Well ok here is my time form hell so it all strated over getting a loose tooth out they insisted on getting anther out. After they insisted on sending me too braces. So eventually i did got braces on. They made contract saying that it well close ok. So i started treatment. while passes by... they start saying its my fault braces arent closing. I started asking so this feels like you are opening arent you haveing oto close it like i said. Well they would treat me like a fucken 5 year old hello i was 21 already. At the end they said come next week too get braces off. and yo uare done. I was like wtf off you didnt do shit ... so they insteasted. ahahha I never went back. just tryign too get money out of me ... we paid everything never went back...hahahahah so now I'm broke college student needing too get a bridge or implants becasue i still have braces and everywhere i go its too expensive...

It all began in January when we suspected Western Dental of insurance fraud, so we went to talk to the manager and have her explain why they were billing my insurance (Delta dental) almost twice as much as my services cost. My husband and I had been patients there for a month and gotten a few cavities filled, cleaning, extraction and X rays.
They basically billed my insurance so much money for these services that they practically capped out our yearly insurance allowance.
These were fees for; CLEANING, 6 Fill ins, one extraction and X rays for my husband and I. We called the corporate 1800 number to ask management about the billing, so they told us to go to the Broadway Office in Tucson to talk to the Office manager. So we did and this took place sometime in February.
When we arrived and spoke to the office manager, she seemed very overwhelmed with her day so when we asked for answers about the billing she was very vague and shady with all her answers. Everything was so confusing I finally just wanted copies of everything on file. She then got extremely frustrated and refused to give us copies of our documents. The office manager asked us to leave and since we didn't have our documents we needed to stay. Since we didn't leave right away she ran off and called the cops making a big scene and yelling at us to leave in front of the staff and patients.
I left the property and called the regional manager to discuss the matter and that is when she said she was going to call the office manager and start the investigation. She promised to mail my documents and call us the following day; Its been 6 months and still have not heard from her.
I recently got a new dentist and need oral surgery, which has caused me to need these documents from western dental. These are documents that I already paid for with my insurance.
So on 6/16/09, I had to call the 1800 customer service number to see how I could finally obtain my documents and avoid calling the local office where the incident happened. Customer service instructed me I had no choice but to call the local office to get copies of the originals. I hesitated but IM in need of these documents because of health reasons, so I called and they told me to come in and pay a $25 fee and I can have the files. When I show up the next day(6/17/09), the front office assistant had X rays in hand and ready to give them to me, when the manager that had called the police on me previously saw me and denied me my personal documents, she then ran in her back office to call the police on me again. While she’s calling the police shes yelling at me and the front office assistant to go ahead and take my $25 payment and she will mail my documents to me and to get out. She then told another male employee to kick me out, so this male employee got inches from my face (Grecia Brenner) and told me he would physically remove me. I was fearful for my being and since there were several patients waiting in the waiting room I stood there and felt a little safer with my arms crossed and told the male employee to go ahead and touch me, I already knew in the back of my head that the police were on their way and that's when I stepped outside to wait on the police. The police then came and took everyone's statements. I had one witness on my side saying that I was polite asking for my files and that they denied it and made me leave. All the other “witnesses”, all Western dental employees, of course took managers side.
These statements gave the police officer no choice but to cite me for disorderly conduct.
I was so embarrassed and extremely upset that Western Dental would do this to me for only wanting documents that I still don't have after trying for 6 months. It seems as they are trying to cover something up.
IM in need of desperate help and I would appreciate it if someone could help out, because I still don't have the copies of all my records and NOW I have a criminal citation.
This has been really inconvenient and will cost me work time and pay, as well as attorney fees. I had no other choice but to go to Western Dental Broadway office to get my documents. Out of all the places in Tucson, they are the only ones to have my files.

The only response Western Dental has had:

The regional manager/corporate gave my husband and I the run around... Promising a phone call, an investigation, and to mail the documents I needed (x-rays and all billing documents). Also they have called the police on my husband and me twice because they are refusing to give us any documents. It’s been 6 months and I still have no records or X-rays. They continue to harass us with many phone calls, asking for payments since my insurance cut them off. We have told them every time they call to stop calling because of the “INVESTIGATION” that was supposable going on, but when we go in person they refuse to attend us and call the police.


My insurance is investigating their billing department and have yet to contact us, so we are still waiting on Delta Dental.
I have had severe pain caused by my impacted wisdom teeth that need to be removed immediately, but Western Dental has made that impossible for me to take care of since they are denying my records to us and my insurance is capped out with all their fees.
The total fees charged to my insurance are $2, 901.00. I have copies of my explanation of benefits as well as contracts with Western Dental with all these amounts. I also have made 2 payments of $100 to Western Dental. My husband and I have taken time off work and lives to deal with this matter at Western Dental. I have also received a citation for a criminal charge because of this company and their negligent way of operating a medical business. My impacted teeth need to be removed as soon as possible and it’s been hard to do that for the past 6 months since I can’t get records of my mouth and I can’t afford to pay my new dentist the fees to get new records and x- rays all over again.
My husband and I are good citizens who stay out of trouble. We recently moved to Tucson with our 6 year old son to start a new job and life.
These current events are horrible and unjustified and we believe it’s time to get justice.
Please someone recommend something I can do!!!

I called 1-800-dentist, two weeks prior to the actual appointment date which was then scheduled for a Saturday. The agent on the phone was very nice and helpful in attaining a dental place which would accommodate my children’s different insurance carriers. I have three kids, so finding a dentist in one office seemed to be the best fit. We just moved to the area, and I was not familiar with the community, so I based my trust on this dental referral. I was advised to go online and print out the new patient information packets to avoid a long waiting period on my appointment date.

The week of the appointment, I called Western Dental’s 1-800 number to ask a few questions on how to fill out the new patient packet information. The rep noticed that three of my children were scheduled for a Saturday appointment and alerted me that this should never have happened. There is a maximum of two kids per household to be seen back to back. So, he rescheduled my other daughter to come in later that week, and appointed all three of them to see the orthodontist for an evaluation for braces for that same day. I had no problem with that and thanked him for catching the mistake. He helped me with my question and I was happy to know that filling out all paperwork will help speed things up since Saturday was the busiest day of the week to visit Western Dental. He also made sure that my children’s information was in the system so that I wouldn’t have any delays in getting insurance coverage verified.

However, on the Saturday of the appointment, my children and I waited for approximately 1 ½ hours before being called in. I wasn’t alone in the facility, feeling impatient and frustrated. There were others waiting over two hours alongside with us. My kids were finally called in at 12:30 PM (they were scheduled for 11AM) and got their x-rays taken. Then, they were told to sit and wait, yet again, for an “available” dental seat. This wait took another 30 minutes for my son to be called in for his exam and cleaning. My daughter was later called in at 1:20PM for her cleaning and exam. It was after 3PM when we finally exited the office. We were in there, mostly waiting, for a total of 4 hours. In addition, because our original scheduled appointment time was 11AM, we had not had any lunch yet. And we were advised that the kids had to wait about another 30 minutes after their cleaning and one hour for sealants until they are able to eat anything.

During our four hours of waiting, I wondered why the facility scheduled so many people, all at once, if they couldn’t handle the volume. Why do families have to spend half of their Saturday afternoon, waiting in a dentist office that obviously is overloaded with work that can not be accommodated in a timely fashion? Why schedule people in a time slot/day with the knowledge that they will not be seen until way later? Why not advise those patients/parents to come in early, or even later, if this is how the facility operates? I did my part, in every way I can imagine possible, to expedite our new patient status. We were on time and filled out all necessary paperwork prior to our appointment date. Wait, though, it gets even more interesting when we show up for my third child’s appointment later that same week.

That following Wednesday, we arrived earlier and I checked in my daughter at 2:50PM. I held my breath, as my daughter was called in, only having to wait 30 minutes. I thought that maybe this past Saturday was a fluke, and I should just keep in mind to schedule during the work week, since it seemed to move more fluidly this time around. I was wrong. After her x-rays were taken, she was called in for her exam. It was about 3:50PM when I checked in her room to see her just laying in the dental seat. She had been waiting there for 30 minutes, so I motioned an assistant to find out what was prolonging things. My daughter was just having a routine exam and cleaning done. He apologized and went to look for the person in charge of her procedure. She was out to lunch and I was told that she was going to cut her lunch short for us. He also said that she would be in about another 5 minutes, so she can finish up her break time. I was fine with that. However, it baffled me that a lunch break was placed during the same time my daughter was in a room by herself, she is only 10 years old. I am glad that I listened to my gut to check in on her.

Another 30 minutes passed, and my child’s sealants were finally being worked on by the floor supervisor, who was obviously a little bit irritated since we intruded on her break. I tried to converse with her and asked her, “You guys must be real busy today” and shared with her my thoughts on being there for a long period of time, expressing that we were going on two hours, and she blatantly responds, “No, we are not that busy, we are kind of slow today.” So, her response really confused me and I probed even further…”Really?” I asked, “But, we have been here for about two hours already.” And she adds that our wait of two or three hours is “typical” and that we were “lucky” that it didn’t grace four to six hours. She added that there were lots of paperwork and insurance verifications that needed to happen before the service was provided, but I assured her that I did all the paperwork beforehand and that the front desk verified everything already. She then completed her procedure, but said that we still had to wait for instruments to be cleaned before the cleaning was to take place.

On the same note, the place was also unkempt. There were used mouth swabs and cotton strewn on the floor. Some cotton pieces clearly had blood stains on them. It was pretty gross to look at for the amount of time we were waiting. Yes, offices do get busy, but when you are in a business that deals with human body fluids, you would think that there is a procedure in place to keep the place clean and presentable at all times.

A dentist, who oversaw my daughter’s earlier exam, passed the room, and wondered why we were still there. Evidently, some types of instruments needed for the cleaning were in sterilization, and we had to wait until that was done. So, another 30 minutes passed before my daughter’s cleaning was accomplished. We didn’t leave the facility until after 6PM, over three hours after checking in. By the way, her cleaning took only 15 minutes.

In summery, my family was involved in two separate appointment schedules during the same week and in both incidences had similar outcomes in regards to the lengthy waiting periods of an obviously overloaded dental office. The staff was as nice as they could possibly be, but, that is not enough to soothe customers who have lost their patience. This particular office needs to address this problem and figure out better ways in customer service and time efficiency. I was disappointed in my children’s appointments; I was even more appalled to learn that waiting periods at this office could sometimes exceed more than five hours on a “typical” day. Clearly, the operations of the facility need revamping and reviewing. Also, there needs to be an investigation done in regards to the cleanliness of this facility. I am sure if they were to have a visit done by health inspectors, the facility would surely fail the minimal requirements.

I had an apt with western dental and not only was I made to wait 45 minutes before I went in I was seated in a room that was, and this is the best way I can describe it, a communal dental office with dentists all around and patients, including myself with no privacy. I t was in one big room and everyone can see your x-rays and the work the dentists are doing on you. I was already scared, naturally but now I was mortified and embarrassed. The dentist who worked on me was rude. She told me to basically shut up and not move. That I hadn't raised a hand so I wasn't in pain. She then had me bite down after doing my fillings, did not tell me how hard to bite down so when the filling broke she proceeded to rudely tell me that I should not have bit down that hard and that is what happens when you do. Her assistant who seemed and I know this sounds rude but 5 cans short of a six pack and her conversed on subjects I deem to be inappropriate to discuss in front of your patient such as how busy it's getting and other personal matters that should be kept to themselves. The shot hurt yes but not only did they hurt, they made it worse by moving the needle as they were doing it and giving me like 5 shots in a matter of seconds that hurt and scared the hell out of me. She was rude and she kept calling me ma'am in a condescending tone. Oh and the filling she chastised me about has since started falling out again and it's only been about 4 days. I am not new to dental work and I know what a practice should practice. This is not it.

Visited Western Dental using my PPO. The plan is supposed to cover most all of my expenses, however, these criminals told me that they needed an additional $1500 for the work I needed done. After the second visit, as I had been making payments, the HACK DENTIST drilled out a molar in the back of my mouth and then told me that the cavity was "under the gum line" and he couldn't fill it so he put in a temporary filling. He told me they would refer me to an orthodontist (still waiting two years later for that). The next visit, he numbed the top half and half of the bottom of my mouth and re-filled a filling on my front tooth (which has since fallen out). On the final visit, he refused to remove a broken tooth and told me that he would refer me to an orthodontist (familiar, yet, a new lie). Then, he informed me that even though my insurance would pay for a bridge, which I need, that he wouldn't give me one because I had TMJ (something that he put into my record). guess what, TMJ can only be diagnosed by an actual orthodontist! I quit going to this HACK and set about looking for a REAL DENTIST, in the meantime, even though I had paid in full for all services they had rendered, but they sent me to collections for $72.00. I finally spoke with them and said, I had reported them to the CA Dental Board for malpractice and would NOT be paying their $72. When the collection agency called me AT WORK for this $72, I explained the situation to the agent calling me (and I must say calmly and rationally) and he shouted at me (literally) I WILL SEE YOU IN COURT! And hung up on me!!!

Suffice it to say, WESTERN DENTAL IS A RIP OFF FROM THE WORD GO, DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY ON THESE SUB STANDARD BASTARDS!