Alameda Family Dentistry

I have been going to Alameda Family Dental for the past ten years and I would highly recommend this practice to anyone who is in need of an excellent dentist. If you are looking for a dentist office with knowledgable and gentle dentists, kind dental hygienists (Carol is my fav) and friendly receptionists then this is the one for you. I have been seen by all three dentists and have had only positive interactions with them and everyone on staff.

I appreciate that AFD has always been flexible about scheduling my appointments around my work schedule. Since I am a school teacher I can't make morning apps or just take a day off on a whim. Alameda Family Dental has been very accommodating and has made things even more convenient with their text reminders about my upcoming appts.

When I had my cleaning done today, my dental hygienist, Carol, offered to donate toothbrushes and flossers for my all of my students. When I talked with Rafaela, the office manager, she expedited the process and got everything ready for my first graders to start taking care of their teeth! I am excited that I will be able to offer my students a goodie bag full of ALL the supplies needed to take care of their smiles- toothbrushes, flossers, toothpaste and even sand timers to help them visually track their teeth brushing. Wow!!! Thank you so much Alameda Family Dental! I will post a picture of my students with their dental supplies soon!

Excellent, attentive staff provide superb care and a congenial atmosphere. The mechanics of parking,registration,getting an appointment, and checkout all went smoothly. I recommend this practice.

My dentist retired and it was time to find one closer to me. I found Alameda Family Dental Practice early 2010 and have never been happier. Dr Schmidt and his associates and staff are the best. This coming someone who has a fear of dentists because of early childhood trauma. Care is great and staff are very helpful.

I've calmed down a bit, so I feel like I can write down what happened without triggering myself again.

We've been at this practice for just over a year and a half, since moving to Alameda. My daughter is on the spectrum. She is not anxious about dental procedures, but she's extremely anxious and fearful about orthodontics.

She has a great deal of crowding, compounded by a number of super-numerary teeth, two of which we had to have removed on previous occasions, with another dentist. She also has bad dental hygiene because of texture issues. All of this makes dental care more difficult.

Back in June, I saw yet another extra tooth erupt, and wanted to schedule an appointment with a dentist like I had before -- the one where they take an x-ray, and then show it to me and we discuss a plan of action, whereby I'm respected as a person who knows my daughter best, and the dentist explains what's going on.

I had an appointment in early July. This conversation never happened. My daughter was sent home with a cleaning and a note "she's got crowding, see Ortho". I called, and wanted to discuss the extra tooth, and the dentist seemed surprised, as if this was the first time it was mentioned.

So we scheduled another appointment, I took yet more time off work. This time a panoramic x-ray was taken, but I didn't get to see it either. All I got was another prescriptive volley of "there's crowding, see an orthodontist", relayed to me in front of my daughter, who proceeded to freak out for the rest of the day, thinking I'll be forcing her to wear orthodontics. I assured her that I will not force her to do anything, that we'll wait with orthodontics until she's ready. Another dental appointment was set up, this time, or so I thought, to take out the extra tooth.

I took a third day off, my last precious sick day, expecting to get her through the procedure. I get called into the procedure room, where the dentist again tries to push orthodontics on me IN FRONT OF MY DAUGHTER. She, predicably, starts to freak out, and I lose my patience with her for one second. Yes, after several pleas went by unanswered, I loudly told my daughter to shut up. I did it in order bring her out of the anxious funk she was getting into (which typically starts as non-stop talking and ends up in hysterics). And then, in order to calm her down, I told the dentist, in front of her, that I will not make her wear orthodontics until she's ready.

I immediately got the judgmental "bad mommy" stares, as the dentist packed up his tools and ran off down the corridor without looking me in the eye, saying that he wasn't comfortable treating us. I was escorted out by a nurse, who once again gave me the "bad mommy" blame talk.

Major kudos to the receptionist, who actually seemed to really care about how upset I was feeling. I don't know her name, but if she's reading it -- thank you!

And, for extra funsies, as if being judged and kicked out of a practice was not enough to make me feel like trash, I got this chaser letter in the mail. I guess it's Dr Schmidt's way to make sure that it really sinks in that I'm a monster, unfit for society.

The first time I was able to look at my daughter's x-rays and get an explanation of what I was seeing was AFTER I left this practice. I asked for the x-rays to be emailed, and a dentist at my old practice in Newark was finally able to sit down with me, (with my daughter watching TV in another room), and respectfully discuss a game plan, talking into the account all the particulars of her case, and my input.

Hopefully Dr S., after talking to your business strategist, you could find it in yourself to start offering this kind of service to your patients also!

Dr Schmidt and ALL of the staff at Alameda Family Practice are just wonderful! Everyone there is so kind, and always go out of their way to make going to the dentist a very pleasant experience!!

Dr. Schmidt is caring, knowledgeable, skilled, and kind--everything you would want a dentist to be

Ok, if I could give DR.Schmidt and Rosylin a10 star I would. I had this incredible molar ache starting last evening and all day today I was looking for a dentist who could extract my tooth. I made some calls and an appointment in Oakland at a place (which I don't want to disclose here as I already will be giving them a terrible review) that canceled on me last minute after I reached there. Luckily alameda family dental practice practice was open today and I just took a chance and called dr. Schmidt's snd left a voicemail explaining how much pain I was in today. He returned my call and also took me in right before closing. Because my molar was already moving he also extracted it. Mind you that I've never been a patient here before. Rosylin was also very kind and I felt comfortable in the office. Thank you to both of you for saving my day. I feel a 1000 times better now compared to this morning. I would highly recommend this place.

Love the crew here! I have been a patient for many years, and I highly recommend them for their efficient and delicate service, reasonable prices for extra cosmetic things like a night guard and their friendly team. You can tell Dr. Schmidt loves his job and cares about his quality of work and business.

Totally unprofessional and rude dental office! I was astounded when my bill for a teeth cleaning was $280. I called and asked for a discount and the billing lady said "I am giving you a discount because I am being nice" and she gave me about $20-30 discount. She told me I can't have any more discounts in the future. I told her I need to check out the fees at other dentists because my last dentist located one street away only charges $125 for the same exact service (cleaning, exam, and bite wing X-rays)!!!

TODAY: I was shocked to receive a letter in the mail today signed by Dr. Eric Schmidt, D.D.S. that says the following: "We regret to inform you that due to your unhappiness with our fees we will no longer be able to see you as a patient in this office." Totally unprofessional and stupid. The billing lady maybe should have mentioned that instead of being nice (like she said,) that getting a discount would mean I was getting kicked out! How "nice!" And Lame.

Next up, the hygienist. She was a person that wasn't necessarily warm, and she was flossing my teeth in a hurry like she was running a marathon it was totally uncomfortable and rude. I was impressed by her technical skills though! You've got to be precise to pull that off!! She was also laying her gloved hands all over my face. She was treating me like she was in a huge hurry and seemed like she would do better in a profession where she is working with something other than people.

I have had a bad experience with my last dentist, which made me hesitant on seeing a new one. However I needed to for a broken filling. I read through all the reviews and it was just as I read. Friendly office, great staff, was able to answer all my questions and was able to provide all the billing information I needed before I had the work started. Then even better the dentist is extremely kind and super gentle. Great office with out the overpricing I have experienced many times before.