went to the office of the financial associate and finally came back with the details I’d been asking for since day one. When I finally realized the scamming, it was too late and I already had paid for the tooth brush and the tooth paste and I wasn’t able to return them for a refund.

2. Aspen Dental said that I had a perio infection. When I went for a second opinion to Jeffrey Walker DMD, he told me I did not have a perio infection. Aspen Dental charged me and didn’t refund $24 for Periocheck Rinse for that infection. They also charged me and didn’t refund $35 for Irrigate W/Chlorhex Full (I am not really sure what that means, but regarding the information I got from my insurance company Delta Dental, this amount of money is taken for something that is named as Unspec Rerio, so I am guessing it is connected with the perio infection). Two of their dentists told me that Listerine is not good and I shouldn’t use it.

3. Aspen Dental charged me for cleaning which happened to be Full Mouth Debridement for $149, which the insurance doesn’t cover... I tried to learn more about it in Google and from what I read, there was nothing of what I felt that doctor had done in my mouth. The second opinion by Jeffrey Walker DMD was that it didn’t look like Aspen Dental did cleaning. His exact words were that there was stuff all over the place. That is why I believe I should get a refund of $149 for the Full Mouth Debridement.

4. Every time when I ate I had to clean food out of one of my teeth, which bothered me a lot and I asked Dr. Jeffrey Walker to fix it. It happened that this tooth was tooth 12 – one of the two teeth that Aspen Dental worked on. Well, they didn’t work very well for me, so I wasn’t surprised that I had problems with one of the two fillings they did. But I was surprised that my insurance company didn’t cover anything of the bill for this tooth, because they already had paid Aspen Dental for it. I felt hurt again because of Aspen Dental. Yes, they got my money for even work they never did. They got my money and Delta Dental’s money for bad work they did. That is why I feel that they should refund me and the Insurance Company Delta Dental for tooth 12.

These are the four main reasons for my complaint about Aspen Dental.

I sure wish I had read these complaints before going today for "free x-ray" and consult at Aspen dental. My wife and I went because we have not been for a cleaning for a few years so we thought that if we get the x-ray we could get a cleaning on the next visit right? Wrong.

We got the x-rays done (the dentist barely did an oral examination, 30 seconds or less). I had no cavities and was told by the dentist that i needed a thorough cleaning (Great! just what i needed!) We were then called in to the consult for the services that were to be provided. They quoted us for more than 3500 dollars of services (some which were legit for my wife-cavities). I was told that i needed deep-cleaning, antibiotics, and extensive home care to take care of my stage one perio disease. (hmm i wish the dentist had mentioned that). The treatment cost 600 dollars and my insurance was not covering it but it was mandatory despite the fact all i wanted was a cleaning(regular cleaning was not an option). I would also have to come back every 4 months to repeat this procedure. This was discovered from an x-ray and a half-ass 30 second oral examination. Conveniently, my wife also has the same condition that requires this deep cleaning procedure (1200 total out of pocket). The fact is that neither of us have any gum issues (no bleeding, swelling etc) that would lead to this diagnosis (possibly small amounts of gingivitis). So we agreed to do this and went home pissed off. I then called my insurance company to tell them about this. They gave me some ADA codes that they cover this procedure at 100%. I called aspen back and asked how they were planning to bill this procedure. Of course they gave me a ADA code that was covered at 0%. I then asked if they could bill under the code my insurance company had provided and i was greeted with a resounding no. At this point, i was going to be a charged 100% for a procedure that was not properly diagnosed or justified. I then told the receptionist that I was changing primary care dentist and to cancel my appointment. She responded with a lack of caring and made no attempt to persuade me otherwise.
What a scam! I am so happy that I did not do this. I am just waiting for them to bill my insurance company for the advertised "free x-rays" which i will then call BBB to make a formal complaint.

Like many others, Aspen was the only game in town under my insurance. I don't have the best teeth and needed some basic fillings,
and a tooth extraction. The dentist was ok, did a fair job. The oral surgeon worked on me like he was pulling nails from a 2x4. Very rough and visibly impatient.

My problem was with hygienist. After the cleaning I was presented with the usual stuff, including an electric toothbrush with the Aspen Dental name on it. I thought this was a great deal - they give out electric toothbrushes, a week later I recieved a bill for $160 - for the elec toothbrush. Found out there cost was $60. I called and spoke to the receptionist, a snotty and indifferent kid. I explained that I didn't want the tooth brush and would not pay. Since it was opened, she said it was mine since I had opened the box, and then suggested I pay for it by credit card over the phone. I suggested that I would no longer be a patient and she responded with "ok, whatever" and hung up. Since I write for for the medical profession I began my research. Within several minutes I was reading ADA (american dental association) guidelines that state a dentist/dental practice can not charge for promotional items, ie the electric toothbrush with there name on it. I called back and spoke to the district manager. At first her response was the same as the other until I read the section in the ADA guidelines. I threatened to report them and finally I was told that there would be no charge. I gave the toothbrush back but continued to get calls from the snooty receptionist asking for money.