Rolling Hills Family Dentistry - Dr. Rani Shina, DDS review: Poor customer service/rude dentist 4

This complaint was originally posted on Dr. Oogle and subsequently removed due to an oversight on my part. I listed a little-used email to register the complaint, went out of state for over a month and did not have internet access. The dentist requested Dr. Oogle to remove the complaint and because I did not respond to a rebuttal email (during my absence) the complaint was removed.
I feel these complaint boards are the best way for patients to find out about businesses prior to using their services. Complaint boards and search engines are (at times) one of the best methods to at the very least discover patterns of behavior and/or service BEFORE a client/patient goes to the same place of business. The businesses and professionals in question have a right to rebuttal, but personal experience still holds true when repeated patterns are noticed. If there is a solitary complaint on a board, it may be the patient is/was just an unreasonable jerk OR the Dr./Svc./business professional was having a bad day. One may take complaints for what they are at face value and realize these are only opinions, to which we are all entitled.
So - due to my firm belief in my opinion being voiced in an effort to improve services, I will post it here in hopes people doing searches will find this and compare to other sites as well.
The letter received from Dr. Shina is what I will address at this point with clarification where necessary. Again, this is my opinion and personal experience at Dr. Shina's office. If you have been there and discovered a different atmosphere than myself, I encourage you to post your opinion here as well as to other sites. If your experience was nothing but positive and you like the office and Dr. Shina, then by all means, your opinion needs to be heard as well ... take my opinion or leave it. My feelings will not be hurt.
My original post was on Dr. Oogle on June 5, 2010. I went with my three children to Dr. Shina's office in Poway. My daughters got their teeth cleaned and absolutely LOVED the hygienists. The staff all were very polite, friendly, smiled a lot and always seemed to be truly helpful. I had my teeth cleaned as well and had a wonderful experience with the staff, too. BUT:
Dr. Shina noticed my teeth are worn down (from grinding) and asked me about wearing a night guard to prevent further damage. I told him that I already had one but it was uncomfortable. Dr. Shina showed me a night guard that was about 3/4 the size of the one I currently use - exactly like the one prescribed to my mother by her dentist. When I said "Is that the size of it? That is the one I have been looking for!" - I had him take the impressions immediately and made a down-payment.
Several weeks later I went in to pick up the night guard and my heart sank. It was TWICE the size of the one I was currently wearing, a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT MODEL, and I could not even talk with it in my mouth. It was large and uncomfortable to say the least. The fit was wobbly and when I asked to see the model they originally showed to me, Dr. Shina asked me to put the apparatus in my mouth anyway to "take a look."
I have been wearing night guards for YEARS. When I said that wasn't the night guard I ordered, Dr. Shina had the audacity to speak to me as if I were either a child or just plain ignorant. He claimed the one that was shown to me was " ... for perfect teeth, " and that my teeth were not perfect, that is why it was "the same" which was ordered - just for teeth that weren't perfect. It was most decidedly NOT the same guard I put a down-payment on.
My mother does not have perfect teeth. She still uses the kind Dr. Shina showed to me. I didn't have perfect teeth 10 years ago, which was the last time I had a guard like the one Dr. Shina had showed to me. I was a dental assistant for 4 years, I have worked in a dental lab - yes, it was an error.
No, I do not think Dr. Shina "purposely" sold me one thing and "purposely" order a different apparatus. I agree with Dr. Shina that there would be "no purpose" for him to do so - HOWEVER; for him to get upset with me when I told him I did not want the one that he was trying to convince me to take home is incredibly unprofessional and rude to say the least. When he had the two mouth guards sitting on a tray in front of him and the one I specifically did NOT order was literally TWICE the size of the one I did order and look me straight in the eyes and ask me "What's the difference? I don't see the difference. You don't want it? Fine. I don't know what to tell you. Good luck." is absolutely the wrong thing to do. Again, this is my opinion. In my own, personal experience with Dr. Shina, he was rude, unprofessional and did not listen to my needs and requests as a patient.
Further in the letter Dr. Shina refers to a dropped appointment of my husbands. When we showed up for his appointment (scheduled two weeks in advance), he was not on the schedule. We were told "I'm sorry but you don't have an appointment today." My husband produced the appointment card given to him by Dr. Shina's staff. Oops. The card disappeared faster than we could blink and they said they would work him in to the schedule between patients.
45 minutes later, they called him back to a room ... a half an hour after that Dr. Shina FINALLY came into the room. It seems as if SOMEONE would have apologized for the oversight at some point. Not so. Instead, Dr. Shina looked my husband in the eye and said, "It's much faster if you have an appointment." (no, this is not hear-say ... my husband is telling me this/I type faster) Unbelievable. I agree it was a clerical "error" and mistakes happen, but AGAIN - don't treat the patient as if it is their fault. Highly unprofessional to do so.
In Dr. Shina's letter, he states "I don't understand why you went to that extent to try and harm me." - I am not trying to harm anyone. I am merely sharing my experience with ANYONE who cares to know. Opinions are how businesses are made. Opinions can be helpful when used as constructive criticism. Dr. Shina - you need to work on paying attention to what your patients are asking of you if there is even one more complaint similar to this one (and there is). I am not trying to hurt you - I am trying to help consumers be better informed when searching for professional services - in this case, dentistry.
It is a shame you view this as "character assassination, " instead of listening to what is being said. If, at a future date my experience at your office would have improved, I would have been more than happy to change a review to that of glowing accolades. You are right - to continue a doctor-patient relationship, there needs to be mutual trust. Since we do not have that, there isn't any future of the sort. You lost my trust when you spoke down to me and didn't accept the obvious responsibility that either a mistake was made during ordering or at the lab. The dental hardware models you show people should look exactly like what is actually provided, or what would be the point of the models in the first place? The model you showed to me does NOT need to be on "perfect" teeth, Doctor. That is why impressions are made. Teeth are not perfect, but the models provided by a reputable lab and correct order process are EXTREMELY close to the actual product that comes out of that lab.
A mistake was made. I don't know if it originated at/in your office or at/in the lab. It doesn't matter - you should have taken a look at the final product and admitted the discrepancy, not treat me like I am an uneducated idiot. I liked your office and your staff. I planned on staying for the long-haul. Instead, you have lost 5 dental patients, two root canals and three sets of braces - and those are only the needs of this year. Multiply that by a decade or two ... that is what you lost.
You may send another certified letter like the one attached, but this time I won't make the mistake of not checking my email daily. I will post this to every complaint site I can find. It is my opinion. This is a country of free speech. It was my personal experience that you were rude to both my husband and myself, inconsiderate to our needs, inattentive to detail and petulant when I didn't agree with you. Good day.

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