Champions Dental

Dr. Esteban Garza is a solid dentist...that I will say without hesitation. But, his business operations....not so much. First, when he took over from Dr. Eller, there was absolutely no indication from him or his staff that he was not a preferred dentist in my insurance network. I'll take the blame for this, but it is important to note that I had no clue that Dr. Garza even bought the practice until I was in the patient chair getting my teeth cleaned on July 21, 2016! Second, it's important to share these facts about his business operations. It doesn't matter if his staff were subpar...he's the CEO of his own practice and the buck stops with him. I went to him on September 22, 2016, February 16, 2017 and August 23, 2017 for some repair work. In addition, I went to him on January 30, 2017 and August 10, 2017 for routine cleaning. NOT ONCE during any of those visits did he or his staff inform me that I had a growing outstanding balance because he was not in-network with my insurance. Typical health care businesses would bill the patient for unsettled balances after claims are adjudicated. In fact, the same practice of no notification happened for four more instances over a period of a year until I received a bill of $1107 on September 8, 2017. I can assure you that if I was billed for the $214 in a timely manner for my September 2016 by Dr. Garza, I would have investigated myself and discovered that he was out-of-network. My relationship would have been terminated with him immediately. Third, his staff on many occasions said 'this is not covered by your insurance', but not once mentioned the fact that he is not in-network with my insurance. I take full responsibility for this oversight, especially being in the insurance industry. But, there are people out there who do not know this industry as well as I do. Many, including the other dentists I spoke with yesterday, would find this behavior unprofessional of Dr. Garza and his staff not to be transparent about this, especially since they were aware. Sure, he takes my insurance, but not revealing that he's out-of-network ensures that he also gets paid his total charges! Finally, the statement of services rendered that are given to the patient is misleading. On it, Dr. Garza and his staff put a 'Dental Insurance Estimate', which is nowhere even close to what was actually paid. I looked at every single bill from Dr. Garza's office and each show an estimate that is ridiculously high. From a consumer's perspective, that is very misleading - especially so when you the dentist are fully cognizant that you are out-of-network. As you would expect, I am terminating my relationship with Dr. Garza. I will find dental services elsewhere. But I am guessing that I am not the only one who received a substantial bill months after the services were rendered...and to have this happen in the midst of Hurricane Harvey relief efforts and rebuilding...SMH.