Dr. Idalina Carvalho Garcia, MD

The office was very unwelcoming of me as a new patient. They are also very money-hungry as their prices are outrageous.

Lina Garcia's expensive and poor workmanship on a crown for my back molar and her subsequent handling of the situation raises a warning flag for me to alert others. I mentioned problems with my bite which she ignored for 2+ years. It knocked and hit other teeth inconsistently over 2 years before it became painfully obvious as the source of increasing pain. Dr. Garcia's expert advisement was PULL THE TOOTH RIGHT NOW, $$$$$. I suspected something was not right about this and saw another DDS same day, between patients, he took a pano xray to explain and clearly show Dr. Garcia made an overly large and poorly shaped crown. Within 15 minutes the other dentist reshaped that crown and we agreed he would put a new crown on later... he couldn't guarantee the tooth wasn't damaged so we waited. He re-did her work and it is still perfect. No root canals involved. No further problem. The state board of Illinois intervened to help me get money back from Dr. Garcia. She was unintelligible and… hysterical to deal with by phone. She eventually only refunded half of what I paid. Claiming her special cavitation procedures was not part of the crown. She also insisted I remove previous reviews of her work on Facebook and speak with the dentist who solved the problem she created. She claimed she wanted to learn from him, but spent that time promoting and defending herself rather than listening. I should have seen the earlier red flags when she included costs for video of live bacteria in my mouth as part of a standard check. She also likely hopes I forgot she once cancelled an appointment with her after I'd arrived (a 55 minute drive) and gave me toothpaste as consolation. Painful & Expensive Lesson Learned: Avoid extremists like her in all things. Find a real dentist who specializes and loves dentistry, and respects you as a patient with your own preferences and limitations for health ... without a piano in the office, toothpaste and rinse brands to up-sell, dietary opinions, recipes, celebrity-seeking ... and someone who doesn't have a shameless self-promoting agenda. I will NEVER forget.