Stuart J. Balaban, DMD

Balaban hurt a lot of patients financially while in his Melville office. He took money up front when he knew that he was closing his business. I was taken for $ 4,000. He is practicing in Queens now. Watch out for this scam artist.

Scam Artist. Hopefully he is not still practicing.

While on the surface, he wears the façade of a jovial man, it took me two years to realize that he was a just a businessman who was more concerned with money than his patients’ well being. I saw him from beginning of 2007 until the middle of 2009 and was treated with Invisilign. I delineate three major problems I had:
Problem 1: Over the course of correspondence in a 2 month span, he gave me 3 different reasons as to why I should incur an additional charge after I finished with my 3^rd set of aligners.
After being given three different reasons as to why I would be charged an additional $ 1000, why would I pay it?
Problem 2: Lack of Information regarding Invisilign procedure:
Dr. Balaban was never clear about the risks related to Invisilign, how long it would take to straighten my teeth with Invisilign, and about the possible additional costs. Furthermore, I never knew that I would have to have reproxes (grinding of teeth) to create space so that my teeth could move.
Problem 3: Insurance
A major reason that I decided to get Invisilign was that Dr. Balaban told me that he would submit paperwork to my provider as if I was getting regular braces and that I would be reimbursed.
After I saw that I was not receiving my checks, I constantly called the receptionist in order to discuss the matter. She seemed confused and repeatedly told me that she would check with the insurance company. After constantly her about this matter, I first received checks in the beginning 2008.
I called the insurance company and found out that most of the checks were made out to your office. In the end, I received approximately ½ the amount that I thought I would.
While I generally found his staff to be personable, I was highly disturbed by his business practices and opted not to see him again although my back teeth technically were not straight.
In summary, don’t support businesses that don’t practice honestly.