Elm Avenue Community Clinic - Waco, Texas

Dubious Ethics

UPDATE (5/10/24):

Ok, this review update is squarely directed at Elm Avenue Dental Admin staff...

So I received yet another call from one of the suspect, front office /reception employees attempting to roadblock my procedures yet again for the same reason: County funding not approved. I called and asked what they had done to resolve the issue prior to calling me. No one could tell me any specifics. My next appointment is 3-weeks away.

When I asked to speak to their supervisor, they didn't even know the person's LAST NAME!

On a prior visit, I was treated so badly by front office staff that I actually met with my county case worker to ask what I had done to deserve that kind of treatment by multiple staff members at Elm.

I'm leery about even writing this because I 100% expect to be subject to retaliation by them and my procedures are not complete. While I am so grateful and appreciative to have this social/medical safety net available to me, people living on the margins should absolutely NOT be subject to the abhorrent behavior that I experienced by a few at Elm Avenue Dental.

As someone who grew up in this area (Waco/Southern Baptist Bible Belt), I am familiar with the passive/aggressive sabotaging behavior of some groups/organizations/denominations that my lifestyle does not align with. As such, I am in the process of transitioning all of my healthcare needs away from Waco Family Medicine and any affiliate clinic they use.

If you are a member of a marginalized group and have had negative experiences with this or any other WFM clinic, I implore you to seek out other providers that are kind, affirming, and are there to help. You deserve better.

BTW, I called the county and had the problem resolved, same day, within a few hours, on a Friday afternoon no less.
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DO NOT USE MCLENNAN COUNTY HEALTH DISTRICT FUNDING to have any dental services performed here!!!

The county will take all of the state and federal funding/grant money and leave you without teeth!

I began going to Elm Avenue Community Clinic approximately 6 months ago to have extensive work done to deep clean (scale), extract many broken and loose teeth, and have an upper & lower denture placed.

After assuring me multiple times that my dental plan had been approved to completion, I received a call today saying that the health district was out of funding and that I would need to cancel my existing appointments.

Do not, under any circumstances, use the McLennan County Health District to fund any work ANYWHERE.

On a positive note, my dentist and hygienist at Elm were spectacularly competent and I would recommend them to anyone. They really were some of the best and most gentle I've ever had work on me.

Samantha Fuller

They reschedule you a lot which allows for your teeth to get worse. They put medicine on the inside of the tooth which allowed it to gradually get worse since ts supposed to be checked after a month. They would not let another doctor see me. And rescheduled for another month which made it 2 and a half months. They don't care for their patients. They have already caused me to lose one tooth because of this timing. Then when I called to reschedule. The front desk hung up on me. They are very unprofessional and I would not even rate this a star if it would let me

Clara Schneider

I wish I could give this clinic zero stars. After showing up at 7:30 for a 8am appt. I sat in the waiting room until after 9am only to be told that the front desk never verified my insurance. After calling my insurance myself and getting the front desk the info they needed within 15 minutes, I was told "We will just have to work you in since you missed your 8am appointment"! They actually expected me to sit and wait all day for an opening insread of making me a priority since they dropped the ball! I have transferred my records to a new clinic and would stongly reccommend not wasting your time on this clinic as well!

Brian Curtis Davis

This may be a "county" dental clinic, but it features the most modern equipment and kindest, professional staff! Their dentists are VERY professional and will spend all of the time with you as necessary to get the job done with excellence and comfort! Payment is based upon your income...In most cases, care is not free but discounted. They will take some dental insurances, but you will not be able to receive a discount if you choose to use your insurance. Their insurance billable amount is about 1/2 that of private dentist offices. I highly recommend this dental office!!!

Sandra Dorsey-Butler

I began going to the dental clinic in January 2020. The course of treatment we decided on was to extract three remaining top teeth and get an immediate denture for the upper. My 20-year-old lower Val-plast partial was to be replaced with another Valplast partial. My March 2020 appointment to get the extractions done and pick up the dentures was cancelled due to COVID-19. I was told that someone would call me to reschedule the appointment when they reopened. No one ever did. When I called in December, I found out they had reopened in September! I went in for an appointment in January 2021 and was charged more money although I had prepaid for everything before the COVID shutdown! After paying more than $250 more to finish the work, I had another appointment cancelled due to the February 2021 snowstorm. I was able to reschedule a time to return after the thaw and followed their procedures. I arrived for the appointment, parked, called to notify them of my arrival and after doing the COVID screening on the phone, I was told that I would have to pay an additional $135 for that day's appointment to make a new impression for the upper dentures. Keep in mind, I had paid for an immediate denture that I was to have been wearing home the day I had the extractions. It has now been months since the extractions and I still have no upper denture and they want more money from me before they will make one. I have already paid more than $1100 to this "sliding scale" dental operation and all I have for that is three teeth extracted (at a quoted cost of $67.50 per tooth when this began).

J M

Dentist was very rude, wouldn't not listen to what was being explained, kept talking over us. We explained twice that our insurance doesn't cover an oral surgeon and we are on on a fixed income. He still referred us anyway instead of continuing the appointment or at least rescheduling the appointment with another dentist within the branch

Natasha Birdsong

I went to seek help for tooth pain that has prevented me from sleeping for 2 days and was told it would be $70 to be seen. This is supposed to be a low cost clinic. But they would rather see ppl suffer then help them. I only have $50 to my name. I need help bad but can't find it here

Alisia T

This is a great dentist office to go to. They are always people friendly and have helped me financially be able to pay appropriate prices. The good health card worked out for me and im glad they explained to me how to get it. The doctor who works on my mouth is excellent and handles everything she does with care. Awesome environment!