Northchase Family Dentistry

Thank you! I hope you’re well.

Thanks, Ms. Dale. You’re the best!

You’re correct, you weren’t nice when you called. Multiple times you called and right out of the gate had issues with things we had no control over. You questioned everything that you were told and were irrationally demanding and condescending. My staff had to draw straws as to who would answer the phone when your ID showed up. Your other Google reviews seem to follow this same pattern. When you read through my other reviews, you will see some bad ones. People don’t like that I don’t accept Medicaid anymore. People don’t like when I tell them I can’t give them a prescription for a procedure done somewhere else. People don’t like that I expect them to show up for their appointments or give me enough notice to fill their spot, should they need to cancel. People don’t like that when they miss more appointments than they show up for, I tell them I can’t see them anymore or that they will have to prepay to schedule. People don’t like that when they pretend to have COVID for the third time in a row, or their poor Grandma died for the fourth time, I quit believing them. People don’t like when they are rude to me or my staff and I tell them that this isn’t the office for them. And then they all say the same thing—we’re rude. I don’t think it’s because we’re rude. I think it’s because some people aren’t mature enough to take ownership of their own actions, and it’s a heck of a lot easier to blame others than it is to look in the mirror. My office is not perfect, and I certainly have never claimed for it to be, nor have I ever claimed to be. There are things that I need to try to do better, and there are things that I need my staff to try to do better. I take customer service and patient care very seriously. When an issue presents itself where I, my staff, or our policies could have done better, I have no problem taking ownership of it and trying my best to learn from it and try to make sure something like that doesn’t happen again. I am the first to apologize when I am at fault, because it absolutely happens. Think about your own life—how many people do you know who, for whatever reason, just seem impossible to please despite your better or best efforts? I would bet you know a handful of them. My practice is no different. I have a practice full of wonderful patients mixed in with a handful of…difficult people. And those difficult people are people, too, so we treat them with every care that we can unless they cross a certain line. As far as I’m concerned, all people have dignity. But having dignity means that you neither treat people like garbage, nor allow people to treat you or other people like garbage. Think about this for a minute: I am a dentist who relies on doing procedures on a patient to make a living. Why would I personally call a patient and tell them that I would not be willing to do their “five or six thousand dollar” treatment? Maybe it’s because when I met the patient for the first time, every other word out of their mouth started with “f,” and when I tried to ask questions the patient told me “you’re the f$&@ing dentist, you tell me what I should do,” it changed how I interacted with them. Maybe after asking questions so that I could try to help offer a patient the right treatment choices for their situation, but was just scowled at and sworn at, my demeanor changed. Was that wrong of me? I don’t think so. I certainly make zero apologies for it. Respect is a two way street. This is my job. This is my office that I started from the ground up. This is how I feed my family. This is how I put a roof over my children’s heads. This is what I spent ten years going to school for. This is my profession. This is my baby. My name is on the building, as is my reputation. I take how I treat my patients very seriously, but some things just aren’t worth it. I hope you and your husband find the care that you deserve. You all know my number. You can call if you ever want to talk, civilly. God bless you both.