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| - ***WARNING*** - LIKELY SCAM ARTIST
Unfortunately, I received a coupon IN the mail for this dentist's office promising an exam, x-rays, and cleaning for $69. That sounded like a good deal and I was due for a cleaning, so I made an appointment. Upon entering the office, I was taken promptly to my exam area. A staff member proceeded to take x-rays and pictures. She seemed completely inexperienced. The X-rays hurt quite bad, and I have never experienced pain from x rays before. She then took high definition pictures of my teeth, and placed a monitor right in front of my face so that I could see the pictures. As a I later realized, that was likely a marketing technique. My teeth (and yours also most likely) do not look pretty that close up, and those images would provide an opportunity for Dr. Abedi to "improve" my smile.
So, after shes done taking the pictures and x-rays, Dr. Abedi comes in. He spend maybe 5-10 minutes examining my teeth. He then says they cannot do a cleaning because I need a deep cleaning in my entire mouth. He said he will give me a "discount" of 20% (what kind of dentist gives discounts?) so that the deep cleaning will "only" cost about $900. I tell him that I want a normal cleaning in accordance with the coupon, but he says that the hygienist is out of the office (why the hell would you schedule an appointment for an exam, x rays, and cleaning when the hygienist is out of the office?).
Remarkably, he then also claims that I have extremely receding gums and that I NEED about 15 gum grafts, and that, because I do not have insurance, he will lower the cost of EACH GRAFT from $1200 to $980. So, yes, within 10 minutes of meeting me, he claimed that I needed approximately $15,000 in dental work.
I was aware I had some gum recession, but had seen many other periodontists and dentists and believed that the recession was not as serious as this Doctor Abedi made it sound. I made another appointment at a nearby dentist, Avalon Dentistry (I highly recommend them). Dr. Peifer examined me and told me that I have some recession but am not at any risk of losing functional value of the teeth and that I only need a basic (not deep) cleaning every 6 months. His office then set me up with a cleaning the very next day, and charged me only $100 for the exam and cleaning, saving me, in essence, $14,900.
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