Great Expressions Dental Centers
Reviews and Complaints

I recently attended an appointment at Great Expression Dentistry in Naples, FL. I feel it is necessary to explain my experience and for the company to put measures in place to make sure future patient rights are not violated as I was.

There are a few positives I would like to mention about my experience at the clinic.

It was clean, they seemed to be running on time, the dental assistant was kind, and they did a good job taking my x-rays. Unfortunately, the positives stop here. Complaints and concerns are as follows:

1. Initially I was told I have a $5 co-pay for each office visit.

I consulted with my insurance company and was told this is false; there is a $0 copay per visit. Great Expressions did not properly verify the insurance benefits before my appointment.

2. I received a complete set of x-rays and a panoramic film x-ray at the appointment. The latter was not covered under my insurance.

Upon speaking with my insurance company, I was told both of these x-rays given on the same date are considered a duplication of services and are not medically necessary. This dentist office is trying to take advantage of its clients by performing unnecessary x-rays.

3. The dentist, Dr. Fidler, was abrupt and rude.

He came into the room, asked if I was in any pain, looked at my teeth, said a few things to his assistant, and abruptly left. He did not allow time for me to ask him questions, he didn't speak with me about the condition of my teeth, didn't give me tips on how to improve things. He took a "quick peek" and left. In fact, he was speaking to his assistant about the condition of my mouth while walking down the hallway leaving the exam room.

I thought he was leaving the room to get something and the dental assistant said the visit was complete. Every dentist I've ever seen consulted with me, the patient, after examining my mouth and we've worked together on how to improve things. This guy said a few things to his assistant and walked out so I didn't even get a chance to ask questions, very unprofessional.

4. After waiting a second time in the waiting room, one of the ladies working the front desk named Laura called me up and wanted to discuss the "treatment plan" in the waiting room in front of everyone.

Patient conditions should be discussed in private, not in a waiting room where other patients can eavesdrop and learn about my personal health conditions - this place VIOLATED MY HIPPA!!

5. I had questions about the treatment recommended versus my current health condition and the front desk girl, Laura, started using a nasty tone and said, "This is what the doctor recommended during the visit and if you don't follow this plan, you cannot continue as a patient."

First of all, the dentist saw me for literally 2 minutes and never actually spoke with me, so I never agreed nor was consulted about anything. When I questioned the clinical decisions, Laura, the front desk girl, sarcastically stated she is not clinical, the dentist doesn't have time to speak with me, and his recommendation stands (still in the middle of the waiting room). I never had a chance to hear the rationale for the recommendations nor did I learn about the current condition of my mouth; I had legitimate concerns that were silenced.

I went to this dentist because I changed insurances and my previous dentist doesn't take my new insurance.

I go to the dentist every six months and they always give me a standard cleaning. I wanted to continue the typical x-rays/exam/cleaning at this place, but they won't let me. Apparently, the front desk girl stated my upper teeth & gums are in poor condition and need an intense cleaning which will include a numbing lotion and antibiotic. I never heard of an antibiotic and numbing lotion for a cleaning.

This place is doing everything they can to get as much money out of people as they possibly can, which is very unfortunate. I am involved in other health studies for serious health complications and cannot be putting unnecessary antibiotics into my blood stream. I don't understand how they can argue with the customer (who pays their bills) in the middle of the waiting room full of other patients.

6. I filed a complaint with their corporate office, and later Laura spoke with me over the phone, lecturing me because I complained about her.

Laura told me I am no longer welcome at their place of business and they refuse all future services. By law, a medical practice must provide services to a patient for at least 30 days before dismissing them from a practice. Also, based on my insurance regulations, I am assigned to this practice (as they accepted me) and can only change facilities the 1st day of each month if I submit for a change by the 15th of the previous month.

I spoke with the regional supervisor regarding all these concerns once, she said she was going to call me back, but never did.

Overall, I had a terrible patient experience and left the clinic shaking due to the way I was treated. Lots of people are apprehensive about going to the dentist and staff should be compassionate toward patient anxiety and needs, but this place just argues with patients and treats them like they know nothing - all I wanted was a basic cleaning.

Our experience at Great Expressions was extremely disappointing due to unprofessional behavior from the Senior Operations Manager, Vanessa Rodriguez. Despite being told that services would be covered by insurance, Vanessa avoided submitting a pre-authorization to confirm coverage, leaving us with unexpected charges.

The office improperly submitted claims, incorrectly billed us, and failed to take corrective action after numerous attempts to contact her for resolution.

We made multiple calls and sent emails, which were ignored for weeks, making it impossible to resolve the issue.

For anyone who may encounter similar problems with dental office billing or unprofessional conduct, here are steps to report these issues:

1. Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) oversees business practices and handles complaints related to consumer issues, including disputes over billing, contracts, or misleading business practices.

File a complaint with FDACS. https://www.fdacs.gov/Contact-Us/File-a-Complaint

2. Florida Attorney Generals Office - Consumer Protection Division enforces laws related to unfair business practices and consumer fraud in Florida.

If the dental office has engaged in deceptive, unfair, or fraudulent practices, the Consumer Protection Division may investigate.

File a complaint with the Attorney General's Office.

https://www.myfloridalegal.com/consumer-protection/consumer-complaint-form

3. Florida Department of Financial Services (DFS) If the issue involves insurance billing, the DFS, which includes the Division of Consumer Services, may help if you believe the office improperly billed your insurance or refused to submit proper claims.

File a complaint with DFS.

https://myfloridacfo.com/division/consumers/needourhelp

I also recommend checking out the reviews on the following sites to see other patients' experiences:

Pissed Consumer Reviews

BBB Profile

Yelp Reviews

Take these steps to protect yourself from improper billing practices and hold dental offices accountable!

Don't trust this office, especially the assistant of Dr. Flavia Goncalves at Great Expressions.

They trick you into believing that your insurance is going to cover certain parts, and then on your next visit, you find out that you owe an additional $500 and they tell you it's your problem.

Yohana Planas is even less helpful; don't bother coming here. You'll get conned.

I took my children to the Snellville location. The orthodontics department put braces on my children's teeth only to mess up my bill.

I have tried to call them several times, but no one will return my call. I received a bill for braces, even though they have never been back since they got them on due to their system failing, which messed up my bill. Now, I have two charges on my credit for something my children never received. From the outset, I was told that they would fix it, but they never did.

I call and leave messages, but they never call back. I'm going to report them to the BBB, and I'm also going to get a lawyer. They billed my children's insurance, Aetna, for the braces, although my children have only seen the orthodontist once. It's not my fault that their system went down, but now I'm the one paying for it - paying for something that we never received.

To this day, I am trying to have them removed, but the dentist will not give me the paperwork to take my children to another orthodontist for the removal. I strongly advise against this place; stay far away.

Attention: Aaron.They need to do better answering the phones and when it goes to the voicemail, its full so you cant even leave a message. I had to go into the office twice on the same matter to handle the situation because they wouldnt answer the phone.

When I get there they just sitting there doing nothing talking among themselves look at me crazy. No I wasnt happy and know they could see it on my face I had to drive there to get them to do their job. I was there about an hour plus handling the situation and I didnt hear a phone ring not one time and NO they didnt have on headphones the reason I wasnt hearing the phone ring, I did check to see if they did have headphones. I stop going there for about 3.5 years because of this same problem and when I was told they have a new crew up front I decided to give it another try but it worse.

Karen was one of them that gave me the rude look and act like she didnt want to help me so she turned it over to Tisha to handle.

All I asked is to answer them phones and take care of the customers, let us know and feel our business is appreciated. My phone number is 770-846-**** Ill be looking for someone to contact me.