I went twice to Dr. Gildon, once for a check-up and a second time to get a couple fillings. I enjoyed my visit, the building is very nice and clean and the staff and Dr. Gildon were very nice.
The problem I encountered came when the lady at the front desk ""checked my insurance"" and quoted that my cost for fillings would be $180. I paid that then and about a month later got a bill for over $400 from Austin Dentistry. (almost $700 for a couple fillings...with insurance!) I contacted my insurance, found out they never called or checked anything specifically for my insurance, so that ""estimate"" was not a true estimate for me.
To discuss this issue, I called and talked to a few ladies in the office, and they explained their general estimate policy (I work at a doctor's clinic myself, in the insurance department, and my clinic works hard to get individual estimates for individual patients.) The ladies I talked to said the office mananger, Debbie, was the person who could fix this issue, since quoting me such a low estimate was not right on their part.
For two months, I contacted and left messages for Debbie, and I never received a call back. I finally got in touch with her today (she was actually in the office and took my call!). She let me know there was nothing she was going to do, she was ""sorry"" and that was that. I told her I would not be returning to this clinic due to the way they treat their patients (never call them back) and have no accountability for the ""estimates"" they give. (In the clinic I work at, our office manager refunds money or writes-off charges if estimates are off too much, because it is the right thing to do.) She simply said, ""I'm marking that in your file"" and hung up.
I know from experience that a bad office manager and/or staff can ruin a clinic. No matter how wonderful the dentists and dental assistants are, if they allow their manager to treat people like this, their success will be short-lived.
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