This company’s whole mantra is that they’re different from other corporate dentistry but the reality is they’re exactly the same. Not soon after I joined, I had a visit from the CDO and the majority of the conversation was about doing more crowns. As soon as he said, “You know, I used to be like you. I used to bend over backwards to try to help these people but at the end of the day, when that filling falls out, they’re going to blame you.” Wow. Then, he wanted me to use the analogy that not getting a crown is like “driving down the I-25 going 75mph without a spare tire.” Uh, okay. Hardly inspirational.
The first red flag for me was the high turnover rate which was mentioned to me by the patients when I started seeing them.
Our budget was hampered from the beginning. Since it was based on the previous month’s production and because there wasn’t much treatment for a couple months before I got there our supply budget was low. I brought in a lot of supplies that I liked at my own expense because I don’t think I should use a total etch adhesive when there are better things on the market. Curing lights weren’t performing acceptably either. Luckily, I had one at home that hadn’t been used that I brought in.
I’ve had to redo some crowns and a denture that should’ve never been delivered because of a large overjet that the patient didn’t like but was ignored. I’ve seen crowned teeth that needed RCT less than a year later. I’ve seen a tooth crowned with less than a 1:1 crown to root ratio. This is the downside in rushing to crown everything in sight. It’s the same negative argument that could be made about any corporate dental entity. A money grab at the expense of quality and the patient.
There were times where I didn’t have full-time hygiene support and had to do cleanings for the bulk of the day which is unacceptable.
The location I was at wasn’t particularly busy and somehow they tried to pin that on me and my treatment planning. Well, everyone needs a cleaning right? Despite my “treatment planning” hygiene should be booked solid because that was not the case. There were gaps in hygiene’s schedule also. That tells me that there’s a lack of patients. It’s the luck of the draw with new patients and some of them don’t need anything other than a cleaning but somehow that’s my fault. I can’t invent treatment. But, it felt like there was pressure to justify doing at least a crown or something big on everyone. I would get negative feedback for not treatment planning anything. If it’s not there, it’s not there. I’m not going to recommend a crown for a tooth with a reasonably sized one surface filling (which I’ve seen done) just for the sake of production.
Also, If you like a 401K with NO match or not accruing any vacation until 6 months after you start, this place is for you.
Based on my experience, I cannot recommend this company unless it’s a brief stepping stone to something better. This may not be true of everyone but in my case, they did not at all set me up for success. Never did I feel that the company cared about the patient unless they complained and even then, it was just CYA.
I just heard that this company was bought out by another DSO. If that’s not an indictment on how poorly this company was run, Indont know what is.
