Aspen Dental
reviews and complaints

I'd luckily been warned by a friend about going to Aspen, and after my new patient exam the warning turned out absolutely correct. The good - the staff were friendly, competent and quick at their jobs. If it weren't for the bad side I'd be happy to be a regular patient there. The bad - Aspen is a sales mill. They're car dealership sneaky. My friend warned me that they would try to slip in charges. Here's how it goes. The friendly dentist and assistants give you a free exam and tell you that when you come back for a cleaning, you'll "take home an electric toothbrush, special toothpaste and rinse". They avoid saying that it costs extra. They put a screen in front of your chair so you can see your x-rays, but also so you can see any alarming things about your teeth being typed in to help upsell the products. Then you wait, half an hour in my case, for the office manager to schedule your appointment and sign your bill. This is where it gets car dealership. (Watch the small similarities - a professionally dressed person takes you to an isolated office full of "relax-triggers", thank you cards from satisfied customers, photos of the salesperson's family that face only towards the customer, not the salesperson. This office had the thank you cards.) First, I was shown only the total of the charges and was asked to sign and if I wanted to put anything down. I asked how much the toothbrush was that the assistant had mentioned. She said $150. I was expecting this from my friend's warning and asked to have it removed. She agreed easily, then tore the overview bill in half with a barely concealed look of irritation. It's an unsubtle tactic designed to put the patient off of asking to have the bill changed again. I asked for an itemized bill, and watched her carefully tell me I had to sign first before she could print it, which is preposterous. Trying to lock you in before you can see the charges, right? Her computer screen is kept turned away just enough so you can't see what's being done. I hadn't given my credit card and already said I wouldn't pay until the actual cleaning, so I figured sure, why not. I signed, looked over the bill, and spotted the $30 stannous rinse (mouthwash) and $29 neutral sodium gel (toothpaste). Also, they'd showed me the same pamphlet twice about oral cancer screenings but never asked if I wanted it - sure enough, $70 oral cancer screening on the bill. I also noted that the toothbrush and rinse come entirely out of Patient Responsibility, not insurance. At this point I knew I'd never be coming back so I said nothing and left. In short, insist on seeing your bill before you sign or give any payment, because they will try hard to sneak about $279 of unnecessary extras into your upfront payment. Or go to another dentist.

My insurance advised me to get a dental checkup of which for a $15.00 copay, I was to receive cleaning, x-rays, and a check-up. So I made an appointment with Aspen Dental, who I was told(by Aspen Dental)that they accepted my insurance. When I made the appointment and when I checked in at their office, I stated that I wanted the cleaning, x-rays & check-up offered by my insurance. I was taken to a room and a lady took x-rays. Then taken to another room where after a period of time a man (suppose to be the dentist) came in and said I would need to have my teeth out & dentures! A lady said I was done and when I asked about the cleaning, she said they were not doing it! Then I was taken to an office where a lady informed me it would be over $8000.00 for the dentures! I left that office! I went to another dentist to see what he would say about my teeth. They cleaned my teeth, took x-rays, examined my teeth and fixed 2 small cavities. When I asked them about being advised that I needed dentures, the dentist said that was the craziest thing he ever hear of and the was no way I needed dentures. Now I just got a bill from Aspen Dental stated I owed them $330.00!

Do not go this place ! Aspen dental destroyed me physically and emotionally. And corporate doesn't even care, they need to be shut down. For 1 year now i have had an infection, was told i had bone loss as i see others have been told. I live in pain everyday, i was told 3 teeth had to be pulled that there was no other option for me, the doctor ended up pulling 6 of my teeth out, i was devastated i was treated awful in there, it was like being slowly tortured. I went back with a bad infection the doctor was so rude and didn't even bother to look at me. I received bills which i have paid cash for what was supposed to be done (Gets even better) when i went there i was told the office manager mariela was no longer there and she took files and they still wanted me to pay even for work i never wanted or agreed on doing. Since then and having fear of going to dentist now, i was in so much pain i went to 2 different dentist both told me i have no bone loss! One dentist told me aspen is in the business of selling dentures and that's why they do this, this doctor suggested i get my files and xrays .. So i did and the day i went to pick all xrays and what was left of files i noticed all new staff, the woman at the desk was trying to sell me to another doctor there (No thanks) she told me the doctor who destroyed my mouth doesn't work at that office anymore. Now i need to have surgery where they have to cut my almost 3 inches long do to bone fragments & root that was left in my mouth was also told that the infection i have can not wait and could be very dangerous. I don'thave the money for this surgery and to fix all the damage that was done. I call corporate spoke to.A woman julie who told me a woman tricia would call me back and she never did.. Since i was even received a call back i guess i'm left no choice to take legal action just to fix the mess aspen dental did to my mouth. Aspen does not care about people, all they care about is pulling your teeth out so they can sell you dentures that you don't need. I cried when other dentist told me those teeth were wrongfully pulled and i have no bone loss like i was told. I'm glad i have my xrays from aspen dental proof. They have destroyed my face and my life, i still cry everyday over this.

My very first visit ever to Aspen Dental was absolutely the most traumatic dentist appointment I have ever experienced! I had called different dentist offices to try to get in asap and after many trys finally got in with Aspen. Very first visit ever, receptionist was nice, exray lady was nice, financial lady was nice but the oral surgan and his nurse that was with him to assist me thay day..not so much! I was already in tremendous pain and needed a tooth extraction. The dentist numbed me walked out, came back in gave antother shot, and repeated. Not 5 mins later he and the nurse came in, I told her I was very nervous and she assured me not to be. He started with my tooth and instantly tears started pouring from my eyes. He continued and I hollared and said I am not numb eenough. Well he got mad and put his tools down and said I am not giving you any more numbing medicine, we can quit and you can leave or you can lean your head back here deal with it (nice version)and let me get it out..I instantly got so upset and crying but I let him go ahead. I have had teeth pulled befor but never in my life have I ever feltthe pain I felt that day! When it was over he just walked out I was left with the nurse. She proceeds to tell me to shut up my crying that it was over and I would be fine..4 more times she uelled at me for crying, I was in pain and not numb at all. Then she yelled at me because my teeth where not touching while biting on the gauze and soon she said we are done here gave me my forms and walked off. 10 mins after I left my numbing kicked in and had no pain...the problem her is he did not give it time to kick in and I was not numb enough during the procedure! The nurse was a complete witch to me! Never ever have I ever experienced the rudeness I did that day. I will never ever go back! $247 BUCKS FOR PAIN AND [censored]ES!

I went to aspen in bristol tn for top extraction and top teeth as well as bottom parcial. Horrible! After charging me $6000 i thought i could expect a good experience, however that was not the case. After paying to be put to sleep to avoid the stress of it all two weeks later i find out the oral surgeon left a tooth on top that was suppose to be cut out. After going back the general dentist attempted to pull the tooth it wouldn't numb because it was abscess. He suggested 2 weeks of antibiotics and come back to have it removed. The finance lady then agreed with me that i should be compensated for the fact that ipaid to be put to sleep now i am having have a tooth cut out while awake. The next appointment a different finance lady called me to her office and gave me a credit of almost $500. I told them i was not feeling up to having the tooth removed that day as i had had a very thematic week. I didnt reschedule at that time for the extraction because i am having to come in often for liners to the dentures so i thought i would do it the next visit. Well today i go in to have my bottom partial placed and ask them to make an appointment to have the tooth extracted and the finance lady goes ape crazy on me telling me i told her i was going to another oral surgeon. I told her that i didnt say that and she goes crazy on me. Anyway the parcial dosent osent fit however they told me it fit on the impression so it fits. After over an hour of thing to get it to fit and them telling me. The finance lady literally making me cry i walked out and called corporate. Most unprofessional people i have ever done business with. Beware stay away affordable dentures know what thier doing i recommend going there.

On Friday the 31st of July, I went to Aspen Dental, on Walden Avenue, in Cheektowaga, NY. I asked for Dr. Singh and Dr. Tin rudely replied that I'm here today. He asked me to open my mouth wide, and I could not as the left side of my cheek was badly blown out, I had five abscessed teeth, and I told him that I could not do it. He grabbed my cheek and forced my mouth open, causing me to scream out in pain, aggravating him. When he was finished he told me that he had the nurse call in a prescription to my pharmacy Cy's on Bowen Rd in Elma, NY. When we got there, the Pharmacist said no one called, so he called the Dr. He came back and said that the Dr was rude to him and said that I was not entitled to any medication. The Pharmacist said that he could not believe it, he said, you are badly swollen, and in pain, such abuse of a patient. Later that evening I called Aspen Dental and left a message for Dr. Tin, because I had excessive bleeding, he did not return the call as was promised me. Also they quoted me a total of $1444.00 for the entire surgery, then I find out when I got a bill they were charging me over $1900.00. I hope you accept this complaint fromPatrick McCloskey, [protected], 81 Bush Gardens, Alden, NY

I had purchased a set of dentures two yrs ago..Before my warranty ran out the manager told me I had to pay for a repair that it was my fault...I posted a complaint to the posses off customer website..days after that the manager contacted me and was upset I made a complaint and made an appointment on June 2373rd for a new set at no cost...since then the dentures have broken several times...my last visit was March 30th..going there again to fix my upper teeth...and was told by the dentist I am costing her too much money and I am not chewing my food correctly...I am still without teeth I am currently seeing another dentist for new dentures. I wrote to the Saugus center requesting my money back..I have not yet heard back...this has caused me my health...mental emotional damage and my dignity...i am filing a complaint with the bbb. The general attorney ... I am so frustrated and u am not eating...I want to contact corporate..I don't intend to let this go. Joan Johnson at joanie.joanie.[protected]@gmail.com

I have never written a negative review in my life but felt like others who are looking for a local dentist or current patients uneasy with an Aspen diagnosis need to be warned. When I visited Aspen for the first time they diagnosed me with early periodontal disease and the dentist said I had significant bone loss. They rushed me in to meet with the Office Manager to discuss my payment plans for the gum treatment. This surprised me as I'm young, have always had excellent gum and tooth health, am very careful about hygiene and hadn't experienced any symptoms. I went to another dentist for a second opinion today. Both she and the hygienist who examined me and studied the x-rays from Aspen said I didn't have any indications of gum disease at all and my bone level looked totally healthy- which was more consistent with my dental history and past visits to other clinics out of state. There were several things that made me uneasy with Aspen during my visit but was still surprised (though relieved) to hear their diagnosis was untrue. I would recommend a 2nd opinion if Aspen suggests you have work done in your mouth!

I went in to get a new upper plate. It took over a month to finally get the plate, after wearing them for a day a couple of spots of irritation my gums started to swell and can't even drink liquids without pain because of a sharp edge on back of plate. Called to get in for an adjustment and it's going to take almost 2 weeks to get in. I can't wear the plate because it is causing a lot of painful irritation, being on soft food for over a month isn't helping my bowels. I paid them up front over $1, 000 they could at least be able to get someone in sooner for an adjustment so that they can wear their dentures. I will never go to them again for anything again, I will go elsewhere and advise people to not to go to them.

I went to aspen dental and got my wisdom teeth out. I asked them if they would knock me out and they said yes. I get there and they give me laughing gas which didn't help me at all. They might have not even giving it to me it was a waste. Then I felt everything and he wasn't nice about giving the shots. I had it done in October and I'm still having pain. Worst dentist ever !

I've been going to Aspen Dental for quite some time since I took the DMO option for Dental for my insurance since their was no maximum to save money for some work I knew I needed done which was the worst decision I ever made. Many dentists don't take this insurance, so I got stuck with a "chain" dentist. I brush my teeth several times a day and floss them alot. I've never had a cavity until 10 years ago and it was minor. When I got my first cleaning and xrays at Aspen Dental, I was told I had 8 or 9 cavities, needed multiple crowns, multiple root canals and a scaling (which I've never needed). They made many BS reasons as to why I"m getting cavities so easy. I was dumb and had all the work done. Apparently I trust people to easy and was gullible. I had the scaling in either August or October of last year (2014). I went in a few weeks ago because I thought I lost a filling, but apparently my tooth broke. I made an urgent appointment because my tooth was so sharp, it was cutting my tongue really bad. The dentist (Dr. Kim), didn't seem to care about that particular tooth and did a full exam and a full set of x-rays. The appointment was not for this whatsoever. She told me I had 8 cavities and needed 4 crowns and 2 or 3 root canals. I'm pretty positive all those problems didn't happen in 6-8 months. I told her this makes no sense since nothing with these teeth showed up on the prior set of x-rays and my teeth don't hurt at all; not even if I have something very sugary. I take excellent care of my teeth so this is when reality set in. I told her I just needed something to be done with the broken tooth to make me comfortable. She had me grab my things and had me go sit with the office manager first to develop a treatment plan for everything listed above which I thought was very odd. At this point the light bulb really went off. I wasted 45 minutes sitting with the office manager to tell me I needed $14, 000 worth of work. I told him I needed to get back to work and asked if Dr. Kim could just put a temporary filling or something in the tooth to stop my from cutting my tongue more than it was. She had 3 different patients she was working with so I'd have to wait awhile. I don't understand why that couldn't have been done while I was already in the room in the chair for an hour for an extensive appointment I never made. Needless to say, I spoke my mind and left. The very next day, more of my tooth broke off and my tongue was cut so bad so I went in just to let them put the temporary filling in until I got back from vacation. Since I was unable to find a dentist who takes my insurance and new patients, I had no choice but to go back. They set up the root canal appointment and the tooth was broken so bad that there may have been big issues with a crown staying good due to the breakage. I said forget it and said I was just going to pull it since it's the bottom very back tooth. I had the appointment yesterday with Dr. Nazeeh to pull my tooth which was the icing on the cake and something needs to be done. He came in and introduced himself and was pleasant. He put novocaine in 8 spots and came back to see if I was numb. He put novocaine in 4 more spots that I fully felt and I told him since I didn't feel very numb. He put something around my tooth and pushed down very hard into my gum and I felt it slice my gum. He started to pull my tooth I raised my hands and my foot and tried to say "Stop" since I could feel everything. He put novocaine in 4 more spots and proceeded pulling my tooth without giving any novocaine time to work. I raised both hands, my foot and everything to get him to stop and he wouldn't. Needless to say, I literally felt the whole procedure and was balling my eyes out like you wouldn't believe. I have a high tolerance for pain and pain never does this to me so that should tell you something. He finished and stitched me up. The stitch isn't even in the gaping hole from pulling the tooth; it's on the side where he cut me with the instrument he was using. He did not say one thing during the procedure at all either which was odd. They usually tell you what they are doing and talk to you. I told him that I felt everything and he walked out of the room without saying a word. His assistant said it was infected so the novocaine didn't work right. No infection showed on the x-rays and Dr. Nazeeh didn't say one word about infection and didn't give my antibiotic or anything. Therefore, I don't believe there is any infection. My experiences at Aspen Dental have been horrible nightmares. Every time I went, I was sent to the waiting room after all the work every time to see the office manager for who knows what. Every single time I waited for her, it was 25-60 minutes. I've never been to a dentist office who operated like this. She would always show up in the room before any work was done, make me waste my time waiting for her after the appointments and trying to steal more money from me on unnecessary work and wasting more precious time. Every 15-30 minute visit was literally 2 to 2 1/2 hours. It's 100% obvious that they are clearly about the money and they seem infamous for deceiving patients. Something needs to be done about this and stop this. I am very traumatized from my experience yesterday and will seek advice. While researching online just now I found thousands of complaints and class action lawsuits for the same exact issues. I really wish I looked this up before. Everyone's stories are similar to mine minus the tooth extraction nightmare that I can't even begin to describe. The pain now is horrific and I haven't been able to sleep or get comfortable no matter what I do or take. The picture below is how it looks today. It was the last tooth that was pulled that has a weird layer of yellowish brown film over the hole and you can see the stitches in the other picture. The film looks like another tooth in the picture, but it is not. Any advice on what to do or where to go with this would be greatly appreciated. I'm not a sue happy person and never sued anyone in my life and am not seeking money, but neglect/abuse and deception with this chain needs to come to an end.

I made an appointment with Aspen Dental understanding that the exrays and cleaning would be fully paid for by Physicans Mutual insurance company. Went for appointment and was told that my exrays and cleaning is far more than a normal cleaning. Had to pay up front a total of $310.00 to get the exrays and cleaning. Got a bill for approx. $8, 000 for completion of work. After one month I broke a tooth. Was told I would have to pay for a visit, more exrays and would be told how much. This outfit is NOT there for the good of people, it is there to take advantage of people who need help.