Niel R Woods, DDS

This starts with my regular dentist is moving locations and I chipped a tooth. What to do? Got a recommendation for Dr. Woods from 1−800-DENTIST so I went with it.
I was a little worried when I walked in and the waiting room looked like a seminar for Dianetics but in for a penny…
Fast-​forward to the end: he had a thorough and non-​condescending discussion with me about my wants as well as needs to fix the tooth, and was able to save my tooth from needing a crown! The bonding repair is fantastic so far (about a month in) and I liked him so much I made a second appointment (non-​emergency) to get a cleaning, exam, and night guard (to protect this wonderful new bond).
If you don’t know where to go try him out. I was impressed and the work was well-​done.

Dr. Woods was wonderful. I had a tooth that had been cracked and was causing severe pain. My old dental insurance sucked and the dental office I was assigned to couldn’t get me in. I called Dr. Woods and his receptionist told me to come on in. After three sleepless nights, I was willing to pay out of pocket. I was in the office for an hour. Dr. Woods told me that my two options were pulling the tooth or I could have a root canal and either way it was my choice and he was supportive. He gave me some pain medication so I could get some sleep and told me if I ran out he would call me in another prescription. I had my tooth pulled 6 days later and had no issues. Overall it was a wonderful experience.

I feel so bad writing a bad review! I’ve never written one and I hate the thought of a small local business being hurt by a whiney reviewer. But, trust me, please, please don’t go here! What I just went through was pretty bad … I kept thinking that they were having a bad day and I was a lone case, but seriously … read on.
Today I felt like I had to post a review because I went to get my teeth whitened with a Groupon at a dentist in Olney. (It’s been about a month or two since I finished my work at Dr. Woods.) The Olney dentist inspected my teeth with a microscope to see if it could handle bleaching and said I had areas of decay in three places that were significant and that my crown was broken. He also said the cap I had was the wrong size.
Dr. Woods’ office completed five cavities and a root canal on my tooth very recently. I can’t believe they just left these other problems in my mouth, which is still tender from the work, which I though was a little violent. I asked the Olney dentist if it was difficult to spot those decays, thinking maybe Dr. Woods just could have missed it. But he said it was really evident and was really surprised it wasn’t taken care of.
This second dentist was not just trying to get my business — he knew I wasn’t coming back to the area. In fact, he recommended another dentist in the Annapolis area for me.
It gets much worse with my experience with Dr. Woods’ office. They had me pay my entire bill upfront — $ 3,300. I had no insurance, but I did it because I want healthy teeth, although I would have rather paid for each service on the day I received it. So then, on each visit, probably about 4 or 5 visits total, the front desk would start to charge me as I left. I’d have to explain that I’d already paid everything up front like they required me to. No one ever knew what was going on.
Then! Get a load of this. After I paid in full up front, I received a bill in the mail for $ 230 after all my work was done. No one had ever discussed additional charges with me. I tried calling the office, but that was two weeks ago and no one has called me back. I received another bill for the $ 230 and returned it saying I would not pay and to please call me. Nothing yet, so they might send it to collections and damage my credit. So, that’s great.
OK, it gets worse. During my treatment, the dentist was taking a mold of my teeth with gooey mixture. Only it slid down my throat and started to solidify. I started vomiting but my teeth were clamped shut so I just had to try so hard not to vomit but I was really gagging. They told me to hang on just a few seconds so I did. When they took the mold out, there was a long sting of goo that had slid down my throat and hardened … they said they were sorry they shouldn’t have had me lay down with that. Holy cow. I can still remember feeling that torture!
But I thought, «things happen.» I make mistakes in my job, so I guess dentists do, too. I wanted to roll with the punches a little. But this is too much.
Another time, the dentist sprayed something all over my shirt that caused it to bleach out. After the visit, I pointed it out to him and he said that the bleach he used to clean my tooth had probably sprayed on it. No apologies. Brand new shirt. So as far as I’m concerned, I should be billing the dentist $ 30 for ruining my new shirt. I wasn’t aware you should only wear white to the dentist. But again, I just forgave.
I could go on … I do have a couple more complaints, but I think you get the picture. This office is criminal. It is totally disorganized with billing and, more importantly, extremely shoddy dentist work.
The best thing I can say about it are the people are very friendly and nice and at least they didn’t kill me. I mean, I’m still alive, so there’s that.

Moved back to the area and tried this dentist out. Friendly receptionist staff, but the care is subpar. Not the «gentle dentistry» as advertised. Facilities are older but clean.