Mountain and River Dental and Associates

I have been a patient of Dr Freeman’s since childhood. When he retired and sold his practice I scheduled an appointment with Dr Carly and had a very poor experience.

Firstly, the appointment was rescheduled twice due to flooding issues. I understand that emergencies happen, but I thought I should mention it just in case this is a common experience.

During my cleaning, my dental hygienist was lovely. She was very respectful and knowledgeable, and a fun person to chat with. However, I was not impressed with Dr Carly. I found him to be dismissive.

He looked at my X-Rays and told me I had 6 cavities. Though this would be disappointing news for anyone, I was particularly shocked because I had never had a cavity before. At my last dentist appointment a year prior, they didn’t mention any cavities. I started to ask Dr Carly some questions about why this might have happened. If I got 6 cavities in 1 year, clearly I was doing something wrong. He did not answer my questions, and after I pressed him for a couple minutes simply said “brush more.” He left the room without much discussion.

Before going through with the fillings I decided to get a second opinion. The dentist I decided to see has been practicing in Hood River for decades and was a family friend. After an exam and new X-rays he told me I had zero cavities! He kindly showed me the X-rays and explained what he was seeing. He said there were two spots that might be on their way to becoming cavities, but definitely nothing was worth filling.

I would like to say that the reception and support staff were great. However, I will not be going back to see Dr Carly, and definitely would not recommend him.

I've started to write a review a few times but felt so embarrassed by my experience. Let me say first that the reception staff are wonderful, kind, and empathetic. Conversely, I found Dr. Carley to be condescending, dismissive, misogynistic, and insensitive. I felt humiliated, uncomfortable, and ignored. He made assumptions about not only my life but my parents. I'm glad to see few others have had a negative experience here, but I will never go back, even with the pain I'm experiencing from the tooth he worked on.

Thank you, however, to the kind people at reception who were so understanding to me. That meant a lot.

I have had dental issues my entire adult life because I've rarely had dental insurance. I do what I can using Care Credit. Dr. Carley made me feel so embarrassed about and ashamed of this. In addition to repeated comments about my missing teeth (root canals that never got crowns) and discoloration--cosmetic concerns about which I am *well* aware and can afford to do little--he commented, apropos of nothing, that "when you have kids some day, maybe you can make sure THEY see a dentist regularly and floss and brush." I stressed again that it was lack of money, not effort, that has led to these issues, but he was dismissive, almost mockingly so. Also, it's 2022: might we stop assuming that all women want or can even have children? At no point did I mention kids.

I started to comment about my dad and me often needing a lot of Novocain, and he interrupted me mid-sentence to say, "... lot of dental work"? No, my father, who was in the military, has always had excellent dental insurance, but thank you for that rude and classist assumption about my family.

For the first time, I agreed to use nitrous (thank you to the receptionist who offered to let me pay in installments); however, it didn't seem to work. When I told Dr. Carley it was having no effect (I read later later that it may have been due to a lack of B12 and/or my medications), he didn't seem to believe me. I actually cried throughout the procedure, unsure if I was having a bad reaction to the nitrous or upset from his comments. At the end, I repeated that the nitrous oxide hadn't seemed to work, and Dr. Carley said, incredulously, "Well, you didn't feel any pain, did you?" Well, despite the two shots of Novocain, I did actually stop him, twice, due to discomfort. He asked if I "remember" raising my hand, chuckling as though it was something silly I did due to the nitrous. I stated quite clearly remembering: I stopped him because of pain and, again, I didn't think the it had the intended effect on me. I scrambled to leave before I began crying again. The receptionist/assistant was so incredibly kind, and again, I truly appreciate that.

I had my 6-month cleaning and I was very pleased with it. I have no problems with my gums hurting me afterwards the hygienist was very pleasant and kept me informed of everything that she was doing. I have not met Dr Carly as of yet but that is in a future appointment.

After not getting any answers from my dentist about some jaw trouble I had been having, I booked a consultation with Dr. Freeman. He took detailed information from me and proceeded not only to diagnose my pain, but spent at least an hour educating me on TMJ and problems that occur in this area. He then, with my consent, went to work creating a model of my mouth to be used to create a custom mouth guard to help correct my problem. Dr. Freeman is knowledgeable and down to earth, I wish I had found him 20 years ago

Doctor Freemean is best dentist I've ever had. From root canals to crowns to cleanings he and his staff are professional offer great service and utilize the latest in technique and equipment. Their Covid practices are safe and sound.

I've been seeing Dr. Freeman for over 10 years. He's always been very professional and thorough, you know you're in good hands. His due diligence and professionalism translate through to all of the staff there, always a great experience. I've recommended them many times to new people in town.

My husband, myself and our teenagers, are all patients of Dr. Freeman and his wonderful staff! Dr. Freeman does excellent dental work and he adjusts his approach for us "veterans"' and for "newbies". The icing on the cake, so to speak, is the office support we receive. The superb office staff takes all the stress out of coordinating kiddos between dentist and orthodontist, for those times, due to treatment, we have to do both on the same day. Personally, I have been scared of going to the dentist since I was a child, however Dr. Freeman makes the experience calm and virtually pain-free. THANK DR. FREEMAN AND STAFF!

Dr. Freeman is a no nonsense, skilled, passionate dentist. From the beginning I was impressed with his knowledge of dentistry and his modern office setting. His staff is very pleasant, flexible, and kind. Dr. Freeman is our family dentist - I appreciate Pat's experience and do not hesitate to refer him to any of my friends.

Dr. Freeman and his staff did a great job. They are all friendly and want to make sure your cared for while your there. I love how Dr. Freeman explains everything that's going on with your teeth with pictures. I have never had such an explanation, very informative and let's you make the choice on what you want to do. I also appreciate they are an amalgam free dentist. The girl that did my cleaning, I don't remember her name but she is a blonde girl. Anyways great job and uses a sonic cleanse which I've never had done before. Gentle on teeth. Thank you Freeman staff.

Just visited Dr. Freeman's office. Routine maintenance time. The staff are so kind. Ex, the hygienist all covered up with proper breathing apparatus, faceshield, nitrile gloves handled her business like a consummate pro!! I am sooo thankful for Dr. Freeman and his staff. Best dental office I've ever had. If your looking for a solid Dentist, give Freeman dental a try. They are over the top!!