The complaint has been investigated and
resolved to the customer's satisfactionResolved Great Expressions Dental — poor service
resolved to the customer's satisfaction
My family had been patients of Phillip Apple who apparently merged his practice into Great Expressions.
My youngest had a crown put on his baby tooth approximately 8 to 10 years ago. It fell off within a couple of days. They fixed it at no charge, but it should have been fair warning.
My oldest son had a tooth with a cavity several years ago. They filled the tooth. It was done improperly and he got an infection. He had to have a root canal and a crown. The tooth got reinfected in 2009. We went to another dental practice to get another root canal and the crown replaced, plus lots of antibiotics. (I heard a similar story from a co-worker in 2008 where her 21 year old daughter had a "cavity" in her front tooth, they did a filling which cause an infection leading to a root canal and crown on her front tooth. The girl was mortified. Her mother felt that everytime they went in for cleanings, they were also being told they needed extra work done).
Every time I went in for a cleaning, GE found something wrong (including filling on a tooth where most of it was bonding, I had chipped 2/3 of the tooth off at the age of 8. I thought this very strange). In 2008, Dr. Wang decided I needed a crown on my top right mid molar. I told him I did not want it, but he insisted. So I scheduled it with Dr. Apple thinking he would avoid doing needless work. I got the tooth filed down and the temporary. When I went in to have the permanent applied, it did not fit. The temp helping out tried it five times with it not fitting (and starting to hurt). Then Apple came in the room, and shoved the crown extremely hard up on my tooth. It was so painful I started crying. No apology. Just filing my stump down and sending for a crown to replace the one he couldn't fit. When the permanent crown was put on, it was extremely painful and I expressed this. Apple said casually that I should just have a root canal. I had pain in my tooth especially with drinking cold water. So I went to another dentist to have the crown replaced, and had to have a root canal done.
My husband who has had perfect teeth was told on the last cleaning that he had a cavity. He told them he would think about having it filled (after my encounter above and the fact that Wang was drilling holes in bonding, and our suspicions of their business practices). He did asked for a cap on a tooth with ridges that he did not like the feel of. The cap fell off before he got in his car. He call their office, they said no big deal. He was so angry he vowed not to go back there.
Now, after going to another dentist to get my son's and my teeth fixed from the shoddy workmanship done by Apple Dental (GE), I have gotten a bill for $180 (at the time of all services, I was given statements with no balances due and even credits). I have also been contacted by a collection agency which calls me at 8:30 on Sunday mornings and 9:00 at night. So I call the GE office to ask for an itemized copy of my bill. They would not provide it. Nor would they let me have copies of my medical records which I need to file a complaint with the state dental department.
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a verified customer
I went to Great Expression for a general cleaning, it turned into a deep scaling, that resulted in a root canal, that went wrong, that has now resulted in an extraction that they claim they are not qualified to do. I thought the first thing you are taught in dental school is to pull the tooth. They presented the bill to me while I was in the chair mouth wide open. STAY AWAY FROM GREAT EXPRESSION, GET BETTER SERVICE FROM A GAS STATION
I went to great expressions in cape coral florida on del prado s. I called them due to in nov i went in for a routine cleaning and they said i need a scaling on my back top 2 teeth and that they were infected. I was not in pain until i left there. I have had an infection since the messed with my mouth. My md has me on antibiotics since nov. I called yesterday and they said come in at 2pm. I told them to keep my 2 pm appt unless i cancel it. I went in at 2pm and the lady at front counter said she is the one who talked to me on the phone and she decided she did not want to schedule the appointment and they will not see me. A girl in the waiting room told me her temporary filling fell out in 2 days. This company does ### work, they are rude and rip people off.
RUN RUN RUN! I wish I had read these reviews before I walked thru the door. I have never felt more ripped off in my life. I have become increasingly frustrated with the Great Expressions Dental Center, Fayetteville, GA office. Prior to scheduling an appointment for my son, I called and made the receptionist aware we had found Great Expressions Dental Center on the Met Life site. (The in network dental offices agree to insurance company rate.) The receptionist confirmed the office was in network for Met Life and I made the appointment. The location was and still is in network for Met Life so this foolishness should not be happening.
The office billed the insurance and the insurance paid indicating I had to only pay $40.60. I had paid $261.00 the day of service and believed at the time that it was ridiculously high considering I had just had my father’s teeth extracted and he had no insurance and it was far, far less. Repeated calls to the office to get a refund then a visit to the office resulted in conflicting statements from the employees. The icing on the cake was a call from Great Expressions Dental Center by the rudest person who tried to bully me. Then she said that I owed $147.00 more. I am even being charged for x-rays but I brought the x-rays in with me.
This has been going on for three months. Every invoice I have gotten from Great Expressions is different. It appears no matter if you have insurance or not they charge the cash price. Find another dentist unless you want to be stolen from.
These guys are scam artists and motivated solely by profit. I went for routine check up after moving to the area and they were the closest office that accepts my wifes company' dental plan so I figured give em a try. I am a busy healthcare professional but every time I get any health related service I don't tell people that I am a healthcare professional to see if they treat me differently than someone who if not knowledgeable or ignorant. The dental team here from the dentist to hygienist are solely motivated by profit and have no regard to patient care or needs. They recommended I get 5 fillings and an expensive upgrade cleaning which I didn't need since I am very aware of the state of my dental health as I have seen my regular dentist in another city for years. When I graciously refused they got angry and refused to even perform the basic cleaning that is covered by my wife's insurance plan. They insisted upon the expensive uncovered upgrade cleaning package and offered payment plans and after I refused they stated they would not be able to help me. This place is a business driven unethical practice with people who probably are paid by the amount of work they can generate. I went to a second dentists and got a second opinion not only did I not need the expensive cleaning package, I ended up only needing a small filling on one tooth, total cost $360 instead of what these guys at great expressions recommended which amounted to $4280. I can't believe this kind of unethical medical practice exists and flourishes today. Their office was packed at the time of my visit and i even had to wait 2 weeks for my original appointment. If my office operated the same way I would be shut down by the state medical board. We need to spread the word and prevent these types of vultures/bad businesses from profiting from the ignorant general public who are not knowledgeable enough about medicine and dentistry.
I scheduled a teeth cleaning months in advance and my first time to use this facility in my local community of Douglasville, GA. They kept me waiting 2 hours before calling me back when I arrived 30 min prior to my appt time. I had expressed on 3 seperate times to the staff to not perform any services for me beyond my copay and what my insurance allows and covers. They said my wait was due to them verifying my insurance. Once I was finally in the chair, they then wanted to come back and charge me for req'd x-rays which I declined and said they could get a copy of my prior year xrays from my prev dentist who was no longer under my insurance plan. They said they had to have xrays then before they could clean my teeth. I refused to pay for them and was going to exit and leave. They then came back and said they would perform the xrays at no cost and not to worry. I again said DO NOT perform any services on me beyond my copay and what ins pays for and I do not want anything but my teeth cleaned. After over another hour of sitting in the chair and her floating between me and 2 other patients I had - had enough of waiting to only be given half of my teeth cleaned. I had been more than patient with this office staff. I got up out the chair paid my copay and left the facility without ever seeing the actual dentist and vowing I would never return to this place again. Here I am months later fighting bills that started arriving within 30 days of my Dec 2013 appt. First bill was over $800 which included billing me for the xrays that I declined and said I was not paying for while sitting in the chair. The local office mgr says there is nothing he can do about it and to contact corporate. He would only speak with me once. The second time he would not even speak about a solution and hung up on me. Corporate has never get back to me in 3 months of trying to contact them. I have since filed complaints with the insurance provider, BBB, State/Local Board of Dentistry, and the State Licensing Board and tried to file a complaint (which they will not accept) with the Amer Dental Assoc. Here I am into month four and just received another bill from Great Expressions. I never authorized or gave them permission to perform ANY service on me beyond my copay. Good luck to you if you go to this facility. I hope no one ends up fighting bills for services that I knew I could never afford to pay. I wish I had never given this place a try for a simple yearly teeth cleaning.
a verified customer
Terrible. Went there two years ago and I felt as though I was being thrown to use car salesman's. They kept bothering me to buy this and that, and told me there was this and that wrong with my teeth, and I needed to get crowns. Which I came to find out, they were just fine. It made me feel uncomfortable that they were judging me being cheap for not wanting to take care of my mouth. When it came down to cleaning my teeth, the lady stated that she was too busy, had to do this child's teeth first, and to make an appointment for another time, as I was not schedule for a cleaning apt. Um...whenever you have a yearly exam, does that not count cleaning? I refused, as I had to go out of town, and my time was just as valuable, if not more, than some grade school kid.
Tried it again, called to make an apt a year later and the receptionist stated that I was not listed in the computer. I hung up, and called again a few days later, and they found my name in there. Went to apt when it was suppose to be, got to the front desk, and they stated it was not until the following week!!!
Unprofessional!!! RUN!!!
This dentist is ###. I have PPO insurance that covers 100% of preventative care. They tried to charge me $120 for a cleaning when another dentist told me a cleaning was $90 without insurance which I would not let them get away with. They also charged me $25 or my 100% covered x-rays. They try to trick you by saying a bunch of big words.
I have a crown done about 3 moths ago and it felt off in two peace, also i have a root canal and another crown i have to came back many time to fix something about it, i think they are very expense and horrible dentist. I never recommended great expressions to anybody they have not clue what they're doing... Bad, Bad, Bad!!! They charged ridiculous $$$ very expense.
a verified customer
I have been a patient of Dr Apple at the 1st street south office since 1983. He sold the business to Great Expressions.
My employer changed insurance compainies in 2011. I made a copy of my new card and mailed it to Great Expressions right away.
In February 2012 I went in for my six month cleaning. Was told I needed a Crown. I asked if they had cleared it with my insurance
company, and was told not to worry everything was ok. Went in the next week and had the Crown installed. You guessed it! The
insurance company turned it down because I had not been with them six months. Great Expressions admitted it was their fault.
I have tried to reason with them. Agreed to pay for half of the $964.00 invoice. Have sent them registered mail. They will not answer
it. All I get is a past due statement every month.
Wow...I cant believe how many complaints I have seen...I had incredible pain on my right side tooth area...called and made an apt ...I went into great expressions for a 5pm apt...a half hour went by still not in to see anyone...so I asked the receptionist how long she said that i was next...well she lied...i was not next and someone else got called back...then 1 hour went by and I asked for the mgr...the girl didn't get me the mgr..but said it would be 5 more minutes...well you guessed right ...1 hour and 5 minutes went by...I still wasn't in...so i walked out...called the mgr...she was so not helpful in customer service at all...I wonder how she got the job...and I asked for the dentist to call me...she said the dentist does not talk to customers...wow...that is such horrible customer service...its a wonder that they are even open...RIDICULOUS!!
OMG, I can not believe I never checked this office out before reading all these comments!! I just FIRED Dr. Henwood after returning to her office 3 more times from my initial exam to get a cavity filled. I kept coming back for deep cleanings, costing me hundreds of dollars out of pocket-after insurance. Yesterday, I even walked in asking if my cavity was to be filled. The assistant told me that I was there for a cleaning only but she would check and see if I could be "fit in". A few minutes later she tells me no problem, the dentist can do it. I then get seen by the hygienist who then picks at my teeth, trying to talk me into costly services, after I told her I don't need them she checked with the doctor who comes back with her, says hi, looks at my molar and leaves. The hygienist's then tells me the doctor has no time for my filling. My blood starts to boil at this point, since my last visit had to be rescheduled from 4 months ago because they miss scheduled me then. I walked out and told the receptionist to cancel my daughter, husband, and any of my existing appts because Dr. Henwood has 3 fewer patients. The manager got involved saying she wants to make things right and talks with Dr. Henwood who then says its ok, but I will have to wait until then have time to get me in. I told them to stick it and reminded them again that she has 3 less patients and to remember that I am worth just as much as those in the waiting room. I have never, ever been treated in such a way! I hope people read these comments, and am forwarding them to the office. Dr. Henwood, you should be ashamed how you treat people-what goes around comes around. Enjoy your pay check now, because it won't last!!!
I have had a horrible experience with the GE in Palm Harbor, after going in for an ER visit, I was told I would need a root canal and crown, which was fine b/c this is what I assumed I would need. But when I got the bill WHOA!! Even with insurance that was expensive! I applied for CareCredit, got approved and scheduled the procedure. It went well. The pain was gone. Then I was told to come back for an initial visit, exam, xrays, etc and they will "seed" my crown. I spoke to the office mgr and all was set up. When I went in for the 2 appts, they did the first one and then I said you guys are going to seed my crown as well and she said no we are not, that isnt scheduled. Well it was bc I had confirmed it with her. I had to make another appt and left annoyed.I should have followed my guy intuition and never went back, but at that first appt they said I had 14 cavitites!!! I have only had one other cavity in my life 2 years ago, so I thought this was absurd. I went in to get a few cavities filled and all went well. my teeth were sensitive but that went away after a few days. Now this last time I went in is when the problems really started!!! I got 3-4 cavities filled with white composite filling on the right side of my mouth. After the dentist put the caivities in he only gave me a moment to see how my bite felt and I felt under pressure and numb so I said fine and left. Within a few days I was in ALOT of pain, I called them stating what was going on and went back in. They said my cavities were too high and that they would adjust them, and that I was probably grinding my teeth at night and they recommend I get an aclusal guard (more $$$$) to wear at night! well he drilled me teeth out more and then my bite was WORSE!!! my teeth no longer touched on that side! But, I though ok maybe this is how its suppose to be. I went home and the pain just got worse and then it went away and then in came back WORSE!! By this time Im frustrated and so is my boyfriend!! I go back yet again and tell him my bite is off and to please fix it, he adds more composite to the teeth now. I have no idea what is going on here but it doesnt make any sense!!! now my bite is still off But alot better, my teeth touch and I am happy. I go home and the pain gets better, and I had a follow up appt scheduled with the dentist. In the midst of all of this I call my old dentist who is not in my Insurances Network for a 2nd opinion. The pain pretty much goes away by my follow up appt and the dentist does nothing. Oh, and to add he drilled my teeth down way too much on the inside of my mouth part of the teeth. I feel like my teeth are ruined forever and wonder if my bite will ever be fixed!! Monday morning i went to my old dentist and he says I only have 4 more cavities to be filled not 8 like the other dentist said and he also says the filling I just had done less than 2 weeks ago needs to be re done bc it didnt bond properly. I decide to schedule appts with my old dentist to fill the cavities and pay out of pocket bc I trust him. To complicate matters I am going out of the country for 6 months in about 3 weeks, so the dental work needs to get done quickly. I am stressed to the max, when what do ya know, low and behold tonight my teeth start to throb! And I mean throb. Oh, dentist at GE kept saying my alignment on my teeth was out of whack and that the ligaments were being stressed, well idk what he did to try to fix it but tonight I have experienced what i consider to be the most extruciating pain Ive ever been in. its almost 2 am and I cant even sleep. Even when I swallow it hurts my teeth. This is unbearable. i feel like Ive been royally screwed by someone who could care less and just wants more $$$ in their pockets. GE is the worst Dental place Ive ever been to and I would highly recommend never step foot in their office they will rape you financially, eff up your mouth, and offer for you to pay more $$$ when your in pain bc of their mistakes. they suck. I hate them and I cant wait to file a complaint with the board.
This does not surprise me, I currently work at a great expressions in the north east it it is the worst job i have ever had. The lay off the doc under false pretenses and now are coming at me with ful force.There has been so much turn over were I am that people dont want to come any more. The manager if thats what you want to call her is rude to pts and slams windows in faces and talks crap about everyone even the staff. I tried to call the "manager" 3 time and got hung up on sent to voice mail and then never a call back. The corp world does not think this is a problem and if we the employees dont like it we can leave. And If the pts dont like it or how its run they dont need them. Myself and on e of the hygenist are the only ones being targeted and the comments that are made and te yelling is not needed. I am so sorry to those of you that had to go through this. All i can say is stand your ground and fight them tooth and nai for what ever you need. I am so embarresed along with the hygenist to even say we work there, Now if thats not bad i dont know what is. They do shady stuff so please everyone watch out.
My husband and I decided change dentists last year. Last month we had [email protected] GE at the offices on Carrillon Pkwy in St.Petersburg. Kim Henwood was assigned to check our teeth. First they took an abundant of xrays which we found very odd. After a long wait, I went first. Henwood was very cavalier and rude to me with regards to the work I needed. As if she was discussed with me!! I felt terrible. Also, she did the cancer screening without my permission. ( I learned later it should have been my desicion to say yay or nay) She told me that I needed to see a periodontist for possible bone graphs. And, she walked out without another word. I was scared silly. We have excellent dental insurance with Aetna but still we had to each pay $59.00 for the cancer screening which we didn't want to begin with. Also, I left without the xrays I needed to bring to the periodontist. I had to call the office to find out why they weren't with the script. As it turned out I had a great periodontist at the Pasadena office. He informed me that I didn't need bone graphs but the scaling and root cleaning. The woman that did the procedures was terrific. I felt very comfortable there. My husband had the same thing done (scaling and root cleaning) at the Carrillon office. So what's up with that? In my opinion the service at the Carrillon office was well below par.
I just spent a whole lot of money at Great Ex. So after getting a tooth removed and going through a whole lot of pain, i thought that me getting a refill on my pain meds should not be a problem. Boy was I wrong. As soon as i called and the receptionist found out i was not going to spend more money there but just ask questions about my pain i was given nothing but attitude. After getting no where with the receptionist i asked to speak to a doctor. I was then told by their manager who aldo had a "i'm to busy for you" attitude that there is no one there Thursday 10AM that there is no one there to help me, no doctor to talk to me, and that i would not receive a refill on my pain meds anyway. All this after the Doc who ripped my tooth out bragged how there was always someone there to help me. Yah right. So now im in major pain and the only explanation was a bunch of hurried excuses from them. Lousy attitude. And like the other complaints here, they always want to do some expensive procedure on my teeth. GREAT EXPRESSIONS SUCKS. WHY AM I IN PAIN. JUST STUPID. Livonia Michigan - BEWARE!!!
I have to agree w/ you that they are a lying company however, you must know that the "dye" test that you are speaking of is called a plaque index...its taught in every dental school in America!!! You need to get informed before you start posting on the internet...THERE IS NO CHARGE FOR A PLAQUE INDEX AND PERIODONTAL PROBING it is apart of the visit. They dont need to ask your permission to do it because there is no charge for it and no 2 because IT SHOULD BE done. It is all apart of collecting an accurate dental record on EVERY pt. People act like they are surprised and even offended sometimes because God forbid the dental office ask me questions about my medical history or do a complete exam!!! Would you go to the podiatrist and expect him to check every toe EXCEPT the first two? No than do expect the to go to a dentist and not get you gums measured (probing). Its like going to your PCP and not getting weighed or have your height taken. You may know how much you weigh and you may even tell your Dr the right number but they STILL make you step on a scale because they have to have THEIR OWN RECORDS NOT YOURS! What you don't understand is that medicine and dentistry is all about "covering your [censor]" What if you got oral cancer in a few yrs and decided to file suit because no ever screened you for oral cancer at the dentist? As long as they document that they asked you and informed you of it and you refused...guess what???...that FALLS BACK ON YOU!!! I don't agree with that 49 dollar test cause I personally know its BS but lets be realistic on some here
This dentist off ice is the worst! I went in b/c I was having trouble with my tooth. I had a lot of pain and they were able to see me the very next day. When I went in they told me I needed to have a root canal. That was probably true. It took them 4 hours in the office for them to come to that conclusion. They did x-rays on my mouth. They also did 2 extra "tests" that I did not give them permission to. One was to see how weak my gums were and the other was to tell how much plaque I had on my gums by using some kind of dye in my mouth. These were unnecessary and they never asked me if I wanted it done. They were quick to bill my insurance for it though. They also told me that I had to have another test done on my mouth to see if I had some kind of disease or cancer or something like that... They told me it was mandatory and it will cost extra. They specifically told me that I HAVE to have it done. I advised them that I could not do it that day b/c the formula they put in my mouth would make me sick since I had been up there for several hours with no breakfast. She said okay, that's fine, we'll just put it on the schedule when you come for your next visit to get your root canal. They set me an appointment to get a root canal and I eventually had to cancel. When I went for my first visit I applied for the care credit card to pay for my bill right then since I didn't have the money at that time. When I got my bill from care credit the charges were almost 900.00. I freaked! Come to find out they had charged me for that visit and my next visit as well. I disputed the charge, which came across as a negative on my credit report, which I keep up with weekly. I was furious. Then after 7 months of a dispute the charges were cleared to 0.00 on my credit card. I had owed 112.00 after my insurance for my visit. I thought they were being considerate and wiping clean the balance for the mistreatment I had experience. Not at all! a month after the charge was cleared I received a bill in the mail for the first visit. Thankfully it was the right amount and not hundreds over. All I have to say is I hope they are okay with small monthly payments. I didn't have the full amount then and I don't have it now. I do, however, have a permanent scar from my experience with Great Expressions. DON'T USE THEM. They are an inexperienced, unprofessional, stealing, overcharging, lying company. BEWARE!!!
a verified customer
Me and my dad also had a lot of problems with Great Expressions. I will never go there again. Last time I went for an appointment, I had scheduled a routine cleaning. I went in, and told the dentist that I was in for a cleaning, in which he disagreed and told me I was there for a filling. I insisted that was not the case, but he told me if they didn't fill the tooth, then I would get another abscess( I had a really bad abscess a couple years ago that got so bad, not even Percocet could help) so I got scared and gave in. So, they gave me three shots of Novocaine, then he left the room. I sat there, and waited about 15 to 20 minutes for him to come back in, only to tell me I was the right whole time. Then, he has the nerve to tell me I'll have to reschedule because he wouldn't have time to do the filling anyways! I was so mad. My dad had gone to them about 6 months before I did, and he went to get teeth pulled. When they were pulling the teeth they couldn't get some out, but then they broke one of them, and told him that he would have to go to a different dentist to get it fixed, and he ended up having an abscess. They really are bad there, and I wanted to sue them for what they did to me, but I don't know if I'd just be wasting my time?