Very strong sales pressure tactics. Very little face time with dentist – about seven minutes. Salesperson spoke very rapidly, jumped from topic to topic, and often did not answer questions unless they were repeated. Very difficult to pin down the process, as we were told several times that detailed questions would be answered at the follow-up appointment.
Both salesperson and dentist were scornful and dismissive about other dentists’ practice of doing bone grafts: “We NEVER do bone grafts and don’t believe they are necessary.” Most common treatment they appear to offer is to pull all teeth, implant four, and fill the remaining space in with acrylic, bolt-on dentures…for $50,000. Seems high if the service is provided over the course of only one day. Salesperson claimed they would fix anything that went wrong, but there was no written policy provided (what if all teeth are pulled, then the implants are rejected?). We were shown a lengthy infomercial, which dumbed down the info for the audience. For example, they really pushed the wonder of their 360 degree imaging device — mentioned it multiple times — and they also pushed the fact that all resources necessary for the service are onsite.
They faked a “news” story, with a Fox newscaster set and a “story” that was too lengthy to be a true news story. When confronted, the salesperson stated it was a “special situation.” At the end of the hour-long consultation, the salesperson tried to force us to sign a statement that, among other things, claimed the dentist described a wide range of medical and dental information to us, which she did not. The salesperson grew visibly angry when we refused to sign, repeatedly insisting we do so, then angrily writing “refused to sign” on the form. She also pressured us to start the treatment that day, and they wanted full payment up front. Their service may be a viable option for some patients, but the high-pressure sales tactics and lack of medical information scared us off.
– Suzanne from Virginia
Suzanne,
Your experience is similar to others we have heard about. We do believe that clinically they do good work, but we have received this frequent complaint about high-pressure sales tactics, and the treatment recommendations being presented by a sales person rather than the dentist.
And they have a strong inclination to want to take out all the remaining teeth and do the all-on-4 dental implants procedure, which avoids needing to do bone grafting and other labor-intensive services. There may be cases where that is the best treatment for the patient, but we believe in presenting more options.
Please see Dr. LaVacca’s page where he offers second opinions about Clear Choice dental implants. If you have your own experience to share, please see our Chicago Clear Choice reviews page.
