Bonner Dental Network

I’m writing to provide an update of my experience with the Bonner Dental Network over the last 5 years of being a patient. I am currently in search of another dentist. I have just found most of the Bonner experience to be a bit off-​putting. Each time I go they seem to get something wrong. Either it’s a wrong appointment time from what I confirmed (or they are constantly calling me to request that I move my appointment up), or the wrong type of cleaning.
They are consistently pushing people (not just me, but I have heard this from others as well) to buy expensive products and services like electric toothbrushes, mouthguards, premium tooth whitening, etc. They also charge for stuff that seems unnecessary (like an unsolicited lesson on how to floss, which they later billed me $ 10 for).
Also, I don’t understand how a dentist can rationalize having a coffee bar in the waiting area. The acid in coffee wears down tooth enamel and causes staining. What sort of dentist/​hygienist wants their patients drinking coffee right before a dental procedure?

This is my first and more than likely only Unilocal post:
This dentist office is the biggest joke of a practice I have ever witnessed. I watch what my significant other goes through at this dental office and it makes me wonder if legal action should be taken.
She recently needed a bone graph and now is being told the dentist messed up and gave her the wrong post procedure instructions and is having yet another bone graph.
She has now been told 3 different things from their three different dentists. What first would have been a quick procedure and couple months of healing now has no end in sight.
Bonner Dental is full of crooks who half-​ass their job and should be closed down. Please, if you are reading this, take heed from those who have reviewed this dentist office before me. I’ve watched my significant other lose confidence as she continually battles with the dentists at Bonner. It’s astounding how incompetent they are.
Simply put-​this is the most poorly run, lease professional, biggest hack job of a company I have ever encountered.
Good riddance.

Update. Now, after two years of sensitivity on the tooth he worked on unnecessarily, I have to get a root canal because the nerve has become so painful. And, because they did the unnecessary onlay, there is a good chance the tooth will crack and I will need a crown.
Again, if you go here, I would try to get a second opinion before moving forward with any unnecessarily recommended procedures.

They are salesmen. I came for teeth cleaning today as a new patient. I had been told by my insurance I would only need a copay of $ 30. I got prepped by one of the nurses whose pronunciation skills were like those of a 4yo. They did x rays and a bunch of other preparations. Doctor came in and started working on my teeth and, in the middle of it, aforementioned nurse casually said my bill came up to $ 225 as I was lying there unable to speak. They told me a bunch of problems I allegedly had with my teeth and gums. They sounded so specific but as I was paying my bill, they handed me a set of treatments complete with prices as if had been printed out of a template. These were random treatments with random terminologies each costing at least $ 550. And all I wanted was to get my teeth cleaned!

Unfortunately I have very similar experiences to what’s being said. I’ve been a customer for about 8 years. I had no qualms for a few years (maybe I was blind), but this past year I was really alarmed with what I saw. I had 2 implants done and had a really hard time getting a straight answer for how much the procedure would be, given that it had 3 phases.
I was given a quote for my part and the insurance part for the final procedure. I paid the balance at the time of my appointment. Three months later I get a bill for $ 3k that is «90 days overdue». I called my insurance and it seems that the dentist never submitted my procedure to them. I called the dentist to inquire and was told that the bill I received was being submitted to insurance and not to worry. What if I hadn’t investigated on my own? I would then have an overdue bill and credit collectors.
Overall I find the staff unprofessional and am now questioning the procedures I’ve had done given what I’ve read here. Stay away.

Believe the other reviews. After two years here and claims that I needed over 10 procedures totaling $ 5K, I felt that something was off. It came to a head at my last visit where I had a toothache and was told that I would definitely need a root canal ASAP ($ 2K) and that if that didn’t work, I’d need an implant ($ 4K+). The good thing is that the office reviewed the charges with me prior to proceeding, as I don’t have dental insurance. This I appreciated. I asked to be excused and went into the hallway and started phoning dentists to get quotes for a root canal. Hey, we get quotes for work on our homes, why not shop for a dentist? I was quoted $ 1300 for a root canal at another dentist and made an appointment. The office was NOT happy when I left. I didn’t tell them that I was going to a new dentist. They wanted me to make an appointment for the root canal and asked for $ 400 just to «hold the appointment». Really? I said I didn’t have it. Then they said they would hold it for $ 200. Is this a game of Let’s Make a Deal? I left. When they called me to schedule it, I told them I wasn’t getting it done there and the woman sighed and practically hanged up the phone on me.
Fast forward two days… at my new dentist. New dentist calls Bonner Dental asking to forward my X-​rays. Bonner staff puts new dentist on hold for 5 minutes, then comes back and says that it will be 48 hours to get them. New dentist is shocked and amazed and says «aren’t they digital?» (they were). Apparently standard practice is to send them quickly as it only takes a push of a button. New dentist says «I’m not sure how this place is in business.»
New dentist looks at me and says that a root canal would be far too drastic in my situation and I get a crown instead. I tell her about the other «necessary work» listed on my previous chart and she cannot find any other issues. I tell her that Bonner Dental said I have a teeth grinding problem and had «flat molars» (wanted me to buy a $ 350 bite guard) and the new dentist looks over and over and shows me that my molars are not flat and looks for other evidence of grinding points on the front teeth. I think you can guess what she found. Nothing.
Please, avoid this place and find yourself a reputable dentist with good front desk staff.
UPDATE: Since I last posted my review, I have been contacted by Bonner Staff THREE TIMES in the course of 3 months to schedule my root canal. Each time, I tell them that I am no longer a patient, and to make a note of that and not call me again! Twice this was received with unbelieveable rudeness typical of Bonner staff. During the second call, the woman said that she was the first person to call despite telling her that she wasn’t. She last and third (and hopefully FINAL) call, I told her again that this was a repeat call and to make a note not to call me again, that I left the practice. Guess what? She hung up on me after hearing this! I was being so polite about it too. Amazing. Please for the love of God and all things good in this world, avoid this place.

Beware!
Poor record keeping and billing. I received a bill in May of 2015 for a cleaning in October 2014. Their billing department did not submit the claim to my insurance agency and did not notify me for over 8 months that they had not received payment from my insurance company. The customer service rep on the phone offered very few alternatives and threatened to send my bill to collections if I didn’t pay it. After contesting their claim that they had mailed me a notice in January 2015, the conversation went poorly, and I asked for a supervisor to talk to. Of course the supervisor was not available.
After calling my insurance company and checking it turns out that the billing office never submitted a claim to the insurance company.
In addition, during my cleaning, the dental staff constantly pushed «new» products on me and used very hard sale techniques to get me to «use» my entire insurance amount for the year «before I lose it».
Beware. They are salesmen, not dentists, and have very poor accounting practices.

Well, I can definitely why this place gets 1 stars so often. I really wanted to like this place, it’s within walking distance of my home, but I don’t know anymore.
I went in and was told I needed a filling and a bite guard. I asked how much it would be. The secretary took my insurance information and came back with the price (over $ 400). She told me that she had spoken to my insurance company and that I would need to fill out a claim and be reimbursed. This was NOT true at all! What I paid turned out to be the copay and not reimbursable. On top of that, it’s been almost a month and I still have gotten no calls about my bite guard being ready. I don’t understand how you can run an office like this.
I called about 2 weeks after my appointment to talk about the payment issue. This was a thursday. The office manager said she would DEFINITELY get back to me by Monday. Well, Monday came and went. Nothing. Now a week has passed since that Monday. I’ve called and left messages and received no reply, after paying over $ 400 out of pocket!
At least the dentistry itself seemed good. I liked Dr. Cho and he was very nice and professional.
Update: I’m not adding or knocking down any stars, although I might later in the week depending on the office staff response. After my initial review I was contacted by the Bonner staff apologizing for my problems with my insurance. Ok, good. They offered me a free whitening, so even better. I definitely appreciate it when businesses try to make it up to you when they mess up. No one is perfect, and I usually try to point out problems with businesses in order for them to be aware and improve, not to get free stuff (but it doesn’t hurt). However, I just received a new bill from Bonner Dental charging me TWICE for each service on my visit. How this got past whoever was in charge of billing is beyond me. First of all, I already paid for everything during my first visit (indicated as a credit), but somehow it didn’t occur to the person doing this bill that no one in their right mind would get two bite guards in one visit. Had they realized this, they probably would have realized that every other service was also charged twice.
I’m not a person who is unnecessarily harsh with businesses. We all make mistakes, we all mess up. This, however, is UNACCEPTABLE. Their office was impossible to reach today to correct this mistake. These are the kind of idiot mistakes that eventually lead businesses to erroneously send collection agencies after patients and ruin people’s credit. And it SUCH an easy thing to check for, 100% preventable. I cannot believe this was the followup to my previous service. It’s just incredibly unprofessional to ignore details on this level.
Update #2: Wow, this has to be the worst business I’ve ever reviewed on Unilocal.And now they’ve managed to have me knock them down to one star. I was FINALLY able to get someone on the phone about my bill. They directed me to a different number. I called, someone answered and I explained my issue with the bill. She told me that Carol, the office manager would call me back in a few hours (this was around noon, so perfectly acceptable that she would at lunch or something). Now it’s been a day later and I haven’t received a call. I called again and they’re closed. I left a message for them to call me back and if I don’t receive a call back on Monday I will either report them to the Better Business Bureau or contact my Council member.

I went to the Bonner Dental network for about a year… an expensive year. Several times I paid up my bill before leaving only to get a phone call a few weeks later that I owed more. Then another time about a year later I got an invoice in the mail saying that I owed more for something else the insurance company didn’t cover. Why would they wait a year to reach out to me for it?
Overall, I’m writing this review because I don’t really trust the work they did. I had a few cavities filled and I’m pretty certain they did a poor job. The area has consistently hurt and I’m now in search of a new dentist to take a look and repair any work that may need to be re-​done. When I approached the Bonner network about it they said it was normal for it to hurt again for several weeks afterwards, but 6 months seems to be pushing it…

Dr. Bonner provided me with dental work for a long time. I thought I had bad teeth, I kept going from cavities to root canals. I realized a month ago that it wasn’t my teeth that were the issue, but rather Dr. Bonner’s lack of skill. He provided me with a root canal and it turned into an infection that almost left me without a tooth. Worse yet, he refused to refund my money or pay for the specialist that I needed to see. He also avoided all my follow-​up calls. At best the man is incompetent, at worst he is a thief. Please go elsewhere!

I went to Dr. Bonner on the advice from my wife’s coworker, and it was a mistake I am still living with. First, he filled the cavity and was so inaccurate with the filling that I had to go back THREE TIMES to have him adjust it. Not only that, in simply filling the cavity (Rear molar) he upset the nerve of the tooth to where I have had sensitivity to hot/​cold ever since. Now it seems I need a root canal for that molar, and I believe the need for this root canal was caused by Dr. Bonner’s damage to that tooth. My advice would be to steer far from this place.

Dr. Bonner and his staff are great! They listened to me and took great care of my teeth. I’m missing a tooth and Dr. Bonner put in a beautiful falsey for my upcoming wedding. I smile more often and bigger, knowing that I have a prettier smile.

DO NOT TRUST THE SECRETARY!!!
The hygienist was rough, and hurt me.
In June of last year I had my appointment with Dr. Leslie Bonner’s office. They informed me I had 2 cavities. They offered me fluoride treatment, which I refused. When I later received my benefits letter from United and it stated that United had been charged for Fluoride treatment. I contacted Dr. Bonner’s office and they told me they would contact my insurance and remove the charge. They did not.
When I called to make an appointment to have my two cavities repaired, the office told me I had four cavities on record. While confused, I made the appointment. I had them repaired. I continued to have a lot of pain in one of the teeth. I returned to Dr. Bonner’s for a root canal. (Their hygienist used my chest as a table, dropping tools on me as if I was inanimate!) They opened up the tooth but were unable to complete the root canal. They put in a temporary filling and I went to a oral surgeon to have my root canal completed, that next day. The Endodontist’s office informed me to be careful with my insurance balance for the year when returning to my dentist for my crown.
I contacted Dr. Bonner’s office to schedule my crown. I told the secretary that I would probably need to wait until January as my balance limit must be getting reached. She told me they would get pre-​approval. I got a call back later that week to say that they had gotten the pre-​approval from my insurance and that I could schedule the appointment. I had the procedure done.
This week I got a bill from Dr. Bonner’s office for my crown. I called to say that I had checked all of this with them before scheduling the procedure, and that they had told me my insurance would cover it. The secretary informed me that a pre-​approval is just a guess. I told her that I had specifically informed them of my balance limit and asked if I would need to wait until January and was told that I could schedule my appointment immediately. I obviously would have waited until January if I had known that it would not be covered. I was very upset and the secretary informed me that the staff member that had informed me my insurance was fine was no longer with them. I told her that the person was a representative of their staff and therefore that their practice had informed me that I was covered when indeed I was not.

bonner’s staff was super rude to me. it started from the moment i walked in, they were made at me for not filling out my personal information on the internet — I would have but the site didn’t work. then it continued with several other staff members being rude to me, and not in communication with the initial staff member. then they tried to pressure me to drop $ 360 or something on a mouth guard right then and there, basically saying that it was unreasonable to think it over for 2 minutes.
bonner, however, was rushed, but nice, and is probably a really good dentist, hence the generous 3 star rating. he probably caught something that many dentists before him had not, but i’ll wait for a second opinion. either way, it was a very frustrating visit and i’m not going back.

It has taken me a long time to write this review but finally I am prepared to after a long period of time feeling unable to deal with the tremendous upset that this dental practice has caused me.
I was treated by Dr. Manato from around 2008 to 2011. In that time he managed to cause damage to three of my teeth which ultimately resulted in having one corrected elsewhere with maxillofacial surgery.
I would estimate that the personal cost of this incompetence ran into several thousands of dollars to correct.
I am more than happy to discuss this case with a lawyer if Dr. Bonner so wishes, as I have ample evidence to support this accusation.
Bottom line. Stay away for your own health, money and sanity.

After two years of going to a dentist that failed to perform any type of thorough examination or do any preventative maintenance on my teeth, which resulted in one of my molars cracking in half, I finally gave in, switched to the dental PPO, and went back to Dr. Bonner, who had been my dentist before I ended up on that god-​forsaken DHMO. I feel like Dr. Bonner consistently finds and corrects the issues with my teeth (usually minor cavities), which is all I ask for from a dentist!!! He also explains what he’s doing, shows me what the problems and options are, and is very good-​natured, friendly, and gentle, as is his staff. Never had any problems with him or his office in the first three years I went there, and I’m relieved to be back.

They’ve been cleaning my teeth for years. They do a good job. They only once, in 8 years, billed me for a service (x-​rays) that they didn’t provide, and quickly removed the charge when notified.

I have been going to Dr. Bonner for almost a decade. The staff is friendly and Dr. Bonner keeps up with the latest technological advances in dentistry.

I went here after a co-​worker recommended it, but my experience was less than stellar. Everyone who worked there was nice, but during a round of fillings Dr. Bonner hit a nerve with the needle when he was numbing me, but never explained what happened – not even when I called later complaining that my tongue was still numb. For MONTHS.
The dentist I switched to after him also found that my filling wasn’t done correctly and there was a void in my tooth due to the filing not being pushed down in the space properly.
He also seems to tell everyone who comes in that they need a bite guard because they clench their teeth at night, Not sure what that’s all about.

Let me start off by saying I *hate* the dentist. It brings an anxiety and fear like no other and it takes about 4 weeks to psych myself up for a mere cleaning. My goodness. Everytime I go it’s a big ordeal because *I* make it a big ordeal. Given all this, Dr Bonner has been EXCELLENT. He is so patient and and his technique is fantastic (and I love that he does his own cleanings!!). I also appreciate all their technology: electronic medical records, emailing, text messaging — very nice. The office is clean and up-​to-​date and granted it’s small, I kind of like it… more intimate and the staff is quite friendly. Give it a try — if I can tolerate it, anyone can!