Midwestern University Dental Institute — Attraction in Glendale

TL;DR: Easy to make an appointment, my appointment started on time (Tammy was super nice), the student I saw had great bedside, this first appointment took about 1.5 hours but they were very open that everything takes longer with students so it was totally fine with me. They don't go into pricing on the first appointment aside from discussing the fees for your next appointment (if you're approved) which will be comprehensive and typically includes x-rays. The facility is very clean and nice. It is a semi open floor plan, so if you're hard of hearing you may need to make that clear so they can accommodate as it is a bit noisy and easy to get distracted.

Long version: I went in today after having seen an independent dentist a week prior and being quoted ~$2000 to replace a number of cracked fillings, small cavities, and be fitted for a night guard (bruxism). The dentist I saw then was amazing, but that was simply out of my budget.

I called and made an appointment here as a new patient because kicking the can down the road will only make it worse, but I needed to see if there was a solution more in line with my financial means.

The phone call was very easy and took maybe 5 minutes to set up an appointment for the next day (not sure if it's usually that easy to be seen so soon - I was surprised they could fit me in so quickly but they did)

I showed up at around 9:20am for my 9:30am appointment. Spoke with Tammy at the front desk who was super nice and welcoming. After signing some paperwork acknowledging that I understood this was a student clinic and as such there were different expectations of me as a patient - I sat down. I was able to read through the very thorough and detailed Patient Bill of Rights booklet before I was called back and met one of my student dentists.

From there it was a short trip upstairs to their work bay where we went over some more paperwork, I answered questions about my health, and then sat down in the chair for a cursory examination which involved looking at my teeth, some scraping and prodding, and looking at my bite.

At this point the supervising dentist came over, spoke with me, said I seemed like a good patient and I was scheduled for my follow up comprehensive examination in less than two weeks.

There were a few very minor holdups due to some technical issues with the computer freezing, and some time spent waiting for a supervising dentist to be free to check on me.

I left the building around 11am, so the total time for the first appointment was ~1.5 hours. Maybe 30 minutes of that could be chalked up to the minor issues, so nothing huge there.

I think a lot of the poor reviews appear to be people that are going in thinking they'll get identical service to an established dental office. Just be realistic that a task that would take 10 minutes in a normal office will take 20-30 minutes here. It's clear this is a concern of their's because everyone (from the front desk to the student to the supervising dentist) all made a point to tell me that my comprehensive exam in two week will take a full 3-4 hours. Which I appreciated - I was glad they were just upfront about that from the get-go.

If you've got more time than money (so far) this seems like a good place to go. If, on the other hand, you have a schedule that just isn't going to allow you to be at an office for a half to full day this probably isn't the right fit.

I'll try to update my review as I work through my appointments because I think it's important to have at least a few reviews on here that give a clear picture of what you can expect ranging from time, pricing, and procedure experience to offset the slews of low star reviews with no real details (or details that muddle the fact that it appears that person just wasn't keeping to all the patient guidelines they inform you of repeatedly in the various...

Very Poor experience x 6. Today I ended my 2+ year relationship with Midwestern Dental School. I booked a cleaning and specifically called and asked how much a cleaning was and was told $40. When I got there (45 min drive each way) I was told the bill would be $100+ which included the cleaning, x-rays and dental exam. I agreed to the cleaning and exam but not the xrays and was told I had to have them or could not get the cleaning because they wanted me to have "the very best care" and that would require an x-ray. I walked out and drove to another Dentist office as a walk-in after seeing an intro offer of $25 for cleaning, x-ray and exam. BAM! I have my new Dentist!

This was my 5th poor experience at Midwestern Dental with "the best care" they wanted me to have. The student sliced my cheek open during my visit and we had to wait for an oral surgeon to come in and suture it closed. This one hour visit turned into 5 hours and resulted in a week of antibiotics on my dime and a chipmunk face of swelling.

Another student cut her finger on one of the instruments she was using on me and I got called back to the clinic to have my blood drawn for an HIV test. (I asked for a copy of it and never did get it.) This one hour visit turned into 4.5 hours (mostly waiting in the waiting room for them to fit me in).

Student was extracting my tooth and broke it off in an odd way and it took 5 hours for the extraction.

A second tooth extraction took 5 hours with the student not being able to get my tooth out. (someone had to come and take over). I developed an infection and looked like a chipmunk for 10 days and had to go on stronger antibiotics.

After a two year plan and some extraction and a crown, I finally got my long awaited tooth implant. Only it is a RUNT! Half the size as a normal molar implant and it is the shortest tooth in my mouth. Everything I eat rubs and scrapes my gums! Not only is it aesthetically displeasing, the functionality is off and I can only chew certain soft foods on that side of my mouth 6 months later. I was not happy with this little runt of a tooth since the day they put it in. Had I have know it was going to be half sized and not fully functioning, I NEVER would have done it with them. They said they did it that way for more impact. A second opinion and then a third opinion said they never would have done it that way. And I am getting my new implant replaced elsewhere.

Today was the last straw with Midwestern Dental over the teeth cleaning and pricing I was quoted on the phone. I would NEVER recommend this school. You get what...

My husband went to Midwestern University Dental Clinic for one reason — an obviously infected tooth that was documented as the top priority in his treatment plan. Despite this, the clinic dragged him through five separate appointments filled with repeat imaging, a cleaning, and two unrelated fillings, yet never treated the infected tooth. This a documented risk / hit to patient safety, as a failure to prioritize urgent care, or a referral to a practice that would handle the clearly worsening infection, delayed proper treatment and caused true patient harm. A clear demonstration of the clinics inability to uphold their responsibility of diagnosing and/or treating patients.

His condition deteriorated so badly that he ended up in the emergency room (aditional financial impact), where he required stronger antibiotics and pain medication. Even after informing the clinic of this, they still scheduled more imaging and again, only another consultation — not treatment. We ultimately had to go to an emergency dentist who extracted the tooth in under an hour, proving that proper care could have — and should have — been provided much earlier (negligence or substandard care).

We paid $350 for an emergency appointment, imaging and the extraction elsewhere. Meanwhile, the clinic charged nearly $1,000 for procedures that ignored his actual medical need and substansial risk for systemic infection. A supervising dentist even implied he couldn't receive care for the infected tooth unless he agreed to complete their entire treatment plan, suggesting academics or portfolio building — not actual patient care — was the priority.

This was not just poor service — it was a blatant delay of necessary medical care, causing avoidable pain, financial loss, and unnecessary risk. I strongly believe this reflects negligence, poor clinical judgment and should be taken seriously in regards to patient safety.

We’ve spent weeks trying to recover money for appointments that were not only unnecessary and non-urgent, but actively made his condition worse. Despite this, Dr. Greenwood and upper leadership have shown no sense of accountability for the financial and physical harm they’ve caused to real patients.

Don’t waste your money, time, or emotional energy — go to a different clinic. Midwestern University may appear cheaper, but it’s clear they exploit patients under the guise of...