Sears Dental - Fox Valley Mall - Aurora, IL Review

The Sears Dental practice that I visited is conveniently located in a mall not far from my home.  It's a bit odd, but you basically have to walk through the main Sears store and maneuver around car parts, home appliances, power tools, and electronics before you reach the dental office.  Tucked in the back of the store is the dental office, which is clean, comfortable and well-lit.  So far, so good.

I announced myself and my reason for the appointment; a routine check and cleaning.  I have had very few problems with my teeth through the years, and no current complaints, so I figured this session would be pretty basic. 

Not so fast.  I was shown to the dental chair and the hygienist got immediately to work.  She announced that there would be 18 different scans (18!), so I spent the next several minutes opening, biting down, opening, biting down...etc. etc. etc.  My jaws were sore and I was a little shaky by the time she finished.

Next, it was time to poke and prod with the steel needle to check my gums.  She started piercing my gums with the mini-spear, and calling out numbers to an assistant.  The numbers were supposed to correspond with how deep the spear penetrated my gums, but I began to notice that she was calling out numbers without making a corresponding dig with the dental pick.  Suddenly, the numbers started getting higher in places where I know for certain that I don't have any problems.

If that weren't enough, while we were waiting for the dentist to check me, I was given a paper to read explaining that they wanted me to have a $75 test to check for oral cancer, and that said test was not covered by insurance.  I immediately and politely declined since I have no family history of oral cancer, I've never smoked, and I'm not diabetic.  The hygienist then tried for several minutes to convince me that even though I didn't have the risk factors, I still could be at risk for cancer.  Huh?!

Finally, the dentist comes in and does his routine check.  I do have a tiny cavity in one wisdom tooth, however, he suggests pulling out 2 perfectly good wisdom teeth that aren't bothering me simply because wisdom teeth are harder to clean.  Further, he notices some soft spots that may turn into cavities and I should have them filled.  Never mind that I've had the same soft spots for over 30 years and they've never become decayed.  Finally, he wants me to undergo an extensive gingival scraping and deep cleaning, because of the bogus numbers that the hygienist wrote down when she was stabbing my gums looking for blood with the dental pick.

At this point, I lost my cool and made it very clear that I just wanted to get my routine cleaning.  I didn't want or need my teeth pulled, drilled, scraped or tested for cancer. 

What's funny (or sad, depending on your point of view) is that after they made it seem like I was in imminent danger of total mouth rot, I noticed that the dentist rated my overall condition as an 8-1/2 out of 10 on the form he was writing on.  At that point I just got out of the chair, ended the visit, and left without even getting my teeth cleaned.

On my way out of the door, the hygienist stops me to give me a printout with an estimate of my "dental plan."  Even with insurance, they wanted me to sign up for a series of procedures amounting to over $1,500!  No way.

Six months later, I went to another dental office and had a completely different experience. I got computer-aided x-rays that were completed in a flash and a routine cleaning with no gum bleeding or other problems.   I was told I had a tiny cavity on my wisdom tooth, but that it could be easily filled and didn't need to come out.  Otherwise, my teeth are in fine condition.  My total bill was less than a tenth of what Sears Dental wanted me to spend.  I'm glad I didn't fall for Sears' high-pressure scare tactics.

My viewpoint is that if you feel pressured into signing up for extensive (and expensive) dental work, get a second opinion, just like you would for a doctor.