Connect Health & Community

The dental and ancillary staff of Connect Health Bentleigh deserve a humanitarian award for continuing to provide emergency services at the height of the pandemic in Victoria, when virtually every clinic, public and private, was closed.

Dentistry is a high risk profession that exposes clinical staff to blood, saliva, respiratory aerosol, etc and no amount of PPE will protect clinicians from exposure to SARS- CoV-2.

The staff were frontline emergency workers and true blue heroes. While GPs, specialists, and allied health were cowering behind telephones and you couldn’t find a doctor in Melbourne these unassuming heroes soldiered on regardless.

In November 2020 I had an emergency procedure for an infected canine tooth. I got an appointment within three days of seeking one. I think I was seen by Mila and Jasmine (?). I remember their names were written on a white board in a jaunty script.

I was disappointed but not surprised by the pettiness and ingratitude of some of the other comments. Apparently the interminable ramblings of one of these ingrates was cut short by a harried, time-pressed “Asian” dentist who had probably skipped lunch and was facing two hours overtime.

A bearded ingrate nearly burst into tears when another clinician spoke unkindly of his facial hair and the challenge it posed for a dentist. You’d think the bearded gent had been told to muzzle his pet or remove it.

Fortunately, Connect Health offers therapeutic interventions that specialise in hurt feelings and bearded snowflakes; along with grief counselling for those who think Bentleigh refers to the limousine service they were born to ride in.

The clinical staff of Connect Health Bentleigh who worked through the pandemic should be awarded the Bravery Medal for acts of bravery in hazardous circumstances.

Went here this morning for a bad tooth. The reception was great. And I was out of the place within 30mins of entering and the tooth pulled. The procedure was pretty painless and efficient. However the dentist guy could work on his "seatside? " Manner. He come across as very rude. I was explaining to him about a previous bad experience just so he was aware. He didn't seem to want to know. I also stated I'm not a fan of needles and I don't react the best. But I'm not violent or aggressive when I get them. He got defensive and said " well you better not get violent" all I could say is I don't. The only other issue I had was at the end I mentioned the only slight pain I had was what felt like hair being pulled on my chin when he was doing the pull (the way he had the hand positioned made the glove grip to my beard hair) I was saying it jokingly because I didn't feel a thing otherwise. And he very seriously said. "Well you should've shaved then " other then the way I was spoken to. It was a great experience.

My Dentist Jasmine and Assistant Mila, were so gentle, thoughtful and patient with my anxiety and swallowing concerns. Well done all staff I interacted with. Thank you so much.

First time I went there I usually go to a professional dentist!
I regret it!
The Asian guy dentist is so rude careless and speaks in an arrogant manner or won’t talk at all and won’t let u talk at all! Rushing to finish and not careful at all for a filing, can’t even match it and make it in the right proportion useless completely and will cause pain!
Being a dentist got into his head not sure but he’s the worst I’ve ever been to. He’s not for the community for sure and he makes the centre look bad with such behaviour!

The worst and most painful and most embarrassing experience at a dentist ever. The dentist filled a tooth over an infection and the pain was excruciating. They finally gave me a voucher to go to a REAL dentist and I had to have a whole front tooth extracted. Do not go here. Go to the dental hospital in the city. The dental students are better than the dentists at Connect Health.

Lovely caring staff all around from the moment you step in the door. Donner was especially great with my 5yo

I called up to enquire if they do dental crowns as I am financially unable to get it done privately being a full time student and not earning an income. The receptionist informed me that they do and that I’ll need to go on a waiting list and so I did.
Some time later I called to see what the progress was on the appointment wait list, and the receptionist said it was still a while away and asked me if I was in pain. I explained to her that I sometimes did experience pain but it wasn’t constant. She then proceeded to book me in for an emergency appointment.
When I went in for my appointment I paid $29, and as I sat in the chair the dentist question why I was booked for an emergency appointment as after the test he performed, he was unable to bring on the pain that I sometimes experienced. He also mentioned that they do not do dental crowns there, but they do a temporary fix which will help until the patient is able to afford to get the crown done privately. This made me furious as I had specifically asked the receptionist if they did dental crowns there and she had told me they did. I felt like it was a waste of my time and money and the dentists time, and that the appointment could have been given to someone who actually required it seeing how long the waiting list is!
I called up to complain about it and ask for a refund, and the staff pretty much had no compassion and no understanding because they said that I still had that appointment and therefore I had to pay.
They also told me that in some cases they offer a referral to get crowns done through the public dental hospital but a criteria needs to be met.
My complaint was for the fact that either the receptionist gave the wrong info/ not all the info I needed to know before booking me in, or the dentist didn’t have the knowledge about the referral to the dental hospital, or the person I spoke to just used this as an excuse to cover up the incompetence of the reception staff.
Regardless, all their staff need further training as to what services are offered and they need to work on providing better customer care because paying for an appointment for a consultation to a service that the don’t provide is unacceptable.