Bright Now! Dental Ctr

I started going to Amber Dental because my husband was a patient there. He has terrible teeth and has had a ridiculous amount of work done there. He has always been happy with the service provided. I had never had any major issues with my teeth, so i only went for cleanings. I neglected my teeth during my pregnancies and went to Dr. Mazin afterwards. I had 6 cavaties in back teeth and in between my teeth. Mazin could have told me that I would need root canals on all of them because they were so deep down. Instead, Dr. Mazin tried diligently to dig out the cavaties and fill those teeth. I'm sure that I was in the chair far longer than I was supposed to have been- hence some other patients would have to wait in the waiting room- but 4 years later and I still haven't had a root canal in any of those teeth. Do you have to wait for your appointment? Sometimes. I just figure that they are giving quality service to the patient in the chair, and I know that I will be treated the same when I get in the chair. And no- I don't work there.

Posted 12/02/09 | Report Abuse

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Over the years as I've moved around the country, I've been to various dentists. This lot are by far the worst I have ever had the misfortune to encounter!

If you have plenty of time on your hands and don't mind waiting an hour or more past your appointment time only to be taken to the chair where you sit for another 20 minutes waiting, go right ahead but don't say you weren't warned.

If you don't mind them referring you out to another dentist for every little thing which as qualified dentists they should be able to do themselves, go right ahead but don't say you weren't warned.

If you don't mind their periodontist doing a hard sell, high pressure sales pitch for (expensive) periodontic drugs, go right ahead but don't say you weren't warned.

If you don't mind that they use antiquated equipment, go right ahead but don't say you weren't warned.

Absolutely the worst dental office I've ever been to and one to avoid at all costs! I moved to a different dental office and the difference is like changing from night to day.

I can only surmise that those giving positive reviews either work at this office or are related to those who do. Either that or they have been extremely lucky!

Posted 09/06/09 | Report Abuse

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This female peridontist (the only one in this practice) called me to move the appointment up (~2 weeks early). When I got there, I waited more than two hours to get to see her. When I told her that I was schedule to have my teeth cleaned and I just started my third trimester of pregnancy. Then she told me that since I am in the third trimester, nobody in their practice would do any thing for me even for a teeth clean. I was confused since I had a filling done at this practice just the day before and furthermore, if they couldn't do anything for me why did they called me to have the appointment moved up and have me wait at the waiting room for more than 2 hours? and since I told her that I plan to nurse the baby after delivery, which could take another year. So she said she couldn't do anything even after the delivery since I would be breastfeeding. I was upset so this peridontist said that still she could take a look at my teeth and that was five minutes. Surprisingly for this five minutes, I was charged $70.00. I felt kind of fooled to let her spend five minutes take a look at my teeth for $70.00 for no reason. She said she did an evaluation but since nothing else could be done further, why did she even need to do this evaluation and charge so high? I felt deceived for my time and money for nothing. I would recommend that they should put a sign stating that they do not accept patient who's in their 2nd or 3rd trimester of pregnancy then I wouldn't even go in at all...Awful experience

Posted 11/07/08 | Report Abuse

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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The people who answer the phones are rude the hygienist are rude the scheduling system is so old fashioned and out of date I don't no how they stay in business. This is the Worst DENTAL OFFICE I've ever been to. This dental office has problems let's face it. As you can read here for yourself. GOOD LUCK IF YOU CHOOSE THIS DENTAL OFFICE.If you feel you have been treated wrong by this dental practice go to this website http://dhmh.md.gov/dental/ the Maryland State Board of Dental Examiners and file a compliant. Also I called my dental Ins. and they have a system for taking care of compliant. We have to tell the Ins co. how horrible they are or they wont no.

Posted 10/16/08 | Report Abuse

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I went to Bright Now Dental due to a change in my insurance. I was a little reluctant based on the reviews that were posted. My experience was very different. The front desk staff was not overly friendly but also not rude. I have some dental treatment needed and was offered a payment arrangementthat works with my budget. I hope my future appointments go as well.

Posted 09/30/08 | Report Abuse

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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While my husband had no problems with an early am appointment. I had a VERY different experience. If I wasn't pregnant at the time (since dental cleaning is so important while you are) I would have walked out of the office. I sat in the waiting room for an hour then sat in the chair for an hour before anyone came in. No one apologized to me or explained why I had to wait 2 hours past my appointment time before being seen. I can only assume an emergency came in, but still cannot be sure. Customer service is the worst I have seen anywhere.

Posted 09/22/08 | Report Abuse

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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We too have had a terrible time with this practice. They are not patient friendly. For one appointment my daughter was 10 minutes late due to a traffic back up on 15. They canceled her appointment and the next available time slot was 4 months later - this after we often waited 60-90 minutes for our scheduled appointments! I would not recommend this group to anyone - we will be going elsewhere.

Posted 08/17/08 | Report Abuse

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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As with others, my husband and I wanted to make an appt for cleanings- and this is where our insurance has ASSIGNED us! We were told that first we needed an evaluation, then the cleaning would come later. So okay- backwards from what our experience usually has been: first a nice clean mouth and then any dental work needed gets done....
We went in not having any dental problems. We were early and had to wait 1 hour and 20 minutes, then went to back rooms for more wait. (We too had to sign papers stating that Amber/BrightNow were absolutely "irresponsible" for any damage to our beings.) I was told I needed one tiny filling and had to sign a paper stating that I was aware that the next appt would require work estimated to be $45.00 and I would be expected to pay that at the time. Okay. Then my husband came out and with his papers stating his work would be estimated at $500.00- that was the portion NOT covered by insurance! He had one cracked filling and another tooth that was abscessed and would require a root canal, crown, etc.
At home we decided we would return for the filling work. My husband decided that the back tooth that was abscessed, they could pull since he figured that what would eventually happen anyway. For our follow-up visit, we again waited 1 hour- My work was done and I was presented with a bill for $110.00. Hey- what happened to the $45 I had to sign a paper for??? I had not planned on paying that much (we do have a budget) The person at the desk said "'That was only an estimate" and handed me a paper to apply for a loan! I paid the darn bill. My husband came out with a 125.00 bill for his filling. He had told the dentist he wanted the abscessed tooth pulled- the reply was- "Oh we don't want to do that- we'll just keep an eye on it." That was five months ago- his "abscessed" tooth is fine. We have made an appointment for cleanings to be done out of pocket. We will not be returning to Amber/BrightNow Dental anymore.

Posted 06/23/08 | Report Abuse

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Nothing has changed at Amber Dental in the over two years I have had to go there, except that they are now calling themselves "Bright One" and adding cosmetic services. Do not be fooled. The switchboard is still always busy, the cranky older lady is still at the front desk, pre-work "evaluations" are done even in the case of emergency, requiring a second appointment, and they do not have any specialists in house which means that anything besides cleaning or basic filling requires a referral and another long wait. The whole place is suffering from neglect. The x-rays I got there were unusable by the specialist I needed to see, because of antiquated equipment. DO NOT GO TO AMBER/BRIGHT ONE! P.S. Crowns take 4 weeks to arrive AFTER impressions made.

Posted 04/09/08 | Report Abuse

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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Lost records on at least 2 occasions. They introduce themselves by requesting that you will sign away any rights patients have. e.g. they warn you they may injure your jaws, and ask you to sign that you will not hold them responsible. (That is a first for me in the nearly 50 years I've gone to dentists.) There are numerous signs posted to remind patients that the practice has no responsibility.
No 6 month out appointments. They see you once to sign papers and that's it. Then you wait until they have an opening for a cleaning. So I ended up waiting another 4 mos after my "paperwork appt" for a cleaning. At that appt, I shopped 10 minutes for a parking space and it took only 12 minutes to have my teeth cleaned. (Another first for me, esp. after 10 mos w/o cleaning).
Nearly impossible to get thru on phone.
Always wait to check out while you watch a number of employees standing around chatting. (If they ask you to go back to the waiting room after your treatment, DON'T DO IT- they will forget you are there)
Several staff members have told us they don't like the scheduling, but it is mandated by the administrators, who are obviously more concerned with $ than with employee or patient satisfaction.

Posted 11/27/07 | Report Abuse

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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i am a patient in this office and have been for many years, they have had issues in the past however within the last couple of years they have improved considerably. Getting an appointment is much easier with less waiting time between appointments, and the front staff there now is much more friendly than in the past, the back staff i have always found to be very friendly and considerate to my feelings. I would recommend this practice.

Posted 11/25/07 | Report Abuse

0 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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As a new patient due to insurance I schedule a routine cleaning appointment. I was told that the first visit would be an evaluation and then I would need to come back for my cleaning on a second visit. Although I thought this to be unusual I figured it would be fine as long as it didn't take too long. They make it a point to inform patients that keeping your appointments is a serious matter and you need to be timely. For me, I expect the same in return. Both appointments I waited 1 hour past my appointment time before they saw me. It's not like I have all day and I needed to get back to work. 1 week later my tooth's filling falls out, exactly where they had been cleaning vigourously. I called them and went back in. Another 1 hour wait past my appt. time. Now 1 week later again and I have pain where the filling was fixed. What should have been a simple claening is now going to have taken at least 4 different visits all at 90 minutes each. So much for easy.

Posted 10/10/07 | Report Abuse

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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We go to Amber Dental primarily due to the insurance (our dentist whom we loved stopped taking our insurance, and they were the closest ones who still did). We have been there for several years. They have improved in some areas - the wait to see a dentist is much shorter (5-10 minutes now instead of 30 when we start), and the dental professionals are much friendlier and caring (particularly several whom they have hired in the last couple of years), and do good work. The billing folks have also gotten much more customer service oriented. For example, they were not clear on what the proper co-payment on a procedure would be, and told us to "don't worry about it, we'll talk to the insurance company and figure it out". They also have late hours on some evenings, which is convenient.

Where they still fall short, in my opinion:
- Receptionist/answering the phone. 90% of the time I get a busy signal or the answering machine. If I leave a message most of the time it is never returned. When you do get through, they are not the most courteous and patient folks I've talked to.
- Appointment scheduling. It seems that the more expensive the dental procedure, the easier it is to schedule an appointment. Scheduling a routine cleaning can be 3-4 months in the future.

So overall, they are good and are improving in some areas, but still need to work on others.

Posted 08/28/07 | Report Abuse

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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Some of the negative reviews on this site are probably true; others are likely exaggerated. And frankly, the wholly positive reviews sound as though they were placed by the office staff. Yet I discovered, by giving Amber Dental a try, it is possible some of those positive comments are true, and it could be a good place to seek dental care.

I, too, had trouble getting an appointment, and the tone of voice of some of the persons handling the phones did clearly express condescension and impatience, which is simply not good customer service. Also, it is frustrating and time-wasting and, therefore, a detrimental policy, to require patients to make two separate appointments for the first exam and the cleaning.

What I found at my visits there, however, was pleasantly surprising. All the staff was courteous. I did have to wait a while, but not too long. The dentist I saw, Dr. Jones, was warm and respectful upon our first meeting, and she carefully explained what she found and was willing to discuss options with me. Moreover, she left me with the feeling she really cares about her patients and genuinely wants to understand what they are experiencing and help when she can. In a word, she is highly empathetic -- a rare quality among health care providers who are also technically proficient and efficient enough to make it in today's environment.

I have not yet had any procedures performed by Dr. Jones -- other than a thorough exam -- so I cannot speak directly about how she handles that aspect of the work.

One final note, the staff that handles the billing was also exceptionally courteous and went out of their way to help me and to be considerate of my time.

Posted 07/12/07 | Report Abuse

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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I am a patient at Amber Dental and am very pleased with theprofessionalism of the Dr's and staff. Yes there are times you have a little wait for appointments but when I had an emergency I had beenseen right away. I am now pain free and thrilled. I would stronglyrecommend this office for quality dental care.

Posted 06/19/07 | Report Abuse

0 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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I have a terrible fear of dentists and finally made an appointment to have my teeth cleaned. I had a number of broken teeth and my husband recommended them. I was x-rayed and examined, and had no cleaning. I was told they needed to evaluate "what type of cleaning I needed!!" The dentist sadly told me I needed root canals, crowns, etc. and his associate escorted me up front to make arrangements for follow-up appts. I was handed a sheet with the costs (with insurance and w/o insurance), approx. $15,000. Note the costs w/o insurance were significantly higher than with insurance. When I suggested they submit to my insurance provider for a predetermination if benefits, the receptionist became snippy with me and said it would take a few months to do that. I left with no intention of ever returning. Obviously they are not as concerned about the well being of their patients as they are about growing the practice and the profits of the practice.

Posted 04/16/07 | Report Abuse

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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If you want to be treated rudely...this is the place to go. Upon arrival at my last two appointments, I have been told that my apppointment was at a different time than what I was told over the phone. The receptionist staff is very rude and could obviously care less if clients return. They don't have to worry about me. I won't be back.

Posted 02/07/07 | Report Abuse

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

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I would reccomend you look for another practice. Cannot get an appointment once they have hooked with the first one. Not too nice on the phone either. Unless you want to be treated like a second class citzen shop around. I will look for another practice and just pay if my insurance does not cover it.

Posted 02/22/06 | Report Abuse

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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We go here for all our dental work and the staff is wonderful. The place is always clean and they usually get you in and out as quick as they can. We haven't had any problems. They do book up quickly so sometimes it is hard to get an appointment.

Posted 11/09/05 | Report Abuse

0 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

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We go to Amber Dental Associates because of our dental plan. This place does take care of your teeth but they are not customer friendly. There is a long wait to get appointments. If you are over 15 minutes late for your appointment they will cancel your appointment and you have to reschedule. Yet I have waited over an hour twice for a dentist and finually left without seeing the dentist. If you do not have to use a HMO dentist, then go elsewhere. If you do have to use this place, you will get good care but you will have to wait for appointments.

Posted 05/24/05 | Report Abuse

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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