Aspen Dental
Reviews and Complaints

So while I posted a pleasant review for Affordable Dentures, I listed the fact I had an awful experience with Aspen Dental:. Well here it is:

I went to the scheduled appointment with my grandmother|. My grandmother is the most patient person in the world". Rarely do I see her impatient or even pissed off". When this appointment was over and we walked out she called them "***, incompetent fools"

We arrived 10 minutes early'. There was a lady behind the desk!. Sitting there eating chips and wiping the residue on herself (unprofessional, get a napkin)

According to the little sign "If you do not receive service 15 minutes past your appointment, please see receptionist" which is what I did?. I cheerfully went up to the receptionist and let her know my appointment was 15 minutes prior. At this point with potato chip residue on her pants, and fingers she's on her own cell phone and is offended I'd interrupt her. She told me either to leave or sit down. Rudely.

I sat down. Another 15 minutes and finally the dentist aide came to see me. I felt rushed. And several times I felt like it was MY fault that they were 30 minutes late for my appointment. Even though I got there on time.

They took x-rays which they told me will be no cost to me. (I'll get on that later) then after the x-rays I sat in a room for about 10 minutes. They finally came in and checked my mouth. The lady barely looked inside my mouth. She immediately said I had a fungal infection of my mouth. And was going to prescribe me a mouthwash to get rid of it. (I'll get to that later as well)

So finally they make me sit in a room. That was more like a makeshift lounge. It had a coffee area and a table, and there was trash and paint cans and all sorts of stuff littering it.

I watched the clock go by. My grandmother texted me. She said "are you done yet?"

At that point I was in that room for 25 minutes. I got up in a bout of frustration and left. The receptionist begged us to stay, that she apologizes for the delays. That wasn't enough. I really wanted to drop a few f-bombs but that's not appropriate. I told my grandmother the entire thing and she said "***, incompetent fools"

Even though we left, I still was curious about the supposed fungal infection. So we went to the pharmacy and had the prescription filled. Come to find out, Aspen Dental never made a request to have the prescription authorized. Meaning what? There was never a diagnosis. Obviously their entire point was scamming me out of my money.

I went to my family dentist, and she confirmed there was no fungal infection.

Couple days later I get a bill for $50 in the mail for those x-rays. I called Aspen and they told me I was mistaken, that since the appointment took longer than 30 minutes that I have to pay a fee? What? That was THEIR fault. Even the receptionist admitted it.

I haven't paid the fee and I haven't heard anything from Aspen. Its been 3 months. I think they were just looking to scam more money off me.

I'm not planning a lawsuit or anything either. Not worth the time.

Avoid at all costs. They don't care about you. Only your wallet.

To all: You are not alone with regards to your Aspen Dental experience. I recently got cheated out of $2, 497 in addition to $299.00 of unauthorized charges to fix the problem they agreed was their fault to begin with. I was appalled to find this board and many others like it to find out this is still going on. If you and I operated a business as such, we would be in jail. If you want to your story with me, please contact me. I have enlisted the help of my local media and a local attorney. I want to see a Class Action Law Suit for all the good people to get back the money they deserve and get these people shut down. I have done thorough research about their practices. Many of these events follow a script over and over again. You will never get resolution from the company no matter what they post on here stating they are sorry and apologize. It is a scam, consumer fraud and dental malpractice. I say tell them to save it for court and when the media gets a hold of it. It is certainly up to you as to if you want to get involved or not, but I would appreciate your help. So, what do you say victims of Aspen Dental? Let's not take this. Talking on the boards will make others aware, but will not resolve the larger issue at hand. Action needs to be taken. Let's get our money back, stop others from going there and get their doors shut. Thank you! [protected]@yahoo.com

I went there last year they screwed up my teeth but I was forced to pay them in full befor they even started NOW I never went back! And they are billing me for a service they say I had this year that I didnt have! they are crooks and hacks!

Earlier this year I was pressured into expensive scaling because I was told I had periodontal disease. When the hygenist who took xrays asked me if I was pregnant I told her that no, I just had a miscarriage and I was trying again so I was hesitant about having xrays. She told me that the periodontal disease can be a contributing factor to miscarriage. Naturally I was concerned so they gave me a quote and I paid several hundred dollars out of pocket each visit (for each side) then a few months later I received a bill in the mail for over $500. I've called 5 times to inquire about the bill and I've always gotten the promise to talk to the manager and a call back. It never happens.

While I was having the scaling done my crown fell out of my mouth and the dentist said that I had the wrong size crown on my tooth. That procedure was also done by Aspen Dental about 2 years back (by a different and long gone dentist) and in the meantime the tooth was decaying under the crown because of the ill fit. I then had to go to a specialist for another root canal (had to pay out of pocket) and I went to a different dentist to ensure that the crown was done properly this time (also paid out of pocket). While I was at the dentist they told me that I had a severe cavity and they couldn't believe the Aspen hadn't mentioned it. I also had to pay out of pocket for this as Aspen had used all of my insurance towards the scaling.

I am out of thousands of dollars this year because of their negligence.

In all the years i have been having dental work, i have never had a verbal confrontation with a dentist; i have an adverse reaction to vicodin, so i asked that the doctor prescribe percoset...he repeatedly refused; i've had it prescribed for dental work before without a problem; anyway, i'm a nurse, well aware of what a dentist/oral surgeon usually prescribes; he was adamant but i persisted and i found it suspicious, as if there was an issue with that particular drug, avoiding prescribing it at all costs. I continued to persist and he gave in, but when i got to my car i saw they were half the strength of the commonly prescribed dosage...so infrequently prescribed that only one CVS in town had them in stock. In addtion, they didn't give me enough pain medication during surgery, so i asked for more, he injected and continued working (you have to wait a few minutes to allow the drug to take effect); i must have moaned too loudly in pain...they "shhhhh, "''d me, told me to stop...i'm am sure that was because they didn't want the patients in the waiting room to hear.. the first set of detures came out bucked, so i had to go back (more wasting more of my time); my date of service was august of 2010; it is june 3, 2011, ten months later..and i receive another bill for $54...the service date was 10 months ago! that's crazy! the office manager insulted me..i asked him if i would have a problem with the dentures fitting right if i lost a fair amount of weight...he looked at me and asked, "You mean like 100 pounds?" i don't know why i didn't do this before i went, i looked the stow office up online and there was nothing but complaints...it's so easy to trust and get taken in because they are a big chain and market themselves very well; so i dropped my guard and didn't check them out first...it's a shame i should have to even to that..

My mother has dentures and a tooth on the top denture broke off - she called her dentist couldn't help her that day so she called around until she got Aspen Dental who said on Monday (this was Friday) that they had a lab in office and could repair her tooth back into the denture - when she went for the appt. they told her they needed to talk xrays and she said she did not want xrays she told them just please fix the tooth like you said you could - there is no need for xrays and an additional charge they insisted and after approx. 2 hours she got up and left and didn't not have any work done - the tried to steal money right out of her pocket by telling her she may have another issue - they are crooks and she lost a days pay because she took off work for this appt - never go to aspen dental - they are crook!

Went in to Aspen Dental to get new dentures made, ones that fit without the help of fixodent and after two months get told that I am still going to have to use it on my bottom teeth. The top plate still hurts my mouth and I was told they did everything they could. Guess thats 500.00 down the drain. Don't believe them when they say they can give you your smile back, because they are just saying that and dtrying to make an easy buck. I am thouroughly pissed that they think they can get off doing this to a paying customer!

fraud on original contact to extract all teeth and provide upper and lower dentures-------left in four bottom teeth that now have to be removed and will not honor original contact---been back 15 times with problems with teeth tcomplete the orignal agreement they refused to pull as the original agreement ---now want over $200.000 to to pullthese same teeth I wanted pulled in the first place---terrible problems resulting in pain and suffering-aggrivation and Never able to talk to a MANAGER---I'm 82 yrs old and I fell strongly I have been WRONGED and SCAMED my RN daughter is writing this complaint for me-thanks for your help

If you have been a patient of Aspen Dental and you believe that you have received unacceptable dental care resulting in:

- Physical injury associated with the dental care provided

- Unnecessary, excessive or questionable dental treatment

- Poorly fitting or cosmetically unacceptable dentures

- Protracted pain after your dental procedure

- Emotional Distress as a result of your dental visit

- Financial abuse which you cannot resolve with Aspen Dental

You may have a Legal Right to financial compensation.

A multi-state Mass Tort Lawsuit is forming against the Aspen Dental Group. If you would like to have your complaint against Aspen Dental considered for inclusion in this action, please send a complete description of your “Aspen” experience, including your name, contact email address and phone number to the following email address:
[protected]@consultodont.com
Attn: Aspen Dental Management (Mass Tort / Consumer Fraud Allegations Unit)
we are requesting that in your email you identify your complaint as being in one of the three following categories:
1.DENTAL MALPRACTICE – In which you have been physically injured by their dental “care.”
2.CONSUMER FRAUD – Includes cases in which office personnel of Aspen Dental used high pressure sales tactics designed to take your money with false promises of providing competent dental health care.
3.Combination of Malpractice and Consumer Fraud.
You can remain anonymous!
When you email the description of your complaint for inclusion in this action, simply request that we assign you a confidential identity. As a new patient, a reasonable person would not expect Aspen Dental to take unfair advantage of a dental problem – after all, they are considered to be a healthcare facility; however, when you sit down with the Office Manager to discuss your dental treatment plan it becomes clear that your money, not your health, is Aspen's primary objective. The job of the Aspen office manager is to force you into accepting the most costly and extensive dental work possible. This is termed “conversion” and is against the law.
Aspen Dental rewards its employees with financial bonus incentives for exceeding monthly production goals. This bonus system is based upon Aspen's internal use of “metrics” which pressures each office to compete against other Aspen offices. Unfortunately, since Aspen’s Management Team is composed of individuals whose background is in “consumer retail” – not in healthcare - they operate the dental care facility as a retail business in which you are not viewed as a patient - instead, you are simply a paying customer. Aspen Dental’s motto is: “To create a happy, paying patient.” But, unfortunately once you pay, you quickly discover that you are not happy.
This Mass Tort Lawsuit will effectively make Aspen Dental accountable for their acts through the unified and coherent voice of thousands of patients who have been wrongfully injured by Aspen Dental.
This Mass Tort Lawsuit will channel thousands of patient complaints into a collectively powerful force which will finally stop Aspen. We look forward to consulting you in this matter. Have a nice day.

Dental Corporations - The "Well-Oiled Machine"
Have you had trouble with your dental care at a coockie cutter brand-type Dental Setting?

Does it make you want to think twice before you go to another brand named dental office? Do you feel sorry for the ones that have suffered similar circumstances. Well, I think it is time to do something about it and let the voice of patients be heard. No, it is not the dentists necessarily - it is the system that has been created for the dental providers in these companies. As a general dentist, I have always been interested in Corporate Dental Chains and their practices such as Heartland, Aspen, Allcare, Kool Smiles, Dental Dreams, Comfort, Western, Pacific, Midwest, Altima, Dental Works, and many others alike. The concept of profit maximization in a medical setting alone just seemed to violate the hippocratic oath, dental ethics, and state regulations as in general, only a licensed dentist can own a facility - not some corporate interest. My extensive research leads me to believe that if all the laws set in each state were enforced and people understood how our healthcare laws and system are abused and undermined, not ONE of these operations would be open for business today!
In general, Dental Brand and Chain Companies today are designed in pyramid structures with management personal dictating the dental support staff on how to be most productive. It is being done in different models but the overall picture and motive is the same - certainly not superb patient quality care. The road for financial reward ends with the highest executives while the entire environment is setup for maximum profiteering by the doctors and hygienists who generate the revenues. In most of the models, daily quotas from morning huddles when met are reward with bonuses. Believe it Or Not! Yes, the associate dentist does not have much to say even though his or her license is utilized to make this operation legal and bypass state law while unlicensed professionals set the stage in a separate company and dictate day to day policy and reward the ones who play along. In simple terms, consumers have no idea why they are being committed to extensive dental care at times, that many private dentists would consider unnecessary, are surprise and lured by false mass advertisement at times, and their voice is neglected...The answer is simple - in operations that are profit oriented as the highest priority with no soul, patient care can only be second, third, or forth, or not even much of a concern at times as long as the daily quotas are met. It is always wise to ask your dentist if he or she owns the practice, is a partner, is an employee as it will affect your long term relationship, may result in less caring or conservative treatment, and provide an increased chance for over-billing and refund disputes.

If you have a complaint or knowledge about one of these companies unethical or illegal practices, please contact us so we may guide you in the right direction. Please feel free to also contact us in matters pertaining poor practice of dentistry, or any aspect of what you feel was done wrong. We have an extensive background, comprehensive knowledge, and field expertise pertaining to corporate dental practices.

[protected]@ConsultOdont.com

The absolute WORST dental chain ever! Due to limited insurance dental coverage in my area I had no choice but to use Aspen Dental as they were the only local in-network dentist. On my initial visit they refused to treat my sore tooth, instead they took a dozen x-rays of my mouth and summarized my "treatment plan" which exceeded $6, 000 (my insurance only covers $1, 200 per year). A few (3+ hour each) appointments later with a dentist who barely spoke English and I now have a temporary crown. I received a letter in the mail today from Aspen threatening to charge me the full amount of the permanent crown if I do not return to their office within the next week to finish with this tooth. Even though my out of pocket fee to finish service on this tooth and to get the permanent crown is $349.00 they are threatening to charge me $1, 074.00 if I do not keep my appointment on June 1st, 2011 (less than 1 week from today). I have received bills in the mail for services already paid, etc. I cannot say enough negative things about this company. They are truly the WORST dental chain anywhere! After I finish with this appointment I will rather go to an out of network dentist provider and pay more rather than waste another minute of my time and hard earned money on this place. They should be shut down! If you care about your teeth and your wallet, DO NOT go to Aspen Dental...HORRIBLE SERVICE and they will RIP YOU OFF!

My mother went to Aspen Dental because she had no insurance and found they were cheaper. They are cheaper for a reason. She's had dentures since she was 14 years old, she's now 82. To make a long story short, she wasn't happy with the first pair they tried on her in the office because of the fit, so they had her come back in two weeks and they gave her the same pair, told her they were different, told her they'd fit better in a week or two and basically bullied her until she left with them. Since she had no dental work done for them, they should have fit her perfectly when she left. She was so upset that she refuses to go back. They made her feel *** and old. We are returning them and we will not be paying for them. She's going to go to our dentist. They are out for the money - stay away.

After following up with Amy at Aspen Dental Patient Satisfaction on 5/2/11, regarding being sent a bill for $172.40, she concurred that I do not owe them that amount and stated that I would receive a corrected statement/ledger...and they still have a credit amount for me. Amy today again said she will send the corrected ledger out to me as I have still not received one.
HOWEVER...my question regarding the denial of payment toward my permanent partial took an interesting turn. I was told by Amy on 5/2/10 that the payment request would be resubmitted to Ameritas (although she seemed certain that it would be denied after I told her the insurance company said the wrong code was submitted and there was no indication that they were being billed for a permanent/replacement partial and they received no information from Aspen Dental that I had a temporary partial prior to that and for how long).
After not hearing back from Aspen Dental or Ameritas, I again spoke to Amy at Aspen Dental patient satisfaction today 5/18/11 and she said payment request was resubmitted on 5/3/11 but again she was certain the insurance would again deny the permanent partial charge due to "frequency". I asked her to explain what frequency meant and she said my insurance covers a partial every 5 years. I explained to her that I was specifically told at the Mount Dora, Fl office that the first partial I rec'd was temporary and to be replaced after 6 months with the permanent partial. She tried to tell me that there is no difference between a temporary partial and a permanet partial but that after 6 months one would have to be replaced anyway after the gums have receded...would that not make the first one a temporary then? As a matter of fact Miss Schneider (Mt. Dora office) herself left me a voicemail message in January of 2011 requesting that I come in to get fitted for the PERMANENT partial. I went back in February for that.
In an email from Miss Samantha Fikes with Aspen Dental Patient Satisfaction back in November 2010, she stipulated that the permanent partial would NOT BE BILLED to my insurance company until after it was placed sometime after the 6 month period. I quote Miss Fikes below:
" I do show that you still do have to get your permanent partial. We did not send the charge for this to your insurance carrier yet because it is not placed."
Yet this morning when I contacted my insurance company, I was told that Aspen Dental did not bill for a temporary partial back in August 2010 (when I received the temporary partial) but billed for a PERMANENT partial which I did not get until about April 2011...interesting!
The Ameritas rep Liz said: had Aspen Dental billed for a temporary partial there would have been a different rate for that...ofcourse less than a permanent partial. The insurance rep said if they were to correct their billing to correctly reflect the charges for the temporary partial I received in August 2010, then Aspen Dental would have to reimburse the insurance company as they had overbilled at that point.
I called my insurance company again just to be sure and spoke to Mark and was told that had Aspen dental billed correctly in the first instance for a temporary partial, then I would have been qualified for the insurance payment toward the permanent partial after the 6 month period.
So! here's the synopsis of what Aspen Dental did:
They billed my insurance company for a permanent partial when I only had a temporary and they were paid 50% of $599.00 (eligible PPO charge on a PERMANENT partial) by insurance company...and took payment of 50% from my out of pocket account, then they rebilled the insurance company for "prosthetics" verses what they billed for the first time "denture partial" and when that payment request was denied by the insurance company...Aspen Dental took not $599.00 but $720.00 from my account! And as if that was not bad enough tried to bill me over and above what I should pay...the $172.40 as stated above!
At a time like this, when people are experiencing such economic hardships, is this how Aspen Dental makes its money, by ripping people off? Does this unethical behaviour extend to the Patient Satisfaction department and beyond also? I would like a written explanation/breakdown of all the PPO charges you have applied to the out of pocket account I have with you in the amount of $1412.60 (this I will compare to my insurance statements). Also I as well as my insurance company - Ameritas, would like to know if you are going to make the necessary corrections and ACTUALLY bill them for a temporary partial, since you have already been paid 50% by them for a permanent partial & 50% by myself and have also taken over 100% payment for a permanent partial untop of that from my account because you claim Ameritas denied payment of that permanent partial.
I know your organization has to make money but doing so dishonestly might not be in your best interest. I look forward to your written response.

Jennifer Ebanks

cc Better Businsess Bureau
Pam Bondi - Florida Attorney General

This dental office is a complete scam. The appointment was easy enough to get, but its probably because they are such a complete rip off. I had to wait 45min before getting called back.. only to have 25 xrays taken with this plastic thing being jabbed into my gums. Then walked back to a completely out in the open examining room with a tv blaring and no explanation on how to turn it down. The actual dentist walked in introduced himself and stuck a mirror in my mouth. Looked for five seconds, said looks good no cavities let me get our office manager to talk to you about scheduling a cleaning. I said, well aren't we going to.clean my teeth today, he replied oh no you have to come back to do that. Then the office manager came and took me to her office. She explained I would need two cleanings because it had been awhile since I got my teeth cleaned. Then she showed me what my insurance would cover. Which was only half. I asked why was it so expensive I have amazing insurance, I have never had to pay for anything. She said it was because I needed two cleanings. I said than you very much and walked out. Horrible... horrible place never ever going back no matter how bad my teeth hurt. When I left not only did I have a headache but my teeth actually hurt and they only took xrays.

I had not been to a dentist in years, and I now have dental coverage through my employer and thought I should see a dentist. I went to aspen dental because it was close to me and covered, and the commercials made it seem like a decent place. I had an appointment, and after sitting in the waiting room for close to 25 minutes, they called me back to do my xrays (which they said was standard for new patients). The girl doing the xrays had obviously not done it very often, as she had quite the time getting the tools in my mouth and actually taking the pictures. She struggled through doing each one, and it got to be rather painful having to take the tools in and out of my mouth repeatedly because she wasn't getting a good picture. After that whole ordeal was over, I was brought into the exam room, and waited there for about another 20-25 minutes to see a dentist. She finally showed up, pulled up my rays, told me all 4 of my wisdom teeth were infected and would need to come out, also that I needed a two stage intensive cleaning. Looked in my mouth briefly, scraped a few teeth, and that was that. They sat me down with a "billing specialist" who printed up an estimate of what it would cost me to have my wisdom teeth out and the intensive cleaning that was prescribed. He told me it would be $250 for my wisdom teeth after my insurance payed what they would pay, and that each phase of the cleaning would be $125. That totals to about $500. He told me I had to pay the $250 for the oral surgeon before I could make the appointment, and since I didn't have the money at the moment, I would have to call back to schedule the appointment. They eventually called me to set up the procedure, at which point they went through all the pre-surgery instructions with me, which was fine. Then came time to take my payment, which again, I was told would be $250. I gave the girl on the phone my card info, she told me I was all set and that they'd mail me a receipt.

The next day I look at my bank account and see a $325 charge. I called back to the office and was on hold for 10 minutes before someone told me why there was more of a charge than I was initially told. She told me it was because of the $75 insurance deductible. The procedure was $250 AND I needed to pay my deductible. When I told her that was not what I was told NOT EVEN 24 HOURS EARLIER, and I did not authorize a$325 charge I authorized a $250 charge, she put me back on hold while she spoke with the "office manager". She gets back on the phone and says they'll refund the $75 but that I will be responsible for paying it when I come to the appointment for the procedure, and that it will take 10-14 business days for the refund to clear the bank and show up on my statement. Anyone who's ever had a refund knows it does not take 10-14 days for it to post to your account. I then proceeded to tell her to cancel my appointment and refund the whole $325 becaues I was not happy with the way it was handled and I would have the procedure done elsewhere. I would encourage anyone else to do the same.

BEWARE OF WHAT YOU ARE PAYING FOR ASK QUESTIONS AND VERIFY WHAT YOU ARE REALLY BEING CHARGED

I recently moved to this area, and I wanted to find a new dentist that was conveniently located in this area. Of course, the TV ads caught my attention, using sincerely-looking actors. I am diligent in my routine check-ups, every 5-7 months. On my first visit, only x-rays and initial consultation was scheduled. Not only is this inconvenient for working people, but I would need to take another day off for any other work. They took individual AND panoramic views of my mouth, this is very costly and unnecessary to the dental insurance companies. They claimed I needed deep scaling due to periodontic disease in the lower back section of my mouth, at a cost of $1200.00. I explained that I have never be diagnosed or recommended this procedure. They would not be able to do any routine cleaning without the deep scaling! What a scam!

Let me start off by saying I became dental phobic after a few years ago when a dentist drilled into a tooth that was not numb. So yes it was my fault for putting off dental work for a few years, but recently I had a old filling come off my molar and immediately called to make an appt since they are the only place that takes me aetna dmo insurance. I am first told it will be weeks before they can see me so I am stuck with walk in clinics. Anyhow moving forward, I schedule my first appt with aspen dental in battle creek, mi and I am told I need 21 fillings, some new, but most are old fillings that just need to be redone. fine. So I go for my first appointment and everything is very rushed (they did 5 fillings in 45 minutes). I was told it would be tooth colored fillings for my front teeth, they did the swatch thing where they tried to best match my teeth, well they went about 4 shades (no exaggeration too dark) so mind you it was all I could do to get back in the dentist chair, when I told them I was doing the best I could but it was intimidating for me they said "we dont care about what happened in the past, just in the future. So feeling all accomplished I go home to look at my teeth, my smile turned into a frown after I saw it looked like I had brown spots on my teeth.

The fillings were too dark. Not to mention where they injected me with the numbing solution i felt like I had been punched in the the face for almost a week after (I have never been in that kind of pain over shots in my mouth and believe me I have had plenty) so I work in a call center and they are very finnicky about how they schedule their time off. so I arranged my time off for my second appt. guess what? they pushed it back an hour and left me a message simply stating my appt had been moved, didnt bother to ask me if I could make it, just informed me thats "when I needed to show up" to quote the receptionist directly. While I am in the waiting room i am behind a gentleman who had a new patient appt, he signs in, sits in the waiting room for 15 minutes only to be told they bumped his appt to the next day and yet he was never called. when he told the woman he worked at a factory and it was going to be next to impossible to come in tommorow she said "well give us a call when you can see us again."

This was just the beginning. so I get back to the chair I let them know about the color issue with my previous fillings the dentist sighs and says well that means were gonna have to re do them and I let her know that was ok lets just wait til everything else is done and I will schedule another appointment. She then proceeds to numb me, i generally have a difficult time getting numb which i told them about I had to stop her twice to re numb me because I started to feel it and she said "your are hard to numb, this is ridiculous" when i said i was sorry i wish i could do something to help she just did a frustrated sigh have me a shot and proceeded to work on the tooth TEN SECONDS after putting more numbing solution in it. They do the fillings, they did all the silvers ones except for one that I requested be tooth colored since it would be visible. Guess what? they used the SAME WRONG COLOR on that one too after i asked TWICE to make sure it was lighter.

lets pause and think about this. they now have to redo all the filings they did the first time, and this other one, which means numbing me again and going thru all this again. why? because they didnt do it right the first time. Then during my work I happened to be in a chair by their cleaning area where they clean the instruments three dental assistants were using profanity saying how much stuff they had to clean.

and just when you thought it couldnt get any worse. I noticed that my insurance was charged four times the amount for the first visit for the SAME TEETH NUMBERS, I asked the receptionist about this she goes 'are you sure'? and wouldnt even bring up my account. She said we would figure it out. Oh yes...it gets even worse. So i get home pull up my aspen dental online information and guess what? they charged my insurance FOUR TIMES for the same teeth numbers for todays visit.

So all in all, I have brown spots on my teeth i didnt have before, I have to get a good portion of my fillings redone, my mouth is now sore from a week ago's injections and todays, they have WAY over billed my insurance, oh and yes, today they chipped one of my teeth while working on the other one...only they didnt say anything about it, so that means thats gonna have to be numbed up again too.

let me re emphasize...i was dental phobic before this, and this was my first time in the chair in 4 years. and they want to do a root canal on me? yeah right, needless to say I will be finding another dentist to take care of that portion. If you are like me and dont have a choice because you have DMO insurance...brace yourself. If you have a choice, please please please do not go to aspen dental, they are the worst, i cannot wait to change my insurance next year, and I guarantee you I will NEVER use aspen again once the rest of the work is done. I simply cannot afford to pay out of pocket so I am stuck at the moment. its awful.

I pre-paid for a long list of dental work, begun in February 2011. One issue on that list is the need to have a wisdom tooth pulled. Because I have so many problems with my teeth, the manager of Aspen Dental put them in order of priority, with the pulling of the wisdom tooth being lower on the list than other more immediate problems. During the night early Saturday morning I woke up in pain from the wisdom tooth. I took aspirin, but the pain got progressively worse. I also tried Aleve, rinsing with salt water and anything else I could think of. When I realized it wasn't going to let up, but continued to get more painful I put a call in to Aspen Dental's emergency service line. The operator refused to put my call through to the dentist on call because "my problem tooth was one that they had not yet began work on". I persisted in telling this young woman on the phone that I was in pain and need to speak with my dentist or one on call. She refused to put me through, quoting that its their protocol that emergency calls are only taken for work that has been done and is causing a problem, not on teeth that haven't yet been worked on. No matter how hard I tried to get her to understand that I was in excruciating pain and needed to speak to my dentist who is working on a laundry list of problems - that have already been paid for, she refused to help me. After hours and another night of horrid pain, I tried again at 10:35 a.m. on Sunday. I got the same young woman operator on the phone - she remembered me for yesterday and again refused to help. I asked her if she is a professional dentist qualified to diagnose me over the phone and she got rude and told me that I cannot speak with a dentist, that I don't meet their protocol for an emergency and she refused to put my call through. I am outraged at this lack of concern for an existing patient. I was under the impression that Aspen Dental was MY dentist, but have been corrected on that assumption. They have put their telephone operator in the position of determining if I need emergency dental care. An outrage ! I am now awaiting a return call from my primary care physician looking for help. I am in horrible pain and need something to take to get me through to when I can get to a dentist. Now I have to go to Aspen because I have already paid them for this service. I will be filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, the American Dental Association and anyone else that I can think of that should know about this cruel and unfair treatment of a human being... CJ Shannon, Connecticut

I just went to Aspen Dental last Friday(4-15-11), I have another scheduled for this Friday and I am wondering if I cancel will I be charged for X-rays, consultation, and whatever other lavish charges they can imagine? I have Fibromyalgia, due to this illness in combo with the medications & my body not absorbing Vitamin D/Calcium properly, my teeth are in desperate need of proper care but reading through the complaints & lawsuits I feel it is necessary to find not only coverage but a DDS with a valid record of success. I can't believe the amount of fast food style GREED that has taken priority over patient care, Sad commentary...I went through my 9 page diagnosis, they have me down for a procedure with every department available to the tune of 9325.00, Hygienist is scrapping gums, general dentist is drilling & filling cavities / including a very thin shrunken front tooth, and then of course the orthodontist for extracting 5 un-salvageable teeth & temporary partials/permanent partials ! I asked so do I get a choice between door #1, #2, or #3 for the token door prize or is there a double-wide trailer waiting for me upon completion of the maze? All the girls I met with were in fact very friendly & did answer all my ?s to the best of their ability however having an office manager explain the run-down left me in an altered state of questioning my own better judgement...I wasn't there for my spring spa day but after reading all the information I do feel as if I made an appointment for a Hi-colonic ...