Dentist
Gentle Dental of New EnglandHeadquarters
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Complaints
This profile includes complaints for Gentle Dental of New England's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see
Customer Complaints Summary
- 49 total complaints in the last 3 years.
- 15 complaints closed in the last 12 months.
If you've experienced an issue
Submit a ComplaintThe complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.
Initial Complaint
Date:01/04/2023
Type:Service or Repair IssuesStatus:ResolvedMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
On 10/07/2022, Gentle Dental of Braintree provided an estimate for ***************** Services for five teeth indicating the procedure was covered under my dental insurance with an out-of-pocket cost of $98.80. The procedures were completed on 10/04/22 and 10/28/22. On 11/09/2022, Gentle Dental billed my out-of-pocket cost of $1,087.26, explaining that the dental insurance denied by insurance claims. After speaking to Gentle Dental and the insurance company, I discovered that Gentle Dental never submitted the procedure for a correct estimate or else, Gentle Dental would have been notified by my insurance only covered the services for only one surface per tooth. My insurance company, ********** Blue Shield does not have any estimate submission from Gentle Dental for any procedures. As of 12/12/2022, Gentle Dental informed me that I would put into collections if I did not pay my outstanding balance and I am responsible for the not verifying that my insurance did not cover the procedures. I attempted to contact Gentle Dental of Braintree numerous times to help resolve the issue and they notified me that I needed to submit a claim appeal because my insurance did not cover the procedure. If Gentle Dental contacted the insurance for an estimate and details of the procedure, then I would have gotten the correct estimate. My family and I have been going to Gentle Dental of Braintree for many years, and have been overcharged in the past, so much so that at one point, we had a credit of over $300 with Gentle Dental. I am filing this complaint because of the way I was spoken to by the office manager, *****, at Gentle Dental and their unwillingness to help identify the problem and resolve the issueBusiness Response
Date: 01/13/2023
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to address our patients concern. We take all of our concerns seriously and your feedback is important to us. Your insurance company does not require a pre-treatment estimate to be sent in unless you request one. The office can send this in for you for any procedures that you have done. We will be adjusting your balance of $953.21 leaving your account with a zero balance to facilitate good patient relations..Customer Answer
Date: 01/23/2023
please provide a copy of the balance being zero.
A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Better Business Bureau:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does satisfy my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint #********. I understand that by choosing to accept the business response that my complaint will be closed as resolved.
Regards,
*********************Initial Complaint
Date:12/18/2022
Type:Service or Repair IssuesStatus:ResolvedMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
On November 3rd, 2022, I went to gentle dental as new patient for an oral Evalution. They told me the Evalution was complementary for new patients. After the Evalution they told me I needed 5 Cavities fillings, I asked if my insurance covered it. she ran my insurance and said I only owed a 50-dollar copay. The receptionist told me I had really good insurance coverage and then told me the only amount I had to pay was 50 dollars. A few weeks later I received a bill in the amount of ******. I called them immediately to find out why I'm getting charged when they told me it was only charged 50 dollars. when I spoke to ***** the manager of gentle dental, she gave me an explanation of the charges and said that my insurance only covers sliver fillings and not the white composite fillings. At the time of my visit this information had not been told to me. I was told that all the work was going to be done for 50 dollars. At no point in the conversation did she mention that there were two different types of fillings. she should have told me the options that were available that were covered under my insurance, she only mentioned that it would cost 50 dollars. In my opinion Gental Dental brings customers in at one price and upgrades them to another price without their knowledge, (bait and switch). Had I been aware that I was going to be billed ****** for services rendered, I would have declined their service. All I am looking is someone from your agency to contact them and have them take care of theses chargers because I am not responsible for them. I was misled by the receptionist at Gental Dental.Business Response
Date: 12/27/2022
Thank you for the opportunity to address our patient. We take all of our concerns very seriously. Your co-payment that the office asked you for was paid by you. We can only estimate the co-payment from the information that we receive from your insurance company. When a bill is sent to the insurance company they can pay it, deny it, or ask for additional information. I understand your frustration and we will be adjusting your balance of $255.00 leaving your account with no balance to facilitate good patient relations.Customer Answer
Date: 12/28/2022
[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Better Business Bureau:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does satisfy my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint #********. I understand that by choosing to accept the business response that my complaint will be closed as resolved.
Regards,
*************************Initial Complaint
Date:11/03/2022
Type:Billing IssuesStatus:ResolvedMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
I have been a patient of Gentle Dental for quite some time. In July I was made aware that my account had a credit balance of over $300.00. Gentle Dental had made no effort to alert me to this situation. Upon finding out I called and requested that I be refunded the credit amount.Beginning in July I was assured that my request had been forwraded and that I would receive my money in 14 to *************************************************************************************************************** 14 to 21 days.Here we are on November 3 and the office manager ( ******* ) has informed me that they do not owe me $300+ and that ia lesser amount will be forthcoming in 14 to 21 days.The questionable truthfulness of the responses I have gotten, the delaying tactics and the inability to get someone to take me serious brings about this complaint. **************** ia non-existent. Thank you for any help you may provide.****Business Response
Date: 11/09/2022
Thank you for the opportunity to address our patient. We take all of our concerns very seriously. I understand your frustration and your feedback is important to us and this will help us to re-educate and train the staff. When you had been told you had a refund then it was submitted for reimbursement. An audit then has to be done on the charges and payments from your insurance company from your explanation of benefits need to match. If you need your explanation of benefits we can provide them to you. We found adjustments had to made to your account. You had a refund of $170.73 which was refunded on 11/4/22 to care credit. Please check your account from care credit that you received this.Customer Answer
Date: 11/11/2022
Better Business Bureau:I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # ********. Please add your rejection comments below; if you do not provide any details, your complaint will be closed as Answered.
[You must provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution. If you do not enter a reason for your rejection, your complaint will be closed as Answered.]
Businesses and Customers should be civil, courteous and polite in their responses to complaints. It is important to remain professional and productive when participating in the BBB complaint process.
FAQ
Regards,*******
Customer Answer
Date: 11/14/2022
Better Business Bureau:I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # ********. Please add your rejection comments below; if you do not provide any details, your complaint will be closed as Answered.
[You must provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution. If you do not enter a reason for your rejection, your complaint will be closed as Answered.]
Businesses and Customers should be civil, courteous and polite in their responses to complaints. It is important to remain professional and productive when participating in the BBB complaint process.
FAQ
Regards,*******
This response is disingenuous at best. It was they who advised that there was a credit balance of $360 +/- in the first place. They requested some time, 14 to 21 days, to audit my account to verify this balance. After their audit they advised that I indeed had a credit balance of $360 +/- and that they would be forwarding a check to me within, guess?, 14 to 21 days. Now they have mysteriously found another charge to deduct from the credit. After 3 months of this shucking and jiving you might well understand my frustration with this office administration. Seems like a pretty straight forward transaction, they have my money and I want it back. I put the blame for this fiasco clearly on the Office Manager, *************** In telephone contacts I found her to be ******************, untruthful and devoid of any semblance of customer service skills. If I knew who her supervisor was I would be writing this note to them.
And by the way, since Gentle Dental is a franchise type operation I made a concerted effort to contact Corporate. As it turns out they are a subset of an entity called 42 North in *************. In perusing the corporate management structure in both entities there is no executive in either one designated ort titled as "customer service". Therein lies the culture.
Thank you for the opportunity to rebut .
****
Business Response
Date: 11/18/2022
Thank you again for the opportunity to address our patient concern. I understand and sorry for your frustration. This has been addressed to the office. We had sent a refund to care credit for $173.50 not for $170.73 as stated. As a professional courtesy you will be receiving another refund by a check in the amount of $199.00. You should receive this within 5 days. Total refund would be for $372.50.Initial Complaint
Date:10/22/2022
Type:Customer Service IssuesStatus:AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
I was trying to pay my bill with gentle dental in ******** ****** and paid the wrong company. I have called and sent my receipt to them and nothing. I just want my money backBusiness Response
Date: 10/27/2022
Thank you for the opportunity to address the concern that was made. We take all of our concerns very seriously. A payment was made to Gentle Dental of New England. The payment was made in error by the patient who is seen in Gentle Dental of ******** ******. The payment made to ** on 10/27/2021 and returned on 10/28/2021 for $65.00.The bank settled this on 11/1/2021. I reached out to the patient who called her bank and she did receive this refund.
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