Aspen Dental

Summary:
In November of 2020, my wife and I paid for a full extraction and denture replacement procedure at the Aspen Dental franchise at 8200 S. Tamiami Trail in Sarasota, Florida. After eight months, my wife had only a "permanent" (mass-produced, ill-fitting) upper denture and "temporary" lower denture--and then was told that the "permanent" lower denture was not included in the $8563 procedure. Manpower shortages were blamed for numerous delays, numerous incremental appointments were of little consequence, initial assurances that insurance would pick up a small portion of our costs proved inaccurate, and staff errors and turnovers were blamed for "misunderstandings" for which WE had to pay. We have had to move to another dentistry practice for permanent lower dentures and correction/completion of this work. Our costs will likely double before everything is complete.

11/04/2020
It began with, "Do you have insurance?"
My reply: "Yes, but I don't think it covers dental."
"We'll check."

The receptionist was unable to get a satisfactory response from Blue Cross/Blue Shield. They seemed not even to recognize that we had insurance with them, but later, after we had undergone our initial examinations and been told what treatments we required, the business manager called Blue Cross/Blue Shield again—and seemed to browbeat them until they apparently indicated that they would cover part of the proposed bill for my wife's extractions/new dentures.

A bill of particulars was printed out showing the part of the treatment that would be covered by insurance ($1, 196.50) and what would be ours to pay ($7366.50). We paid our part up front, immediately, by Visa credit card.

Later, a minor adjustment was made in the total when we returned an unopened electric tooth brush which was included in the cost ($135.00), but not needed. We were reimbursed for the tooth brush.

11/10/2020
At her first appointment, my wife's upper teeth and all but the six lower front teeth were removed. She was told to return after a few days of healing to have molds prepared for temporary dentures. These would be used while swelling subsided. We were told that she might begin fittings for permanent dentures as early as February 2021.

At the time of this first treatment, my wife weighed 140 pounds, ate as much as a 220-pound man (me) and loved her food.

There were a number of subsequent appointments to examine, fit, refit, and correct the temporary dentures. They were never comfortable for her and she complained that she could not chew with them. She switched to an almost exclusively liquid diet and rapidly dropped to 121 pounds. Since her teeth were removed, she has not been able to eat ANY of the foods she had always prepared and enjoyed.

Early on, it became evident that the Aspen office was short a technician—and every step of preparation/correction of the upper denture was strung out as a result.

05/20/2021
At this appointment for delivering upper dentures, we learned that lower permanent dentures were not included in our deal—and that permanent lower dentures would require another $1000 payment.
Despite promises of a call from a regional manager to discuss our claim that our arrangement had been for "permanent dentures"--and despite an admission from the new office manager that the previous office manager might have made a mistake in not making it clear that the lowers were not included—we have been left with a job half done. We've never heard back from the regional manager who was supposed to call us, but we did very quickly receive an email message welcoming my wife to an August 2021 appointment—an obvious indication that Aspen Dental had no intention of preparing or provided a permanent lower denture.

We will not return to Aspen Dental and have canceled our future appointment.

We have had to move to another dentistry practice for correction/completion of this work. Our costs will likely double before everything is complete.

Our Complaints:

1. We were told that our insurance would pay for a small portion of the extraction/dentures procedure. It was NEVER true.
2. We were led to believe that our initial full payment would cover the entire cost of extractions and new dentures, including interim, temporary dentures. There was never a mention—nor a thought on our part—that the full payment would not include permanent bottom (partial) dentures. It is illogical to believe that they would not be included. (One would not ask, when buying a new car, whether the price included the rear wheels and tires!)
3. AFTER my wife's teeth had been extracted, but before Aspen began the fittings for the permanent upper dentures, they informed us that our insurance (which the previous office manager had so cleverly and effectively convinced to cover our claim!) did not recognise our claim and that we would have to pay the $1, 196.50 that had been attributed to them at the beginning. As my wife had no teeth and we were in no position to argue, we paid the "insurance portion" without comment. (Was this an arbitrary amount? Why would Aspen not be responsible for assuring itself of this payment BEFORE removing someone's TEETH?)
4. Lost time in inefficiencies. A procedure that we were assured would be completed in 4 or 5 months, has taken 7 months and is still not complete. (It is like hiring a plumber to repair a toilet who turns off water to your house, removes the toilet, and then informs you that he has lost his toilet installing specialist and won't be able to resume water supply and replace your toilet for another month—and THEN will install your new toilet, but without inner workings.)
5. Loss of health from nutritional deficiencies due to Aspen Dental's: (1) shortage of qualified personnel to provide services that they continue to advertise as being available and timely; and (2) reluctance to confront us with the fact that our insurance had turned down their claim, and their simultaneous obsessive concern with receipt of full payment before preparing permanent dentures.
6. Legal defense moves instilled a sense of distrust:
a) Moved personnel so that people orginally responsible for mistakes were no longer available to accept responsibility for Aspen's mistakes/failures;
b) Once accused us (in writing) of failing to show up for an appointment that was vocally revoked;
c) Sent a letter implying that we had not called to set up an appointment when we were told at the previous appointment that we would receive a call when the new dentures were ready;
d) When we indicated that we wanted to record a conversation in which the current manager was admitting that the previous office manager had made a mistake for which she, the current manager, "was not responsible", the manager refused to go on record. "There will be NO recording."

We have given Aspen Dental every opportunity to contact us with proposals for satisfaction without effect. We have now cancelled the future (August) appointment and have moved to a new dentistry office for correction of problems with my wife's upper dentures and for preparation and delivery of a permanent lower denture.