I called during business hours to set up an appointment; there was no answer so I left a message. Repeat this scenario three days later. Two weeks passed when I realized I still hadn't gotten an appointment set up so I called again &, this time, was fortunate enough to speak with someone & set up appointments for both myself and my husband. We were new, first time patients to this clinic. Upon my asking, they said to plan on each turn taking an hour.
We made back-to-back consecutive appointments, so we would be able to tag-team caring for our baby while the other person was being seen by the dentist. We explained this to the staff, who thought it was adorable and said they were happy to accommodate us.
When headed to our appointments, we were unable to find their location. There were no directions listed on their website and Google Maps had them pegged incorrectly. I called SIX times, meanwhile my husband simultaneously called three times. Each time, it went to voicemail after five rings. On my husband's fourth try, he was finally able to speak with someone.
When we arrived, we made it through just the beginning of the virtual paperwork on the iPad (that the receptionist admitted to not knowing how to fully use) before it died. They told us we could just finish after they charged it. Our appointment was at 11am, so I'm not sure why (1) they only had one iPad for check-ins and no backup hard paperwork or anything in case it malfunctioned or (2) why the iPad wasn't charged & ready to go for the day.
I was called back first & spent the next HOUR having giant pieces of plastic shoved in my mouth for their 'new, digital X-rays' that the hygienist admitted to not being very good at doing. Each picture took a minimum of two tries, as she kept angling it wrong/not putting it far enough back/etc. When I told her the plastic piece she kept shoving farther back in my mouth was greatly hurting my gums, she replied, "Well, you can just gargle with salt water when you get home."
When the dentist finally saw me, she was very pleasant and professional. I was surprised she wasn't the, "Dr. Miller," that I'd made my appointment with and who was listed on their webpage (I later found out that Dr. Cami had just taken over the practice this month. No mention was made as to what happened to Dr. Miller or why his abrupt exit without notifying his patients).
When my husband had his turn, he also had a horribly inept dental hygienist who was clueless how to manage their X-ray machine. After his X-rays also taking an hour, Dr. Cami stepped in to start his exam. After a few moments she said she had to step out to tend to another patient.
I was waiting in the waiting room with our infant & beginning to become concerned about the time, as we had already been there over three hours. I was not alone, as the other woman who was also out waiting notified the receptionist that she would need to get her kids from school soon and was hoping they could hurry up. I asked how much longer it would be for my husband, and the receptionist said, "Just a few more minutes." After fifteen minutes more of waiting, I realized we were about to miss another commitment we'd set up for later that afternoon & we had to leave. When my husband let them know that we needed to get going to our upcoming commitment for that day, instead of bringing Dr. Cami back to his room to finish his exam, they sent him out & told him he could come back "later" to finish.
After going through the hassle to take off a day of work & sit at the dentist for four hours, we asked if he could return in an hour to finish the exam. They said he would need to schedule an appointment for a different day to finish his exam. We ended up canceling our later commitment so he could have his exam finished right then.
We spent over FOUR HOURS at this office for two exams! Not even a cleaning! There was nothing done to our mouths other than them glancing and poking around. I cannot imagine the amount of time I would have needed to schedule if we'd actually wanted a cleaning done!
We only chose this dentist as they are preferred providers for our insurance. We are strongly considering moving forward with our old dentist, though they are not covered via insurance, as we cannot imagine going back to Cedar Valley Dental regardless of being "in network."
Dr. Cami was very nice, but her staff needs extensive training in not only customer service (like how to answer a phone! Or call someone back! Or have intake paperwork prepared so customers don't have to stay after their appointment to finish because an employee didn't charge the iPad!) but also in how to use their not-even-that-advanced technology.
Their hours are terrible (closes at 3pm on weekdays) & I regret taking the time off of work to spend all day with an infant at such an incompetent dentist's office. Look somewhere else if you are hoping to find prompt, patient-centered care. read more