Dr. Randall E. Root, DDS 2677 Elizabeth Lake Road, Waterford Township, MI 48328

"Jennifer, I have been looking for a good pediatric dental office to go to. Where is the one you go now? I havent had any issues with the dentist. He has been good but the staff especially up front has been terrible. One person hung up on me when i called to schedule an appt."

"I tried this dentist twice, hoping that my first poor experience was simply a rare occurrence and would not happen again in the future. I work in health care administration for a large local area health system, so I am very mindful of quality patient/medical staff interactions and with patients and families. Unfortunately I will be using this dental office as an example of everything NOT to do when health care workers interact with patients and their families/caregivers. I will say, that the visit was not entirely negative. The girls working at the front desk were very professional, polite and effecient. The 2 hygienists we saw were friendly when we interacted with them. But my second visit was equally as disappointing as the first, so we will not be giving them a third opportunity. The dentist himself, came across a bit arrogant and condescending. He gave me the impression that he was far too busy to engage me in meaningful conversation about my child’s dental health. In fact I heard him comment to others 2-3 times about the large number of patients they had seen for the day like he was overwhelmed and just trying to get done as soon as possible. I had questions which he sped through, gave me some flippant answers to and made me feel like were rediculous questions. Specifically, I had questions about whether my child’s dental issues could be the result of getting too little fluoride. His response was and I quote word-for-word “So you want me to answer whether there is enough fluoride in the world?” He also told me something I have never heard any dentist say before so I don’t know if this is true or not, he said my son could just brush with water and toothpaste isn’t necessary. Huh??? Now of course any parent is going to have questions when the dentist tells them your child can skip using toothpaste and just brush with water - I’ve been seeing dentists my entire life and I’ve never heard of such a thing. But he said this and walked away and started working on another patient, of course because he was just too busy and overwhelmed with the volume of patients to be professional and polite. The main dental office area is just an open area with several patient chairs so the staff spends more time talking across the room with each other than they do engaging the patients. So I was privy to their group discussions about what local area restaurants they wanted to order lunch from, how the previous day of work was absolutley horrible because all of their patients were just awful crying children. Mind you these patient visits are what get them their paychecks and keep their doors open, so it was be in their best interest to speak kindly and with appreciation for their customers/patients, not complain about how irritating they all were. The office felt a bit crowded, old and disorganized. It’s was just all around a really poor experience. If you have the option to try another pediatric dentist I would encourage every parent to do so before settling for this location. I scheduled an appointment at another pediatric dentist office and I’m pleased to say I was able to give the new dentist an A+, 5 Star rating. They were clean, professional, polite, engaging. They provided written literature on what I could do as a parent to ensure my child had proper dental hygiene and health. It was such a relief to find that every pediatric dentist does not provide the failing customer service experience that Delaney, Richmond and Root provide."

"Lisa, Our goal is to make every experience at our office a positive and rewarding one. We tried to accommodate you by adding your daughter to our schedule, but could only see her in the afternoon, which is not ideal, because as the day wears on so do the children. Dr. Delaney is certified as a specialist in pediatric dentistry and our office has over 35 years of experience in treating children with special needs and those that are apprehensive. We wish you well in your quest to meet your daughter’s future dental needs."

"I definitely would not recommend this place for children who have never had work done, my 4 year old is now terrified from her visit - the sad part is that i heard her screaming from the lobby, no one came to get me and i had asked if there was a problem if they could - i had to ask if it was her screaming... i was horrified and upset that she had to go through that without mom/p[l. I was reassured that kids do better without mom and encouraged to stay in the lobby....boy was that wrong. One of the desk workers tried to convince me if i went back that she would be even more upset; totally wrong she was so relieved. The office setting is ideal and they do, do a lot of nice things - lots of goodies in a take home bag, and a balloon at the end and a ton of toys to play with but the screams of children getting dental work will haunt me, especially my daughters cries! They also have a "quiet room" that one of the desk works giggled about because she said, its never quite, its where they use a papoose board to do work. We had to go back to get an xray for a new dentist, and she refused to get out of the car, i of course made her and the whole time she just said over and over, i hate this place i hate this place."