ALPINE DENTISTRY

I don’t find it necessary for it to take 2.5 hours just for a cleaning on my 4 children. We have gone before and we were in and out in 30 min. Didn’t even meet the new dentist either, had no idea the last dentist retired. Just a bad experience all around.

Shady dentist office ! Beware! The dentist texted me before my visit, and in my text back I let him know I had already gotten X-rays and a cleaning this year, I didn’t need anything but for him to look at my gums and see if I needed gum treatment. When I get there, the chick says “time to do your x rays” and I said I don’t want to do any X-rays, she says they’re “on the house”. After getting told I need 5 fillings from the dentist and told I didn’t need gum treatment I left. They gave me a quote for the fillings I didn’t need but I never went back. And now? I’m looking at a past due bill for the X-rays for 60 dollars!!!!!!!

If only I could give them something lower than a 1 star. I finally have found the words to write this scathing review. I went to Dr. Stucki for several years and was never impressed with his poor bedside manners but he hadn't done anything necessarily wrong when it came to filling cavities and doing routine teeth cleanings. However, 2 years ago I went in for a cleaning and had Dr. Stuckis daughter as my hygienist. You could tell that she was Dr. Stuckis daughter from their near identical snobby attitudes. Durning the cleaning, she was trying to floss under my permanent bottom retainer and somehow BROKE IT IN HALF. I noticed immediately since it was stabbing my tongue and asked her if there was something wrong with the retainer. She had the audacity to say that it was already like that. Kid, I would have noticed if my retainer had already been broken into two pieces. Dr. Stucki then came in to check for cavities and I asked him about the retainer and he told me that he couldn't do anything. I had to go see an orthodontist after this dentist appointment to see if they could fix my retainer, and $300 later, I have a retainer that Dr. Stucki and his daughter will never be allowed to touch. I tried to call to see if they would somehow cover the cost of the retainer since it was broke by one of their hygienists but they refused. A 1 star review is far too generous to give this dentistry. Save yourself a trip to the orthodontist and choose a different dentist. Your teeth and wallets will thank you.

Seeing that Dr. Tornow is responding to these reviews, I decided to voice my concerns here with the hope that our experience can help those at Alpine Dentistry improve the patient experience for others.

We were patients of Dr. Jensen and Dr. Ghiz for over ten years and absolutely loved the front office staff, hygienists and of course Dr. Jensen and Dr. Ghiz. These two doctors are the best around. Unfortunately, with the new ownership, the front office staff has become complacent. They are slow to respond to requests, created billing mistakes often, made it difficult to schedule appointments, and act irritated at times.

Right after the ownership switch, my regular semi-annual cleaning that was scheduled with Dr. Jensen, was changed to Dr. Tornow. Initially, they made it sound like Dr. Jensen was out of the office or something like that, but that wasn't the case all all. I had a new dentist in Dr. Tornow. He is a kind man, and surely a fine dentist. But my customer/patient relationship for the past ten years was with Dr. Jensen and that had been removed without my permission. (Side note, my simple cleaning lasted over 90 minutes.) After pressing a bit, I figured out that Dr. Tornow was assuming all patients, and if I wanted to see Dr. Jensen I would need to specifically request Dr. Jensen in the future. This is fine, but good luck getting an appointment with Dr. Jensen now. He only has one hygienist now and appointments are already four months out. If we just dealt with Dr. Jensen, it would be worth staying but our interactions with the front office staff has forced us to look for another dentist. I wish nothing but the best to Dr. Jensen, unfortunately our family felt that it was time to move our family's dental needs to someone else. Thanks for ten great years Dr. Jensen! Hopefully we'll run into you soon!

I echo ALL of the other recent comments. I have been coming here for 5 years. I saw Dr. Stucki who owned the practice. I also saw Dr. Ghiz who was the orthodontist for 5 people in my family. I loved Jan as the hygienist. The new ownership fired all the front office staff and then hired people with little experience. I’ve had multiple calls about rearranging appointments because of scheduling glitches. I’ve had several interactions with Cristian and he is GREAT, but that’s been my only positive experience with the transition. Jan left and now I find out they have quit working with Dr. Ghiz. Dr. Jensen has also been at this office for years and is excellent, but my interactions with the new dentist, Dr. Tornow have been negative. They try and force you to get X-rays at every appointment even though most insurance companies will only pay for once a year. I’ll be going elsewhere or will only see Dr. Jensen from here on out. So sad they don’t value the people who have made the business successful.

I miss the old staff and Dr. Stucki. If Jennifer is still there, I’m sad to not visit with you at my cleaning. Dr. Jensen is great too. But my family had to leave after dishonest billing. We had 2 boys remove wisdom teeth and 2 signed documents for what we would pay out of pocket. We had a previous balance for cleanings that weren’t billed to insurance correctly and were denied. Instead of sorting it out correctly they asked my husband to pay our bill at his visit. They told him it was for x-rays for wisdom teeth. $1800. Two day later I called to ask about paying for the wisdom teeth, not realizing my husband had already paid more than enough. I paid another $800+ for my 2 boys over the phone, the exact amount of my 2 signed documents added together. I usually pay the bills but they were insistent at his visit that he needed to pay before he left. I asked for a refund and was told I could have one but I wasn’t given one. I complained and called and texted and I was finally told everything insurance covered has gone through and that I had a $274 refund. What?! I have been asking for the measly pittance of a refund since last July. I texted Dr. Tornow and he claimed Dr. Stucki’s staff wrote off too much in the past, that my insurance was to blame, that I needed to go to our company benefits coordinator and get better insurance. I kept telling them that my insurance covers a cleaning in full even though I’m on a co-pay plan because that’s what they said when I called them. They didn’t agree with me. If you take an insurance company on as a provider you agree to write off whatever the dental insurance company doesn’t pay. Not the patient. They stuck it to me. I you don’t like writing off what you’re supposed to do then don’t be a provider for that company. I also found out that one of my kids cleanings was never billed to insurance. I’m sure I ended up paying in full for his visit. Dr. Tornow seems like a nice guy and a smart dentist but I felt cheated, and being that it’s been over 7 months and I’ve yet to receive the promised refund, I feel duped. I check every month and my husband just says, “you’re not gonna see it”. It’s not worth suing but it’s worth warning anyone else.

Dr. Tornow was a fantastic dentist and I have no issue with him or his dental skills. The office, however, is a nightmare to work with. I was quoted a certain amount after insurance for my dental work, which I paid before leaving the office day of. I was told that they had called insurance and that they would cover x amount of the cost. Two months later I got a bill in the mail for an additional $400. Apparently insurance didn't cover it after all, which after calling my insurance, I learned that the office either a) didn't actually call to confirm with them, or b) the office staff misunderstood the coverage. Either way, this is a mistake on their part, not mine. I paid what I agreed to pay. Nevertheless, the office staff "generously" agreed to knock the remaining balance down to $200 and they would write off the rest. I paid. Now, another two months later I got ANOTHER bill in the mail for the remaining balance that they said they would remove with a notice that the bill was a final warning and would soon go to collections. I called the office (during office hours) several times and even left a message for a return call, but no one picked up/contacted me. Again, Dr. Tornow is a great dentist so this is a real shame.

Original Review:
I had to have three fillings placed this morning. I have had a lot of dental work done throughout my life, and hands down, this was the best experience. Dr. Tornow was friendly, quick, efficient, and did a great job fixing my teeth. He did all three fillings in about 30 minutes, and I didn’t even have to be numbed up! The members of his staff were also very friendly and made what could have been a tough experience much less stressful. I would definitely recommend Alpine Dentistry and Dr. Tornow!!

My cleaning felt gentle and comfortable and my teeth feel super clean. My dentist gave me good information about my teeth and gums. Alpine Dentistry gives the best dental care I’ve ever had.

Dr Aaron Jensen is the best! He has been our family dentist forever. Professional and caring. Love his staff too!

We have loved Alpine Dentistry for years and years. The staff is friendly and helpful, and Dr. Jensen is just awesome- experienced, caring and so knowledgeable.