Familia Dental

Reviews 3

MA

Max

Have Forward Health (Medicaid - WI or TITLE 19). Was told they accept it. Many dentists do NOT. Had a 17-old filling...cracked and fell out. Got in right away. Dr Hsia was very nice and cordial, and should NOT be connected with this review. Dr Hsia was great in talking with me about future dental care (bone graft, post and crown), and I believe he is highly competent. I hope E Washington Av does not loose him or that he leaves. Had my filling replaced on front tooth. Filling came out after 3-4 weeks. Called and asked about having filling redone and was told I would have to pay co-pay again and "possibly" the full filling price and "probably" some other unknown costs. Read online reviews then decided to QUIT Familia and return to my old dentist who did not take my insurance, but offered a cash discount instead. My one visit (for filling which fell out) was 30 minutes late, and I had my teeth "cleaned". An list of services on my bill/visit summary said: advised about proper dental care, gave dental care package, cleaned and polished teeth, applied tooth varnish, applied fluoride treatment. My cleaning was a quick brush with some gritty toothpaste. No scraping and no polishing. No varnish applied. No advising. No Care Package. Entire visit took 3 hours and cleaning was perhaps 10 minutes. The corporate culture is that the entire staff is overworked. Read other online PATIENT reviews! The company operates on quotas and bills for services that they may or may not provide. They will always get consent on procedures that they may not intend to give you, but with consent they can then bill your insurance for those services. Familia is opening shops all over the country, flying in employees to fill vacancies, some right out of training. The turnover is very high because of pressure with quotas which employees must meet. Read the EMPLOYEES own online reviews. With my visit, staff worked on 3 or 4 patients, leaving me alone for up to 15 minutes waiting. The entire experience, from phone to exit was pure chaos, plus loss of filling 4 weeks later. Because FAMILIA is a corporation, when I call the local Madison number I wait on hold for a long time. 20-25 minutes every call. First, I got someone in an IL office answering the local Madison call, and then was asked in which city my appointment was, along with other questions about the services I needed, then I was finally transferred to the Madison office (that I just dialed at 244-8050) and waited 10 more mins. Seems like a great way to screen people on a corporate level and monitor what services patients ask for, intercept problems and complaints, and then monitor local office production. Their headquarters is in Northern IL and are expanding in 7+ states. If you choose Familia, keep in mind if your filling falls out in 6 months later, they may say you are at fault and you have to pay for it out of pocket for replacement. Also, my dental x-rays were not correctly done when I took them back to my old dentist to repair my filling that came out. I had a second cavity that needed filling but Familia never mentioned anything about it since insurance wouldnt cover it for them and I met my insurance "limit" at Familia for that visit. Money comes first, patient care second. If I HAD to stay at Familia, I would always get a second opinion provided my x-rays were done correctly. Familia takes people who have MEDICAID or STATE-BASED INSURANCE or pay out-of-pocket at reduced rates. This should be a very noble thing!!! But to survive, their staff must provide enough services to offset what they loose in reduced fees or accepting MEDICAID/STATE payments. Corners have to be cut, staff pay is lower, fewer staff available, insurance must be maximized at each visit. This explains the long waits, diagnostic errors, mistakes in dental work, and general chaos. Do you help the PATIENT or keep your job by meeting the CORPORATE bottom line? It is hard to blame the staff because I believe they want to help, but under great corporate pressure.

SH

Sheryl Pochel

I had my first dental visit at Familia yesterday. I was scheduled for an exam and cleaning and was surprised when they told me that appt was scheduled for 30 minutes. My appt was scheduled for 12:30, I arrived at 12:20 and had all of my paperwork done by my appt time. I was called back at 12:45, had my x-rays done and was told the dentist woul9d be in for my exam and cleaning as soon as she checked my x-rays. Dentist came in, did an "exam" the extent of which was basically LOOKING in my mouth, poking maybe 2 places with her instrument and then saying that things looked good. She did NOT thoroughly check for cavities, did not do a peridontal or cancer screening, and did not ask me about the area I had noted on my paperwork as being sensitive to cold and sweet. She then proceeded to do my "cleaning". She used a machine, and did some (minimal)additional scraping. Once she got her dental tool stuck between my teeth and didnt realize it so when she went to pull it out of my mouth it was pretty uncomfortable. She left the suction hose in my mouth the entire time, and at one point it slipped to the back of my throat and was gagging and choking me. Even as I struggled to get it out she didnt notice! When the cleaning was done she put vitamins on my teeth... with Q-TIP! There was not even a half-assed attempt to get it on all of my teeth. She literally rubbed it on the front ones, most of which ended up on my lips. There was no polishing done after the cleaning. Overall, not a good experience. I worked in dental offices for several years and this was by far the WORST dental exam and cleaning I have ever had. I am HIGHLY disappointed. I will say that the wait wasnt terrible and the front office staff and dental assistants were friendly, but the exam and cleaning were definitly not what I expected.

JI

Jim Carlson

I brought my adult son who has Down syndrome to this Familia Dental clinic on East Wash. in Madison today to get his teeth cleaned. Our appointment was at 9 this morning. the door was locked until 5 minutes before 9. went in and was handed this large amount of paper work to fill out. Had to give them my drivers license, my sons ID card and his Medicaid card and was told I would get them back after I filled out the forms. Someone had very carelessly used a pink marker to draw lines across the page on areas I must fill out. very unprofessional. At 9:20 we were called back. I asked what was the delay and they said the Dr. had just arrived because she was caught in traffic. when we were in dental room the Dr. was working on another patient right across the hall. We were told that my son needed full mouth X-rays. that was done quite professionally. Dr. did not come in until 9:45. Did not look in my sons mouth with a mirror to get an idea what his teeth looked like just started using this ultrasonic cleaner probe which he recoiled at and I told her he had not had this done before and in the past the hygienist at a pediatric dental clinic which he has aged out of has always used dental tools to clean his teeth. She proceeds to open up a large pick and forcefully puts it between two of his bottom front teeth and scrape upwards, He recoiled at this too, shut his mouth and put his hand up to stop. I told her we were stopping this and leaving. I told her he has always had his teeth cleaned every 6 months and this has never been an issue before. They charged his medicaid for a cleaning that never happened. Will never recommend this place.