Raymond G Hatland, DDS

I always liked Dr. Hatland and have always been happy with his work — been a patient for 10 years or so. This last time has been a nightmare. Made an appointment on 12÷29÷15 for 4pm with receptionist. Lo and behold I get there and no appointment. They had booked someone else in the spot. I left and said I would never go back. This is the second time something has happened. Not sure if it is Dr. Hatland or his staff. I now have a swollen jaw, been four weeks, from a broken bite guard. Dr. Hatland sorry gotta’ go. Now I will have another stick his/​her hands in my mouth.

The stuff about the receptionist in the other negative reviews (not the one that looks indian — who is really nice but the other one) is true. The last time I was checking out after my appointment, she told me in an aggressive voice that I would have to «pay this time because I didn’t pay anything last time». By last time, she meant the consult where we determined I needed 4 filings. That’s normal not to pay as it’s almost always covered by any decent insurance. I even asked when I was leaving that day «Do I owe anything?» and they said no because I was coming back for the filings. But, for some reason, she decided to make what should have been a routine payment confrontational. I can completely see how it could stop someone going back to this place. After my 4 filings, I paid the amount she asked, annoyed but hoping it would be everything.
Next thing, about a week or two later, I get a bill in the mail for $ 165 dollars for, you guessed it, the consult for the filings. LOL! So, now I have to call them and ask if my insurance covered it or not which I expect they did. And on top of that, she billed me for about $ 90 for something else from the past even though I have been repeatedly been told that my account is up to date and paid in full.
Despite that, I’ll go back because Dr. Hatland is a very good dentist — that bit from the previous reviews is also true. I think he was ticked off with me for some reason last time or might have just been having a bad day. He didn’t seem like he was in his normal jovial mood but most of the time, he’s been super nice. He has also helped me a lot with my TMJ and that’s the main thing. It is also true that I’ve paid thousands of dollars out of pocket over the two years for adjustments and devices that are not covered by my insurance but if the treatment works in the long run, it will be worth it.
Even if I do leave him eventually and have a similar experience to the other negative reviews, I think he set me on the right path — I’m not sure if the pain will completely go away (I’m doing an excercise and it seems to be very slowly working) but I am a lot better now than I was before. I’ll be going back because of this. Also, I think he cares and does his best to help patients — if I lose confidence in that, this is what would stop me going back.

As a medical professional, and former patient, I strongly urge you seek help elsewhere, especially for TMJ. I had found Dr. Hatland after seeing several other specialists for severe TMJ issues over the last 6 years. I got a little relief mid way through treatment so I kept going, however, 2 plus years later, I’d felt no better, had spent thousands of dollars out of pocket, and was being treated VERY poorly by the staff, and in the end Dr. Hatland himself. I was APPALLED at how I had been treated at times. I have been trying to work with my insurance company who has been requesting medical records for a year now to try and appeal my claim. The office has not cooperated, and now my insurance company is actually telling me one claim they actually paid was billed and coded improperly and I now owe them the money back, again to rectify this, the office needs to cooperate, which they are not. After seeing yet another specialists and orthodontist I am told now that my bite is so far off, crowns have holes in them that they can’t even help me. I am so disappointed in myself that I continued to allow my teeth/​bite to be adjusted, and in such an unclean office at that. I have witnessed the Dr. pick up his cell phone with gloves on and then try to continue treating me without changing them. An office member tried to correct this behavior in front of me as well when she observed it during one of my visits. If anyone wants more specifics on my experience feel free to message me. I write this only to save others from going through all the negative experiences I have with this emotionally and financially.

I wish I found Dr. Hatland a lot sooner… especially since he is located within 2 blocks of where I live. He helped me significantly reduce my periodontal «pockets» efficiently and dramatically. He is currently helping me improve my bite. Because my bite was off, I was continually damaging a tooth, and then damaging the repair that had been done to the tooth. No other dentist I’ve been to had even the desire to correct my bite. A correct bite loosens tension not only in the jaw (TMJ) but also tension along the entire spine. He’s friendly, caring, conscientious and it is clear he truly loves his work. He also uses alternative non-​toxic materials (ie: no mercury!) And the staff is very friendly.

Yes, the office is outdated, and Dr. Hatland speaks his mind; he’s a bit of a curmudgeon. I was recommended to him by two friends who have seen him for years. He works with you on insurance, is less expensive than many dentists and has an alternative point of view that I appreciate. He does more for people’s gums than anyone I’ve been to. He also has many, many years of experience. Finally, he helped my son with TMJ issues and without surgery.

I went to him with pretty bad TMJ. I was suffering from extreme facial pain and joint pain. The doctor promised to completely eliminate the pain and once he made me a bite splint that would feel like «a wave of fresh air». However everything him and his assistant promised didn’t happen. Yes I did feel a little improvement only when wearing the splint but the pain just reoccurred Ina different form. To top it off they don’t inform you for visits that will cost more. He tells you after a visit which you assume is follow ip and gives a bill for 1000 $. since results he promised didn’t happen, he went ahead and grinded my teeth. However this gave my extremely severe headaches and that was sort of the end of his treatment. I’m not really in any better position than I started out in.
The worst was his assistant who was irresponsible,(messed up my appointment timings) and was overall annoying to coordinate with. the timings are all over the place, and the assistant sort of forces you to go for the bite splint without even giving you the option to think about it and get back.
Overall I’d recommend this guy only if your TMJ is in its early stages and you don’t have dental insurance. (Make sure you stop before he starts grinding your teeth since he will charge $ 1000 without telling you.) If your tmj is severe I’d suggest you look elsewhere.

I never made it into the chair. I walked out. Let me tell you why.
I walked in for my first appointment about 5 minutes early as there is usually first time patient forms to fill out. I felt like I was stepping onto the set of Miami Vice. The color scheme was peach and turquoise and had not been decorated in 3o years. The chairs were falling apart too.
I filled out my papers listening to a patient crying… on speaker phone. How professional. One receptionist took the phone into the doctor who was working on another patient. I asked the other woman behind the desk if that person on the phone was crying. She kind of snorted and half laughed out a «yeah.» I replied, «geeze, I hope that if I ever call here crying you wouldn’t put me on speaker for the whole world to hear.» She gave me a «whatever» face. Again, really professional.
It gets better. So the dentist is working on a patient while talking to this hysterical woman on the phone…“you have to come into the office! I am telling you… You also need to get a [some kind of device] and bring it with you… listen to me… dont even THINK of coming in here if you don’t have a [some kind of device]…I am not wasting my time if you don’t bring it with you!!!” Holy crap! How rude.
So now it’s 12:15 and 15 minutes past my appointment so I ask the ladies behind the desk if they know how long it’s going to be because I have to get back to work, I’m on lunch. One of them replies, «oh, well, what time do you need to get back?» Seriously, does it matter? Then the other one says, «Oh…uhm…yeah…I don’t know of any doctor who keeps timely appointments. I should have told you that he is never on time when you made the appointment. I argue with him about this all the time… uhm…sooooo sorrrrrry…»
So I got up and left.

I agree with the previous reviewer, Dr. Hatland can do miracles for curing TMJ pain. I have seen many, many doctors, surgeons, physical therapist and dentists prior to him who all claimed that they can cure my TMJ pain. Some even told me thatt I would have to live in pain for the rest of my life. All Dr. Hatland did was simply listen to my jaw and the way my teeth occluded. No other doctor checked my bite and that is all it took to solve my problem. I recommend him to anyone who has any kind of TMJ or jaw pain.

Dr. Hatland is a great dentist. I went to him because he knew a method for healing periodontal disease without surgery. It worked! The basic technique is careful cleaning and frequent irrigation.
He is up to date on the latest, most sophisticated methods of dealing with dental issues in a non-​invasive, non drug oriented approach. He helped me remove mercury fillings and replace them with non-​toxic substitutes.
He is a warm, caring guy that is a joy to be around.
His office has cool art too. He probably wouldn’t want you to know but he even bought some of my artwork; how is that for going above and beyond! But hey, don’t go in there and expect him to buy yours, ok? Just go to get your teeth fixed.