Yvonne R. Dorrian

I used this office for cleanings, check-ups, fillings etc for several years. When Aetna began accepting direct billing for dental care, the office staff would not file the claim for a routine cleaning because it was the 2022 MLK holiday ("the insurance office won't be open today" -- ??). I paid the bill and was told that they would file the claim later and I would be refunded or credited with the benefit. That never happened. 

My next appointment 4 months later was rescheduled without consulting me about the date change -- I only found out when I got the reminder call and told them no, it was not time for my appointment. The staff person argued with me saying I was mistaken, that the dentist would not be in on the day that I said was correct, even though I was looking at the appointment card as she spoke, and also had the appointment email. Evidently the dentist's schedule changed -- it happens -- but the staff did not feel the need to contact patients to arrange new times, they simply changed my appointment. 

Then on the appointment date, filing my insurance was again a problem, and I was charged for the visit at their full rate, not the Aetna-negotiated rate. When I filed this claim directly with Aetna myself, an Aetna rep contacted me to tell me I had overpaid, that the dental office should have filed it and they owed me a refund. I contacted Dr Dorrian's office about this occurrence but never received a refund. So I decided to change to a different dentist in Aetna's provider network. 

Meanwhile, in summer of 2021 Dr Dorrian had told me that a crown needed to be replaced. The first visit for "prep" was 6-28-21, then the permanent crown placed 7-21-21. In late summer of 2022 at the first visit to the new dentist, x-rays revealed that this crown had failed -- a cavity had developed beneath, it was "leaking" and needed to be replaced, even though it was only 14-15 months old. The dentist advised me to contact the previous dentist, explain the situation and request a refund. He provided x-rays of the faulty crown which I sent to Dr Dorrian along with a letter of explanation. I did not get a reply. I made repeated telephone calls and personal visits to the office about this, but the "right person" (aka the office manager) was never available, until I happened to catch her in the office in December 2022. She said their office did not handle refunds, that it had to be done by the Coast corporate office, but she would file a request for refund for me. [Why could she not have called me when I first sent the letter and told me, so I could get the refund request to the proper place sooner?] She gave me a copy along with the corporate office phone number. I called this office many MANY times, leaving voice messages since the line was never answered. To date, I have not had ANY response on the matter. 

Even if the office staff and corporate office believed that the above-described omissions in insurance filings and refusing to pay refunds for over-charges and the faulty crown were justified, the appropriate responses would have been to RESPOND! Besides the total lack of professional behavior, there was also the additional discomfort, time and expense related to replacing the crown. 

One last note -- the dental hygienist at Dr Dorrian/Coast Dental's office had informed me that I had some gum disease which required more-frequent cleaning visits (every 4 months instead of every 6 months) and "special" treatments. This of course cost more for each visit, but I went along with it -- I am not a dental professional! But on the first visit to the new dentist when I mentioned this, both the hygienist and the doctor were surprised. Checking thoroughly, they told me they could see no evidence of gum disease -- even though it had been well over my usual 4-month schedule of special "treatments."