I read the reviews for this place when I was looking for a new dentist in the Grand Rapids area and decided to give it a try. After just a few appointments, I have no idea why anyone would rate this place highly or rave about it.
On my first visit the dental hygienist (assistant? I'm not certain) did drop my wedding rings in a jewelry cleaner, and she did put my hands in a paraffin dip, then left them in oven mitt-type things until my hands were sweaty and the wax was hanging off. I had to ask her to please -finally- get that stuff off my hands, it was becoming a mess.
My first meeting with Dr. Lambert, he walked into the room where I was in the dentist chair with a finger puppet on one finger and started bobbing it around, showing it to the dental hygienist who was working with me. This didn't say "professionalism" to me, but okay, maybe he has a quirky sense of humor. He'd talk to me for a few seconds, then tell the hygienist to finish the conversation and he'd be gone. *Poof*. I felt like I was just one more item on a factory conveyor belt and he was running in and out after very brief comments. I tried to chat with him for a minute or two and he just sort of cut me short and walked out. I felt no connection there, person-to-person. Sad. Because I'm a people person, I really like people and enjoy meeting new people.
I specifically sought out a new dentist because I've had issues with my teeth after 30 years with one dentist I really liked a lot. I told Dr. Lambert I had cavities and/or a cracked tooth, one on each side of my mouth in back, and it was making it difficult to eat, because I'd get zings of pain with temperature of biting wrong on either side. But what he wanted to talk about were two things that could wait and weren't bothering, but were big ticket items involving extraction, tooth implant, root canal, etc. I said I really wanted to get the painful teeth taken care of. He said something like why was he going to fix the car when it has two flat tires, seeming to imply the two things HE wanted to do that weren't problematic for me at the time, were the "flat tires."
On my first visit, I was hoping for a cleaning and exam. I had to get an exam and x-rays and then schedule a cleaning for another day and come back, they wouldn't do the cleaning on a first visit.
Weeks later I broke a piece off a tooth - not one we'd talked about. I went into the office. Dr. Lambert described the damage and asked if I wanted to see it on the camera/TV screen. I said no. So what did he do? He turned on the mouth camera and stuck it in my mouth and showed me anyway. Why ask???
On that visit, I walked out crying in front of Dr. Lambert and the person doing the list of recommendations and listing the charges. They didn't say much of anything as I was walking away with tears running down my face.
I went in for a cleaning a couple of weeks ago. I asked the hygienist why they hadn't suggested doing a bridge instead of that expensive implant (about $3,000) not covered at all by my insurance. She said because they wanted me to have the best care. Uh-huh... Shouldn't I be presented with all the options, so I can make an informed decision, instead of not being told about a viable option insurance does typically cover?
The woman in the office called me this week to see about setting up an appointment to do some of the work. I told her I wanted to get the cavities/broken tooth taken care of, because they are causing my problems when I eat. She said she "knows" Dr. Lambert, and I'd have to drive over to their office and - again! - sit down and be told -again! - what they recommend and -again! - what the charges would be - again! I explained I'd already done that, that I live an hour away, so a 2-hour round trip driving to hear what I'd already gone through - and found upsetting - wasn't really a necessity. I "get it." But what I want is my cavities/cracked tooth taken care of so I can eat without pain issues. In our next phone conversation, she told me she'd spoken to Dr. Lambert and that he insisted I come in again to go over everything (again). Then she said that he said to tell me he'd understand if I want to go to another dentist.
I was appalled. It felt to me like if I wasn't going to pay for the big-ticket work that wasn't the crucial issue to me at the time they weren't going to provide the care for what was causing me pain, and if I didn't like it, I could go elsewhere. It felt very money grubbing and unprofessional to me. I wouldn't recommend this place. There was nothing "fun" or "spa-esque" about the experience as I'd read on a couple of online reviews.
Disappointing experience that left me feeling like I was very unimportant and if I wasn't a money well that could be tapped into, they weren't interested in being a care provider. read more
