SmileCare Dental
Reviews and Complaints

I recently went to Smile Care as recommended provder from Careington Dental disc. plan. They do not explain the services, do not stand by their estimates, charge excessively for very small services.

The dental hygienist charged $44. to squirt mouthwash (irrigate) between a teeth..and $456 to do a periodontal 20min. clean. Up from the $152. quote. Bone graft at $380 each was a 3 second process of squirting SYNTHETIC bone graft stuff in two extraction sites.

I went in for two partials..and was sold temporary STAYPLATES that I assumed were the partials..but really are just unfunctional inserts. If I had been told to get the last 2 items, a root canal and one tooth replaced before a permenant partial was made..I surely would not have paid over $1300 for two Stayplates that are impossible to eat or talk with and will need to be replaced within a year or so.

Go to a trusted dentist you know...find out his/her plans..save yourself a fortune. Any questions about pricing the dentist referred me to the office manager..corporate..and I am still waiting up to 6 weeks for any credit...refund..that is really nothing. I think the worst of it was no explanation..and the patient assuming the care I was getting was for my own good. It was strictly for the buck. YOU DONT ASK..THEY WONT TELL. So I take responsibilty for that. I am having the dental xrays and work reviewed. I will never go to an outfit like this again..after researching them now..wish I had before..their reviews are stinky from everyone.

I went to smilecare over 8 years ago and was overcharged. In the past 4 months I have spoken to several individuals whom have done everything from promise a check is being sent to offering to refund a credit card I no longer have. Yet today when I attempted to follow up and see where my refund was I was told that there were no notes in their system regarding money due me.

At this point I don't only want the money I was over charged but I also want simple interest at the very minimum.

This was my first visit to this dentist. I was examine and was given a statement of what was being done and the cost. I needed according to the dentist, a crown and 3 surf ante, and 2 surf post, I assumed that the surf ante and the surf post was the filling of the space between the upper part of my teeth to the bottom of the gum line because that's what I believed was done. Full mouth x ray, Prophy, Adult, core buildup W/P and crown-prc hi nob. The UCF column was 3216.00. Then the Prim column was 1077.30 cents.

Then the patient column was 899.70. Between my insurance company and myself we paid in 1649.70. I then received another bill for 364.40. I then made some phone calls to Los Angles where the bill was sent from, they told me that was what I owe. I told them the story to no avail, they told me to contact the office where the work was done. I called the office and told the story 4 times, one right after another, they sent me around the office until the last girl I told hung up on me. I tried calling back and they didn't answer there phone. I didn't want anything to do with those people again.

Again they sent me another bill for the same 364.40, I called Los Angles again and made a complaint to the complaint department there, I told the story and at first I didn't know what I was paying all this money for, she told me that the SURF ANTE, and SURF POST was fillings, the only fillings that I know was cavities, and I asked the girl and she said yes that is what you are paying for, I told her I never had any fillings there, she said she will take the complaint and that I would probably hear from the higher ups. One girl from the office where I had the work done called and said she received an email from Los Angles to call me. I told her what has happen about me trying to call there office and the problems that I had, she apologize to me for what happen and told me the girl does not work there anymore and she is new to the company.

After explaining the problem I had with the bills I've been getting she told me that the fillings were the filling of the spaces, I told her that the girl from Los Angles told me they were fillings for cavities. I explain to her that between my Insurance and myself we paid over the amount I'm suppose to have, she explain to me that the insurance paid the maximum benefits and when that ran out they automatically charge me as having no Insurance.

This was my first visit to this dentist. I was examine and was given a statement of what was being done and the cost. I needed according to the dentist, a crown and 3 surf ante, and 2 surf post, I assumed that the surf ante and the surf post was the filling of the space between the upper part of my teeth to the bottom of the gum line because that's what I believed was done. Full mouth x ray, Prophy, Adult, core buildup W/P and crown-prc hi nob. The UCF column was 3216.00. Then the Prim column was 1077.30 cents.

Then the patient column was 899.70. Between my insurance company and myself we paid in 1649.70. I then received another bill for 364.40. I then made some phone calls to Los Angles where the bill was sent from, they told me that was what I owe. I told them the story to no avail, they told me to contact the office where the work was done. I called the office and told the story 4 times, one right after another, they sent me around the office until the last girl I told hung up on me. I tried calling back and they didn't answer there phone. I didn't want anything to do with those people again.

Again they sent me another bill for the same 364.40, I called Los Angles again and made a complaint to the complaint department there, I told the story and at first I didn't know what I was paying all this money for, she told me that the SURF ANTE, and SURF POST was fillings, the only fillings that I know was cavities, and I asked the girl and she said yes that is what you are paying for, I told her I never had any fillings there, she said she will take the complaint and that I would probably hear from the higher ups. One girl from the office where I had the work done called and said she received an email from Los Angles to call me. I told her what has happen about me trying to call there office and the problems that I had, she apologize to me for what happen and told me the girl does not work there anymore and she is new to the company.

After explaining the problem I had with the bills I've been getting she told me that the fillings were the filling of the spaces, I told her that the girl from Los Angles told me they were fillings for cavities. I explain to her that between my Insurance and myself we paid over the amount I'm suppose to have, she explain to me that the insurance paid the maximum benefits and when that ran out they automatically charge me as having no Insuran.

I wish I had visited this site prior to going to Smilecare. Besides the dentists changing constantly, and half of them being very rude, they keep trying to convince us we need work done that we don't.

I hadn't been to a dentist in a few years, and I knew I needed work due to a very visible and painful cavity in a front tooth. In addition to that tooth, they told me I needed a bunch of other stuff done, for a total of over $4, 000 the first time. Being young and gullible, I believed they knew what they were talking about and were being totally honest. I started questioning their practices when I went in again for a check up and the new dentist said I needed several more root canals and had cavities to fill in ALL the teeth that weren't capped! There was no way I could afford all that work, so I didn't have any of it done. I went back a few months later because one of my caps were bothering me. The new dentist I saw said I had one very tiny cavity that was too small to fill and I'd need to watch it, and said that the gums under my crown were irritated, likely from something I ate. That was it, no other cavities, no root canals needed, nothing. I gave them the benefit of the doubt, figuring I got one bad dentist.

A couple years pass, and one of my caps comes loose. Well, when they first put it in the temp had pulled out the "build up" underneath, but they put in the cap anyway. None of my other caps (even the one I've had for 15 years) has come loose like that. But they charged me again for a new build up, a post lengthening surgery because she said not enough tooth was left for them to glue on a new cap, and a new cap. I don't think I should have paid, because I'm sure it is their mess up that caused the cap to break after such a short time (it was either just under or just over 2 years).

They tried to convince my husband that he needed several thousand dollars of work done when he first went in, and he just had a checkup and suddenly doesn't anymore. They are also trying to convince us that my son needs braces (his teeth are straight but his 2 front teeth are a little bigger that the rest of the top, definitely not bad enough for braces.)

I am changing dentists just as soon as I find out what other dentists in the area are covered by my insurance. I recommend to anyone who cares about their dental health to go anywhere else but Smilecare. Any dentist that is good at what they do, and cares about the patients, wouldn't work for them.

I'm very unhappy with the service that I received from Smilecare on Manchester and Normandie, in California. I paid in full for a root canal that was never completed, and the office manager said that Corporate said that it was my fault that I did not come in or remind them that the work was not done. They took my money and then forgot about me! Now they are saying that I have to pay an additional 700 or so dollars to re-do the cap that I need. I am not paying twice for work that was not done in the first place!

I am writing in regards to several incidents that have happened in relation to myself and SmileCare. I had went to SmileCare in Folsom on June 13th, 2008 to have mine and my son's teeth cleaned. During the visit, my son and I had x-rays taken, my son did have his teeth cleaned, and one of the dentists put anti-biotic plugs in my gums, however, I did NOT have my teeth cleaned.

My son also had a filling done on two joining teeth, and it was at that time I asked the dentist if she could fill in a gap between my teeth. She said she could. As the doctor proceeded to fill the gap, she said that she could not get the product to adhere to my tooth, and that she would have to remove the overlay that was on it, and redo the whole thing.

As she was trying to remove the porcelain overlay, she slipped and took a chunk out of the side of my tooth, and busted my lip. She apologized for it, but I was not aware of the extreme amount of damage she had done at this time.

After the local anesthetic wore off, I was in pain, but figured it would go away in a day or two. I then felt this gouge out of my tooth that the dentist had been working on, and knew right away, that this was from when she was drilling in my mouth and slipped.

I immediately called the Folsom SmileCare office, and asked to speak to the dentist. The girl that answered the phone took a message and said she would have her call me back. I did not receive a call back. My son had been complaining that his teeth still hurt, and when I looked at his filling, it was gone. I called again the next day, and once again, left a message explaining that there was damage to my tooth, and my son's filling had fallen out, and I was told that the dentist would return my call later that day. I still did not receive a call back. I called again the next day, and every day for a week and a half, leaving messages, and still no returned calls.

During that time, I unexpectedly had to move to Arkansas, and left immediately. I was no longer in CA, so I could not simply walk into the office that had seen my son and I.

I then started calling SmileCare's 800#, and filed a claim with their Quality Assurance dept. I spent the next 2-3 months trying to find out what was happening with my claim. Most of the time, Jackie at ext. 5374, was not taking messages because the mailbox was too full or she would simply hang up on me. I finally started calling any extension I could, so that I could get someone to handle this. I then spoke to Ezrialda at [protected], who told me she would handle this. She never did.

I then started working with another representative by the name of Georgia Bradshaw, ext. 5303. I then had to start the whole claims process over again, because the other women had simply done nothing. And once again, my calls went unanswered and once again, could not leave messages for Georgia, because her mailbox was full all the time. The few times that I spoke with Georgia, I had to explain everything over and over, she never took any records of our conversations.

After 6 months of trying to get my tooth fixed, and my son's filling redone, SmileCare agreed to fix my son's teeth, but would not fix my tooth, stating that they had fixed the "filling" I had, due to "reoccurring decay". A completely false record of the events that took place. Also, by agreeing to fix my son's teeth, they admit to damage on him, that occurred at the exact same time as mine, but stated that the x-rays I had taken in December, were far too long after the incident to prove that my damage occurred when I said it did.

At NO time during any of this process did anyone tell me to go see another dentist to get new x-rays. And had I know this, I would have went immediately to my dentist in Arkansas.

Not only did I NOT have reoccurring decay, they did NOT fix a filling. SmileCare also claimed that I did not act in a timely manner so I could not prove that they were at fault. I explained in my letters to SmileCare that this was not at all what happened, and that the records of the dentist were fraudulent. SmileCare had billed my insurance company for a filling and a cleaning, both of which were not done.

I appealed the decision of SmileCare, and the next contact I received, in the form of a letter dated Jan. 29th, 2009, was from a Mariam Youssef, Quality Assurance Supervisor/SmileCare Dental, stating that I was once again denied, but they would refund me $23.20, for the cost of the filling.

I then started calling the extension that Mariam Youssef had given as a contact number, and yet again, was given a message that the extension was full and unable to take any new messages. I have called at least 3 times per day, every day, since I received the letter, and have never been able to contact this QA Supervisor, or anyone in that position.

I am simply wanting SmileCare to repair the damage their dentist caused to my tooth. SmileCare has x-rays of my tooth in question, prior to this damage, and it is clearly visible, that there was NO reoccuring decay. Not only did they NOT perfom these actions, they made fraudulent claims to my insurance company, stating they had, and received payment for them.

I have spent thousands of dollars taking care of my teeth over the years, and now I have damage caused by a dentist at SmileCare, that I cannot afford to fix myself, or I would have already done that. SmileCare is responsible for this damage.

SmileCare has done everything in their power to avoid paying for their mistakes, and they way that they have dealt with me as a patient, is absolutely immoral, and dishonest. I hope that this does not happen to anyone else, as the Corporation of SmileCare has walked all over me.

After 18 months of ortho appointments, I do not recommend Smilecare in Concord, CA. Even though I had an appointment card; E-v-e-r--y single time I went in they were running late. They called for me 45 minutes after my scheduled appointment time. If you do use them, I suggest if you have a 3:00 appointment, show up at 2:15 and sign in your name, only then you M-i-g-h-t actually get your appointment on time. Even when I was waiting in the waiting room people were sitting on the (dirty) floor because there were not enough chairs, there are no magazines to read, they did have a TV blasting. All the people waiting had annoyed looks on their faces. I have seen several people just leave. I should have been one of them.

Smile care Dental, their so call professionals say your tooth ache is due to a bruise tooth. However you do need some crowns and other work in which I did not go in for. This place is high pressure sale on items you really don't need. Guess what happen next the tooth I went in for with the problem after getting a second opinion was indeed infected and need antibiotics and a root canal. Thank you Smile care not only did they use my insurance but cost me more money to get the proper care that I should have received in the first place.

I am a dentist that worked for this organization as an employee only I was told i was an independent contractor. The treatment of patients is so bad I don"t even want to write this, if you see this know that your health and welfare is at great risk!