Dekalb Dental Group may be robbing you

[annie dunne]

Kaye wrote:

<quoted text>
The CEO lives in Florida, really I thought he lived in Effingham, Illinois.

http://www.heartlanddentalcare.com/rworkman.s...

[annie dunne]

Kaye wrote:

<quoted text>
Aren't "Clinics a place you are able to walk into and be seen??? I beleive DeKalb Dental Group requires appointments.

Definitions of clinic on the Web:
a medical establishment run by a group of medical specialists
meeting for diagnosis of problems and instruction or remedial work in a particular activity
a healthcare facility for outpatient care

[in need]

Dekalb Dental is the way to go;
If you want to feel like a shmo.
They will rip you a new one and smile;
While they steal your money all the while.
So steer clear if you know whats good;
It aint cracked up tobe what it should.

Author deceased from poor dental care.
Good luck to all.

[Sue]

After doing our research, we tried & really like Sycamore Family Dentistry by Taco Bell. They're very nice & work with you on a payment plan if neccessary. Found the dentrist to be nice, friendly & does his job well. No problems off the bat & my hubby, son & I have all seen him.

[Leigh]

I've lived in DeKalb for two years but currently in Chicago. I've also been to DDG for 6 fillings for cavities and was fine with that. However, after telling me that my insurance covered everything, they are now telling me that I have an unpaid balance. The only reason I went here in the first place was because my dental group covered here (to save money). I ended up getting that cancer screening they insist that everyone who visits needs which I've now learned that isn't always right. Don't go here just because of insurance take it from me.

[dan]

I appreciate the info because DDG was one of the dentists my insurance works with. With all the complaints on this site, I was surprised to see only 1 complaint registered with the Better Business Bureau. File a complaint where more people will go to look.

[dan]

With all the complaints I was surprised to see only 1 complaint registered with the Better Business Bureau. You should file there as well. More people will see it. Thank you for the info. I was considering going to them.

[Tiffany Parotto]

Hi, David I am a city reporter for the Northernstar NIU campus newspaper. Right now I am working on a story covering the DeKalb Dental Group. I would love to talk to you about your experience with them. Please feel free to contact me via e-mail. [e-mail] Thank you!

David wrote:

I recently experienced similar "questionable practices" here. Preface: as a 5 year old child, I suffered traumatic dental abuse from a dentist who strapped me into his chair while he drilled my teeth (no novocaine) while he smoked a cigar with ashes falling into my mouth. My fears of dentistry carried through my adulthood until I recently HAD to see a dentist due to cavities. Dekalb Dental insisted on my first going through their dental hygenist and make it mandatory to submit to the a mouth cancer screening- NOT covered by dental insurance. To make a long story short, I was referred to a very expensive periodontist (out of plan). Dekalb Dental never touched my caviites (nor did the perio). A perio tech who once worked at DDG told me they regularly have "meetings" to have staff push all kinds of treatments to run up your bill. No doubt.

[Tiffany Parotto]

I work for the NorthernStar campus newspaper. I am interested in writing a piece about the Dekalb Dental Group. If you of anyone you know would like to give an interview please contact me via e-mail. [e-mail] THANK YOU.

DY in DeKalb wrote:

My husband paid $40 for our 4 year old's cleaning, even though we have fairly good insurance. I took my 7 and 9 year olds to a different dentist, Dr. Peltz (who is wonderful) and paid $4 each, total $8. DDG has been ripping off my family for 12 years until I finally listened to my husband and went somewhere else. I have 5 crowns through them, two of which I am still paying for (2 years later). I will never go there again, other than to pick up my dental records!

[Tiffany Parotto]

I am reporter for the NorthernStar. I am working about piece about the Dekalb Dental issue. Please contact me via e-mail at [e-mail]. I would really like to talk to anyone who has had an experience at DDG. Thank you for your time!

Samantha wrote:

I have been going to Dekalb Dental Group for the last 2 years and I have never been to an office with such great employees and Dr's like I have been experiencing at Dekalb Dental Group. They always explain every treatment up front before I have any work done. They go as far as calling my insurance and getting a complete breakdown of what they cover and at what percentages, so that when they show me a print out of my treatment needed it has a column showing their office fee, a second column showing what my patient fee would be and a third column showing what my insurance will be covering, and they also make sure to let me know that the insurance amount is only and estiment. And I have called my insurance when I received my explaination of benefits wondering why they didn't pay as much as Dekalb Dental Group quoted, and they have explained why and were very up front. So after I have been giving my treatment plan, I sign it and the assistant also signs it and then I schedule my appointment. All off the girls up front that check me out have done a great job (everytime) reviewing the treatment and ask me again if there were any questions or if there was something that I didnt understand, in which they would go over it with me again. It's important to me to keep up with my oral mouth care, and making sure you go every 6 months or if you have perio like myself you go every 3 months. It seems to me that what I am reading by other peoples post on this blog, that when you don't keep up with your check ups and you finally go to the dentist and they present you with a treatment plan that is long and costly, you should be expecting that as your mouth is just as important as going to your medical doctor as you normally do. If your insurance isnt paying for a certain service, thats not Dekalb Dental Groups fault, thats the kind of insurance you are paying for. I sugguest to anyone reading these blogs to really know your insurance up front before you post negative information without even calling your insurance. It's actually a favor that Dekalb Dental Group does for their patients, old or new, to get a break down for you. However there are ignorant people out there that have never called their insurance to see what they actually cover, nor do they even read the explaination of benefits that come in the mail to you, to let you know what they have paid your dental office....... So thank you Dekalb Dental Group for always being up front with me and doing an excellent job of keeping my mouth healthy!!!!! I would also like to extend a HUGE THANKYOU for checking my mouth for ORAL CANCER with the Vizilite test and letting me know that I didn't have cancer, as cancer runs in my family and its great to know that I can have this test done once a year right at my dental appointment, thank you from a very much apprectiated patient. I will continue to refer your office to everyone I know.......... Thanks again, Sam

[Tiffany Parotto]

My e-mail address is [e-mail]
Sorry about the mix up please contact me.

[Tiffany Parotto]

I am a reporter for the Northern Illinois University campus paper, the NorthernStar. I am interested in everyones story. If anyone would like to do an email or phone interview please contact me. I am looking for a few quotes. My email is [e-mail] THANK YOU!

Teresa Akinyi wrote:

If you have are getting treatment from Dekalb dental group, you may have experienced this phenomenon. You will get an estimate of what the insurance covers, please call your insurance first because you will end up paying what you did not bargain for. Secondly, if they give a diagnosis claiming you have gum disease, seek a second opinion. Two people that I know of have done that only to find that they did not have anything like that. You may just save yourself some money.

[Sharon]

I, too, have been a victim of this dental practice. I was uncomfortable after my first "cleaning & exam" visit which turned out to cost over 200.00 that day but kept my follow up appointment anyway. After my second and last visit (they scheduled a third), I accidentally hit this site. MANY of these stories sounded eerily familiar to my own.So when I received a second bill of over 100.00 (I also paid at the time of the second visit and thought I was done.)I decided then not to pay them anything else. Today, I got a call about the bill. I stopped the young lady before she could get started and told her I have no intention of paying them. She cheerfully responded that they were sending the account to collections. I cheerfully told her to do what she needed to and hung up. Stay away from this practice!

[Edward]

I know...I too have had to pay extra after a "treatment plan" was given to me for my dental work. However, I was told it was only an estimate and it was printed out ESTIMATE on it. Dental insurance companies only cover a percentage of dental work. I suggest you talk to your insurance company about what they cover. I feel this office is doing more than necessary work to call the insurance for you and get the percentages. Try your insurance company....I bet they have YOU a straight answer!

[Sharon]

I do not know if you are supporting the "victims" or the "practice", but I can tell you that I have worked in the health care industry for 20 years...on all sides, technical, insurance & billing, as well as, managerial. I am smart enough to be knowledgeable in what my insurance covers before I go to a doctor. I also know how practice owners do what they can to bring in all the money that they can. And...no one went above and beyond to get estimates for anything for me from my insurance company. I received no "treatment plan with estimated costs and coverages". This group is scamming people with their periodontal disease diagnosis. Every medical specialty has a particular diagnosis they use on healthy people to pull more money out of the insurance company (hopefully) or the patient if not covered. AND, they prefer non-covered charges because that is alot better for them Not to have to accept assignment. I stand by my previous statement, stay away!

Edward wrote:

I know...I too have had to pay extra after a "treatment plan" was given to me for my dental work. However, I was told it was only an estimate and it was printed out ESTIMATE on it. Dental insurance companies only cover a percentage of dental work. I suggest you talk to your insurance company about what they cover. I feel this office is doing more than necessary work to call the insurance for you and get the percentages. Try your insurance company....I bet they have YOU a straight answer!

[Lucky mom]

Amy wrote:

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I hope you know that laughing gas should never cost 400.00 and novicaine cannot be charged out...it's against the law to charge you for novicaine!

--I've been in the dental field for 5 years now, and I agree.. novicaine should NEVER be charged out. In my office "laughing gas" is only a $65.00 charged. P.S.. Different dentists = different diagnosis. Did this patient just want a proceedure that was in their budget instead of long term care? To try and save a tooth and fail is better than just going straight to extractions!

[Janice]

I went to Dr.Truyen Nguyen at DeKalb Dental a couple weeks ago. I had never seen the dr but was terrified when a front filling fell out and Midwest Dental where I've spend a lot of money wouldn't fit me in at 5 pm. THey gladly worked me in replaced my filling and asked for nothing more than my $68 deductible. From what I can see these are old ads and the practice has changed. I would recomend them to anyone looking for a nice dependable dentist.

[Zach]

Kaye wrote:

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Way to say it Kathy- why don't people go onto You Tube.com and do a search on Whoppi Goldberg and periodontal disease and view the video clip, you might be a little surprised.

You definately work FOR DDG. Are yuo the one who put the link to that video on your website?

[mickimichele]

I would like to know about any experiences people have had at family dental care of sycamore illinois and prairie view dental of sycamore illinois.