1st In Smiles – Dr. Rick Barfield

I’m incredibly impressed by Dr. Rick and his associates. I was referred to this dentist by a doctor and went the next day for a consultation. Scheduling was a breeze! They have dealt with my toothaches, crown procedure, tooth extraction, and general checkups. I’m also continuing with them for my orthodontic work. (Invisalign)
The facilities are beautiful and extremely clean. This is generally my first and foremost concern with medical and dental practices. In addition, the staff is friendly and very customer service oriented. They are professional and friendly. Tiffany is so sweet and makes me feel right at home during my appointments! Jessica also helped me during my crown procedure and she is just as good as it gets.
I have yet to have a bad experience here and am so thankful that I found a great dentist in the area. I cannot recommend this place enough.

They were recommended by a coworker who spoke so highly of this office. I had a less than stellar experience. I had only been living in TX for a few months, so I was still unfamiliar with the area. I called the office to ask for a description of the building, and it didn’t help. I just so happened to turn into an office plaza and began driving around a few minutes. Fortunately, I spotted the office and it looked nothing like what the girl at the desk described. When I went in, I mentioned that the building description I received was inaccurate. Maybe that’s when things started to go downhill. From that moment on, the girls at the front desk had serious attitude. Oh well. I was just letting them know so they could be more helpful to the next lost customer.
The hygienist was really nice, it was a guy, don’t remember his name. The actual dentist, Dr. Barfield, was in and out so quick. He wasn’t very friendly and I felt no desire to choose him as my permanent dentist. M coworker told me that he and his wife both received electric toothbrushes when they came. And EVERY dentist I have gone to over the years gives you a little bag with toothbrush, floss and toothpaste.
Well, I received nothing from the bitter betty’s at the front desk. So I spoke up. Now get this straight. It’s not because I cant afford to buy daily essentials, like a toothbrush and toothpaste. But it was the point of being treated poorly by such hateful staff.
They gave me my little bag and my electric toothbrush. I left, never to return again.
I wouldn’t recommend this place if your last tooth depended on it.
Oh, and that electric toothbrush is still sitting somewhere in the box. Thanks.

Very average dentist experience.
The first time I went was for gum pain around my upper left back tooth, had the most amazing dental hygienist who cleaned it up for me. Unfortunately, weeks later the irritation was still there. I agreed to get the tooth capped in attempt to the heal the area. The cap treatment I received is pretty average to below average. They actually left a little piece of cement/​glue on the cap that I can feel with my tongue. (I compared this cap to a cap I received on the same tooth on the right side of my mouth.)
Went back 6 months later for another bi-​annual cleaning. This was pretty much the worst cleaning I’ve every received. The woman literally skipped teeth. They also charged me for an «oral exam» when I didn’t have a consultation with the dentist. Not sure if that was right but Insurance covered it so I let it go.
Definitely will be finding a new dentist in 2016!

Created an account with Unilocal just so I could share my less-​than-​stellar experience with this place. I’ll try to make this as short, sweet, and to the point as possible with elaborations only where necessary.
I was recommended to this place by a co-​worker because they schedule appointments on Saturday so I didn’t have to use precious paid-​time-​off during the week. Months ago I had my teeth cleaned, whitened, and got porcelain veneers made for my four upper front teeth as well as a crown for a molar. The work was painful as expected but, by and large, everything went smoothly and my teeth look great (for now)…
…I was told that I grind my teeth in my sleep…
So, on the same day (this is sometime back in May) I got my veneers and crown fitted into place and they made a mold of my ‘new’ mouth for a night guard to protect my teeth and veneers. All they ever said was, «it’ll be ready in three weeks, just swing by and pick it up!»
I ended up helping my parents every weekend for a month and a half and completely forgot about it. I was never called, texted, or emailed any notification stating, «hey! your night guard that you spent hundreds of dollars on is waiting for you here at our office!» Not a word.
I finally remember and had the time this previous Saturday ‘to swing by and pick it up’. And this is when I started getting pissed…
I walk in to pick it up. The doofus front desk girl that I had to deal with on Saturday and today, who has zero empathy, disingenuous concern, and pathetic customer service experience tells me, «just wait and we’ll be right with you!» I’m expecting to be in and out so that I can make it to a lunch date on time. I waited for 10 – 15 minutes before thinking, «what the hell is wrong with you people…» I ask what the hold up is and doofus says, «well we’re having to fit you in to the schedule so that you can get fitted for your guard…» («it’ll be ready in three weeks, just swing by and pick it up!»)… WHAT??? I now tell doofus and several other disingenuously concerned staff members that I was never told this nor was I set up for a follow-​up appointment to get ‘fitted’ for an exact mold of my teeth (which sounds redundant). Doofus told me, «it just takes like 10 minutes!»
I didn’t have time for their Mickey Mouse B.S. because of the lunch date, so they scheduled me an appointment during my lunch break (and I had made a point of telling them I was going to be doing this on my lunch break) on Monday at 2pm to get ‘fitted’ for my night guard. And this is when the straw broke the camel’s back…
Remember, I’m on my lunch break from the office and this is supposed to be in and out… 10 – 15 minutes, right? 35 minutes past my appointment time and the same front desk doofus girl from Saturday finally has the gumption to call me over. She proceeds to tell me that, «someone ‘misplaced’ (translation: LOST/​THREW OUT) my night guard and that my teeth have probably shifted anyways because the original was made back in May and that they can make a new mold in like 15 minutes…» 15 minutes my a$$. More like 30 – 45 minutes in addition to the 20 minutes to and from work by The Galleria AND the 35 minutes y’all made me wait while 10 other people with the same time of appointment went before me AND THEN be forced to come back AGAIN to get ‘fitted’ after three weeks of waiting. That was it. I had all that I could take. I told doofus that I want my money back (which she then replies happily with no empathy or any way to make things right, «OKAY! That will have to be mailed on a check by our accountant on Friday! Sorry! (disingenuous)», and to tell Dr. Barfield that I’ll just use night guards from CVS.
PATHETIC… You’re supposed to leave the dentist’s office with a nice clean feeling in your mouth, but I left with the taste of $hit in my mine… The thing of it is this was something relatively small and simple and they epically and utterly blew it on all levels. Off of the chart incompetence, zero empathy, zero attempt to make it right or fight to keep my business. From what I’ve experienced and observed of the staff there was no point in losing my $hit, beyond the slamming of their doors as I left, because it would’ve done no good at (fallen on deaf, unconcerned, nonchalant ears) and all I would’ve accomplished would be to show my a$$. In retrospect, reading what I’ve typed thus far, I have nothing against Dr. Barfield as a person (really nice and blunt guy once you get to know him), nor his hygienists (unless one of them is responsible for ‘losing’ my $ 300 night guard), but I have nothing good to say about his front of the house staff and how his practice is managed.
Needless to say, I am getting my refund check and transferring my dental records to another dentist. I don’t need to feel like someone is pissing in my pocket and telling me it’s rain. I’m never doing business here ever again and I will never recommend this practice to any of my friends or family.

I was a patient for over 10 years and was told I could no longer make appointments on Saturday. Dr. Barfield is the main dentist but you rarely see him. He goes through a new dentist about every 6 months so don’t count on consistency. Also, it seems like he hires his front desk help based on looks not merit. It is a clean office but not great service.

Beautiful office, relaxed setting, professional care — I gave 1^st in Smiles 5 Stars because this is as good as it gets. Everyone I have ever spoken to in this practice is courteous and friendly. Everything is explained clearly before they do any work — not the norm in the medical/​dental industry. You can relax with these nice people.

So we (overprotective parents) take our 4 year old in panicking he has a serious dental emergency! Um no his molar is coming in and nothing needed to be done just looked dramatic! Yup that’s right they didn’t try to push or ask for anything else! The office is clean, nice, and the staff was great with our son. We were in and out in under 45 minutes as a new patient literally 1 sheet of patient info and 2 consent forms. My husband and I may have found our new place for our teeth!

Seduced by the promise of a «lecture-​free zone» advertisement on 106.1, I visited 1^st in Smiles and am extremely impressed.
As someone who has not darkened the door of any dental establishment in several years (despite shelling out for insurance), I was a bit of a nervous wreck and opted for the very early (and extremely convenient for us busy bodies) 7:30am appt. so I could get there before my cognitive abilities caught up with me.
The facility is clean and comfortable (as is all is required of it) and the check-​in process was fast and courteous (being greeted with a smile upon entry is always a relieving experience).
They did full x-​rays of my mouth for a complete evaluation (which was not only impressive but a deep relief for me as I was almost positive that I was losing teeth and growing a cavity garden).
The customer service level at the establishment is outstanding… like a bit remote from reality impressive (and I’m a front line service provider). I was greeted with kindness and was not chided for my dental sins as I uselessly apologized for my not-​so-​ivories. Everyone was pleasant and smiling… the entire appt., these individuals who do the dreaded cleanings and hold scary scraping instruments at least give off the appearance of being incredibly pleasant/​kind/​pleased to see you… which kinda makes dental visits okay.
I returned for a deep cleaning 2 weeks later (as gunk was discovered beneath my gum line) and it was really almost a discomfort free process. They offered the giggle gas free of charge and numbed my gums with gel. I went to work at my second job 30 minutes later with no issues or pain at all.
I am a dental hygiene convert. My gums and mouth are already less sore and it wasn’t traumatic in the least. I highly recommend this place, especially to those of us with dental work anxiety.