1 /5 Eddie Castillo: If I could give 0 stars, I would.
Let me paint you a picture of my absolutely bizarre experience with Smile Design Manhattan, which has officially earned the title of the most chaotic dental journey lve ever had--without even making it to the chair.
It all started innocently enough: I called to schedule an appointment. I was greeted by a virtual assistant, not in the office, not in Manhattan, but somewhere in the Philippines. Cool, tech is great. I asked to make the appointment right there on the phone. Seemed logical since, well, I was on the phone. She told me to book it online instead. But eventually, an appointment was "confirmed" for Saturday, April 12th at 1PM.
I didnt have my insurance handy, so I called the next day to provide it. Thats when I was told... surprise! No appointment existed. No problem, lets do it again. This time, the receptionist told me theyd call me back to confirm if ld owe anything out of pocket because he, and I quote, "never talks insurance" with patients. Odd, but I played along.
Days pass. No callback.
I follow up. They now say my insurance is good. I mention the missed callback-they apologize. We move on. But wait, theres more.
Days later, I get another call to confirm my appointment-along with another request for my insurance. Yes, again. I called back and politely expressed that I was starting to lose faith in their ability to run a medical office. Still, for some reason (convenience? curiosity?), I decide to keep the appointment.
But on the day of, I had a realization: if its this hard just to book an appointment, what fresh dental hell awaits in person? I decided to cancel. Easy, right? Buckle up.
First call: Someone says she can cancel for me and reassures me everythings fine. So I keep the appointment. Then I call back minutes later, speak to someone else who says Ill be charged $125 to cancel. I mention the previous conversation, and he basically says, "Well, they must outrank me," and hangs up on me.
Let me be clear--I was polite. There was zero reason to hang up. But I call back anyway (because at this point, Im invested). They send an "urgent" message to the office. I wait. Crickets. No call. No text. No email.
Now its creeping up on my appointment time and I still have no clarity. Do I need to physically go there to avoid a fee? Should I just show up and cancel in person like this is 2003? I call again, and one of the receptionists actually recommends that I do just that--go in and cancel... in person.
At that point, I was out. Completely done.
So here we are.
Smile Design Manhattan has great reviews--and thats what kept me hopeful. But I honestly dont know how this place is functioning. Between 10+ remote receptionists, multiple dropped balls, and an appointment process that felt like a corporate escape room, I couldnt even make it to a cleaning.
All I could envision was billing nightmares, more scheduling disasters, and just overall disorganization. If the front desk is this disjointed, what happens when its time to pick up a drill?
Hard pass. Never again.
