I was referred to Dr Amato by my primary dentist because he is a periodontist that specializes in the Lenap laser surgery in a attempt to save my front tooth. I went in for my consult and Dr Amato said he could save my tooth for at least several years. I was optomistic with his reassuring prognosis of 3-5 years. I figured better to have the tooth than not. We came up with a payment plan in writing, and I came to the appointment prepared to make the initial down payment on my HSA card. The office person entered the card and it was refused. She immediately got an attitude that I didn’t have the funds in the account. I re-assured her the funds were there. I asked her to please try again, which she did, and again it was denied. At this point I offered to have my wife bring a check to the office to solve the problem. But her response was “we can’t see you today anymore” you’ll have to reschedule, and she basically tossed me out of the office.
The next day she called and said, “the only way we will proceed with this treatment is for you to pay in full prior to any treatment”. Meanwhile, my wife had called the bank and the issue was that she entered the 3-digit code incorrectly causing the account to lock- so it was her error. I informed her of that but she cut me off. I asked to talk to the doctor because we had agreed upon a payment plan and now they reneged. I was denied access to speak with Dr. Amato. They told me “he was aware of the situation and this is the way it is going to be”.
After a month of more research and due diligence, I was conflicted about what to do, because I really wanted to save the tooth but other doctors told me that the tooth was basically shot. I asked Dr Amato repeatedly if this was the right thing to do, or should I have the tooth removed. He reassured me again and said “I would not even be talking to you if I didn’t believe you will get at least 2-3 years with the tooth after I do this procedure”. I was willing to try it, even with my doubts and even after being treated with such disrespect by the office, because I took him at his word. To make a long story short the tooth came out 6 weeks after the surgery. I went into his office immediately with the tooth and he said, “I’ll take care of you” I was very upset and bit my tongue not to lose it in the office. He made me a temporary partial with my broken tooth in it. But I can’t wear it when I eat so it’s an embarrassing and frustrating situation.
My issue with the doctor is that his prognosis was wrong, but he gladly took my money up front, and now when I ask him about getting a partial refund he refuses. He told me “stuff happens, too bad, I am not refunding any money to you”. Needless to say, my experience with Advanced Periodontics was negative and unprofessional; they are all about the money and not taking care of the patient. If this happened to you wouldn’t you expect some financial compensation from the doctor??