Ft Lauderdale Dentist Barnard Michael DDS PA Reviews
Oct 11, 2014
I made my husband an appointment here for a routine dental cleaning because it was listed under our insurance plan. I had read good reviews online about him, so was hoping this could be our new dentist. I called to make our appointment three weeks in advance. The lady I made the appointment with was very professional and helpful and told me that the cost under our insurance plan would be just a $5 co-pay.
On the morning of his appointment, three weeks after I made the appointment, the office called to let him know there would be an additional $40 charge for a required antibiotic irrigation. They told him that Dr. Barnard requires all patients to get it with the cleaning and that our insurance doesn't cover it, so we'd need to pay it. I have never heard of any dental office requiring this of all patients before, so I called them back on my break. The lady I spoke with confirmed that although not all dentists require this, Dr. Barnard requires it with every patient for every cleaning. I told her that we could not afford to pay that for every single cleaning, every 6 months, so I would need to cancel the appointment and find a dentist who is fully covered under our insurance. She put me on hold, and came back after a few minutes saying they could do it for $30. By that point, I decided that no matter what the price was I would take my business elsewhere for the principal of it...but it got worse. I told her once again that we did not want to have to pay more than the $5 co-pay for a routine cleaning. She then told me that we should just pay the $30 because we would be charged $35 for cancelling on the day of the appointment! I told her that didn't make sense because we were not even aware of the additional charge until today. After going back and for with her about this for a few minutes, I asked to speak to Dr. Barnard. She put me on hold again for a few minutes, returned, and told me that they could do my husband's teeth cleaning today without the antibiotic irrigation and wouldn't charge the additional cost! By now you can imagine I was fuming after she had already told me it was required for every patient. I explained this to her and she said she was just telling me what her manager said, so I asked to speak with the managaer. She came back after another 5-minute wait to tell me her manager wasn't available and that they would let me cancel today with no cancellation fee since he's a new patient.
I was in disbelief with the unprofessionalism and deceitful manner of them trying to get extra money out of seemingly unwitting patients. This experience was incredibly disheartening. I can't believe a dentist office, especially one with high ratings, is being run this way. The way they were haggling to get us just to come in for the appointment made me feel like I was in a Moroccan carpet shop. Don't let them, or any other dental office try to rip you off this way.
Ft Lauderdale Dentist Barnard Michael DDS PA Reviews
I made my husband an appointment here for a routine dental cleaning because it was listed under our insurance plan. I had read good reviews online about him, so was hoping this could be our new dentist. I called to make our appointment three weeks in advance. The lady I made the appointment with was very professional and helpful and told me that the cost under our insurance plan would be just a $5 co-pay.
On the morning of his appointment, three weeks after I made the appointment, the office called to let him know there would be an additional $40 charge for a required antibiotic irrigation. They told him that Dr. Barnard requires all patients to get it with the cleaning and that our insurance doesn't cover it, so we'd need to pay it. I have never heard of any dental office requiring this of all patients before, so I called them back on my break. The lady I spoke with confirmed that although not all dentists require this, Dr. Barnard requires it with every patient for every cleaning. I told her that we could not afford to pay that for every single cleaning, every 6 months, so I would need to cancel the appointment and find a dentist who is fully covered under our insurance. She put me on hold, and came back after a few minutes saying they could do it for $30. By that point, I decided that no matter what the price was I would take my business elsewhere for the principal of it...but it got worse. I told her once again that we did not want to have to pay more than the $5 co-pay for a routine cleaning. She then told me that we should just pay the $30 because we would be charged $35 for cancelling on the day of the appointment! I told her that didn't make sense because we were not even aware of the additional charge until today. After going back and for with her about this for a few minutes, I asked to speak to Dr. Barnard. She put me on hold again for a few minutes, returned, and told me that they could do my husband's teeth cleaning today without the antibiotic irrigation and wouldn't charge the additional cost! By now you can imagine I was fuming after she had already told me it was required for every patient. I explained this to her and she said she was just telling me what her manager said, so I asked to speak with the managaer. She came back after another 5-minute wait to tell me her manager wasn't available and that they would let me cancel today with no cancellation fee since he's a new patient.
I was in disbelief with the unprofessionalism and deceitful manner of them trying to get extra money out of seemingly unwitting patients. This experience was incredibly disheartening. I can't believe a dentist office, especially one with high ratings, is being run this way. The way they were haggling to get us just to come in for the appointment made me feel like I was in a Moroccan carpet shop. Don't let them, or any other dental office try to rip you off this way.