Great Expressions Dental Centers Cascade

Purpose of this letter:
Provide patient orthodontic history
Share concerns about Great Expressions care
Nanston administered my braces in August 2010. The McDonough office took care of my braces until 2013. My orthodontic treatment cost $ 5980 for an estimated treatment of 24 to 27 months. In fall of 2013, Dr. Henry Dallam referred me to the Great Expressions office in Cobb County because I started to work for Cobb County Schools and did not want to drive to the Eagles Landing location from Cobb County. During this time I did not miss any appointments.
The Great Expressions office in Cobb County received my records to be transferred there, but they did not follow-​up with me to schedule an appointment. I called them during business hours multiple times, but was not able to successfully schedule an appointment because the orthodontic office did not return my calls. When one of my brackets came out, it was painful and difficult to eat, so I did a walk-​in into the Cobb County office. Because I did not have an appointment, they only fixed the bracket that was loose, refusing to tighten my braces. After this appointment, I contacted Great Expressions customer service and asked to be transferred to the Cascade office close to my home.
In October 2013, the Cascade office accepted me to their Great Expressions office where I continued my orthodontic care until January 29, 2016. During this time period at Cascade Great Expressions, my treatment was administered without an additional neither written nor oral contract for additional charges. On Friday January 29, 2016 as I was about to get my teeth adjusted, both the manager of Great Expression and Dr. Angelique Rodgers came in and told me, «You either pay $ 150.00 per month to extend your dental care for the next nine months, or remove the braces out of your mouth and be given a retainer.» When asked about how could this be done without my consent, the manager and Angelique Rodgers stated, «I signed a contract stating that I gave them permission for Great Expression to charge me for additional care.» During the discussion, I asked Great Expression to show my written consent of charging me for additional care, but they did not produce any document. I decided not to take either option, leaving my braces on, and not getting the care I needed by leaving the office because Great Expressions and I could not come to an agreeable option. Since then, I have looked through my medical records and there is no written contract by which Great Expression orally nor written asked nor advised with my agreement about the $ 150 monthly charge.
April 2016 Getting My Medical Records
In April, I sought to get my medical records from the Cascade office so that I could transfer to a different orthodontic treatment center. I called Great Expressions asking them to release my records to Silver Smiles Orthodontic office giving them both the fax number and email address. Keeping in contact with Silver Smiles Orthodontic they informed me that it has been at least two weeks and Great Expression did not transfer the records to them. I called the Great Expression and the employee Kamala Lewis apologize and inform me that Great Expression could not transfer the records without charging me $ 175.00 for them.
I revisited Great Expressions Cascade office on April 29^th to ask them how can I be charged for my own dental records to be transfer to the Silver Smiles.
During this visit Kamala Lewis informed me again under Great Expression policy that I would be charged the $ 175.00 to obtain my record afterwards I talked to Janet McDonough who was under customer service about the charge and was still told that it is Great Expression policy while at the same time telling her under Georgia’s law patients have the right to their records. Eventually Janet agreed to email my records to Silver Smiles, but they would charge me $ 100.00 dollars for my X-​Rays in which I agreed to pay.

Last year was my first time visiting but this time was crucial! I needed a deep cleaning which was quoted for more than what I ended up paying so that started my Tuesday morning off right. The procedure went well and Dr. Williams later came in and talked to my about what other work needed to be done when I should do them. No complaints aside from this unidentifiable odor lingering in the lobby.
Timeframe: 8:40a apt– 9:19a in the chair– 10:23a finished

This place is aweful. I actually wrote a two page letter to their corporate offices. The dentist is unprofessional… and the staff leads by example. Get your dental work done somewhere else. Only giving one star because it’s the minimum on Unilocal

First off they don’t even deserve the one star I’m giving. The wait time here is ridiculous. My appointment was at 9 am and I didn’t see the oral surgeon until 9:42.(They might as well have walk in appts) And then when I was actually in the room with him I was literally there for 2 minutes. I waited 42 minutes for this man to run down a list to me. He didn’t explain anything about the procedure and didn’t even look at my teeth. And this isn’t the first issue I’ve had with them. My hygienist was telling me I needed extra treatment but not to worry bc my insurance covered it. So when I got to the counter to schedule my next appointment I had an entire bill I had to pay out of pocket bc she did not double check and my insurance didn’t cover half the stuff she didn’t. This will be my last visit

First, I was very nervous about seeing a dentist since I had neglected to keep my routine dental visits. I have been searching for a dentist office that would understand my needs and not just want to charge me for unnecessary procedures.
I went to Great Expressions Dental on Cascade for a 3:30 PM appointment and was immediately seen within 10 minutes. This was the fastest first visit appointment where I did not have to wait at least 30 minutes or greater after completing new patient paperwork. I was escorted to the back where I was immediately seen by the Periodontist that had an amazing attitude. The Periodontist was very efficient and set great expectations of her recommendation for my gums.
I was then immediately seen by Dr. William Dancy that was very personable making the examination very comfortable (being that it was a dentist visit) and exceptionally satisfying.
Needless to say I was thoroughly pleased with my first visit to Great Expressions Dental that I had to share my wonderful experience.

I was looking for a dentist that I could actually build a relationship with. They say you can’t do that with chains, and to be honest I’ve usually always used chains because I never was interested in a relationship with a dentist. Just fix the issue, bill the insurance what little they’re going to pay because ALL dental insurance bites bullets, grossly overcharge me, bill me, and let’s keep it moving.
I chose the Cascade office of Great Expressions because of location, and because I had heard some good things about Dr. Kimberly Williams. The office is pretty, the staff is incredibly nice, and it is quite clean. The waiting area is an ICEBOX. There’s a sign up blaming the cold weather, but really– it’s BAD. Like health department BAD. That heat needs to be fixed. It is unbearably cold in the patient waiting area.
Dr. Williams is great. I like her, and trust her abilities and advice. I don’t think she’s out to just do unnecessary work. For one reason, she likes to be paid. No problem there, don’t we all want to be paid for work we’ve done?
Here’s where I have the problem. I find this office to be quite inflexible with payment and payment options/​arrangements. Perhaps they’ve been burned one too many times. They demand 60% down on services. That’s pretty hefty for out of pocket if you are having major work done (crown, root canal, etc.). Not 25%, 30%, or heck, even 50%. 60% CASH (or credit). Pay up or you gets nada. It just seems harsh to me. Then, they want the balance on your NEXT visit. What happened to a 3 month or 5 month payment plan? I mean, dang. I really want to deduct another star for this rigidness and inflexibility, but I appreciate Dr. Williams’ work, so…

The office is a very nice looking office. I changed from the Jonesboro (Riverdale Rd) location because I felt like he was a rip off… To come to Cascade. The people were nice, but somewhat unprofessional. They talk to each other about business that should wait until they are off work. The dentist came in and she was dressed like she was going to the club (gorgeous woman). She talked to me about not only my teeth, but things that’s not even related. I’m not looking for a friend. Lastly, the prices seem to be crazy! They want to upgrade you to pay for services that are more expensive. Guess it’s back to square one until I find a better dentist.

Ok, so I went looking for a dentist that is not too far from home and after all the searching within networks of my insurance and what actually looks decent and respectable, I give up and just decide on Great Expressions, how bad could they be, this is like a franchise thing across the US. I set up an appointment for 2:30pm, I was advised to come in a little early to get some paper work filled out. No problem, the waiting area looks pretty nice, they even have a fish tank, I guess to calm nerves. So, I have to wait for a few minutes, a little longer than I like but I’m hoping it’s because Im new and they are inputing some info, checkout insurance and making sure I signed all the right spots on the paper work. Ok, so the dentist comes out, he looks a bit young but thats ok. He was not the most personable dentist but hey, he’s making sure that everything is in order with my teeth and gums, I don’t have to date the man. He advises me that the tech will come in to do some x-​rays (first time coming here) and we will go from there. I’ve had x rays done before at the dentist, this was bit more rough then I would like but we move on and get it done. Dentist comes back, gives me the 411 and tells me the hygeinist is coming in and he is out, no nice to meet you, hope you come back, no free toothbrush, no tips. Cavitiy count and have you considered braces… sure have, I have an orthodonist visit next week. We have one in house, uh huh, good to know. The hygienist comes in and is a friendly chick. Tells me everything that I need to know and leaves nothing out. She is the reason that I will continue to go back… so at the end of the visit, I am sent over to an area that will talk about the cost of what I need to have done before I can get braces… hated that I had to wait when there was no one, I mean no one waiting in this area but me. I waited about 15 minutes. Ok, so this is what insurance pays, this is what you have to pay. When do you want to set up your next appointment. Hmmm, I’ll stick with them for now but dang can I get a little «Chair side manner.»

First, let me preface. I HATE the dentist. Even when I was in the chair. I was singing a song in my head «I hate the dentist, yes I do… I hate the dentist please hurry up and be through!»
But I must say… I believe this was the BEST DENTIST EXPERIENCE I HAVE EVER HAD! (If ever there were such a thing.)
The Dental Office is Beautiful and pretty nice size. The staff was Super Pleasant. But the highlight of the experience is HOW FAST they were! I mean… they exceeded my expectations. I wasn’t sitting more than 10 mins in the office, they called me back. The assistant was really nice with nice teeth (good sign :)) Dr. Dancy is a SUPER NICE dentist and I know this doesn’t matter, but he looks really good in his clothes lol.
I had a quick x-​ray, they saw my cavity (I could feel it getting worse daily). They IMMEDIATELY filled it. I have Humana One dental so the entire process only cost me $ 90.
I was literally in and out in an HOUR. An hour after that, I stopped feeling like a stroke victim. You know, they had to numb the side of my mouth to do the work.
I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. True Customer Service

I went to this dentist office since the beginning of 2011 when they were Nanston Dental. The went through a change and they are now Great Expressions. I go to the dentist every 6 months for routine exam and cleanings and i take care of my teeth. I went last month and they told me i had a cavity in-​between my upper tooth #13. They told me it is bad and i need a root canal. I have not had any signs, aches, or pains and still find it surprising that i have a cavity especially one that bad. I asked, why didnt this show in all of my x-​rays from prior visits? They made excuses. I asked to see my x-​rays and compare the x-​rays. They said i had a small spot on the x-​ray the last it was taken. I asked, why wasn’t I told this. i could have gotten a filling. The hygenist response, «The spot was so small on the x-​ray, it wasnt a big deal and we wanted to monitor you.» are you f’n kidding me??? Yeah monitor me until i have to have an expensive out of pocket$$ root canal. I always felt that i was receiving subpar service and not thorough cleanings and exams but i went anyways because it was close. I will never do that again. Always go with your gut and never compromise on services or else you will pay. I called the Corporate headquarters and spoke to Jeanette twice and they never call back and they really dont seem to care about your complaint. I learned an expensive hard lesson. I will have to find another dentist somewhere else and make sure this time, the exams are thorough, office is clean, friendly staff, and that they truly care and love their patients and job.