Kool Smiles
reviews and complaints

My name is Treon Melton and currently me and my three daughters are to getting cleaning . Receptionist was very poor how procedure are done. When I schedule the appointment ahead the young I told over the phone my dental insurance have changed. She told me to bring the informtation in at appointment. We arrived at 8:08am our appointment was 8:00am. The Receptionist gave me paper work to complete which I feel everything was done several months ago when my daughters came to get a quote on braces. The only thing I needed to fill out was to update my insurance. No complaints I feel the entire 3packages on each client then the young lady stated Mrs Melton I should have told her my insurance needed to be updated? My daughters was not called in until 9:18am lack of communication and lack of handle/ able to multi tasks current role need more training

I have a horrible fear of dentists. This was because of HORRIBLE dental experiences as a child. When the pain became too bad, I thought that maybe someone who treated children could help me. What I saw and read disturbed me greatly. I read about all the restraints used on children. Then for half an hour, I had to listen to a small child SCREAM AND SCREAM AND SCREAM as the dentist worked on him. That child will grow up like me and I consider that kind of treatment deplorable. I will never return or recommend them to anyone.

I needed a new retainer, as my old one had broken. I called Kool Smiles, which sends you through a long automated phone service before sending you to their call center in Georgia. The Kool Smiles call center claimed their earliest available appointment was a month away, so I made an appointment and waited a month.

When my appointment finally came, the front office at the Tyler, Texas location had issues billing my insurance. They claimed my insurance was closed at that time, so we would have to reschedule for two days in the future. They blamed all of this on my insurance.

Before the next appointment, I called the Kool Smiles call center and confirmed that my insurance was being billed. They assured me that everything was set for my appointment the next day.

When I came for the second appointment, the front office again claimed they could not bill my insurance, because it was closed. They had not attempted to contact my insurance during the two day wait, as planned, and claimed they did not hear from the call center yesterday. After much run around, they agreed to let me see the doctor.

However, after bringing me back to a patient room, they then discovered that they did not have an orthodontist at the office that day. They claimed they had no way of knowing that I needed a retainer, because the call center had made my appointment. This was not true, as the front office made this appointment when my original appointment had to be rescheduled. Regardless, they claimed they only had an orthodontist on site on Tuesdays. Naturally, they set my next appointment for Thursday.

I have since cancelled that appointment and made an appointment with a professionally run office.

Do not go, unless you like waiting a month for an appointment, and taking off of work for appointments just to be turned away.

WACO, TX. It's been nothing but a fight with Kool Smiles since day 1! Took my son in July 1st to Bellmead, and everything seemed to be okay. The front desk was super nice and helped me deal with our insurance who was a pain to deal with. Well, we were told our son would have a procedure July 27th, and we would get a call to set the appointment time up, they said the lady would call 2 times and that's all so to be sure to answer or call back. A week goes by and I start calling and leaving messages to find out a time my son was going to be seen, and no one would call back. Finally, Monday the 25th(2 days before) my husband calls and talks to corporate scheduling and was told our appointment had been rescheduled for September. So, I drive to bellmead to find out what's going on and of course they were closed. I end up driving to Valleymills and the general manager was finally able to reach the lady who sets up the appointment and she calls and tells me they can get him in for 10am July 27th, which is weird because her phone magically started working in the office the day of the 27th(&when any staff members called her)and I told her I had tried calling many times and left many messages, but she claimed to have no idea what happened, "she never received my calls and voicemails"...So some "miscommunication happens" about money, and we didn't have the funds they wanted so our son wasn't seen. Thursday(28th) I get a call saying a special dentist wanted Wyatt to come in to the Valleymills location, and not to worry about money, so I take him in to be seen(not knowing what's going on), and I asked the lady upfront if she knew what was happening, and how much this appointment would cost. I then was told they weren't even sure if the dentist was coming or not, nothing had been confirmed, but we had about 10 minutes until our scheduled appointment so we waited and the dentist showed up. Went and talked about everything that happened, he told us there were things that could have happened so my son could have had the procedure on the 27th but they refused to help, he glanced QUICKLY into my sons mouth and told me he would NOT charge me for the visit or bother with my sons insurance, and he would personally call me the next day to check up on everything but he never did. (8-12-16) I get a bill for $79 for that appointment! Are you kidding me?! My son needs a very expensive procedure, money we don't have, and y'all are going to take $79 out of our funds when I was specifically told we wouldn't get billed?! NOTHING HAPPENED! I DID NOT ASK TO GET MY SON SEEN! I DID NOT GET A PAPER ABOUT THE APPOINTMENT AND WAS TOLD I WAS FREE TO GO AND I DIDN'T OWE A THING! I am VERY upset with everything we've been through with y'all. Not to mention, the scheduler called me saying they could get my son in for Aug3rd in Killeen, I told her that wasn't a possibility and that we would keep our new scheduled appointment for Aug31st, and she tells me they were over a week of cancellation of trying to get my son an approval for more money for his procedure. How is that possible? IT WAS ONLY 2 DAYS LATER! They must have never even attempted to get an approval. Also, on July 27th I asked for them to print a treatment plan out for me, and they "couldn't". I was told I would have to drive back to Waco, I live about 25-30 minutes from Waco, to get the paper I wanted printed. BULL! All I have to say is if you can keep from coming to Kool Smiles then do it, it's in your child's best interest! I will be calling corporate about everything.
Let's just say that's a short version. I left out a lot of stuff!
I use to think very highly of this company, but how they treated my family is uncalled for. They will never have the opportunity to do it to my family EVER again! They have lost our business and our respect as human beings, not that they care! Very unprofessional! My son might be 2, but he's in SERIOUS pain and slowly losing weight due to not being able to eat, and to turn him away is inhumane!

I was giving a follow up appointment for my babies to have fillings this morning June 27th 2016. I Had recieved emails to confirm the appointments. I show up on time to be told we have no appointment and I can be seen if I will pay cash or I can reschedule... I tell the lady I have emails to prove I have and appointment. She rudely says do you want to make an appointment cause I have other patients. Wow! I WAS SHOCKED at her unprofessional and rude attitude so I ask to speak to someone else. Only for her friend to come out after there kiki session and do the same thing. Why would I pay cash if my children have coverage? This is fraud! They treated my children and I like trash. I had been a patient for 6 years and try my hardest to be undrestanding with good appointments, bad appointments, and new hires, until today. They way your new young unprofessional staff treated us was appalling. Never Again!

As I'm writing this, I am seating in the koolsmiles office in virginia beach. My children 10 and 16 year old had an appt today on April 30th @ 11 am. We got to our appointment at exactly 1040 am. There was about 3 other people waiting and i don't know how many in the back but 3 other people walked through the door for check in and got seen before we did. I got up to speak with front desk and they all looked around to see who and when would they be called. In about 7 minutes, my youngest got called and then I got on the phone with corporate to file a complaint. While on then phone say about 4 minutes, they then called the oldest in. My complaint is about the time and all the other patients with appointments after 11 came in and got seen before my children. This is straight up b*******! My life does not revolve around Koolsmiles and I do have other engagements for the day. I don't mine if it was 15-20 minutes of waiting but it was an hour and 15minutes. Stop scheduling these appts for people if you dont have the staff. This is truly ridiculous and now the girl is being apologetic for the wait time. Too late! Koolsmilws really need to get on track and provide excellent service to there customers because this isn't the first time this has happened to us and i contacted corporate and got results. You get paid for doing your job so do it right in a timely fashion. It is now 1237 pm and im waiting for my children to get fillings and a sealant. Really!

This is not the last koolsmiles will hear of me because im planning on taking business somewhere else and spreading rhw news around to everyone else who is or has experienced this and other problems with koolsmile. Don't be afraid and let your voice be heard because just like anywhere else, they need our business to grow.

My name is Dr. Wattley,

This is a formal complaint about the poor service given on a continued basis at your College Park, Georgia location.
This letter is not based off of one incident, but it is a series of unfortunate events that leads me to write you today because timeliness and mindfulness is lacking at this location.

On the last 4 visits at this location it has become abundantly clear that regardless of how early we come for our appointment, that we will wait at least an hour before we are seen for the scheduled appointment.
There is training and a management issue that needs to be resolved by corporate to remediate the consistent issues of not respecting a customers time, regardless of what the excuse of the day may be.
I have 5 children adopted from the state of Georgia who all receive Medicaid insurance, but my household income is over $500, 000 annually. It seems that most of the clients at this location are on Medicaid and that the employee attitude is that the customer is getting free insurance, so it is okay to give subpar service at this location, in regards to timeliness.
If that is indeed the case, I am here to say that your business should not be run like that, solely based on a zip code, a neighborhood, or any other preconceived notion of a specific area.

According to the US Census for 2000, Fayette County Georgia is the 10th wealthiest county in the nation. We stay only 15 minutes from this location, but I find that the consistent long wait for treatments is that of a 3rd World Nation.

Do better and stop over scheduling appointments with guesswork. If someone comes in late for their appointment, they need to reschedule because it is not my fault that (they) were late. We have never been late, yet we continuously must wait at a minimum of 30 minutes to an hour before a simple procedure is performed such as a cavity or a sealant. Your establishment should respect my time and respect my money because Kool Smiles is not so cool with the ridiculous waits encountered at this location.

Simply put, “Do Better”.

Dr. Wattley
678.5592931 Cell

Let me start with the fact that I love our local Kool Smiles! Have never had bad service, however, for months now I have been getting calls everyday to set up an appointment for my girls. I get these call everyday. I was finely able to answer a call, the lady was very sweet, letting me know the girls are over due for their appt and would i like to set one up. I explained to her that their Medicaid had been canceled due to my paper work being late and that when i had them covered again i would call and get them back. The calls stopped for a while, then started again, every day. I called them back twice, told them again that i would call when i could get the girls in. This is three times now i have told them this. Now they are calling my husband! Nonstop, everyday, while he is working. While still calling me. Every day...He is getting very upset at the constant calls, 7 days a week. I would hate to do business else where, but if the calls dont stop, i will not go back. Please help.

I have spent the past 3 weeks phoning and visiting the local branch of Kool Smiles. I called multiple times before my appointment to ENSURE that the dentist I was seeing accepted my insurance. I even asked when I went to the appointment. All parties agreed that I was fine. About a month later I receive a bill for over $300 for a cleaning and x-rays, which are covered under my insurance. I called and called. After FINALLY getting in contact with someone to speak to regarding billing, they told me that I needed to go in. Once I informed them that I had been in and discussed the same problem, they continuously said "I don't know why they would tell you that, we can't see that information". This is the worst customer service I've ever received. I told them to shove it and to play the recording back, which they did, and they said "Oh, you did ask if the specific dentist would accept your insurance, " to which my response was "did you think I would lie about it?" Everyone who you speak with is unprofessional, and unable to answer any question you have. They all want to blame the customer, rather than blame themselves for screwing up.

I don't care if Kool Smiles is the last dentistry on the face of the earth, I WILL NEVER go back. I would let my teeth rot out of my head before going back to see them after this whole ordeal.

I sent my 13 year-old daughter back with them first then my son went back my son came back out fast and one of the nurse inform me that my daughter they haven't started on so me and my son was waiting and all of a sudden they nurse ran and told the other front desk nurse to call 911 that the patient in room 8 was not responding and never told me anything my son over heard them and so i went to the desk and they act like they did not want to tell me so i just walk to her room then they said she was not responding and then she started back so i told them they was wrong for not informing me of the situation and that i was going to make a complaint on this company.

My family and I moved out of VA to PA. I have spent the last 3 months trying to get my daughter seen by an orthodontist for maintenance on her braces. I finally found a dentist willing to take her as a transfer and now cannot get her records. They took a message at the "call center" and forwarded it to the office in Newport News. Two days later I get a call back with instructions to send a release form with our signatures to their fax number and they would handle it as soon as possible. I went to the new orthodontists office and filled out the release form and it was sent out that day. It's been a week. HOW HARD is it to FAX a FREAKING FILE to another office? She hasn't been seen by a dentist since August. After reading other reviews I can't see why this place is even in business. They are operating under poor practices in every instance of the words...

I went to kool smiles to get two teeth pulled he didnt deaden it good so it was very painful then I went back in horrible pain I couldnt sleep my face swollen he told me there was nothing wrong with my mouth that I have a sinus infection and to go see my doctor. Bi went to a different dentist and he packed my mouth pain was gone. I called kool smiles and the dentist called me apoligizing for the misdiagnosis.what can I do

I took my 13 month old to Kool Smiles after seeing their commercials and how they say they specialize in children dentistry. I'm sure there are good people that work at Kool Smiles. My overall experience however was good until our name was called. They have a nice play area and a big spacious waiting room. When my sons name was called we went back with a guy who barely spoke English. I was trying to explain my childs condition. My child doesn't eat well so he drinks Milk as his main food group. The guy told me I shouldn't give my child milk but once a day and that he should only have a little bit. I tried to explain things but couldn't seem to get my point across. After that conversation he had me pin my son to the chair as he proceeded to stuff gauze in his mouth. The whole time my child is choking, screaming, and thrashing around. Then the doctor comes in and makes me do this all over again with pinning him down so she can look inside his mouth and she said I wasn't holding him well enough and proceeded to yell at me to hold him down correctly. Needless to say I will never be taking my child back to Kool Smiles.

I was in Kool Smile dental office and they extracted my tooth. I knew that it was unnecessary and I came to other dentist. He wrote me conclusion decision and there is said that extraction was useless. I think I have to go to court and I have real chance to get compensation.

After seeing many commercials on tv about how wonderful Kool Smiles is, I had to take some action. My 4 yr old granddaughter was seen at Kool Smiles for a check up. At her 2nd visit, we were under the impression that she was to have some cavities filled, since she had been there previously for an evaluation. A mask was placed on her face with the nitrous oxide to relax her prior to having dental work completed. After the mask had been on her face, and she had been placed in a reclining position for quite awhile, the staff left the room to discuss with other staff her appropriate dental treatment. They came back into the room, and realized that they had no idea and no records of what she was to have done. The gas was turned off at this point, but the mask was left on. After another 30 minutes of waiting and talking with other staff, they decided to start treatment, which was to include fillings of cavities. At this point, my granddaughter had already been waiting patiently with the mask on for quite awhile. She became upset and started crying. The staff became very irritated with her, and told me that she needs to leave and is not allowed to return to that office. Of course, I had no intention of returning to that office with any children. I was horrified with the treatment my granddaughter received. My daughter has another pediatric dentist that she could have taken her to, but made this appointment since she was able to get her in immediately. Believe me, there is a reason you are able to get into that office quickly. My granddaughter and I both left in tears. Please don't subject any children to this torture. There are many many other dentists that are wonderful and will treat your children with the respect and kindness they deserve. My granddaughter was seen by anther dentist, who stated that she absolutely did not need any fillings. Her checkup and cleaning were completed without any difficulty whatsoever. I hope this helps someone else avoid a terrible experience.