Anyone who is a part of our member website or 20,000+ member Facebook group knows we are against corporate dentistry. The reasoning is simple: If you put a layer of people in between the patient and the dentist, with different motivations, there will be a problem. Below is a REAL story from back in 2023…

I spent most of the day (5 phone calls) talking to a receptionist and then an office manager at a Heartland office located 15 minutes from my office. Most people don’t transfer care unless they are moving a far distance. A patient paid them in full for her Invisalign treatment in 2021. I checked and it was a complete case (all revisions are free), not partial. They have changed dentists on her, rescheduled appointments, not given her aligners when she was in their office for a checkup, etc. In general, they have dropped the ball multiple times.

She is fed up and decided to change to our office (she did research and realized she could change to a provider she chose instead of the ever-evolving dentist in a corporate office). Since she is paid in full, and still in refinement aligners (has 10 left) she didn’t think this would be a big deal. Neither did I!

I found out she was on my schedule a couple of days ago as a new patient, so I sent an email to the Heartland office for information. They never returned my email. I started calling this morning. The receptionist basically reiterated exactly what the patient had told me in an email (surprisingly) but she didn’t know the procedure for transferring. She would have to get me in touch with the office manager. No one called back, but I still had a couple hours before the patient was going to arrive. I kept calling in between patients and eventually got in touch with the office manager and asked if I could talk to the dentist about why the patient would want to transfer. She said that isn’t possible (?)

Eventually, she told me they would transfer the case mid-treatment, but would not send any money or give the patient any money because “Effingham” has disallowed it. The reason it was disallowed is because I am not a Heartland dentist. That is when I realized it was a corporate office.

So they have refused to allow the patient to get the rest of her aligners, and told me that I should charge her out as a new Invisalign case (and make her pay what any new patient would). To say the patient is upset is quite an understatement. I doubt very much that the Heartland dentist has any clue what is going on, as the practice’s interest is in not giving any sort of refund because it is charged against their office. If I took on the case for free they would allow it, but if not they wouldn’t give her the aligners. She is not done with her aligners that they have received payment for over a year ago.

The patient is left in the middle.

If you were the patient, would you be angry at a faceless corporation 3 states away, or would you assume the dentist you last saw is a terrible person? Who would you complain about at every mom group, business meeting, or gym that you go to? She knows the dentist’s name, she doesn’t know who to complain to in Effingham, Illinois.

I explained to her that the dentist likely has no knowledge of the fact that she is unhappy. The multiple appointment changes and aligner mishaps could be due to a million things. The patient is no longer as angry at the dentist, and I will take care of her, but would that be expected at every office?

Your reputation is everything in dentistry, choose an office where a complaint by a patient is brought to you, not sent to a middle manager that has never met you and does not care about your reputation.

To search for opportunities in PRIVATE PRACTICES, there’s no better place than our member website/mobile app. We have one of the largest platforms of private practice dentists in the country. With over 10,000 listings organized by location, as well as an extensive and filterable member directory, the perfect opportunity for you to join a practice that cares about you and your reputation is just a few clicks away. Become a member today!