Citrus Dental Group and Orthodontics

Don’t come here. If you’re even considering it, just don’t. I wish someone had told me the same. I have come here for three cleanings and had three different dentists each time. When I ask why my previous dentists have left, I get the same generic «moved to be with family» excuse. Now, this could be true, so I continue to give them the benefit of the doubt.
However, each time a new dentist comes in, they wait until the week before your appointment to call you and inform you that you need to reschedule due to there being a new dentist. So I reschedule. When I go in, I am told by new dentist that my teeth cannot be cleaned without taking the wire out of my braces (the previous dentist never mentioned this and performed cleaning with wire.) So I reschedule. Then on the morning of my cleaning, the hygienist calls out and they need to reschedule again (you’re telling me the office only has a single hygienist that could have done a cleaning??). So I reschedule. This is in July, and they don’t have a dentist inspect me, just the hygienist do a cleaning. She says my teeth look great and I have been taking great care of them. No signs of concern or cavities. I schedule six months out for January. In January, the appointment happens to fall during the first week of school, when I need to crash courses at Sac State… so I call to reschedule. The earliest appointment isn’t until MID MARCH because the office is now down to one dentist, where they previously had two. Okay, fine. So i reschedule for March. I meet a new dentist, sit down for a cleaning, and am handed a $ 500 bill for FOUR cavities!!! Prior to my first cleaning at this office, I hadn’t seen a dentist in around 10 years and so for that visit, four cavities was as expected. However, I have been caring for my teeth exactly as instructed, in addition to having an orthodontist inspect my teeth every month, and therefore came to the conclusion that this was the last office visit I would be making. I’m not knowledgeable about dental insurance scamming but I suspect the office may make money off of recommending severe and costly treatment for those who don’t need it. Steer clear.

This place is horrible. The front staff and dentist is the worst. My 10 yr old son was treated with such disrespect. They «lost» his appt multiple times. Then when trying to get records they’ve hung up on me multiple times or won’t even answer the phone. This place is a joke.

After a snafu with my regular dentist over my insurance, I contacted Citrus Dental Group from my insurance company’s page of dentists. I have to say the facility is beautiful. Everyone from the front desk to all the support desk were kind, efficient and friendly. They even have the most outrageous coffee machine in the lobby.
But, the good feelings evaporated after my lengthy exam, when they presented me with an estimated bill of over $ 2000! They said I needed a crown on one tooth and had periodontal disease in part of my gums. I was shocked, since I had been to my regular dentist six months before and know my gum exam was rated «very good». If the x-​rays showed I needed a crown, I was okay with that, but I could not imagine how my gums had deteriorated in six months, since I floss and brush daily. I felt horrible, but not horrible enough to give the ok for the work. I thanked them and told them I would need a second opinion from another dentist.
My second dentist examined me and told me that though I did have a cavity in one tooth, I did not need a crown and I did not have periodontal disease in my gums.
My advice to anyone is that if you get an expensive quote from a new dentist, get a second opinion,

I like my dentist, he’s really nice and understanding BUT plan on spending half a day cause you will wait wait wait wait!

Horrible service at front desk, 15 min of x rays for one tooth because girl didn’t know what she was doing, and either the dentists are horribly trained or told to just try and get the most money out of you. Was told I needed almost $ 4000 of work on one tooth (pulled and dental implant) and there were absolutely no other viable options. I went for a second opinion somewhere else immediately following that one and was assured that the tooth could be saved.
Three hours later and a lot less than $ 4000 I was leaving the dentist with a simple root canal and cap done.
Almost forgot the topper… two weeks after seeing them I got a letter saying I had a case of periodontal disease that I needed to treat. I got that checked and my dentist saw nothing. Perfectly healthy gums.

Bad experience recently compare to 5 years ago I had services done for over $ 9000
Different doctors rude stuff
Do not bother going there honestly I was shocked and still am

This office is horrible. From the time Sara the pregnant high school dropout attempts to fumble through the computer system, until you take 75 xrays because the intern keeps missing the shot. Then the Dr. Plans a treatment outside of your coverages and a salesperson (Sara) comes in and wants a Credit Card for treatment that you don’t want. Now I’ve waited over 4 months for authorization that my insurance never received and I don’t need because I’m covered.
This office is disorganized & it’s employees less trained than Western Dental. Save your time and money by going somewhere else. They WILL rip you off.
I would give ZERO stars if possible.

This place is amazing! The staff here are so friendly and passionate about what they do. The dentist was really nice and did a great job, explaining the procedure. I highly recommend sunrise family dentistry

This place really saved my life. Well, maybe not actually saved my life but I have to say as close to that as any one person or group can. My story starts off with getting a crown and filling done by a doctor I will only say is in the San Francisco Bay Area. I went through weeks of pain that at times made me call out sick for my job. Life stopped and I wasn’t able to have a normal life. I will admit is that I’m a baby when it comes to having large sharp metal objects in my mouth. You may thinks that’s a fun time I do not. So, I’m very particular about the dentist I trust with my dental care.
I was told about this group by a friend who goes here. The thing is I live in the Bay Area and this Doctor in the Sacramento office. Drive to Sacramento for dental care? I was at the end of my rope and I was willing to give anything a try at this point.
I met with Dr. Thompson and he first tried fixing my crown and filling by working on my bite. I do know working on someone else’s dental work is tough because you don’t know the finer details of the other dentist work. So, I appreciated Dr. Thompson wanting to start out conservatively first instead of jumping into the deep end of the pool. It helps my anxiety and wallet to start small and work your way up approach.
So, unfortunately I needed my first root canal. Darn it! But, I have to tell you that Dr. Thompson did everything else before resorting to the root canal. He explained my options in detail and I was able to make an informed decision for what I needed. He was able to do most of the root canal himself but I needed deeper care to make sure one last root wasn’t going to be a problem. That required me to meet with another dentist that had the tools to go deeper than Dr. Thompson was comfortable doing. Fast forward a few days later and I was again in the chair with Dr. Hashagen «Dr. Jake» who was new to the the group. I couldn’t have been happier with him and his dental assistants. It couldn’t have been easier to have the final root canal completed with Dr. Jake. I felt completely taken care of by everyone in the office.
To date I haven’t had any further issues and I just made made an appointment for my first cleaning. I’m am truly grateful for Dr. Thompson and the Citrus Dental staff.

We go to this office for the orthodontist so I can’t speak for the dentist aspect. We’re always seen promptly and everyone we come in contact with is friendly and helpful. The office is clean and they play movies in the ortho room which is a nice distraction while you’re waiting.

I am not sure how my experience here was so much better than others — perhaps because in ANY medical or dental office, you have to be your own advocate and ask questions. Everyone wants to make money, so educate yourself and feel free to say no to procedures you don’t find necessary.
This dentist was able to get me in VERY quickly for my dental emergency (a large filling fell out). I was not expecting much. I arrived and the office was clean and spacious. They had me check in at a computer kiosk. I noticed the kid area with video games etc. Nice.
I was called back in LESS than 10 minutes by an admittedly young, but very friendly and knowledgeable dentist — I believe his last name was Patel?
He talked to me briefly about the reason for my visit. I was then taken for full X-​rays — where the technician kept me laughing and noticed my bone overgrowth below my tongue and was extra careful not to hurt me with the bite plates — NICE! I was starting to get a bit impressed.
I was led back to the room where a dental hygienist came in to asses my gum health — it was determined that I had light/​moderate gum disease — this did not surprise me much — I had not had dental insurance in YEARS, although I do practice very good oral hygiene (My older sister is a dentist — but lives far away — so I got the lectures, but not the treatment lol). He explained to me about the treatment — a deep cleaning/​scaling — and the laser everyone is talking about.
The dentist then returned after viewing my X rays and consulting with the hygienist. He reviewed the results and potential treatments with me.
I would like to say — he made it a point to tell me that the laser treatment was COMPLETELY optional but that they do see faster recovery times and slightly better results with it, but that its use was completely up to me and that it would be a self-​paid upgrade.
I had a small cavity, two larger areas of decay requiring inlays, needed the cleaning and also a crown for where the old amalgam filling had fallen out.
He very carefully went through all of my X rays with me and SHOWED me all of these items.
Then — yes the finance specialist came in. This happens at ALL dentist now — it is not specific to this office. People are uninsured or under insured all over America — so this has become a necessary evil and I had already expressed to the dentist that I would probably need to prioritize treatment and do it in stages.
The finance was NOT a hard seller — she even talked with me about some of her own struggles and made me feel very comfortable so I didn’t feel ashamed about not having a small fortune to dump into my teeth.
Let me say this — I have HORRIBLE credit. The stuff of nightmares. Mostly stemming from an unexpected year long disability 5 years ago as well as several years of not having health or dental insurance (medical bills). My credit is about as bad as it gets. They were STILL willing to finance me for up to four months.
After running several scenarios — during which she pressured me NOT A BIT — I elected to have the cheapest crown installed — another silver one — and have a small cavity in my front tooth filled — saving the more expensive inlays and cleaning for tax return time or once I recover from the holidays lol.
To have the silver filling I would have to get a temporary and return in a week or two when the filling was made. Ugh. But it was over $ 500 cheaper than the porcelain same-​day alternative, so what could I do?
I made my selections and signed the consent forms.
A few minutes later — the woman came back with new paperwork because the dentist upgraded me FOR FREE to the more expensive same day porcelain crown as a professional courtesy!!!
They began the work and kept me very comfortable — giving me booster Novocaine as needed.
The whole thing ended up taking about 4 hours all told for the exam, X rays, crown and filling. They were extremely patient with my questions, financial issues and anxieties.
I left with a perfectly matched whit filling for a very tiny cavity between my front teeth as well as a smooth white beautiful crown in place of my old cruddy silver filling that fell out.
No one tried to sell me teeth whitening — they worked with my credit — they REALLY helped me by upgrading my crown so it it not only prettier and better but was done in the same visit instead of taking two weeks — they made it a point to tell me laser treatment of my gum disease was OPTIONAL and at my own discretion — I was in and out QUICKLY! And they let me listen to my music on headphones during the work! I found everyone there to be friendly and COMPLETELY competent and confident in the work they were doing.
Most importantly — they treated me with respect. I will be going back for my deep cleaning and inlays. I have never had a better dentist. Also — remember — dentists do YEARS of practical experience in clinics before being licensed. Even if they are young — they are experienced.

I’ve been with Citrus Dental Group for about 3 or 4 years. When it comes to actual dental work I’ve had mainly positive experiences. Unlike other reviewers here, neither my wife nor I have noticed a rapid turnaround in dentists (we’ve had the same dentist and hygienist for 3 or 4 years now), the main dental staff seem experienced and professional; and we haven’t felt ripped off financially for treatment (some of which was pretty major).
That’s not to say I haven’t encountered problems with the back-​office staff. One or two of the technicians they’ve had in have been pretty incompetent, and their management of X-​Ray facilities and the order in which work is done is sometimes poorly planned. But actual work done by the dentist and hygienist has been consistently good.
However, Citrus Dental Group’s front office staff are pretty terrible! And they just seem to be getting worse and worse! I’ve had appointments switched on me (with insufficient or zero notice) at least 3 times in the past year or so, and I’ve had to wait up to an hour at a time when I had a scheduled appointment.
It’s almost like the front office is being run by the three stooges! And whoever is managing that aspect of the business (I think they’ve had a few people do it over the last couple of years) is repeatedly dropping the ball.
I don’t know what the heck is going on there, but I’ve had enough. I’m off to find a new dentist! And I’d advise serious caution to anyone trying to get an appointment here, because at least 50% of the time the front office staff will somehow screw it up!
UPDATE: I now see that my review has been blacklisted by Unilocal for some reason. Way to go Unilocal — keep burying well-​written honest reviews. That’s a great way to dispute the claims that you guys are taking payoffs from the businesses being reviewed to remove unflattering reviews! What a joke!

I went in for a routine check up recently and i am very happy with the way i was treated and always felt comfortable. I came in as scheduled and wasn’t left in the lobby for an hour waiting for the dr., he came out and greeted me in person and took me into the back. the digital X-​rays were much aster and less of a hassle than i remember the older kind to be. The hygienist as very friendly as she did my check up and my cleaning. It has been a while since i had been to the dentist, and Dr. Thompson definitely made me feel at ease and helped to make an otherwise nerve wracking experience pleasant and friendly. I will recommend him to anyone i hear looking for a dentist.

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Edit: This incident happened Nov 12Th 2009. Additional Edit at the end.
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BEWARE!!! This place is the worst of the worst. They are strictly for profit and going about it in unethical ways.
A low priced advertised cleaning, sounds good so I book the apt. I find out that the whole apt is a sales scheme to try to get thousands of dollars worth of work done, and guess what, they don’t give the cleaning!
They actually have a closer in a full business suit! I said to him, «you don’t look like you belong in the medical field» he says back to me «Oh no, I’m not, I specialize in financing»… A closer, a corrupt system to get people in for a fake cleaning, and a complete waste of time. Before you think about going in here, ask them to guarantee you that you will get the cleaning. They won’t guarantee it, they say that is you have any form of gingivitis they will not do the cleaning. Well, it’s proven that 85% or more Americans have some form of gingivitis, so they are banking on the fact that they will not do 85% of the cleanings they schedule.
Corrupt!!!
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Edit: Since I posted this review, the manager sent me an email to get more info and try and clear things up. They say there are no salesmen there now, but the manager wasn’t working there in 2009, so maybe they got rid of him. She also mentioned that they would give me the cleaning now. I complained at the time, said I wanted the cleaning which was advertised. The salesmen said it would be malpractice if they cleaned my teeth without performing the «expensive» treatment first. I knew this was a lie then, but the manager confirmed today as well that this is not true. That’s when she checked with the doctor and they approved to give me the cleaning, now in 2012. I posted this review 2 years after the initial visit. I wasn’t a user of this site back then.
I don’t think I will go back, because of the previous experience, but they did offer to complete the cleaning for $ 39 as advertised. They said I could sign a form refusing the «expensive» treatment and just get the cleaning. Funny how that is an option now, but it wasn’t at the time. It could have been the «closers» fault and not the doctor, maybe he was just a shady salesmen. .
Well, Citrus Heights Dental Group, this is what happens when you mix medicine with sales. Not a good combination!
Garrett Peterson
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I enjoyed the staff and dentist at this office. I had a Groupon so I was pleased that I wasn’t treated differently. the rates and discounts helped and I know I’ll be returning.

Don’t you just love it when your dentist motto is, «you signed for it».
Have they had so many complaints from patients? Yes.
Red flags all over this business now. Run the other way.

I too got stuck with these jokers after a switch in insurance.
Unfortunately, I did fall for the «need for deep cleaning» — spent quite a bit of money doing it.
6 months later — getting ready for the appt they set — I get a call saying the appt. needs to be re-​scheduled as the dentist will be «out of the office» that day. Annoyed, I just re-​scheduled the appt.
A week before this next appt. — I get a call saying the appt. needs to be re-​scheduled yet again. Why I ask — you guessed it — the dentist will «be out of the office» that day too.
Big red flag for me. While on the phone with my insurance, changing my plan — to get back to my trusted dentist, my plan advisor informed me that he hears of this a lot.
Apparently HMO plans do not create the desired revenue — so what happens? You get knocked off the schedule.
Professionally I am disgusted with this organization, and even more that they have found their way into our City.

After my appointment a couple weeks ago I decided I’d definitely leave a line or two about this place and now I wish I hadn’t looked at the existing reviews. I actually payed the money to have the laser treatment on my gums! Now I’m feeling a bit on the ripped off side. Here’s how the laser deal goes down:
He pitched it to me as a one-​time thing that would cost me $ 150 per quadrant (that’s $ 600 total, for those of you who don’t feel like doing the math). He said it would stop gum disease in its tracks. Hopefully my admission of having been diagnosed with «gum disease» won’t ruin my chances of scoring with any of you; I assure you I practice great oral hygiene. Anyway… dead in its tracks… I said I wasn’t about to pay $ 600 for ANYTHING optional. The next time I came back, he again recommended the treatment but this time he said it was $ 100 per quadrant. Yes, he told me, they had lowered the price. AND the hygienist would look at each tooth individually and if I didn’t need certain teeth done, he would charge me EVEN LESS. Well how could I say no, right? After I agreed to the treatment — at a maximum cost of a mere $ 400 — he told me about their «laser for life» program. This meant I could sign an agreement to pay $ 100 every time I come in and get as much laser treatment as I needed FOREVER. But wait… he’d told me initially that it was a one-​time treatment. So when I brought that to his attention, he said that they HOPED it was a one-​time treatment. Okay. So my review is knocked down a star for the whole laser thing. It’s shady at worst and kinda cool at best. I don’t know if it worked or not. Guess I’ll find out in 6 weeks. Now for the (brief) rest of my review…
You have to wait a really long time to be seen. ThisThe waiting room is comfortable with lots of magazines and a movie playing (don’t get too excited, though, because you can’t hear it). They’ve got a video game for kids to play, too, and it’s in a separate little area so you don’t have to deal with your kids the whole time you’re waiting. The staff is friendly enough and check in is quick. Now onto my favorite part of the whole thing — Dr. Thompson. He is funny, gentle, kind, considerate, and patient. If I have to wait five hours from the time I walk in until I walk out, it’s totally worth it because my daughter loves him. He’s made her look forward to seeing the dentist and she has to have a lot of work done. Dr. Thompson is the only reason I drive way out of my way to come here.
In short, if you’re short on time or don’t like the whole factory-​ish feeling of the place (see other reviews) and maybe you don’t want to drive all the way out to Sunrise Mall, perhaps you should find somewhere else. But if you want someone who’s going to make your child smile, even after having their teeth drilled, ask for Dr Thompson.

I hadn’t been to the dentist in a couple years and was afraid of what I might find. I’m a member of Groupon and the deal of the day was a complete exam, cleaning and x-​rays for only $ 29! I couldn’t pass it up! Plus they were throwing in a personal whitening kit with the exam.
I arrived at the office and was greeted by a very nice gal at the front desk. Everyone in this office is really nice and friendly.
Overall, the visit was a positive one. The only tiny thing that I wasn’t thrilled about was the length of time I was there. It seemed at times I was waiting for someone for 10 to 15 minutes in between the different stages of my visit. I highly recommend this office, just be prepared to spend a bit of time with them! :-)

Through work I joined some sort of Dentist HMO plan. I was really really excited to have some sort of dental insurance! First time in my adult life in the US!
After choosing a dentist on the plan, I was not as excited. For instance, is there a rule that dentists in a particular HMO group have to be… sketchy? Lemme explain.
First thing that happened while waiting is that a «mistake» was made. I filled out the necessary tedious paperwork and was led to a room with a dentist chair. Now I was just going here to have my teeth looked at. No work to be done, no cleaning.
I waited in the dentist chair for an hour. Yes, one freakin’ hour. Finally I spoke up and said, «Hello? Did you know I was here?». I had been skipped over and the dentist «performed an extraction» on another patient while I sat and twiddled my thumbs.
Finally in walks the dentist. A youthful young woman in high heel patent leather boots walks in. Oh I get it! Where are the hidden cameras? But no, it was the dentist. She had a look at my teeth and made some comments about tooth number X and tooth number Y to an assistant who took notes. Then she left.
Another woman comes in and explains everything that needs to be done including using some special liquid to «swish out my mouth» that will cost a couple hundred dollars. I was already fuming from having to sit around and wait, and I had already made up my mind about this place!
Long story short, in order to have teeth that won’t fall out of my mouth, I would need to spend about $ 4,000. Oh no, that isn’t right. It was closer to $ 3,600, but you get the point.
Get real! Incidentally I went back to Australia to see my dentist there and she said that my teeth were fine.