Navarro Cecila - Smile Care Dental

Beware SmileCare Office on 1242 E. Main St. El Cajon Ca and Office Manager ( Carla )

I have never had worst treatment in any health care situation then I had this last week when I decided to go to SmileCare in my area ( see Title ). I never received consultation like I was told before or after my x rays were taken which cost $80. Since they were busy I felt I was pushed out of the door while telling me they would call the next day. After 4-5 days of not hearing back from them I finally decided to walk in to find out why they didn't call and get consultation. They then told me that it would cost $65 more for a consultation from a specialist while no one has still explained what SmileCare plan options there were or which ones would benefit me. I felt like this was a cattle call!! I made a decision due to the service I had received up to that point to ask for my x rays and go elsewhere. At that point two employees one the office manager ( Carla ) lied and said they didn't have my x rays and I would have to pay $45 in advance and wait for two weeks because the x rays were at their corporate office. Since then I have found the office workers had lied. My X Rays were their the whole time and it would cost $15 plus I wouldn't have to wait two weeks. Why would they put any patient through this while I was dealing with so much pain for reasons I went to SmileCare in the first place. When I went into their office a second time to pick up my x rays and I was thrown out of the office by the office manager ( Carla ) in most degrading and humiliating manner that I have ever experienced before. I have since then contacted the corporate office hoping that my situation is resolved and that this will never happen again to another patient in my situation. By the way after reading all the other reviews I feel very fortunate I made the decision to walk away from SmileCare when I did and how bad I feel for the unfortunate ones who's cost and pain and suffering SmileCare has been responsible for.

Posted 11/19/09 | Report Abuse

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I was at the Smilecare office in Anaheim for a periodontal consultation. The periodontist came in and didn't even look at my gums or measure them. He told me that I needed 4 quadrants of osseous surgery with bone grafting and resorbable membrane. The cost came to nearly $8000. I wasn't really sure if I trusted the guy so I went for second and a third opinion. Both of the other periodontists told me that I needed limited areas of osseus surgery which came out to approximately $ 1200-$ 1500. Do not get treatment from this guy or make sure you get another opinion before you start work with him. These guys try to scam you.

Posted 03/06/09 | Report Abuse

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I have great dental insurance, My self and my wife went to Smile Care on Mira Mesa 2-25-09. This place should be shut down. First no degrees of the Dentists in view. Did my ex rays went over my teeth and said I needed a deep cleaning that wasn't covered by my insurance. Then I needed some antibiotics for 2000 dollars that weren't covered on my insurance. I promptly got up and told the billing girl to forget everything and walked out. These people a scamming the public with scare tactics and should be reported to the authorities, and that is what I am going to do.

Posted 02/25/09 | Report Abuse

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When I got there the xray tech sat me down and started ranting out of nowhere that he was bored with his job and wanted to find something new. This unprofessionalism should have been my first clue to leave but i figured I was already there and I should just give him a break. Next they sat me down and the Dentist came in, looked over my teeth, muttered something about needing a crown and a filling and left. After a few minutes the xray tech came back in and started talking to me more about hating his job. He even told me at one point he used to take shots of Malibu in the back just to fight his boredom. The secretary then came in and told me my out of pocket expenses for the day would be $700, which included the crown and the filling. I told her I never agreed to getting a crown and that I wanted to see the Dentist. She leaves, and a few minutes later the xray tech comes back and starts telling me why I should get a crown. I asked him where the dentist was and he was surprised that I wanted to talk to her about it and not him. He said she might be on her lunch but he would look for her. 10 minutes later she comes in and very rudely tells me I have no choice and that it would be "too hard" to do a filling vs an entire crown. I asked her is it just "too hard" or is it just something that can't be done? She told me it couldn't be done. At that point I was highly upset and told her I just wanted my teeth cleaned. Another lady came in and finished cleaning my teeth in less than 10 minutes. Very sloppy, splashed water all over me and did a horrible job, all while trying to sell me an $80 irrigation rinse. When I told her I didn't want it she told me I needed to and I had Gingivitis!! The Dentist herself said my gums were fine before that! Now all the sudden I have Gingivitis so she can sell me an $80 bottle of rinse? Forget these people. Don't waste your time. You couldn't pay me to let them do actual work on my teeth.

Posted 01/20/09 | Report Abuse

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I went for my very next appointment, they gave me all the paperwork to fill out, the wait wasn't that bad, maybe 15 mins the most even though they seem to be very busy, they examined me and diagnosed some filliings but also the doctor wanted me to see the orthodontist who came to the same room , she was soooo nice, I ended up getting my braces the same day and to be honest I'm very happy with all the staff! So maybe I was lucky to go to the modesto location because all my family goes there now and we have no complaints!!!!

Posted 12/10/08 | Report Abuse

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I arrived for my 10 am appointment. The office was not ready and they had me sit for 30 minutes while the xray machine warmed up.The dentist came in and I told her Marion Mohammad from the Van Nuys office that my back tooth was hurting.She reviewed the xrays and performed an inspection on my mouth. She told me that I had a couple cavities one that would need to have a crown.The front office person came in to go over the cost and she provided me with a long list of stuff that the Dentist had indicated needed to be repaired in my mouth. The cost to me over $2000 and that was with insurance. I told them that I couldn't afford to have the work done and they tried to sell me on careamerica to take out a loan...nope...So I asked them about the crown...that was $635 with insurance. Wow still to expensive so I told them I would get back with them. My tooth continued to ache so I had to do something. I called them and asked how much was their cheapest crown they said $229. I said make me an appointment as I couldn't stand the pain any longer.I showed up for my 10 am appointment. The dentist numbed me up and left and didn't come back for 20 minutes. I told her my mouth was still hurting so she numbed me up some more...had to wait another 20 minutes for her to return. She still was trying to sell me on the top of the line crown...she took about 5 minutes to remove the decay from my tooth and the assistant fitted me for the crown...this took another 40 minutes because the Dentist didn't like the outcome and she keep doing it over and over. The assistant then tried to make a temporary crown and it got stuck. She had to break it to take it off and she keep flicking pieces out that landed in my eye. No apologies are nothing. She finally tried another and after 3 and a half hours they let me out of their office. I was so exhausted and started my journey home. I got about 2 miles and the darn temporary fell out...oh my gosh! I had to go back for another 30 minutes and they placed a silver cap in my mouth. My tooth still hurt and I called Smillecare to schedule another appointment for the Dentist to look at my tooth to find out why it was still hurting. I received an appointment today. When I got there the Dentist numbed me up and left...came back after 20 minutes and I told her I was not numb enough. She asked me if I wanted to see a specialist cuz she didn't know which tooth had the problem...the one I told her about when I arrived the first day or the one she said was the one with the problem..oh my!I told her to go ahead and complete the root canal on the tooth she had already drilled for the crown...took 3 hours...waiting now to see if my tooth is still going to hurt....I WOULD NOT SUGGEST TO ANYONE THAT THEY ALLOW SMILE CARE TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR DENTAL NEEDS!

Posted 05/20/08 | Report Abuse

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SMILECARE IS THE WORST OF THE WORST OVER THE TOP WORST DENTAL PLACE! if i only had the chance to read these reviews...BETTER BELIEVE IT! SMILECARE IS HORRIBLE they just keep bringing in patient but their dental care and services are unprofessional, unreliable and unsatisfactory!..

Posted 04/24/08 | Report Abuse

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As all of these reviews state, this place is horrible beyond belief. They overcharge(when they get the billing right) and offer the absolute worst in personal and professional dental service and the office staff is a plain joke. RUN RUN RUN. DO NOT go to Smilecare in Mission Valley. Trust me. I would go to Mexico first.

Posted 04/06/08 | Report Abuse

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If there was a way to give them 0 stars i would. Same old story as pretty much everyone else's on here. Told me and my husband we needed the perio deep cleaning, all the rinses and the rotodent. I unfortunately bought it and got it done. My husband went there yesterday, waited 2 hours after he was there on time for his 4:30 appointment only to be told that he needs $7000 out of pocket expenses done to his teeth. They want to charge him to pull all four, yes four of his wisdom teeth, but he only has 3 left. They act like your case is so detrimental. I finally said enough i am not going back. We are in the process of getting new insurance as we speak. I wonder if those dentists work off commission every time they sell a perio deep cleaning?

Posted 04/01/08 | Report Abuse

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In the 20 yrs that my daughter has gone to these private practice dentists, I don't know what in the world made her decide to go to Smilecare. First of all, they told her that they called our dental insurance and that the procedure that they were going to do will be covered. Now they are charging us $1,026.00 because they said our dental insurance rejected the claim. I called my dental insurance, and they told me that dental surgeries are not covered but should be covered by my medical insurance. so why did they tell my daughter in the first place that this was COVERED by my dental insurance?
And now I'm the one who is processing the claim for my medical insurance, and I told them not to send my account to collection because I already filed the claim and I have endorsed whatever insurance payment directly to them. But they are stupid and I have received a collection letter today. PLEASE IF ANYONE IS JUST PLANNING TO GO TO THIS DENTAL OFFICE, THINK TWICE.

Posted 01/16/08 | Report Abuse

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SO my review will be like most on this page. I am a working military wife. Smile care stayed opened late and was open on Sat so it looked like a great deal. I wouldn't have to take anytime off work and it would be great.

I went in for two visits. I paid close to $2000 out of pocket. Only to receive a bill a month later because THEY messed up the billing and I was responsible for it. I had also taken my son in to get his check up. They were HORRIBLE to him. They kept getting upset with him because he was saying he was hurting them. After watching my son in total horror and pain I told the lady to let him up and we would go elsewhere.

These people are very rude and do not respect their customers. I suggest somewhere else.

Posted 10/18/07 | Report Abuse

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Ok so my experience is much like everyone else but i will tell it none the less.
Like everyone else these guys were covered by my HMO, and they were open late, and on Saturdays so the hours looked good and i decided to go and get my teeth checked out (I have learned that good hours do not mean good service). I walked in and immediately did not like the feeling of this place, something was just not right. So my appointment was at 10:00, and i showed up early to sign paper work. Of course they had issues with my insurance, and i Finlay was taken into the "Office" for my consultation. I sat in the x-ray chair for about 20 minutes before they came back and started to take pictures (By the way the took about 25 xrays and two cir-cum x-ray, because the tech screwed up the first..so i probably have brain damage now due to all the radiation!). After i received my recommended radiation for the next ten years the moved me to the exam room, where I spent about 25 minutes waiting again before they moved me to a different waiting room and some more waiting. Finally after about two hours after my appointment was supposed to start i saw the so called Dentist, where she proceeded to do a 2 minute exam. To no surprise she started naming off all of the procedures i needed to have done. Including my bad case of periodontist which could be treated by the medicine that (surprise, surprise) was postered up the whole office...hmmm is it about the money? Next the insurance lady proceeded to tell me about the $3000 out of pocket expenses. So after all was said and done it took 2.5 hours..I choose afterwards to go back to my old family dentist, and just pay out of pocket. So i went back to smilecare and get my x-rays. This was even a hassle. $15 and a promise of two weeks. Well after 4 weeks and no x-rays i had to call about 4 times to get my x-rays (i think they ended up giving me the originals).IOverall it was bad service, the office was dirty, and the whole opertaion was all about making a buck and not helping people. Every so often you run into a company that you just dispise and hate..this is smilecare. I am shocked at how this company has maintained to stay open (It is because some people actually believe the BS that there so called Dentist feed you). Do yourself a favor and steer clear of this company!!!!!!!

Posted 07/25/07 | Report Abuse

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Went to Smilecare because it was under my Preferred Dental Plan under my insurance. First billing mistake they made was charging me for x-rays for bi-annual checkup. Insurance said they charged me for non standard x-rays but I didn't have any cavities and just got teeth cleaned. Found out my dentist had two offices and they billed me at remote office with out of network charges.

Unfortunately, I remained with Smilecare and went for another visit. While sitting in the chair I noticed a new poster with a picture of your teeth and early to late stages of gum disease (poster by Arestin) After the checkup, the dentist informed me that I had early signs of gum disease but a deep cleaning and Arestin should take care of it.

Long story short, got the procedure after they informed me that my insurance would cover most of the cost and my share would be around $300. Never recommended that I should contact my insurance because they said they can access my benefits through their database.

Now my insurance rejected my claim and now the dentist wants me to pay an additional $1033.

Posted 07/16/07 | Report Abuse

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My first appointment-just a cleaning-no cavities took over 2 hours (no apology or explanation given). For my 6 month check up they said that they would do another set of x-rays and check my insurance. I told them I just wanted a cleaning and didn't need x-rays until one year. They said they never guarantee cleanings on the 6th month visit-only if the doctor had time and i would have to come back again. The "office" was a like a bad dream with a where-house like atmosphere and it didn't seem clean-broken edges on cabinets, dirty floors/corners. If you respect yourself and your time don't go to this dental office...oh when i said i wanted to pick up my file they said they would charge me $15 and it would take 4-6weeks....need i continue???

PROS: honsetly, none
CONS:

Posted 07/25/06 | Report Abuse

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I had a bad experience with the dentist who did my root cannels.
It was painful because the Dentist was nervous and was trying to do to many things at one time which made me nervous.

Posted 01/27/06 | Report Abuse

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My appointment was at 10:15 AM. I showed up at 9:45 AM. It took the staff 40 minutes to "verify" my insurance. I inquired about the long wait twice before I asked if I should find another dentist. After being asked to wait "a few more minutes" I was taken to the orthodontics waiting room for a "consultation." Time: 11:20 AM.
I saw the orthodontist for about 8 minutes. I was asked to wait "for jst a few more minutes" before I was to see the general dentist for a "consultation." No dentist. On to X-Ray where I was again asked to wait. X-rays were taken at 11:50. After a chat with the site manager I finally got to see the dentist at 12:25. The dentist was done at 12:34. Total time onsite: about 2.5 hours. Total time "in the chair": about 15 minutes. Be sure to bring a book...

PROS: Its relatively inexpensive
CONS: Get in in, get their money, get them out

Posted 10/05/05 | Report Abuse

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This office reeks of the same money-oriented business as a used car lot. The office is overeager to diagnose problems. The interior of the office also leaves much to be desired.

Posted 08/08/05 | Report Abuse

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I went here for my daughters braces. After 3 years they took them off, told us she didn't have to wair an retainer and 6 months later her teeth were back to normal. Their solution? tell me what they said was correct. I didn't even get a refund for my 4 thousand+. I did get another 3 years for free. But I have no idea what this will do to my daughters teeth.

Posted 04/25/05 | Report Abuse

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I totally agree, Smile Care has got to be the worst dental service I've ever gone to. I actually cancelled my HMO dental insurance (smile care) because it was so awful and the only offices they let you visit are the horrible Smile Care ones which look more like a warehouse than a hygenic dental office. I pay full price now for my dentist but love gonig to him. I was also fitted for a night guard and his hygentist did an excellent job, I would highly recommend Dr. Donnelly.

Posted 01/13/05 | Report Abuse

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