Dentistsoflakeland

I visited their office for the first time on September 6,2023. It included a deep clean, examination, and treatment of a chipped molar. Dr. Scott suggested that two teeth, side by side, need treatment due to cavities in both. The plan was to have the hygienist clean the opposite side of my mouth, get the other treated for the cavities, and then fitted for a crown. While wrapping up the one-side deep clean, the hygienist pushed me to finish both sides. I asked if it would create any issues for my following procedure. She said it wouldn't be a problem. I agreed to proceed. Keep in mind, at this point, I was impressed with my visit. The efficiency and technology I saw in your office were uncommonly good. I was told that everything could be handled in-house, with no referrals. So, we discussed another cavity treatment, 3-month cleanings, wisdom teeth removal, and financing, including the 3K budgeted for my wife. However, things turned sour after that. After my deep clean, my teeth and gums hurt. My gums were so swollen that when Dr. Scott examined me, she said to her assistant, "Nope, can't do it today." I am still trying to understand what she meant. You see, Dr. Scott is a poor communicator; everything came to me as a surprise. Based on her demeanor, I assumed the whole mouth cleaning was a bad idea. After much drilling, I was told the "same-day crowns" wouldn't happen, so I had to settle for a temporary one because of some ambiguous broken machine. And yes, I am suspicious of whether or not there was a broken machine or my gums were too swollen to be fitted for a crown. After I left your office, that temporary crown fell out within an hour. I returned the next day and got another temporary. It fell out the same night. I had an appointment five days later to get my permanent crowns, which I was forced to wait for since I couldn't fit another appointment into my schedule. My tooth became sensitive during that period. I arrived at their office at 2:15 on September 13 and left at 5:15. I told Dr. Scott that my tooth was sensitive. She proceeded to begin the procedure of preparing the permanent crowns without novocaine. The first blast of air the dental assistant applied to my teeth that would be crowned sent me out of the chair. My pain level was a 9. They continued, and it happened a second time. She finally administered the novocaine, and the procedure was completed. An hour and a half later, she returned with the permanent crowns and began applying cement; a third blast of air and I was out of my chair again. After she held me down, she exclaimed that the cement may have already dried! After a follow-up x-ray, she said that was not the case. After, I could barely speak. She mumbled something about being sorry for the broken machine and left. I was so traumatized I couldn't speak. I was physically shaking when I walked out. Not only do I never want to return to their office, but I feel like I can never return to a dentist. Letting my teeth rot out of my mouth seems almost comforting compared to risking going through anything like that again. Now, one of my crowned teeth hurt, making me worry about how to deal with that. My teeth certainly didn't hurt when I first visited your office. Completely separate from my pain, I was coerced into signing up for the Smile credit card during my initial visit. I now see that they billed them (and indirectly me) for thousands of dollars of procedures that never occurred. In other words, their office billed for all the work I was quoted versus the actual work completed. In time, they did remove the erroneous charges. However, there is a list of unnecessary charges that I have to pay out of pocket. Charges such as $125 for fluoride were nothing more than something they dropped in my to-go back. They also charged for some young girl to tell me to be sure to brush up and down, something we learned in grade school.