Charles Strumfeld, DDS

You couldn’t tell when you enter this moderate looking office that the best dentist in the country works here. I had the worst toothache the other day and I called him up and his staff was almost as sweet and kind as the dentist was competent. He took me right away and worked out a payment plan because I did not have any dental insurance. That is what kept me from calling a dentist until the condition became an emergency. Dr. Charles Strumfeld, treated me like a mensch. He had me under dental surgery for 2 and ½ hours. would you believe it didnt hurt either. I was deathly afraid of dentists ever since childhood. He had a way of shooting me up with novocaine first and then sticking bigger needles in so it was painless. I recommend this dentist to everybody. He was honest and didnt charge me a cent more than planned and he was nice and not snobby. Actually he was really down to earth and could understand my fears and concerns. I have been to many dentists in the past and he is far and away the best I have ever been too.

This man should be ashamed of himself. I went here thinking «A dentist is a dentist.» Boy, was I wrong.
The cleaning with the hygienist was fine, but once he came into the room, things went downhill quickly. First, he questioned my latex allergy («How do you KNOW you have a latex allergy), more or less suggesting I was inventing it. I have never had a medical professional do this. Next, he starting suggesting procedures. He wanted to rip out all of my amalgam fillings, telling me that they were «dangerous» and that he could replace them all with new white feelings that would be less unsightly. He insisted on the work. I made an appointment for the next day to begin the long and arduous process of replacing all of my old fillings (and there are lots).
When I got home, I started researching. Having worked for a health insurance company for 5 years, this rang sort of fishy to me. Why would my insurance pay for procedures that were not medically necessary? There was nothing wrong with my fillings. This would be all cosmetic. I called a friend who worked in a dental office for ten years to ask her about the claim that the amalgam fillings were unsafe. She told me that claim was totally unfounded, and that it was the process of REMOVING them that was dangerous. As they drill out the old fillings, you risk swallowing pieces.
I immediately called his office to cancel my appointment, which I had made hours earlier, and was told that there was a 24 hour cancelation policy, and that I’d be liable for a fee. I told her I had only just made the appointment, so there was literally no way to cancel in that timeframe. I also told her not only would I not be paying the fee, but that I was going to call Delta Dental and report suspicious activity. Having worked for an insurance company, I knew they could flag all of his claims for further review, checking for upcoding, and requesting xrays to substantiate the need for the work performed. This would slow down his payment process, but ensure that he only got paid for the things that needed to be done.
He called me within 10 minutes to try and intimidate me into not calling the insurance company. He insisted that my recollection was wrong, and that he never intended to perform the procedures he, himself, has told me I needed merely a few hours before. He actually raised his voice to me, at which point I told him I found his conduct deplorable and that I was disconnecting the call.
I never did make the call to Delta Dental, but I wish I had. It seems this is a frequently occurring issue with him, as I just read a bunch of reviews on a ratemds site that recount the same tales.
Charles Strumfeld is raking advantage of people in a blue collar town who just trust whatever the doctor says.