Petra van der Merwe review: Definitely not client orientated service 9

I have personally visited Dr Petra and also take my children regularly.

I can NOT DISAGREE more with the above statement. I have always received state of the art service and top dental care.

My daughter are a patient of Dr Petra and we've been with them for almost 2 years now. We've received top quality service and always with an friendly smile and attitude.

I totally agree. My daughters treatment was suppose to be between 18 to 24 months, it's been 30 months up to now (Oct 2013 - April 2016), and still battling to get an answer from Petra. In the beginning of the treatment the wire was sticking into my daughters cheek. (April 2014) I called them the Thursday 12am (office was already closed and I had to call emergency number) to arrange for someone to cut the wire. This is suppose to be part of the service. I called Petra (the emergency number) - who was very rude, and she advised me that she was not going to call anybody out and that I should use a wire cutter or nail clipper to cut the wire myself. Another incident occurred when my daughter fell at the Ice rink (October 2015) and a block came loose and moved into her gum, she was in so much pain. I called again, it was a Saturday, - Petra's response was she will see if someone could help, but this is not part of their service and she is actually doing me a favour by helping me and that she is suppose to charge me for this service! I waited 4 hours because the assistant told me she will come as soon as she has finished her shopping. From November 2015 up to April 2016 my child's teeth did not move 1 inch. When I politely asked Petra why the treatment is talking so long she got upset, and in front of her staff and patients she told me I should come back later because I looked upset. I asked her again and she clearly did not have an answer and just flipped open my daughters file and read some stuff and said that x, y and z was the reason why it took long, yet I had an answer for every false claim she made. I asked her again and mentioned that my dentist wondered why the visits in between are so long. Petra then called my dentist to explain how the Damon system works. Really? But she could still not explain why it took so long. She asked me if she should send me on an Orthodontist course so that I can learn. In December we had a "private" meeting, she made an adjustment and told me I must call on a certain date if nothing happens. I diarised this date, nothing happened, I called - No Surprise, the office was closed on that date she gave me. I went to see a different Orthodontist "B" in April 2016 which made some adjustments. Orthodontist B and I asked Petra for a written report several times - Petra never sent it. Luckily I had pictures of the X-rays, teeth and a copy of the file which I could send to Orthodontist B. Orthodontist B made minor adjustment (cost me R420) and my child's teeth started to move. When I went back to Petra and asked her why she never sent the written report she told me that it was not necessary as she spoke to Orthodontist B about my child. Now in my experience, if one has 100's of patients, how will you remember a telephone conversation that took place more than a month ago about a patient? Never the less I did mention to Petra and her assistant that adjustments have been made and my daughters teeth started to move - the assistant rolled her eyes at me, she did not realise that I saw her. I am very disappointed in such a bad service - Petra is unprofessional and rude and has no people skills. You will notice the atmosphere in her practice is very stiff and even her staff dare not talk or joke or have any kind of conversation among them. You can hear a needle drop in that place and her poor receptionist always looks afraid of Petra when I confront her about something - like why the report was not sent etc. The Health Board has advised me several times to lay a complaint against her and that I have very good grounds to report her - what do you think? After speaking to other patients and clients it seems there is no love lost between them and Petra.

I totally agree. My daughters treatment was suppose to be between 18 to 24 months, it's been 30 months up to now (Oct 2013 - April 2016), and still battling to get an answer from Petra. In the beginning of the treatment the wire was sticking into my daughters cheek. (April 2014) I called them the Thursday 12am (office was already closed and I had to call emergency number) to arrange for someone to cut the wire. This is suppose to be part of the service. I called Petra (the emergency number) - who was very rude, and she advised me that she was not going to call anybody out and that I should use a wire cutter or nail clipper to cut the wire myself. Another incident occurred when my daughter fell at the Ice rink (October 2015) and a block came loose and moved into her gum, she was in so much pain. I called again, it was a Saturday, - Petra's response was she will see if someone could help, but this is not part of their service and she is actually doing me a favour by helping me and that she is suppose to charge me for this service! I waited 4 hours because the assistant told me she will come as soon as she has finished her shopping. From November 2015 up to April 2016 my child's teeth did not move 1 inch. When I politely asked Petra why the treatment is talking so long she got upset, and in front of her staff and patients she told me I should come back later because I looked upset. I asked her again and she clearly did not have an answer and just flipped open my daughters file and read some stuff and said that x, y and z was the reason why it took long, yet I had an answer for every false claim she made. I asked her again and mentioned that my dentist wondered why the visits in between are so long. Petra then called my dentist to explain how the Damon system works. Really? But she could still not explain why it took so long. She asked me if she should send me on an Orthodontist course so that I can learn. In December we had a "private" meeting, she made an adjustment and told me I must call on a certain date if nothing happens. I diarised this date, nothing happened, I called - No Surprise, the office was closed on that date she gave me. I went to see a different Orthodontist "B" in April 2016 which made some adjustments. Orthodontist B and I asked Petra for a written report several times - Petra never sent it. Luckily I had pictures of the X-rays, teeth and a copy of the file which I could send to Orthodontist B. Orthodontist B made minor adjustment (cost me R420) and my child's teeth started to move. When I went back to Petra and asked her why she never sent the written report she told me that it was not necessary as she spoke to Orthodontist B about my child. Now in my experience, if one has 100's of patients, how will you remember a telephone conversation that took place more than a month ago about a patient? Never the less I did mention to Petra and her assistant that adjustments have been made and my daughters teeth started to move - the assistant rolled her eyes at me, she did not realise that I saw her. I am very disappointed in such a bad service - Petra is unprofessional and rude and has no people skills. You will notice the atmosphere in her practice is very stiff and even her staff dare not talk or joke or have any kind of conversation among them. You can hear a needle drop in that place and her poor receptionist always looks afraid of Petra when I confront her about something - like why the report was not sent etc. The Health Board has advised me several times to lay a complaint against her and that I have very good grounds to report her - what do you think?

I can't believe your experience is completely different to mine. I'm not kept waiting at all for appointments, the practice runs on time. I was told I would have braces on for a year and we are very close to that schedule (I admit I have taken care to wear all elastics etc as recommended by Dr van der Merwe and her team). I find everyone approachable and happy to discuss what they're doing in my mouth. I have found the service to be very professional, polite and friendly. At times the wires do stick into my cheek as the teeth move, I have gone in to have it sorted, but even better than that her efficient staff have shown me how to make a small adjustment myself so that I can fix it straight away to avoid any pain. I'm sorry for your experience but I have recommended Dr van der Merwe highly to friends and will continue to do so.

Having braces is like having a child with a chronic, often painful, condition, and sometimes emotions run high. We also had to learn how to manage loose wires, but one soon gets the hang of it. Our dental problems, thet were bad enough to begin with, became more serious last year as the permanent teeth developed. We even had to have maxillo surgery done. During this time Dr Petra was at our side with advice and support, explaining the alternatives and outcomes. All the staff, from the very efficient receptionist to the helpful ladies in accounts, are highly professional, but certainly not stiff. And the specific assistant that works on my child's braces is truely wonderful, patient and understanding. My child got braces at 7 and will have them 'till 18. But the results, slow as they may be sometimes, have us assured we are on the right path. Dr Petra's knowledge and commitment got us through a difficult time, and I fully trust her and her staff with my child's care.

Totally agree, service is shocking, staff(accounts and reception) as rude as hell, The Dr. has no interest in her work, totally preoccupied with moving her practice to Cape Town. Level of work is shocking, Dentist agreed and referred our 2nd child to a actual professional orthodontist. It appears that the Dr. and her staff have a "god" syndrome and believe the CLIENTS are dumb, animals and you end up spending thousands to be treated like this. (actually have a video of her staff attacking / screaming and insulting myself). 24months ended up being 5 years, 5 years of utter hell! THINK TWICE and rather go to a professional orthodontist.

The service I received from Dr Petra has always been outstanding. She’s been kind and friendly. She is passionate about her work and it shines through. Everything was explained to me and I asked a lot of questions. My teeth are looking great and I can’t recommend her services enough

Dr Petra is probably one of the worst dentists I've ever been to. She would turn teeth out of their position over and over again - which unnecessarily prolonged the process. For an experienced doctor, one would expect she would know how to place the blocks and what the effects would be - I would literally be leaving the practice and already feel the straight teeth move out of place. She is very nice, until you start asking questions. In my case it took her 3 years to move my teeth out of the bone cavity and when she didn't want to struggle with me anymore, she offered to refer me to a different orthodontist - stupid me didn't take her up on her offer! If this happens to you - TAKE THE OFFER! After the braces came off (R40 000 later), I struggled with a whole host of issues and had to spend more money just to fix her mistakes. Now, I'm back at a different orthodontist (R60 000 later to fix her mistakes) to push my teeth back and not have a massive overbite. She moved the teeth such that I now have bone loss and so much more.

In addition, her assistants discussed and gossiped behind the patients' backs (while I was there) and then had the audacity to say "we don't discuss you like this". I think they are very unprofessional and if you want to save yourself some time and money - go to someone else!