Bethesda Dental Spa

Updating to note that a second of their crowns fell out, two years after getting it. My new dentist put it back in, but told me it was a junky crown and looked to have been cemented in with temporary cement. I am glad that is what you get for $ 1500.

I haven’t been there in several years since I had a lot of work done in Thailand (I was already in Thailand, didn’t go there for dental work).
In retrospect it’s the best dental practice I ever went to. I thought Dr. Baer was extremely skilled and her fine motor skills are evident.
I don’t understand why people expect their dentist to read their insurance policy for them. It’s your policy. Get a copy and read it. If you have questions, call the insurance company. And blaming one practice for what an unrelated practice did?

Unfortunately, I have found Bethesda Dental Spa to be one of the most greedy and customer-​hostile businesses that I’ve ever worked with. The fact that they are a healthcare provider only makes my experience with them even more disappointing.
It’s only fair that I back that statement up with the details of the situation. But here’s the bottom-​line: you hire someone – painter, roofer, doctor, lawyer, mechanic, whoever, to do a job. They say it will cost you $ 2300. You pay them. Three months later, although nothing changed in the facts or scope of the job, they send you an additional bill for more than $ 700 – a more than 30% overage. When you question it, they adopt the attitude that this situation is perfectly normal, and insist that $ 2300 «was just an estimate,» utterly meaningless and nothing that they should feel any ethical compulsion to stand behind.
I mean, would this be acceptable to you? It seems unheard of to me that a legitimate business would misrepresent their price by a third and then come after the customer for more money. I mean, how inaccurate would an estimate have to be before they would take responsibility for it? 50%? 100%? More?
Also, please make no mistake. This is NOT a matter of an insurance company not paying what it was supposed to. I fully understand and support the notion that if insurance lapses or the insurance company otherwise doesn’t meet its commitment then the patient should be responsible for making sure that the provider gets paid. Rather, this is a matter of a provider, accidently or otherwise, claiming to have gotten accurate insurance information when they obviously did not, and so providing the patient with an upfront accounting purporting to show what the customer would pay and what insurance would pay with every single line item ultimately way, way off. And then, three months after the patient paid their share in full, presenting them with a bill for $ 700 extra.
So here’s the situation. I went to Bethesda Dental Spa for a dental problem. They told me what needed to be done and gave me a list of costs for each of four procedures, which the office manager claimed was accurate because she had contacted the insurance company to find out exactly what they would pay and what I would pay. I trusted Bethesda Dental Spa’s word and went ahead with them based on this accounting. The work was completed and I paid in full my portion of the costs, about $ 2300.
Three months later, out of the blue, Bethesda Dental Spa sent me a bill for over $ 700. I called them, and they insisted it was correct. It turns out that the accounting that Bethesda Dental Spa provided me upfront was, accidentally or otherwise, unconnected to the truth of the situation.
For example, regarding one of the procedures, Bethesda Dental Spa claimed that Delta Dental insurance would pay 50% of their fee of $ 1640. However, evidently, the published fact is that while insurance pays 50% of a reasonable fee, they consider the limit of reasonable fees for this service to be $ 1080. Therefore, Delta Dental pays only up to $ 540. However, that is not what Bethesda Dental Spa told me when they gave me the estimate. They merely stated that the insurance covers 50% and I would be responsible for the other half of their $ 1640 fee, or $ 820. It wasn’t until three months after the work was performed that Bethesda Dental Spa told me that this was all wrong, that I was responsible for half of the amount up to $ 1080, plus the entire amount of Bethesda Dental Spa’s $ 1640 fee over the $ 1080 limit, or $ 1100 rather than $ 820.
Three of the four procedures were misrepresented like that. In the estimate for the fourth service, Bethesda Dental Spa even had the percentage wrong, saying that insurance would pay 80%. In actuality, the insurance company pays that procedure 100%. So you’d think that, at least, that one would have been in my favor, with Bethesda Dental Spa’s surprise post-​treatment bill coming in less than their upfront estimate. Not so. Turns out, Bethesda Dental Spa’s fees are so much higher than what the insurance company considers proper that the amount they claimed I would owe, even considering the higher percentage paid by insurance, was still nearly triple what they told me it would cost me, $ 241 rather than $ 89.
I realize that these numbers may be hard to follow without all the documents in front of you, but, to summarize, here’s what Bethesda Dental Spa told me the four services would cost me BEFORE the work was performed: $ 820.00, $ 935.50, $ 437.50 and $ 89.20. And here’s what they told me they would cost me three months after we were finished and I thought I had paid in full: 1100.00, $ 1021.00, $ 537.50, and 241.00. PLUS they added on a preliminary service which had not been mentioned or billed before. All of this, again, sprung on me three months AFTER the service was completed and I had long since paid them in full based on their original cost accounting.
(Continued…)

Dr. Adams has single handedly changed my experience of going to the dentist from a negative one to a positive one. He is extremely proficient at what he does, as well as caring and honest. He has done by far the best job of any dentist I have and I have full trust in him. He also respects my concerns and takes time to address them. I would highly recommend him to anyone looking for a dentist. I also really like the hygienists at Bethesda Dental Spa, they are all caring and attentive as well. I also love that this office is holistic and fluoride free. They really are on the leading edge of dentistry.

My filling fell out after 18 mos (though it is supposed to last 5 years) and my ins wouldn’t pay for it again. I had to pay $ 3,000 out of pocket for their inability to perform the work properly. You have options. Look elsewhere.

I tried this office last month with my 4 year old. The décor is really nice and I felt really comfortable with the staff. My daughter’s appointment was after mine and they did a wonderful job keeping her engaged as I got my x-​rays and exam. She was able to color and play with my iPad as she waited. The hygienist was really nice. My daughter had a great exam and even hugged her. I was scheduled to have some work done but I really need to have a office that can bill me later. I would have to have the money up front for my co-​payment which was rather pricey so I will find another place closer to home and a bit more flexible. Otherwise I would have returned.

I chose this place because I wanted to go somewhere that was a little more holistic and wouldn’t try to make me brush my teeth with tons of chemicals. I went with my two year old and three year old for their very first dental exams. They were patient and kind to my children. The décor is clean and relaxing.
The staff did not check with my insurance beforehand and it turns out I needed to add my children to my dental plan. I thought they were added automatically when I added them to my healthcare since the plan is through the same company. The mistake was mine so I had to pay for my children’s check ups completely out of pocket. I essentially paid $ 500 to have a hygienist brush my kids teeth and the dentist look them over and say they look great.
Overall I think they did a good job but I don’t think it was worth the high cost.

I’m a huge baby when it comes to going to the dentist but I found the Bethesda Dental Spa and all of that changed (not really — they just know how to treat a 28yo baby lol). I started treatment with Dr. Baer 5 – 6 years ago. She’s cute and an amazing dentist (who knew that possible?). Her staff is extremely pleasant and make you fell warm (with a lavender neck pillow) and welcome. The past few visits I started receiving treatment from Dr. Zavareei who is new to the dental spa in the past year or two. She, like Dr. Baer, is cute and amazing as well. Needless to say, I’m spoiled when I go there and will be screwed if they ever go out of business or decide to leave. They are kinda pricey but I would recommend this dentist to anyone! I’d rather pay a little more for the best treatment than pay less for crap. They also give you the option to send text messages to confirm appointments and to remind you of an upcoming appointment and let you make appointments from their website. Call Diane at the front desk (she’s pretty cool) :-).

I have been going here for almost five years now I believe. This is a great gem hidden underneath a condo building in the North Bethesda area. Dr Baer and her staff are professional and friendly. I previously despised going to the dentist, but Dr Baer and her staff go out of their way to make you comfortable and relaxed (to include a warm neck roll when you have an exam or dental work done!). I used to live in the area, but since have moved to DC and Northern VA, and continue to make the drive up to North Bethesda because I’m very happy with this place! I’d highly recommend it to anyone looking for a new dentist.

Is it possible to actually look forward to going to the dentist?
This is the friendliest dentist office I have been to. They are very concerned with your comfort with many touches like warm neck rolls while you are stuck in the chair. The décor and ambiance is spa-​like and fun rather than clinical. The place even smells good. They have spa services to help you relax.
Most importantly, Dr. Baer is extremely skillful and efficient. She moves quickly through procedures that took longer at my former dentists (who were highly rated). Her rates are reasonable and I saved money by finishing a procedure with her that I started with a highly rated dentist who was far more expensive. Best of all, she listens very well and takes into account patient concerns.
I’m willing to drive further to get to Bethesda Dental Spa, even for routine cleanings. I actually like going.