I initially saw Dr. Skinner to establish dental care. In my previous experience, a first visit always included both a comprehensive exam and a cleaning, so I was disappointed to learn that I would not be receiving a cleaning that day. I agreed to schedule a separate visit for a cleaning. There was nothing comprehensive about my exam. They took X-rays, and Dr. Skinner briefly looked in my mouth. Almost immediately, the visit shifted into a sales pitch for Invisalign, a treatment I never expressed interest in. It felt very coordinated, as the assistant pulled up my insurance information, which seemed to prompt the discussion about pricing and discounts. Dr. Skinner spent over 20 minutes trying to convince me to commit to Invisalign that same day, repeatedly emphasizing discounts and even offering additional incentives if my husband and I both signed up. The entire experience felt more like a sales appointment than a medical visit, and I felt very uncomfortable with the pressure. I eventually declined and decided to seek care elsewhere. After transferring my X-rays to another dentist, I learned that one of my molars had a crack and needed a crown, something Dr. Skinner completely missed. I'm disappointed in both the lack of thoroughness and the aggressive sales tactics. I would not recommend this office to anyone looking for patient-centered, comprehensive dental care. Avoid this office unless you want your dental experience to feel like you're at a used car dealership. read more

Dr Skinner is not a caring dentist. rushes through everything and grumpy! the staff is very nice.

If I could give zero stars, I would. I'm new to Arizona and have been trying to find a trustworthy dentist to help with some much-needed dental work. After years of extreme dental anxiety, I finally built up the courage to address the issues I've been putting off--and I was fully ready to push through that fear. Unfortunately, my experience at Dentistry on 1st with "Dr." Cody made everything worse. From the start, I was repeatedly interrupted while trying to explain my concerns. While the front office staff and assistants were kind and professional, Dr. Cody was by far the most condescending and dismissive dentist I've ever dealt with. He frequently questioned whether I could even afford the treatment, asking, "Do you even have enough money for the work?" and told me I'd be "better off just having my teeth pulled" so I didn't waste his time. When I attempted to bring up concerns from previous dental work, he cut me off and said, "Dentists don't cause problems--they fix them. Everything wrong with your mouth is your fault." As someone already anxious about dental care, this was incredibly discouraging. I had been open about the state of my teeth, and his response was to look at me and ask, "So do you just not brush? Only eat sugar? Do drugs? Which is it?" Not only is that deeply inappropriate, it's also insulting and unprofessional. He dismissed my concerns, told me I was wrong for feeling the way I did, talked about me to his assistant in the hallway, and even called my previous dentist "a moron." I left that office more anxious and discouraged than when I arrived--and received no actual treatment because of how he made me feel. To make matters worse, the office itself is outdated and poorly maintained: ripped chairs, dirty and rotting wood countertops, very little lighting, and no baseboards throughout. This was a deeply upsetting experience, especially after overcoming so much fear to get there. I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone. You deserve a dentist who treats you with respect and care--this is not that place. read more

Won't answer phone and voicemail box is full. Charged me over $600 for a couple cavities and "stains" from coffee etc. while getting fillings, the assistant was literally spraying water onto my face and stabbing my tonsils. After fillings my teeth are extra sensitive and weren't before. Front desk is rude. I have never written a yelp review until now. read more

Staff are nice enough. True dental work job requires integrity. Quality efforts to resolve presented problems. This sadly turned out to be a Bad choice for an infection in gums. a good doctor would either clean it up before adding crowns , or, prescribe antibiotics or send patient to gum doctor for further review. no I was foolishly sold four new crowns when three of them were under five years old. I tried to explain this concern at the first visit. it's been painful chewing. So appetite is reduced, to gone. hurts too much to eat. cold drinks impossible. Moderate Eating is important for healthy life. Undereating is NOT healthy.esp for me. I thought dentists were supposed to care about their patients and DO THE RIGHT thing... allow the body to heal when the RIGHT action is taken. It's almost two months now since tmporaries. nearly One month since permanent crowns. Still pain with food pressure. where three of the four crowns are, is very sensitive to hot or cold. I can't fix this on my own. I went into to find the doctor 2 times. He was not there the days I showed up. They allegedly were his normal days. How can this be remedied? Jaw and headaches intolerable. Infectious diseases addressed. Informed they don't do dental infections, from what I was told. That I need to see my "seemingly unscrupulous dentist." I would like a phone call please to remedy this. Integrity request is a fair request. Thank you. AndreaK read more

Overall not the best experience. First red flag was the receptionist never answer the phone prior to me booking my first appointment (had to make it online). Second red flag was the tech doing my tooth cleaning getting so deep into my teeth my ears started to ring which has never happened. Last red flag was this most recent appt. It was just interesting that the doctor did not even bother to explain any of the procedure before we began. That has never happened to me. It got worse when I saw that he was going to use a scalpel and I had zero clue why and no walk through of the first half of the procedure. I've never been to a dentist that doesn't explain what they are doing as their doing it or even have a small walk through before even starting the procedure. The only good part was that I didn't feel the pain just an intense amount of pressure. Yet even then I've had a root canal done and that wasn't nearly as bad as this. Not the doctor for me ultimately. I don't care if someone has 20 years of experience or done hundreds of wisdom tooth extraction this is the first time I get this done and would expect that reassurance from the doctor before a procedure read more

I hate to write this review. It hurts me to write this review. But for the sake of everyone else, I MUST write this review. However after reading Adlai R's review I have to say my review is similar. I've been going to Dr. Schop for years. I have referred him to my friends and family. I trusted him. I stayed with him from his east side office near where I live and work, to his River and Alvernon office, and to this 1st and River office. This office is old, and run down. Not the newest technology. I don't like the staff, they are cold and unfeeling and humorless. They also always seem to be pretty stressed out. I had a different hygienist each time I went (3 times in total). So no real consistency there. About 2 weeks ago my tooth broke (or so I thought). Actually I had some bonding put on it 30 years ago and I thought "well that finally wore out". I made a late appointment thinking the dentist would see me and fix the problem if possible. He told me I needed two emergency crowns for $2000. The first one for the "broken" tooth, and the 2nd for a replacement crown that is leaking. My insurance would cover $1000 but that would max out my dental insurance for the year. Then they sent me home. As it turns out that was their big mistake. The next day I made an appointment with Gentle Dental on Broadway. It's close to my work and my boss recommended them. The first thing the dentist tells me, "oh, your bonding broke off. You don't need a crown there. I mean, you could get one, but it's not an emergency". Then he tells me, "I don't see any leakage from that other crown". If you go to this office just be forewarned. You might want to get a 2nd opinion. read more

Unprofessional front desk and unimpressive office. Double-booked themselves and turned me away at the door from a 7AM appointment. Front office had zero interest in facilitating or being helpful. read more

Dr. Skinner had been my dentist for over 10 yrs. & now no longer wants me to be his patient due to a disagreement over extracting my tooth a week ago. He referred me to an oral surgeon but I could not get in to see him until next month. The toothache became extreme & yesterday I went back to see Dr. Skinner. He refused to pull the tooth due to my anxiety & disagreement with him at our last appt. I was in tears in pain & he gave me a few more oral surgeon referrals & then I left. After my husband & I called several oral surgeons from the parking lot while I was in terrible pain we finally found one that told me to come right over. I had to wait a couple of hrs. to be seen but finally this nice dentist was able to successfully extract my tooth with the help of nitrous oxide which I had also asked Dr. Skinner to use for my anxiety. Dr. Skinner was confident that he could extract the tooth with no problems at first then changed his mind when he saw I was having some anxiety over it. He said he did not want to chance me possibly yelling in pain & disturbing other patients in his office. He also said that he didn't want to chance the extraction possibly not going well & me writing a bad review & ruining his overall 5 star rating on his online reviews. Turns out the extraction went very smoothe & don't understand why Dr. Skinner was not willing to work with me instead of sending me away while I was in so much pain. He also complained that I never followed through with his treatment plan. It would have cost me around $5000 out of pocket to fix all my dental problems which I do not have at this time. It appears that he cares more about money & his reputation than the care of his patients. I do not recommend him to anyone! read more

I have thought about this for a while, I have been going to this location for 20 years for all my dental needs, Dr. Weikhorst would examine and Tammy cleaned my teeth, The Dr. and I would talk about our latest global destination and Tammy would tell me about her kids. It was the best of dental times. I called up for my cleaning and to find out horror among horrors, those 4 words no patient ever wants to hear, "The Doctor has retired". Oh my god I shrieked, what am going to do here am I to go, I really do not like change, and what about our discussions of travel, and Tammy's kids? I was not super pleased but I made the appointment anyway, new dental hygienist, new doctor Cody, a pretty nice guy. Still everything changed, the lobby, the staff, the Deer in the woods wallpaper I stared at while my mouth was filled with muck, it was all was gone. Every time I went in I got a different hygienist, for a while. I broke of a cap after 25 years and this time it could, not have been fixed, 4 of my front teeth have been capped, all broken and not pretty. I got 6 new caps, a new smile and have been pretty happy with them. My main complaints about the newness have been fixed for the most part, I have the same hygienist when I come in, they are not trying to up-sale me all the time, of which I complained about. Some of my friends have complained, I still am going back, they have been pretty nice to me. I still miss Dr. Weikhorst and Tammy. read more

I found Dentistry on 1st just by looking at the "find a doctor" page on my dental insurance company's website. They were close to my house and I was in pain. I didn't do a lot of research before I went, so I wasn't sure what to expect. When I called to set the appointment, a friendly woman answered took all of my info and got me in very quickly. I appreciated that. When I arrived it was easy to get all of the new patient paperwork done and get my insurance checked, They took me back for the exam, the hygienist was very nice and answered all of my questions. They took xrays and Dr. Skinner came in to talk to me. We did the exam, and without going too into detail, I needed a lot of work done. When we approached the rocky area of pricing it got overwhelming for me. Dr. Skinner was able to help me through the tears and get to a place where we could talk about solutions. Naturally I had more questions and he answered them all brilliantly, where I could understand everything. I discussed pricing options, costs and insurance information with the front desk person - who was helpful and empathetic towards my financial situation. Still with all of the niceties and helpfulness I decided to get a second opinion. This time I did some research and found myself in the dental chair of Dr. Dehnert - whose practice I might add is not all it's cracked up to be - inevitably I returned to Dr. Skinner after learning that they were much cheaper and offered me kindness and understanding versus the "let's make money" pitch I got from the other guy. I just returned home from my very first root canal. I was so nervous about this procedure but I couldn't stand the pain anymore. The procedure went smoothly. It was faster than I was told originally...and let's face it, the less time in that chair the better - even though everyone is wonderful. The hygienist answered all of my questions and didn't seem bothered or peeved at all by my incessant nervous questioning. They gave me plenty on anesthetic so I didn't feel anything. They fit me for the crown and bada bing, bada boom - I was done! Overall, I had a GREAT experience! Nice staff, WONDERFUL Dentist - Dr. Cody Skinner - and great pricing. I could not have been treated better and felt any more comfortable in that kind of situation. I would recommend this practice to anybody! Thanks Dentistry on 1st and Dr. Skinner!!! read more

I didn't have a bad experience at this dentist. I went in a hurry because I wanted my fillings done & that meant I had to wait 2 months for my regular dentist. Now, much like everyone else, he said I had 4 cavities, but then later added 2 more because he, "saw a lot of decay." I hadn't gone to a dentist in nearly 4 years, so I expected to have some cavities but my main concern was that he had already done my xrays, filled my 4 teeth then when he was done, he started poking around and said he saw more. My teeth were fine after that, but fast forward to a month later, one of my teeth he "filled" either cracked or the filling fell out. Not sure which one but I am pain & will never be impatiemt when ot comes to my regular dentist again. read more

after Skinner extracted my teeth and gave me denture that I couldn't use. he said : "come back when you got more insurance". Riiiight suuure. I should gone to affordable dentures. read more

I haven't been to a dentist in over 20 years, had several broken teeth and two "floating". Very happy with the work done so far, which is a 4 tooth bridge. Had 2 teeth extracted, and 2 surgically removed. The pain index on a scale of 1-10 was about 2, not significant. Everyone on the staff was friendly. They used my insurance, so no cost to me. (Only problem I had was that on the way home, via bus and on foot-people kept staring at me. I didn't know I was drooling blood, and looked like a recently-fed vampire.} If you look at the dates of the bad reviews, they are several years old, almost all recent reviews give excellent ratings. If he had problems in the past, they have been resolved. Some people didn't like the old decor, the results are what is important, not the office appearance. read more

In the beginning, they seemed kind and organized, then things began falling apart. Ashley is manipulative and unprofessional. Come here at your own risk. read more

These guys are rip-off artists. I made an appointment for a cleaning and X-rays. They told me that I needed two emergency crowns and 2 days of intensive deep cleanings where they'd have to put me under. They wanted to charge me $5,000. They said that my teeth would break off within the week if I didn't make an appointment immediately. Four months later, my teeth never broke off but one was sensitive to anything cold, so I went to another dentist and he fixed my teeth with a couple of fillings and that he said that I didn't need any crowns. He said that there was very little tartar build up and a normal cleaning would be just fine. I walked out with all of my teeth completely fixed and clean for $300. I wouldn't recommend these crooks to my worst enemy. I never write reviews on Yelp, but with this one I had to. I'd avoid these guys like the plague. read more

Ehh, this place is ok. They made me wait 30 minutes, but the staff was all super friendly! The lady who did the cleaning was very gentle, but thorough & the dentist was also very friendly. Two stars for two reasons: First - the place is a total dump. Thr office is dingy and gross & hopelessly outdated. Even though the tooth-cleaning materials were clean (they came out of sterilized bags), the nasty office just made me feel dirty. My husband has had dental work done in Mexico and the offices there were 10 times nicer than this place! Creeps me out! Second - i feel like they were trying to rip me off. The dentist said my teeth looked great, no spots on my x rays, no gum disease, etc. But then he tried to tell me i did have not one, but TWO cavities...even though the xray showed no problems & he had previously said everything looked healthy. No idea whats up with that, but i didnt like it. Felt like theyre just stretching to find something to make money on since i went through a groupon so my visit was super cheap. read more

Very SAD, unprofessional and costly experience. And for those who have been referred to this office by Dr. Kammeyer, please consider another Dental office. The girlfriend accidentally lost her dentures and needed an immediate rebuild. The cost $1,000 plus $75 to accelerate the process; 7 day turn around. She had Delta Dental Family Select insurance but with an effective date of 12/1 or a 20 day wait. She could not wait 20 days as she was traveling out of state. This Dental office was not willing to negotiate. We asked if we could pay just the insurance contract amount, seeing that we did have the insurance. We spoke to Teresa who passed our proposal by Dr. Skinner, only to have it rejected. After 10 days, the dentures finally arrived. As the dentures were being fitted, the hygienist was abruptly interrupted while working on my girlfriend. Ashley, (front desk) came into the room and demanded the balance be paid in full. " Talk about total humiliation". The girlfriend never met the dentists. Why Dr. Kammeyer , who retired, referred his patients to this office is a mystery. read more

It had been 30 years since I'd seen a dentist. A painful infection forced me to find an affordable dental and make an appointment with Dr. Skinner. I knew my teeth were in abysmal condition and was embarrassed to open my mouth. Dr. Skinner and his staff were gentle and understanding. He did everything he could to save my back left molar but we finally decided it had to be pulled. I knew my top teeth were bad and, after he and his hygienists were so understanding, I decided to have him fix my smile. It had been twenty years since I felt comfortable smiling in front of family and friends. All photos of me are with a closed mouth slight smile. Eleven crowns. I knew I needed them and was eager to get it done. The thought of smiling again drove me forward. Three weeks ago, I went in for the first part of the procedure. Dr.Skinner and Jackie insured I was numbed up and prepped my teeth for crowns. Eleven teeth were ground down with frequent breaks to insure I was feeling okay. I expected it to hurt afterward (it did) but only for a day or two and the three weeks with the temporary crown let me practice my smile. I stayed on a soft diet and patiently waited three weeks while the lab created my porcelain smile. Today I went in for my final appointment. The removal of the temporary crown was uncomfortable but Jackie was at my side encouraging me and Dr. Skinner was quick and efficient. After a bit more anesthetic in my front gums (they were incredibly tender), my new smile was applied. Each crown cemented in place and I was out of the chair within an hour. Here's the best part! I had no idea what I had been missing for so many years! I went out to eat with my family tonight... - I bit into food with ease! No more gnawing! - i had no hot/cold sensitivity! ( Such a blessing!) - i laughed and smiled with confidence - Aside from tender gums, which will heal, I have NO PAIN I kept pointing out how miraculous healthy teeth (crowns) are to the amusement of my family who've never experienced bad teeth (thank god!) Dr. Skinner and his staff have transformed my life. There was pain but the end result was worth every penny and each moment of the process it took to get me where I am today! My next goal is Invisalign braces for my bottom teeth to even out my bite. Dr. Skinner is working with me financially. Once again, I'm an eager patient and will go through the process with as little whining as possible. Two years from now, my smile will be even more amazing! I am a most satisfied customer. Thank you Dr. Skinner, Jackie, Theresa and all the staff at Dentistry on First! read more

This place is outdated and old, it is very UN-welcoming! Dr Skinner and his partner are arrogant, with somewhat of bad attitude! They extracted one of my teeth, that could have been saved, that I found out from my new dentist. They quoted me $600.00 for a crown and when I went to have it done they said it cost $900.00 untrustworthy and unprofessional. Find a more qualified dentist. read more

This dentist and office justified my choice to screen dental service providers before committing myself to their care. I scheduled a 1/2 hour Consultation visit ($60) and was amazed at how badly Dr. Skinner behaved. He used tactics straight out of the "Bad Debater's Handbook". (Interrupted me repeatedly to "ask" questions and then interrupting me again while I was providing the answer to the question he just asked, etc.) He demonstrated that his goal during the consultation was to NOT listen to the patient's prior experiences/concerns. Schedule a consultation visit with this dentist INSTEAD of an appointment for an exam/eval. Like me you'll choose someone other than him for your dental needs. Note- In my considered opinion, he is not capable of integrating his care/plan with periodontic care from a periodontist who utilizes "Perioscopy" (a camera which sees below the gumline...). Dr. Skinner does and will continue to do procedures/treatments below the gumline "blindly" even though the well documented studies repeatedly show that doesn't work out well for the patient. His motto of "Patient satisfaction comes first" is only a marketing gimmick. Don't avoid this dentist. Just schedule "consultation" with him and you'll see that he is the textbook case for the type of dentist/office to NOT support. read more

I've had an issue with a tooth for years it simply didn't have the same feeling and felt different. I had 5 different Drs check it over the years, they all said it seemed fine. Finally the Drs here found the issue and referred me to a good specialist. The staff is friendly and they run on time read more

I've been seeing Dr Skinner for the past 3.5 years and have always had the best experiences(root canals, crowns, cavities, a tooth implant, and Invisalign). I'm so sad that I can't take him and his awesome staff with me when I move. read more

I have been a patient at Dentistry on 1st for several years and have always been satisfied with my hygienist, Kathy, who has many years of experience and does a great job as well as always being so pleasant. So when I found out that I need extensive bridge work, I did not hesitate to consult with Dr. Schop and Dr. Skinner. Dr. Schop the did work very efficiently and promptly. I was very impressed with the excellent quality of his work. It all went so smooth. Now that I have had the new bridge for several months, I can tell you everything about my experience with Dentistry on 1st was very satisfactory from my appointment through paying my bill. These are good people! read more

After spending thousands of dollars (out of pocket) at Dentistry on 1st, I changed dentists in 2014. For the past three years, the only major dental work I have needed has been replacing the faulty work from Skinner! Something is wrong with this. read more

like many others I loved Dr. Halbach. to say the least he was the best dentist I have ever had. Sadly he retired and he sold to Dr. cody Skinner and the understanding was we were told that we would be treated the same. This denist is very young , good looking and really the worst dentist in every way. the charm was gone. He fired the lovely receptionist cut corners every way he could , had all the personal take turns at the front desk, but for the great hygenist for me at least, but other than that it was terrible. He made a crown, in putting it on broke the tooth next to it, and when i went back after having wonderful Dr. Gomez remove it, and told him about it and he went into a rage, and was not going to let me out. He told me he had been as good as gold to me he stood in front of the door but finally I escaped. . Oh please. i am just now remembering how glad I am i no longer have him,.I say to all of you, and my husband say run as fast as you can.He is not Dr. Halbach. He is a cheap imatation of a that fine wonderful dentist. read more

Um I would NOT come here again. The dental hygienist refused to give me a regular cleaning and said I needed a deep cleaning. The dentist came in briefly and barely examined me and basically just agreed with the hygienist. I had a feeling the whole time all she wanted to do was make money with the deep cleaning. I had similar x-rays in the past and other dental places have given me a regular cleaning. Good thing I took pictures of my x-rays while I was there bc I emailed them to a close friend of mines (who is a dentist) and he told me there was minimal disease and that a regular cleaning would be ok. He also said they probably wanted to make money from me. Would not come back here. Also, the dentist missed a superficial cavity my other dentist caught a year ago (*thumbs DOWN*). read more

I'm actually not at all sure how these one star reviews are for this place, the same place I went to. First off, let me say that I have good dental insurance and maybe that helped me a little (or a lot?) but even if I didn't, this was by far the most pleasant experience I've ever had at a dentists office. Usually, and I thought this was across the board, cleanings hurt like hell and it seems as though your gums are open game for the hygienists' tools. However, this was not the case here. I had the most pleasant, pain free cleaning of my life and my hygienist made me laugh. Anyone who makes me laugh at an otherwise completely not fun place to be is okay in my book. Dr. Skinner was warm and welcoming, very polite and informative about my dental needs. They also knew that I had work right after my early morning appointment and did their best to get me out in time. I felt cared for as a patient, and I do have to say it's a sad thing to read all these bad reviews on here. Maybe my visit was a fluke, maybe not. Other sites like Zocdoc, where I found this dentist, have 5 star reviews across the board. I guess it's true what they say about reviews, most people write them only when they've had a bad experience. I'm here to leave my two cents about a good experience. I'll be going here for a while. read more

I inherited this dental office after my original dentist, Dr. Halbach, retired a few years ago. I give Dr. Skinner credit for modernizing the office and equipment but technology and new wallpaper don't make up for things like genuine concern and the ability to express empathy for your patients. I've had two crowns done by Dr. Skinner and both times the experience has been unpleasant. The last time I was unable to get the office staff to take my pain and discomfort seriously after the initial procedure and had to go down to the office and demand that the doctor see me and refer me to an endodontist for a root canal. I suppose it's not bad if you don't actually need to see the real dentist (if you're only going for a bi-annual cleaning which is done by one of their competent hygienists) but if you need any work done that Dr. Skinner will be doing, go elsewhere. Way to be the stereotypical sadistic dentist! read more

I have been going to this dentist for years. The front office staff are friendly and helpful, the dental hygienists are sweet and gentle, and both dentists are excellent and have great "bed side manner". I honestly don't understand the negative reviews, I've only had positive experiences here. They do a fantastic job and have never tried to offer me services I don't need. I've only had one filling my whole life and they always tell me my teeth look great. The office is older but still very nice and clean. I would recommend anyone to go here for a cleaning or dental work. read more

Great experience with these guys, friendly and they take my insurance , I was in and out of there, very pleased. The hygiene girls are very gentle, great cleaning, thanks! read more

DR Skinner gave me too much anesthesia !!! It was unnecessary. His staff does not know what they are doing. Very unpleasant experience. Dr Skinner was careless, and he did not know how to treat my teeth. The office is old and falling apart. Do not go to this dentist. Lisa read more

I went in to see Dr. Skinner multiple times to fix a broken tooth because he did a poor job on it and it was highly uncomfortable. Borrow two more legs and run from this man! read more

Hands down the worst dentist I have ever been to. All is he interested is making a buck. He will tell you he can't save your tooth and you need an implant for everything. The staff is so rude. I too used to be Dr. Halbach's patient and the difference in care and service is like night and day. Do us all a favor. Don't go. Don't spend your money. Hopefully a decent dentist will move into that location. read more

The office is so outdated and unwelcoming which is a big turnoff. However, I stuck with it for awhile because my teeth were healthy and I just needed cleaning. On one of my last visits, Dr. Schop told me my crown was starting to crack and needed to be replaced. The staff was quick to itemized the cost of the new crown and to schedule the appointment. I was told if I waited and the crown cracked, it would involve a lot more than just a new crown. I didn't schedule the appointment. A few months later I was having some discomfort with one of my molars and saw Dr. Skinner. I asked him if I needed a new crown on the tooth I was told was in need of the crown and he said "no", it was fine! He then told me I needed a new crown on the tooth that I was experiencing the discomfort because there was decay. I left again without scheduling the appointment and sure enough, the discomfort went away and my teeth are fine! I was left with the impression that they were trying to sell crowns! Needless to say, I am finding a new dentist. read more