Bright Now Dental & Orthodontics

I was not going to write a review but I feel I would be doing a public disservice if I don't. I came here about 2 years ago, for a teeth cleaning, and I wanted to shave a tooth to make my teeth look more symmetrical. The teeth cleaning was an odd experience; a woman came up to me and starting cleaning my teeth with no greeting, or at least telling me, hey, I'm going to clean your teeth; she just starting doing it. Thought it was the actually dentist. Once the woman was done cleaning my teeth, she said, the dentist will be with you shortly, so I was oh, who was she then? Guessing she was the dental assistant. The dentist did come and was super kind and did a great job shaving my tooth.

I paid my bill and left. Like always, they estimate the bill for us to pay on the spot, then they will bill insurance. If it turns out we owe more, then they will bill us for that extra. I understand that it works this way. I got a bill again for $89 a couple months later. Of course, I was curious what that payment was for. I went to the office to ask. The receptionist was kind to me until I asked about about the bill and an itemized print out of the bill; she looked annoyed, printed it for me and told me I had to call my insurance. I called my insurance and they told me they did an extensive X-ray that is only done for certain procedures or, if you are a new patient, and my insurance only pays for it once every 2 years. I wish the office told me about this. This miscommunication isn't new to me, as I experience this was other offices, and just paid for it.

I wasn't that upset with my experience so I was not going to review. But what I am upset about is now, almost 2 years later, I have ANOTHER bill for $87. The letter didn't have specifics of what procedure it was for. Because of the pandemic, I couldn't reach the office directly. I talked to a bright now dental rep, and she said it was a new bill and has nothing to do with the first $89 I paid. I was going to wait until they were open to call, but they sent it to collections already so I just paid for it.

I don't know if it's this particular office, or the way the company handles bills, but family members who have the same insurance and went to difference offices, don't not have this experience! Getting billed once, I understand, but twice and it's been 2 years, I don't understand. I'll update this review once I call insurance and see what this is about. It's hard because these big bills getting thrown at me randomly is difficult, because I don't expect that expense.

My dad saw another dentist who also take delta dental Ppo and had a great experience. Their bill estimates seem more accurate, and they were able to see his xray history so we knew on the spot how much we had to pay before we left the office. Of course, they may bill us later, but we haven't received anything yet.

So again, I don't know if it's the office, or the company, or if I'm just missing some information. I hope it's all solved once I call insurance.

I had a wonderful experience here at bright now dental! The doctors were great, and they provided a treatment plan best for my mouth and I really appreciate them for going above and beyond to help me fix these issues. I will be coming back!

I came to give a review and there are a number of bad reviews.

Dr.Gandhi is great she pulled my wisdom tooth that caused me so much pain. I have a fear of going to the dentist due to prior horrific experiences as a kid. She had her assistant distract me while she numb to ensure I was not in so much pain. The tooth was out shortly after.

My daughter is in Orthodontic Treatment with Dr.Wu going on 7 months and I am completely blown away how great her teeth look and how straight they are and we are in month 9 with 3-4 months left. I could not thank him enough on how great he is and what he has done my daughter.

Thank you Bright Now! Dental Alameda

UPDATE------

CHARLOTTE IS RESPONDING TO THE REVIEWS AS "BUSINESS OWNER". SHE IS NOT THE OWNER!!!

WHOEVER CHARLOTTE IS, THEY ARE A PAID CONTRACTOR TO RESPOND TO THESE REVIEWS. AS FAR AS I CAN TELL, THE LOCATION HAS NOT BEEN INFORMED OF MY CONCERNS AS CHARLOTTE EMAILED ME "SHE" WOULD DO.



Here is one of the emails :

On Mon, Jul 29, 2024 at 4:40PM VOP (VOP@smilebrands.com) wrote:

Hi there,



Thank you so much for emailing me directly and bringing this to my attention so that we can look into this right away. My role is to direct any issues to the proper field leader for the market to look into your concerns and address them.



Unfortunately we were unable to identify you based on the initials in your review and email. Can you please provide the full name on your chart so we can have the field leaders properly reach out and connect with you to work on a resolution?



Thank you,

Charlotte

Patient Engagement Specialist

Find ANY other dentist's office!!!

For whatever reason, I decided to go to this dentist after reading the Yelp reviews because I thought, "How bad can a dentist be?" I think the dentist herself is good at her job, but everything else makes it a nightmare experience!

Lowlights:
- They were overbooked for my first appointment/cleaning, so I was there for 45 minutes and then had to book a second appointment to get my teeth cleaned.
- They made a mold so I could get a mouthguard, they had to do it multiple times because the technician wasn't paying attention, and they left mold goop all over my face.
- The mouthguard they ended up making was a) much too small (it got stuck in my mouth TWICE and the technician struggled to pry it off both times), b) the wrong material, and c) for the wrong part of my mouth.
- The receptionist told me to never call the office because there are always too many calls coming in (there's no way to email or contact them otherwise), so I had to go in person to get a record of my transaction for my health FSA.

All in all, I had to go to this office FIVE TIMES to get my teeth cleaned and a mouthguard. Go literally ANYWHERE ELSE to get your dental services.

'tried to get a simple cleaning - no exam - no x-rays - for my stepson over the summer before sending him back overseas to school. Within the past few months, he had had a cleaning and exam and x-rays with another dentist, so we didn't want/need an exam and x-rays, we just wanted a solid, thorough cleaning before sending him off again.

Dentist and staff simply couldn't conceive of doing ONLY a cleaning and NOT doing an exam, for which they demanded x-rays, despite multiple conversations, providing them recent x-rays from the other dentist, and offering to get them in contact with the other dentist.

This matters because insurance wasn't going to pay for a second exam/x-rays, so we would be out of pocket for additional costs that we know we didn't need.

We ended up canceling the appointment, because they just wouldn't/couldn't get it.

Worst dentist I've been to. They are very convincing when they want you to do procedure, after it's done and something is not correctly done. They don't want to take responsibility for it. The staffs are rude. They charged for a fill that fell out within 1 week, and didn't take responsibility for it. Not an apology or refund. I have spent two years there with multiple services charging me over $16,000. The 6 crowns they've done on me left with gum problems and so many complications.

I trust Yelp reviews. This corporation has terrible reviews. Thanks for the warning. The last thing I need in my life is a bad dentist. I appreciate greatly the advice from the Yelp family. All we do is tell the truth, bad or good.

One year later .... ouch. I called for a return cleaning visit and was told the Dentist I saw the year before no longer was there and, as such, my old records did not apply!

The only way I could get an appointment was to have a full checkup. The full mouth x-rays from a year earlier could not be used.

No cost for me, as it is covered under insurance, but what a waste of money. No wonder insurance rates are going up, or in my case overspending for Medicare.

They are interested in doing work that isn't necessary to increase their revenue. You have to trust your gut, this placed didn't feel honest and I walked out before letting them do an unnecessary deep cleaning. The other recommended work included multiple fillings, and an implant. I saw my regular dentist 6 months ago, he didn't recommend any dental work other than a regular cleaning in 6 months. The dentist Bright Now said my gums were infected and inflamed after my mouth was open for 30 seconds, they are not! My last dentist, who I saw 6 months ago, didn't say I needed anything. I went here because I had to cancel with my usual dentist and couldn't get a cleaning appointment for 6 more months, which would mean a year without a cleaning. I'm going back to my to my dentist and I'll gladly wait if I have to. I went to Bright Now years ago, but couldn't remember why I never went back, now I know why.

Correspondence with Mr. Carlos Ortega, Director Market Operations, Northern California Bay Area Market, BrightNow!, Irvine, California
E-Mail: Carlos.Ortega@smilebrands.com

Mr. Ortega:


You may recall our conversation of November 20th.
I do not discern an adjustment of my charge for the misapplied fluoride treatment at your Alameda location.
My next scheduled appointment there is on December 6th at 1020.

You mentioned you would authorize this cost to be deleted.
Please let me know when this will be handled, since I wish to avoid any unpleasantness with the general manager there, thank you!
My credit card statement still reflects the $82 not having been removed or credited back ...

Nov 15, 2023 10660 BRIGHTNOW DENTAL ALAMEDA CA
Eligible for Citi® Flex Pay $82.00

Ralph Bruni