Discount Dental

"I was initially impressed by Dr. Rao's genial chairside manner and accepted the somewhat seedy location and thrift store decor as a sign of a "discount" pricing policy. The price was actually average but the dental work and followup were extremely problematic. The following is my email regarding the problems following my temporary crowns. I later discovered the website email address was not operational. Message to Dr. Rao: I left a message this morning (Saturday October 21) regarding my discomfort and problem with my temporary crowns. I assumed you would have an emergency number to reach you even though your office is closed. (It's very unusual for a medical/dental professional to have no after hours contact information). I had my temporary crowns done on October 11 and paid for them and the permanent crowns in advance as you requested. This has not been my usual payment experience. I returned on October 18 to have the temporary crowns smoothed as my tongue was irritated and had developed ulcers from the rough texture. Your assistant did most of the work. I started to explain to you how my bite was now off and my mouth felt out of alignment. You didn't appear to be concerned and no effort was made to rectify this situation. Observing my bite, it's apparent that the temporary crowns on the lower right side are higher, wider and unevenly matched to the bottom teeth on the left side. I have researched and discovered that temporary crowns should be adjusted so that the patient's bite is comfortable or if necessary, redone. I haven't been able to eat solid food for the past 10 days and my tongue is still irritated by the rough texture of the crowns. I'm very concerned that my permanent crowns will also be a poor fit. I need to have the temporary crowns adjusted to be the same height and similar width as the teeth on the other side of my mouth so that I am able to chew comfortably. I am unable to chew properly on the left side since I am missing a top tooth. My permanent crowns appointment isn't till November 8. I would appreciate having this dental problem corrected as soon as possible. Dr. Rao responded on Monday to the phone message I left on Saturday concerning my distress. He was apologetic and had me return again for another adjustment. He works on several patients at the same time and at one point needed to be reminded what we were working on. The permanent crowns were finally applied and the numbing needle was incredibly painful. My lips were horribly swollen for days as the extreme numbing lasted for hours and made me unaware that I was chewing on my lips, when eating. Finally the crowns were done and I was able to chew comfortably. The next problem was reimbursement from my Medicare insurance. Dr. Rao had said initially that as a courtesy he would fill out the paperwork. He sent a pre-approval but neglected to follow up with a completed and signed itemized bill. It's been almost 3 months and after hours of conversations with United Healthcare, I received a statement showing a $1000 reimbursement allowed. The paperwork included a signature required by the dentist and his filling out a form. I emailed the paperwork to his office and I spoke with his office representative Anna, who advised me not to pursue the payment because that would delay my getting reimbursement (?) She advised me to wait a few more weeks and said Dr. Rao was informed about this situation. I've had a lot of dental work done by different dentists over the years but this has been an unusually frustrating experience."

"Dr. Rao is very nice and the staff very friendly, I went to another place first and the quote was outrageous, but went here on a hunch and it is the best thing I ever did, the prices were just right. Dr. Rao throughout my procedure was very encouraging and was trying to keep me upbeat with everything happening. I recommend this place for all your dental needs."

"Dr. Rao, his wife and staff are amazing! They always go above and beyond to make sure that we are taken care of. We found him after a bad experience with a different dentist, and having dental anxiety we were nervous to try another place. He makes sure that patient care and comfort are always top of the list. We recommend Dr. Rao to all of our friends and family."

"The best experience Ive had with any dentist! Dr. Tony was great! He was very personable and enthusiastic. Above everything he was truly honest and trustworthy. I went in to get to dental clearance for the military and unlike many other dentist that see it as an opportunity to take advantage to get a lot of unnecessary work done to make a large profit, he was more than happy to truly follow what the document requested him to do. I highly recommend him, the office staff is friendly and it is very clean. Dr Tony truly takes the time to know his patients!"

"Best dentist and staff ever! Dr Tony is so understanding about my "fear" of dentists and takes his time to explain each procedure to to help me relax and forget my fears. Will never go anywhere else!"