The dentist recommended a deep cleaning for my wife after we went in for check ups, and as no detail was provided as to its nature, we declined and requested a basic cleaning. They refused (which it turns out is the correct course of action) and it started setting off red flags. We assented to a crown for my wife and went on our merry way. In the interim of the next week waiting for the permanent crown, I did some research on deep cleanings. It turns out they are called periodontal scaling and root planing and are indicated by large gingival pocket depths following a gingival probing evaluation. Such an evaluation was never performed, so the diagnosis was presumptuous. We allowed the dentist to perform the probing next week and defend her diagnosis when the permanent crown was affixed, but we were still leery and felt misled.
We switched dentists due to this and discovered a slew of other issues. It turns out that the crown had open margins and needed to be replaced. Our new dentist recommended we have Excel replace it. We also learned that they coded a prophylaxis for me which was never performed. The new dentist performed basic prophylaxes (regular cleanings) for both of us with no mention of any indications that a deeper cleaning was needed.
Even after the perceived dishonesty of our first encounter, Excel did the right thing and replaced the crown without any hassle. They did need a couple of attempts to get a successful crown even after the first bad one, but they eventually "upgraded" the type of crown at no charge to ensure a good fit. This and the excellent work of the person who handled all of our appointment scheduling and our payment are the only silver linings of the place. Said person might be the office manager, but I'm not sure on that one.
