Tar Heel Periodontics and Implant Dentistry

Apr 2023

Wonderful location and staff! Jamie was welcoming and made me feel like I have been a patient there all my life. The staff and doctors are also very warm and friendly especially for me who is not a fan of dental work.

Mar 2022

I'm having an incredible difficult time getting them to submit a claim to BC/BS for me. We paid over $2K upfront and requested it to be submitted to insurance. It was submitted to only dental and was denied. We requested again with follow up text (no phone answered) on 3/6th, more info and text send 3/14, (no phone answered) called again today, no answer, sent another text! Receipt lacking procedure codes, units, tax id, Dr's name and titles so I'm unable to submit on my own. Really hope this review gets to someone who can help. Care was great but this is very expensive and difficult

Feb 2022

This update ONLY applies to Dr. Deliz-Guzman and his medical team. When I rebooked my surgery, I told Tarheel Perio I wanted a different surgeon. If there had been no one else available, I would have run away. Dr. D-G was the doctor I spoke to weeks before when he was the on-call doctor. He's the one who actually told me to start taking antibiotics before the procedure (first attempt).We decided that since my pain level was off the charts last time, this time it would be done under partial anesthesia. I 95% had a good experience with him and his team. Again, I was expected to sign forms I was given at the last possible moment. My general dentist explained that it's actually common practice!?!?! Apparently, this is done to save paper & ink, because so many procedures are cancelled. WTF? Deny patients essential medical and legal docs until minutes (no exaggeration) before being cut up in order to save paper! You know what else saves paper but ALSO is good patient care? Posting the docs on Tarheel Perio's website like other periodontists in the US do!!Patients can read vital information and ponder the risks at their leisure, ask the doctors questions if needed, etc. In signing papers last minute, I was accepting risks of complications I couldn't understand or pronounce. And like the first doctor, Dr. DG underplayed the pain/recovery aspect a bit. Maybe all his other patients WERE able to return to work the next day. It took me weeks. Maybe all his other patients DID feel as if the graft donor site was just like a bad too-hot-pizza & cheese-burn. To ME, it felt like I'd been sucking on a red-hot poker. That lasted quite a while. I was referring to Dr. DG below regarding how I didn't get post-op instructions until I was being wheeled out. My husband videotaped it just so I could watch it later. I was still out of it. Because he got info last minute, we had to pay way too much money for grocery delivery give me a variety of food to eat. We also had to borrow a blender last minute to purée everything. Or she'll out $60! With the exception of the shady 'environmental' practice of withholding patients' crucial info until the morning of, and the practice of giving post-op info verbally, post surgery - I did have a great experience with Dr.D-G. When I was going in for the procedure, he explained the equipment and what each thing would do. He covered what he and his staff would be doing. He made sure all my questions were answered. As they were injecting chemicals and hooking me up to strange equipment, he briefly covered again what it was & why it was important. Maybe this type of surgery is CALLED partial anesthesia, but I don't remember a thing! Fortunately. PRE & POST OP with Dr. DG: When my husband called with questions, they answered the phone or called back. Not a single auto text! After leaving the facility, patient care continued to be great. Even if the team was in surgery, a human answered phone calls and let you know how long it would be to hear from his team. This human accurately relayed messages, so the caller who contacted us later had answers, instead of asking us to go over everything again. I would like to thank Kiara, their surgery coordinator. She bent forwards, backwards and did cartwheels to get me what I needed. She responded to emails quickly. She got me info I needed afterwards. I actually sent her flowers afterwards because she was amazing. So to summarize- Tarheel Periodontics is a mixed bag. Dr. K and Rudy = bad. Dr. D-G = great. Dr. Kretchmer either didn't listen, didn't confirm or didn't believe I'm sensitive to pain. His surgical fumbling forced me to endure an excruciating experience, mentally and physically. At least Dr. K respected my wish to not be hugged, after he offered. Unlike his ginormous team member, Rudy, who came looming over me minutes later in the hall. Reaching for me with the wingspan of a B-52, forcing me to walk backwards, putting my hands and knee in front to guard me. After that encounter, I