Aspen Dental
reviews and complaints

BEWARE these are the worst dental providers out there! Fraud Alert-billed me and my insurance company for services/products that I did not order and when I demanded a refund, it was refused. I was told I HAD to purchase said product though I did not request it. OFFICE STAFF IS UNSKILLED, LIARS AND CHEATS. Had a dental appointment on 5/11/09 and office staff left in the middle of a proceedure. Find a PRIVATE PRACTICE DENTIST IN EVANSVILLE AND STAY AWAY FROM ASPEN DENTAL.

All I have to say about aspen dental is, whats a rip off!
No joke. You know, you except that you pay someone to o a good job, right? No with them. My complaints is regarding aspen dental, the one in latham, ny 12110. I was there this week and the doctor and the insurance lady were extremely rude.
Even though I had an appointment, the doctor rushed with me. She was not wearing any goggles or gloves and didn't even numb my mouth before starting of the procedure. After all I was paying for the services its not like I was getting them for free.
The insurance lady was occupied with non work matter and didn't care at all.
Something else that really pushed my button, was the doctor spoke in a loud tone, alomost like has if she taught I couldn't speak english, and didn't bother to anwser my questions. And let me tell you, this started when I had my first visit with them. They seriously need to take some actions on them, like change their staffs or what not, beause I can tell you this for sure, that I will not be going to them again!

I was seen once and was already billed for a loan that the hooked me up with and I had nothing done and now the loan company had aready paid them in one day from seeing them and I cancelled my appointment because I wanted to get a second opinion because the amout the were seeking was way over what I was told from my sister that I should pay and to go see her dentist. They already billed me for 5820.35 and I haven't even had one tooth removed. I talked to the loan company and they said I had to dispute it because they paid them and now I have a bill for 244.00 a month because aspen was already paid. I really hope aspen gives the money back, shoot what if I died tomorrow and never had the procedure done, then what?

I recently got dental insurance and aspen was on tye preferred provider list and was just down the street so I decided to go there. I went in for x-rays and they examined my teeth. They told me I needed peridontal cleaning and a small cavity that would need filling. They immediately worked up a plan and gave me an estimate for what I would pay and the insurance portion. I was told all the work would be done on the next visit then a 3 month check up after that. My estimated portion was $800 and ins. would pay $1, 114. That seemed like a lot and I didn't have the money so I did the care credit card thing and paid the 800 right then. At my appointment they didn't even do my filling like the office manager told me they would they just cleaned my teeth and gave put these antibiotic things between my gums and teeth. They gave me this tooth brush that costs like $5 at walmart and a flouride and mouth rinse to use. I got the bill a few weeks later and was shocked. That toothbrush cost $130 and there were numerous other things that insurance wouldn't cover like I was told by the dental office. I called my insurance company and they said there were charges on my bill taht were entered incorrectly and things that they didn't even know what they were! My bill showed that I still owed $600. That estimate was way off. I'm on my third bill because it says ins. is still pending items. It's now down to $350 and I've never even gotten my filling and already paid $800. The actual bill was less than the estimate but I still paid the 800 and now more. If the bill ended up being less shouldn't I pay less, not more! I'm canceling my follow up and going elsewhere. Her estimate was so far off. I never would have went there if I knew it would be so much more. I can't afford it!

On April 27, 2009 my prescheduled appointment was for 3:30 PM. My arrival and sign in was at 3:15 PM. I sat and waited until 5:50 PM. At that point one of the ladies from behind the desk walked out front and locked the door. So I went up to the desk and asked if they were closing soon and the receptionist said that at 6 they were closing. I asked if they were going to give me my dentures today and they asked if I had an appointment. I showed them my name on the sign in sheet and the 10 or so who signed in after me and had been taken care of already. The first reaction was accusing me of not saying something sooner.
A little history at this point. This was my final visit to try my dentures. On my initial visit as a new patient, I had asked the receptionist after filling out all of my paperwork and showing my insurance card and waiting for half an hour if she had an idea how long it would be until my appointment. I was told to "just sit down and wait." 20 minutes after that the dentist saw me for the first time. Before leaving my dentures and the next two visits had to be paid in full. The second visit was a little over an hour wait. My wife was with me on the first two visits and I asked her if I should file a formal complaint. She talked me out of doing that both times.
To me it is obvious that the patient is not the priority in the Lancaster, Pa. office. Everyone's time is valuable to them. If Telling my story helps one person make the correct decision about not using Aspen Dental then my wait(s) were well worth it.

In December 2008 I went to Aspen Dental for an exam because I had a cracked Wisdom Tooth and two others that needed to be extracted. At the time, I explained that I would be submitting a request to a charitable organization to cover the costs. When I called to make an appointment, they refused to make the appointment unless I paid for the work in advance in full.

I had to wait several months for approval of the payment and until the check had arrived before I could make an appointment.

I finally had my appointment and discovered that when I went they had not gotten the approval of my cardiologist to do the procedure. The folks in the North Hills Office were very kind and cooperative and had to do all the work that the Butler Office had neglected to do. On top of that, the Oral Surgeon was so rough on my mouth that I had bruising from the corners of my mouth down over my chin and neck for more than a week. At this point, a week later, I am still having pain. They did not do the IV sedation which was quoted and I am still waiting for the refund of $319.00 they owe me.

I just left the Aspen Dental office in Auburn NY Fingerlakes Office about an hour ago. I am still mad as you know what! I had my 4th visit there. The first one they kept me waiting an hour to get into see the dentist. I went back thinking okay, emergencies happen... the second visit went well talked alittle about the options available. The third visit was to go over my options in detail and financing. I spoke to a very nice man named Sean. We got everything ironed out. Today was suppose to be an appointment for impressions. Sitting waiting to be called, the new office manager called me back with some questions. She said she wasn't sure what I was having done.

Okay so we go thru it one more time. I told her what I spoke to Sean about and immediately she got rude. saying that she was the office manager and Sean was no longer there. Okay... then she excused herself and argued with a customer at the counter. She came back and worked on the computer for a minute, said it would be 1200+ and how would i like to pay for that. ummm Hold up, we had worked that out. What changes did you make to the treatment plan? her response, I just told you. No you didn't. I asked for clarification and she continued to be rude.

So (trying hard to hold my temper) I explained to her that Sean and I had worked out the details of payment and it wasn't suppose to be that high. She said did you bring a voided check? Yeah... Give it to me and well get this going. Umm no. Not until I'm clear on what you are doing and the pricing. She said, "I'm the office manager here and I've been with Aspen for a year. I know what I'm doing." So I break and say "Who the hell cares? I've been a 'patient' here for 2 months and it's my mouth. I want to know what you are doing." She replies with "are you going to do this or not?" No. as a matter of fact, I want the district number and i'm filing a complaint because you are so rude. She replies that her boss was right next to her and I can file a complaint with her. No... if she sat there and listened to how you treated me and didn't say anything then I am going to report her too.

This is crazy! I will never go back there and will make dayum sure I file the complaint against the new office manager Melanie Constable and NOT recommend this company to anyone!

First off, I was trying to get a preventative cleaning, they wanted to do everything else but. On the day I came back for my cleaning they conveniently said the dental hygienist was behind but I could get my other work done.

The dentist was abrupt, filled one filling to my knowledge but I was told by billing I had had 5 fillings...there is no way that 5 fillings can be completed in 15 minutes. They also said I needed a crown replaced when I had no symtpoms at all of problems. Then the girl doing the xrays was not even a hygienist. When I finally got my cleaning it was the worse one I have every had in my life, and I am 57, it was painful, and they didn't even floss at the end.
But the biggest red flag was when I noticed that for an office of 5 dentists, they only had 2 hygienists but 5 persons doing billing. Hello?

we know what the focus is factory style care, move them in and out, and rack up as many 'procedures as possible'

Will not go back... calling for my records today.

Aspen in Scranton/Dickson City is just a big rip-off dentist supermarket. Don’t go! I went in there for just a routine check-up and cleaning and they sold me on this High-Teac periodontal deep cleaning and added if I don’t do this I’ll lose my teeth at 65. Plus They graded me on a point system that made me a less then middle of the road candidate so my teath were not that bad. I ended up having them do the High-teac cleaning that cost me over $1200 and my insurance would only pay $300 of it because most of the services that they did was not recognized medically necessary. Now with billing, I been fighting back and forth with them of a over payment of a special electric tooth brush that they billed me for but felt my Oral-B was good enough. . So my service was in January of 2009 and here it is April and I sill and requesting for a refund for the brush. I just moved here from NY and always my old dentist and others told me my teeth are good. I never have any pain in my mouth. I feel I ended up getting burned for a $900 from Aspen for a teeth-cleaning job that would have gotten paid by my insurance if it was just that. I’m also out $160 of over billing for the darn brush. I would not recommend going to Aspen dental if you don’t want to get into high-pressured sales of stuff you don’t need. Aspen to me is just a supermarket franchise of product that probably you don’t need but pressured to get because they get perks on selling them. Your first time visit with them you will feel you are at a time share seminar.

I went to Aspen Dental to have a cracked tooth repaired in December of 2008. After x-rays, and a dental examination I was told Ihad numerous cavities and 4 teeth that would probably need root canals and crowns. After filing for cedit through CareCredit I was told the total of my bill would be over $2700. After having the initial root canal done, I cancelled the rest of the procedures because this was too much debt for me to incur, being on a fixed income. They said find, they would put it in my file that the rest of the procedures were cancelled. In February I received a bill from CareCredit for the total amount for all the procedures! I contacted Aspen Dental about this and they said they would reimburse CaeCredit for the amount not used.Not only did they not cancel the rest of the amount OR reimburse CareCredit, but they had never filed the claim with my insurance company. In February my insurance carrier sent them $1000 to be reimbursed to CareCredit-it is now March and CareCredit tells me they have still not been reimbursed by Aspen Dental, my insurance carrier is probably out $1000.00. I will be contacting the Better Business Bureau and the Attorney General's office within the next few days. I was always under the impression that it was NOT legal to charge someone for services not rendered!

Went to Aspen Dental to get full upper and lower dentures. There estimate was just about $9000.00 for extractions and the mid-grade dentures! When asked for an itemized bill they told me they couldn't give me one! What? I have a partial on my top already so its not like they are extracting all my teeth and a few missing on the bottom too. Has anyone ever heard of dentures and extractions costing so much? And of not being able to get an itemized bill!? I would have to pay a little over $7000 out of my own money shouldn't I be able to see what I am paying for?

The following takes place after just one visit to Aspen Dental:

After using the same dentist for 15+ years, I had a change in insurance and was forced to find a different dentist. Despite all of the complaints I had read about Aspen Dental, I chose to go through a new patient visit and have x-rays taken. After waiting for 30 minutes past my scheduled appointment time I was finally called in for my x-rays. Following the x-rays I was directed back towards the area where the dental chairs were (which all had tv's attached to them...expensive?). I sat there and watched CSPAN for another 25-30 minutes before the dentist came over to talk with me. After glancing at my x-rays she told me that she already saw a few cavities. She finally came over to examine my mouth. She mumbled something about more cavities and gingivitis, never giving me a good explanation of what she saw. Now, I had waited 1 year after my last cleaning (and I had regularly gone for cleanings every 6 months for the past 15 years or so), so I thought maybe it was possible that I had a cavity or two. She told me I had 8! And she told me that there are two more that I need to keep an eye on because they could become cavities. I was shocked. I'm not going to say I brush after every meal or floss every day, but I take pretty good care of my teeth. I thought there was no way I had 8 cavities. But I gave them the benefit of the doubt. I sat down to talk to the "financial advisor" about the treatment I would need. Still shocked from learning I had 8 cavities I listened to the financial advisor tell me that a cleaning, some flouride treatment, and the filling of all 8 of my cavities would cost me $725 AFTER INSURANCE. What?! Since I was recently laid off, there was no way I could fork over that kind of money upfront, so he convinced me to apply for a CareCredit account where I could make payments over 18 months to pay for the treatment. I scheduled my next appointments (the cleaning and the fillings) and left fairly upset.

I didn't get very far before a little something called cognitive dissonance kicked in. I felt like I was being ripped off. After confiding in some friends they felt the same way. I went back to Aspen to speak with the financial advisor and go over the charges line by line. According to my calculations, 8 cavities should run me $400 after insurance. What was the other $325? In the line items, there was a toothbrush that they were going to 'give' me for $135 (not covered by insurance); A full mouth debridement for my 'periodontal disease' $50; some mouthwash for $24; irrigation (?) for $35; some toothpaste for $24; and the list goes on. Most of those items were not covered by insurance.

I ended up calling my old dentist (who I trust a great deal) and asking him if he could check out my mouth and see if I really do have 8 cavities and gingivitis. He agreed to a limited consultation. I went to him a few days later and told him where they thought the cavities were. After a close examination (of 15 minutes or so - which was longer than the lady at Aspen looked at my teeth for) he told me that I have 1 cavity. ONE. Maybe two. NOT EIGHT! I was pretty mad. I told him about how they said I had gingivitis and they suggested that I have a debridement done. His demeanor went from disbelief to anger. He knew they were ripping me off. He explained how someone would need a debridement if they had hunks of tartar and what he called "calculus" on their teeth and bleeding gums etc. I have none of that. In fact, he took pictures of my teeth to show how I didn't have any problems like that. Then he showed me pictures of someone who did need debridement...yuck. As I said, he was upset that a dental office would be doing that to patients and charging them so much for it. He told me not to worry about paying for my consultation. I thought that was very nice of him.

I cancelled my appointments at Aspen Dental. I found out a week later that when they opened that line of credit so that I could pay for the future services, they already charged me the $725. They didn't do anything to me yet! I called and had them reverse it, told them I wouldn't be coming back and explained why. I wasn't mean. If the lady on the phone was willing to listen I would tell her the truth. She told me to be aware that different dentists have different opinions. Then she explained to me that when she came to Aspen Dental for a check-up, they told her she had periodontal disease too with 3 and 4 mm pockets (just like me) and her old dentist missed it because he was old and didn't keep up on his continuing education. I don't know how she could give me advice on dental work since she is a financial advisor...plus she works there! I'm sure she's paid to say they are the best.

I'm just still really frustrated with Aspen. I highly advise you to stay away from this chain. It's not worth the headache. Good luck to you in your search for a good dentist. As for me, I'm working on changing my insurance so that I can go back to my original dentist.

Aspen Dental made my teeth worst than when I started. They mislead me on what I was to recieve. But what I cant believe is they refused to fix it! I have a law suit in the making and they dont care ! They said go ahead and sue us, you'll neyer win.

I was seen in the office for a first time patient visit. I scheduled the appointment online. NO WHERE does it say that you will not get a cleaning on the first visit. I have never heard of such a thing. Anyway, I was taken back for my visit (late of course) and a person did x-rays. Not once did she state her name or what she did there. It took her and her co-worker 25 minutes to do a full set of x-rays. My mouth was all cut up and they didn't ask if I was ok. They then escorted me to the exam room. I waited for 30 minutes. No one came by to let me know the dr. was running behind. No one checked on me to see if I needed anything or needed to reschedule. NOTHING. An elderly gentleman came into the exam room next to me and waited. The dr. came in and looked at my chart and then looked at him and said "who was here first". I said "me, but go ahead and see him". She finished with him, looked at my chart, saw I was a first time patient and said "let me look at your x-rays"...so she did that then came over to me and said "Open up" NOT ONCE did she say who she was. She finished her 30 second exam and told me I had a cavity and says "did you know that"...well duh, no I didn't know that...that's why I'm here. Then she tells me to go make an appointment with the office manager. I asked about the cleaning and was told the hygeinist wasn't in that day. I didn't make a follow up appointment but told the office manager that the online scheduling didn't say anything about not getting a cleaning on the first visit. She then says "Well it's your first visit, why would you expect a cleaning?" I DON'T KNOW, CALL ME CRAZY BUT THAT'S WHAT YOUR PRACTICE DOES!

So the next day I went back to claim my dental records because no way was I going to continue going to this establishment. I asked to speak with the office manager again. I told her I was bothered by the unprofessionalism in her office the day prior. She was very hostile and told me "well if you were concerned about who the dr may or may not have been you should have asked". Then she apparently got up and asked the dr. if this was true. She came back and proceeded to tell me that the dr remembered me...(HOW COULD SHE...SHE ONLY SAW ME FOR 30 SECONDS...THERE WAS NOTHING TO REMEMBER!) and said she absolutely introduced herself. i said "ok, fine. that's not what happened." the office manager then said..."well I'm not going to take your word for it...I have to go with what my dr. said" She also told me that it isn't necessary for her staff, other than the dr., to introduce themselves.

I'm a nurse and my boyfriend is a physician and if either of us EVER treated a patient in this manner we would be in a world of trouble.

Shame on Aspen Dental in Camillus, NY for having absolutely NO CLASS. Shame on Melanie the office manager for having no manners whatsoever...and shame on Dr. Vincent for not coming out and rectifying the situation with a patient (if she was even notified). I wouldn't recommed my dog to your office.

I wish I had gotten the prices upfront. These people spend your money like politicians and banks. My cleaning alone was $800, and the "free" toothbrush (which stopped functioning within 4 months), was $135. I spoke with a specialist for less than 5 minutes, and this cost me $95. A tube of toothpaste was $24. Add about 12 shots of arrestin (which what they should be doing to these crooks!), and the total cost comes to over 1, 900 dollars. I was in the chair for 2 hrs at the most. I have no dental insurance, and my teeth hurt worse now than before I started treatment.
Mere words cannot express my outrage and disgust.
I wish I had never gone to Aspen Dental, and wouldn't step foot in their office again, even on a bet.
Aspen Dental truly sucks!

I went to Aspen Dental in the summer of 2008 because I knew I needed expensive work done and they offered free X-Rays. I only get 1500 from my insurance so I figured this would save me some money. After going to my first appointment I was told that I needed a root canal re done and three wisdom teeth surgically removed. I asked the office manager for my out of pocket costs up front as I was on a tight budget. After calling every other day for weeks because 'the computers were down', I was finally told that my out of pocket costs were around 300. I verified this numerous times with her.

The day I arrived for my root canal the receptionist told ME that I had canceled my appointment. Obviously, this was not true. I work in healthcare and it is very hard to take time off. I had to find coverage 3 weeks in advance! I informed her that she was mistaken and I would not reschedule as I already waited 3 weeks! She then told me to sit down and wait for the endodontist who was not expected there for an hour. I sat down and met another man who told me he had the same conversation with the receptionist 30 min ago. So the Dr finally arrived and we are both taken into the back at the same time. I found this odd as root canals take awhile. I heard her say something to the other man in the next cubical about tooth removal and he left. She then came into see me and without looking at me (Just the x rays) told me as well that my tooth had to come out. At this point I figured she didn't want to come in that day hence my 'canceled' appointment. Also, what are the chances of two people canceling appointments, forgetting they canceled, showing up and having teeth that cant be fixed?

So, I made her do the root canal. A few min into it she informed me that my tooth broke into the gums and it had to be surgically removed. I am not a dentist so I cant really question her but, I feel as if the damage was done out of spite.

Since I was now in horrible pain I could not cancel my operation. I came in and had in done the following week and was sent home with my husband. As soon as my anestesia wore off I was in incredible pain. (I had to have teeth drilled out of my jaw) My husband looked at the RX I was given and realized it was for minor pain (he is a nurse)

He called Aspen dental (at 9am) to ask for a more appropriate rx and was told the DR wouldn't be approached until after his lunch! I was left in horrible pain until around 2pm!

Then my husband was banned from the office for being 'rude' to the office manager.

Now, to my billing fun. As you may remember I was told my out of pocket would be 300. After I had my operation I was sent a bill for 1600! After I already paid around 200! This is not including the 1000 my insurance company paid! I have had to do all of the talking between my insurance company and Aspen dental. I just got the last 500 of my 2008 benefits paid to Aspen dental since they just gave me the documents my insurance company has been requesting for 6 months!

Now, I have to pay over 1000 in consult fees and god knows what else they did to change my 300.00 out of picket to over 1200!

Stay far away from Aspen dental!

Aspen Dental is guilty of shoddy work, poor service and fraudulent billing. I know from experience. I think they build extended problems onto existing ones and create additional dental problems for patients.

My daughter is neither a middle-aged nor an elderly person. She visits the dentist regularly. She doesn't have the strongest teeth, however, almost every single filling that had been done has had to be replaced or fell out within weeks or a few months of being placed.

I have grave concerns over what they have done to my teenage daughter.

In addition, their billing practices are fraudulent and their extortive behaviour of using fear installation in patients to make them think they are ALL in dire dental health is not only questionable "ethics wise" but questionable on their expertise? And legally.

I have proof from their own hand that they don't mind at all trying to rebill for "old charges" that are paid in full and clear.

I have printouts from Aspen Dental in which they entered discount rates I was entitled to through careington 505, insurance payments from my one insurance at the time and personal payments that showed specific dates of service and procedures done including the codes for them.

Then, a year later, they took specific charges and rebilled them to a second INSURANCE I acquired. Never mind, they had been paid what they were allowed under their contract with Careington and BC/BS.

Not only is this illegal, it is fraudulent.

In other cases, they only filed on my secondary insurance initially. Put the remaining amounts on "my responsibility payment" part. Later collecting payment from my primary insurance, NOT CREDITING THESE PAYMENTS TO MY ACCOUNT and then posting as my having a balance due not crediting BC/BS payments to my account.

In other words, they probably owe me a little bit as I most likely overpaid them for services rendered in the end. It was not until the tailend of having had enough "shoddy and possibly malpractice work" done for my daughter that I realized what was going on.

I also am under the impression they charged for a couple of fillings they never did.

It amazes me the people who do the insurance billing work have the nerve to think No One Would catch this. And on top of it, knowing a majority of their dentists are not properly certified, let alone registered with a lot of the insurances.

Then, they go back and look at where they take big hits on discounts and I think they look for patients whose insurances have changed and try to bilk the insurance companies and if that doesn't work, take the denial of benefits letters and try to make the patients think these are charges that are simply not covered on the patients insurance, but that the patient is still responsible for, knowing that this is illegal.

What disgusts me is all the advertising they do on how non-judgmental they are and how they care. That alone is false advertisement. Their prices if you have no insurance are ludicrous and more than double what insurance companies allow, so those without insurance get screwed and are lured/forced into acquiring medium to high interest rate financial programs if they are to get treated for their dental problems.

Usually, Aspen Dental requires you to pay at least half up front and if you get approved by unicorn or care, then they place all the fees on the "financing" on these accounts upfront meaning they collect the entire payment before work is done! This also is questionable at least ethically.

Once, they collect the entire costs upfront, they don't care if the work done is satisfactory or appropriate. And, try getting refunded if you're not satisfied or the work is shoddy.

They can argue a lot, but to try billing insurances that were not in effect at time of services rendered and those services already having been paid in full is fraud. Fraud. There is no way they are unaware of what they did.

I have the printout from their own computer showing paid in full DOS and then they sent in claims a year and a half later to an insurance that was not in effect at the time.

She has had 5 fillings replaced either by them or a new dentist that were in her mouth anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to less than 2 years.

You tell me...am I wrong to be pissed?

Going to file complaints with the ADA and Attorney Generals in Connecticut, Massachusetts. Offices in both these states in 3 locations are a part of this.

However, I will never step in the doorway of Aspen Dental again. Unless I am with a lawyer.