Philip Spencer Spencer G Philip, DDS

I am appending my several updates from initially great first visit to subsequent decent visits to insurance follow-​up credit conversation frustrations. Upon hearing of my negative hiccups from visiting this practice, Dr. Chapa reached out to me and left me a voicemail to ask me to call him back at the office or on his personal cell. I returned his call and we had a civilized, polite discussion that stemmed from the small hiccups turning into the little things that added and gave me that negative perception.
I will preface this by saying that in no way was I angry with Dr Chapa or dissatisfied with him during the surgery or any work performed on my implant. The work and quality that he performed was great and I truly appreciate the professional and courteous manner he has from every single visit that I’ve had with him. The frustration was solely from not having anyone from the medical insurance department give me great follow up which can be understandable when people that I previously last talked to for a follow up are not in office and thus getting the «I’m sorry, we don’t have any idea what you’re talking about, please re-​explain your entire situation» can be a bit frustrating. That and the few times that I politely asked to be followed up on my credit for refunds every time I called, felt like I was being very bothersome and pestering them when they had better things to do than follow up on my wanting an update.
If there is anything unsatisfactory, I would hope one could reach out to Dr. Chapa to discuss as he has the business practice of hearing open feedback and should anyone have any frustrations, be heard and ensure they are made aware of why they may feel that way. Our conversation together helped me move past the dissatisfaction I had as I received a check for several follow up items that were previously not clearly discussed by all parties but Dr. Chapa has made things right.
After all, when dealing with anything medical or dental payment related, these costs paid do add up and to understand how working with insurance and the money being applied to debts could be broken down for better transparency when dealing with hefty price tag on dental procedures. That way I wouldn’t feel as swindled if someone were to ask me for the hefty payment of what my insurance didn’t cover. Some people are OK with being left out on the dark for these sorts of things. However, as a well informed customer who does ask tons of questions regarding the bill, I do want to emphasize their process sounds like it will improve over time as they gain experience. Local Austin business and dentist practitioners are still here and honest! Thank you very much for the great follow up and listening to this customer.
Overall: Additional outsource of services for ImagDental that was missed and included my extra $ 89 fee was because my first set of results came back with something a miss and Dr. Chapa wanted to have follow up details to ensure everything was OK. Unfortunately no one at either practice explained these extra services and ImagDent called me saying I «just needed to pay more because Dr. Chapa forgot to check a box». Communication there was mismanaged but was fully explained at the end when I spoke with Dr. Chapa. Pieces turned over to my dentist from Dr. Chapa for installation of my implant were also covered by my dentist and thus the communication «to be had with Dr. Chapa of a refund on parts turned over» was not had of who would supply the additional pieces needed for the impressions to make my tooth. If all was communicated to all parties, I’m sure this would not have been as big of an ordeal that I thought it was made out to be.

Was sent to Dr. Spencer by my dentist for a crown lengthening surgery. He personally called me the day after the procedure to check how I was feeling.

Came her referred by my regular dentist because I had deep pockets in my gums.
Dr. Spencer took care of that and I am still healing from the procedure on all 4 quadrants of my mouth, been about a month and a half since I had it done and I must say I am very happy with the results. Sure am glad I came to see him. I guess I will be keeping all of my teeth for a very long time.

My dentist sent me to Dr. Spencer to have a crown lengthening so he could do his job. I was able to get in to see him right away when I explained what I needed done and the staff was great. They kept me informed, resent the surgery instructions promptly when I missplaced mine and the surgery was nothing like I thought it would be. Dr. Spencer explained everything in great detail… even drew me pictures:) The recovery is still in progress but so far my experience with this office and dr. Spencer has been very positive. Not only that my personal dentist in which I have gone to for years highly respects Dr. Spencer and had nothing but good things to say about him which weighed heavy in my book .
i appreciate the care I was given at Dr. Spencers and thank him and the staff for taking such good care of me.

I had a gum graft procedure done at Dr. Spencer’s office about a week and a half ago.
Here’s what I can’t comment on: whether or not I was «pushed» into getting this procedure done without good reason (I am not a dental health specialist, so I’m not really at liberty to give a medical opinion on the «need» for this procedure) nor can I comment on how Dr. Spencer and his team stack up against other periodontists (this is the first, and hopefully last, gum graft for me).
Here’s what I can comment on: my experience.
I was unhappy to hear Dr. Spencer’s recommendation that I get a gum graft, but his job is to make those kinds of recommendations. I elected to get the procedure done (because I’m interested in maintaining the best possible level of oral health), but I’m sure had I neglected against the procedure they would have let me leave that day unscathed.
Dr. Spencer and his assistant did a very good of explaining what the procedure would entail, and he, as well as the people at the front desk, were very helpful with insurance, payments, etc.
The day of the procedure I was prescribed 3 Xanax to take before going in, which I did. When I arrived, I was very quickly whisked into a room, numbing gel was applied and the procedure started almost right away — no time to sit and worry. As far as I know, I had just about as much gum grafting happen in one day as is possible — six teeth in total. All things considered, the procedure itself was more or less painless (although, admittedly not pleasant) and I was in the car on the way home no more than 1.5 hours after I arrived.
The recovery was, in no uncertain terms, hellacious, but I don’t think that’s in any way a reflection on Dr. Spencer. I was given all the prescriptions I needed to recover, and Dr. Spencer and his staff were available whenever I had questions (in addition to being able to call the office, the packet you are sent home with includes an emergency pager number as well as Dr. Spencer’s home number, although I never used either of these).
I hope I never have to have this procedure done again, but if I do, or if any of my friends ever need to have it done, I wouldn’t hesitate to go back to/​recommend Dr. Spencer.

I am impressed by the organization, friendliness and professionalism of this office. I need gum surgery and they are working with me and my insurance to do it in the time that I am able. They call my insurance for me and inform me of the costs upfront.

These other two reviews are concerning. The first review suggests that she still goes to the office for a cleaning and when she was there they caught she had a cavity — but is the office’s fault it was so large? You generally know when you have a cavity, and only the dentist filling the cavity can determine whether you need a root canal (that’s what dentists do). So is a good thing the perio hygienist caught it. Teeth are just a pain — you never really know what they are up to.
The 2^nd one, well he’s lucky he was able to «see» another periodontist since they are so few and far between in Austin that (1) file your insurance; (2) accept new patients; (3) take state of texas insurance; and (4) aren’t a dental warehouse. With someone who barely is holding onto their teeth, there’s little room for going around and having consultations with the other 2 available perios who meet the four criteria above (several who work at perio warehouse; and the other who does NOT file insurance & has poor customer service).
I knew I was in trouble so I took a chance since no one was accepting new patients, and after some initial work to get me on the right track ended up with full mouth flap surgery and bone grafts. Yep, they pushed me to have the surgery (they want you to keep your teeth), and yes, it hurt (do you expect it won’t? Your teeth are actually connected to your jaw, who knew?), but it was nowhere as expensive as noted in the first review (but yes is expensive — I have not been able to afford this until now so I know I am very lucky).
I was so concerned about the surgery — scaring myself to death reading on the internet — but finally said «how can it be worse than it is now?» It was dreadful — but I could not have been better taken care of and I was really impressed with Dr. Spencer’s skill and bedside manner during a lengthy surgery. It was very stressful but he just kept on going, making sure I was in no pain if it could be avoided, and really having good bedside manner while staying focused (going back to a comment I’ve read that they’ve never seen Dr. S – that’s because he’s performing extensive 4-​hour surgeries almost without stopping or I swear, blinkng). Dental assistants were constantly there helping him and being a great comfort and assistance to me.
I am so glad Dr. Spencer and his staff hung in there with me. I can now: CHEW, SLEEP, Wake up WITHOUT PAIN, and take CARE of my teeth. I no longer have jaw-​related migraines. I started jogging again. I finally used this little auger they gave me for going between my teeth (I have been afraid to use it b/​c I thought it would «HURT»), and it was a good thing (try it)! I have always dreaded going to the office — and I am looking forward to my next visit.
Dr. Spencer & his staff are working with me and my regular dentist on next steps (Dr. Spencer’s office only does periodontal cleanings and surgery) for some other work (fillings, crowns, etc) and I suspect we’ll be knowing each other as long as he can put up with me.
The front office staff has been exceptional in taking care of someone like me; advised me on payment plans if needed; and have helped work through some boring insurance stuff. The dental staff has been awesome — making sure I am not in pain and being overall just nice (must be a good culture behind the scene), and really taking good care of me.
Dr. Spencer has provided very good TREATMENT, hands-​on, explains everything, collaborates with me. When you go to get regular perio cleanings it’s OK that you don’t see him but if you want to say hi, just say so. His perio hygenists are trained to do what you need.
Treatment is a two-​way street. If you think something’s not right or you need more, just say something. It does seem a little odd that someone would get four quadrants deep cleaned in 30 minutes and I will keep my eye on this — but there is one lady there that is as fast as she is NICE (about 20 years experience I think) — and I hope there is a misunderstanding.
The only reason I didn’t give 5-​stars is not for reasons anyone should NOT use this office. When I know I’ve got «two-​thumbs up», I’ll change it! Also, they didn’t use gas or put me to sleep (and I am sure there is a darn good reason for it as I am sure he would prefer me asleep when he works on me!)
PS I have also had problems where I needed attention and they’ve worked me right in, and no kidding — will give you Dr. Spencer’s home phone number for surgical patients over the holiday (I would have only called the answering service, but how awesome is that?)

I had a poor experience with Dr. Philip Spencer’s office, a periodontist in Austin, TX. His office was very aggressive in pushing me to have surgery. I later learned from another periodontist that I did not need surgery.
They also performed root scaling/​planning on me for four quadrants in only 30 minutes. I later learned that it is physically impossible to have this done this fast.
Overall, I had a very poor experience. I’d be very careful with this office. I would not recommend them.

I will never go back to this office, EVER!
The first time I met Dr. Spencer (3 years ago), he printed up a $ 7,000+ treatment plan! I did not go through the gum graft surgery’s that he recommended I get for my molars. I am fine and have no pain, and think the surgery is too drastic for a 28 year-​old! I had braces and my top molars shifted so that the gum line is receding. No pain, no sensitivity at all, so why bother.
Long story short. I have been going there for cleanings 4-​times per year (double dental insurance so why not?). For the longest time I would get a cleaning and Dr. Spencer never came by to even say «hi» little lone check my teeth. The hygienist should be trained and educated to spot a cavity. So during my last routine cleaning my hygienist felt a soft spot which indicates a cavity. She told me to see a dentist for a filling. I, being the good patient, made an appointment and saw a dentist within the month. The cavity was so large at this point that not only did I need a root canal, but also a crown!!! If I were told earlier that there was decay I would have been able to just get a filling! So I so not trust, do not respect and not not believe anything this office does. They just want your $$$, so run away from them and run fast!