The DDD Foundation, Inc. is committed to promoting and maintaining good oral health for patients with developmental disabilities. Founded as a non-profit organization in 1999, the Foundation supports a dental clinic that solely treats patients with developmental disabilities. The clinic opened in May 2002 and it is the only clinic of its kind in Georgia. With a dedicated team of professionals trained in serving patients with special needs, the clinic serves patients with developmental disabilities including autism, intellectual delays, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, muscular dystrophy and multiple sclerosis. The DDD Foundations primary goal is to provide excellent and accessible dental care for a population that often faces enormous barriers to affordable care.
December 1997 saw the closing of Brook Run, a state facility for persons with intellectual disabilities. At the time, it was the one of few state facilities in Atlanta serving this special population. Brook Runs array of services included a dental clinic which served approximately 2,000 patients. Upon Brook Runs closing, Georgia Regional Hospital in Decatur became the primary facility in the metropolitan Atlanta area for this population. Currently its services, including dental care, are limited to only the most profoundly intellectual disabled. It was this event in time that sparked the creation of The DDD Foundation.
Deidra Rondeno, DDS, graduated from Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry in 1996. She completed a General Practice Residency at Illinois Masonic Medical Center in 1997, one of the few programs in the U.S. that offers specific training in the treatment of patients having developmental disabilities. Dr. Rondeno is a member of the American Dental Association, The Academy of General Dentistry, the Georgia Dental Association, the Hinman Dental Society, the Northern District Dental Society, American Academy of Developmental Medicine & Dentistry and the International College of Dentists.
Karen Tartt-Callier, DDS, graduated from Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry in 1996. Dr. Callier is a member of the American Dental Association, Georgia Dental Association, Hinman Dental Society, and Northern District Dental Society.
Shawnda Hayesis an Expanded Duty Dental Assistant and is our Clinical Supervisor. Shawnda is a native of Buffalo, NY. She attended the Educational Opportunity Center at the University of Buffalo, where she graduated in 2008.
Tiffany Whiteis the Director of Operations. She graduated from Clayton State University with a bachelors degree in healthcare management. She is a member of DOMA (Dental Office Managers Association), and she recently received her Masters in Healthcare Administration. Tiffany is a native of Newnan, Georgia.
Sheri Andersonis our Director of Development. Sheri received her journalism degree from California State University, Northridge. She is originally from Brandon, Mississippi. She came to the DDD Foundation in 2012 with 22 years of nonprofit management experience.
Laura Formey is our Sedation Coordinator and is a certified phlebotomy technician. She grew up in Belgium, and moved to the United States in 2006. She is fluent in French, Spanish and English. Laura is married and has four daughters. Prior to joining the staff at DDD Foundation, Laura was a preschool teacher, homeschool teacher, and had a bakery and catering business.
Mary Boyleisourpart-time Bookkeeper. She has a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Northern Arizona University (her home state) and a Masters in Psychology from Georgia Tech. Mary moved from California to Atlanta in 1993.
Reviews
Rating 3.5 out of 5 based on 58 reviews
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newest oldest highest lowestsharon f
2 years ago
Scammers Fraud Rude Take your family where they will be treated with same respect as someone whom is not disabled
Jaye Lavett
2 years ago
Came for services- denied a special needs due to me not putting my social security number on info that was for a patient. The information was not in black and white. They are rude and back handed billing. Definitely contacting medicaid about this place
Erika Reynolds
2 years ago
My son has been coming to the DDD Foundation for the past nine years, and each interaction from beginning to end was courteous and professional.
Vicente Hernandez
2 years ago
The doctor and her team are very professional, they always take very good care of my son
Michelle Nieman
2 years ago
The DDD Foundation has been a godsend for our family. After visiting 5 dental offices and being turned down, we found the DDD Foundation was able to sedate my son for his dental cleaning appointments! He has such bad anxiety with dr.'s but the staff always makes him feel comfortable and at ease. I'd recommend them to anyone who has a loved one with special needs!
Karen N
2 years ago
We have been taking my daughter to the DDD Foundation for many years. We have never considered taking her anywhere else! The dentists and entire staff are professional, courteous and very caring! Would highly recommend them for any dental needs for special need family members or friends.
Diana Allen
2 years ago
I would like to say first that my 18yr old daughter with ASD and Intellectually Disabled is scheduled for an appointment with this office in the morning and we have not had our own experience yet. But after reading these reviews my heart believes and stands with the others, that they truly had a horrendous experience. I love my daughter too much to put her through this and will be canceling this appointment. There are too many reviewers on here that don't know each other that are saying the same things. Thank you for the warning and for the courage to speak out!! DDD, please don't badmouth these parents for their honest reviews. Don't you think they go through enough? Focus on changing the way you do things before you post a reply.
Mykeyah Peek
2 years ago
My son has been a patient at the DDD foundation office for over 20 years, and he has always received superb service. Dr. Rondeno and her staff always go above and beyond to take care of his dental needs. I have never had any issues with this office, and I highly recommend them if you have a patient with a developmental disability.
Angie Becker
2 years ago
We have been taking our son to the DDD Foundation for approximately 17 years. We are very pleased with the care he has received. Eveyone there is very cordial and promptly answers any questions we may have as to procedures he may be having done. We wholeheartedly support this practice and have on several occasions recommended them to parents who dont know where to take their special needs children/adult to.
Tasia Urry
2 years ago
Please do not bring your children here !!!! To my special needs community, This place has a history of over sedations of their patients. The majority of those patients were children. I will be contacting the Better Business Bureau as well as the state!!!!!!!!
Tawana Rush
2 years ago
On March 3, 2022 I took my 16 year old son to DDD foundation for a dental cleaning and feeling. Due to my son's having autism he has to be sedated for dental work. I have been taking him to DDD Foundation for 5 years now, so the visit should have been routine. All the medication my son was taking has been documented so I thought everything would be fine. While I was sitting and waiting for him to wake up, I observed my son gasping and looking unusual. Typically, he wakes up with an ice pack and softly rubbing his arm, but he would not wake up. I informed the dentist and nurse that something was wrong and they said he's fine. After everyone ignored my cry for help I called his grandmother who is an RN for help. She had me ask about my child's vitals, but I could not get an answer, instead the worker kept asking who I was on the phone with. The machine that was monitoring his vitals started beeping loudly making it clear that something was wrong. I asked what is going on and what the machine was say because I am not a medical professional and the nurse said, "read it." I replied, "I can't." Her response was, "then stop looking at it then," as she exited the room. My son began shaking and his eyes had rolled. I begged for help and for someone to call 911 and the dentist yelled at her staff, "no on call 911!" I could not believe what was going on and was in complete shock. They were telling me I had to sign papers and that he was okay. They asked if I had someone to help me take him out the car once I got him home and completely ignored me asking what is wrong and why he was not waking up. The staff moved as if nothing was going on. I could hear staff members discussing a cosmetic surgery and a birthday event in the background, but ignored my pleas to help my child. I even had to ask them several times for the address when I called an ambulance for help, (against the dentist wishes). After getting to the emergency room and him admitted to the ICU, I found out my son would have died had I not taken him to the emergency room. I find it gruesome that these people who are trusted to care for a special needs child could sit back and watch while he is fighting for his life. I don't know how I could trust anyone with my child after this devastating experience. Please do not let this happen to you. If want I'm saying isn't true please share Video footage 03/02/22 that day in your office
Belinda Izquierdo
2 years ago
(Translated by Google) All the people who work there are wonderful and friendly. (Original) Todas las personas que trabajan ahi son maravillosas y amables
Irene Ramirez
2 years ago
I know that my boys are in good hands when it's time to do their dental cleaning.
Keta.M Clark
2 years ago
This was my son's first appointment at the DDD Foundation Inc and the initial process of attaining his appointment was quite easy. The nurse who explained the process was thorough and helpful. So, on my son's appointment date everything seemed to be going smoothly. The front staff were professional and even the male nurse who assisted my son and I in the dentist's room was accommodating and friendly. However, when I met the dentist who would be servicing my son, she didn't appear to be as welcoming. When I asked about how much of the intramuscular injection sedation medication would be used on my 10 year old son, she gave me a vague answer implying that it depended on the patient. To my knowledge, I thought meds were given according to the weight of the child (he received 2 syringes, 2 pre-sedation meds, and the intravenous sedation) Also, when I asked her about what was in the syringe, she gave me another vague answer basically saying it's a "cocktail of medicines." That alone made me feel very uncomfortable because I am a parent that wants to know what is going into my son's blood stream. I would have appreciated to be informed about what exactly these cocktails of medicine were prior to his service date, so I could have made a decision whether I wanted to continue with the services. Paper work, an email with information or a website explaining what these cocktails are would have been suffice. So, after my son's dental cleaning and surprise tooth extractions we're done, I met him in the recovery area where it took him almost an hour to open his eyes. He could move but his pupils were still constricted and he was not fully alert. However, I very much appreciated the nice staff or nurse who consistently assisted me with waking my son up. She was extremely helpful and compassionate being that this was my first experience in this situation. After, I finally left the clinic, my son was completely drowsy for the whole day, seemed to be hallucinating and could not walk by himself without falling over. He seemed to be very uncomfortable with what he was experiencing. He screamed and cried on and off all day due to how the medications were making him feel (my son has ASD). As a parent, I would never put my son through that process again and no offense to other parents who have no other choice to do so.
Pat Craig
2 years ago
We have been taking a client to DDD since 2012. In our experience the staff is friendly, attentive, very responsive and provide good customer service. They've also been very helpful in working with us to complete the necessary. The only downside is our client,due to his mental capacity, must be sedated and the sedation last a few hours beyond his treatment time. Overall, we feel good about the services provided.
MiMi Johnson
2 years ago
Dr Rondeno and her staff always take good care of my son and make me feel comfortable as well when he goes to visit. My son is autistic and nonverbal.
Virginia Lofton
2 years ago
This office has my official stamp of approval. My 7 year old special needs daughter was in need of some emergency dental procedures and I reached out to them after doing some research of my own. Not only did they respond quickly but was able to schedule her in a timely manner. What was most important is that they accommodated her special needs and followed up with her care. Highly Recommended.
Grace Art Trade
2 years ago
The director is a nice woman to the best of my knowledge from how she talks to us about our visit, however simple issue occurred and rectified by us but the Director of Operations refused to give us another chance, unforgiving spirit, failed to understand anything can happen to anyone, anyone could be a parent of a special need and not the end of the world, other than the Director of operations refusing to have us back, they are doing a good job, the founder Dr R is a nice woman but as I write I am still not sure why DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS Ms. TW does not have a forgiving spirit that is sad despite all pleas!!!
Grace Art Trade
3 years ago
The director is a nice woman to the best of my knowledge from how she talks to us about our visit, however simple issue occurred and rectified by us but the Director of Operations refused to give us another chance, unforgiving spirit, failed to understand anything can happen to anyone, anyone could be a parent of a special need and not the end of the world, other than the Director of operations refusing to have us back, they are doing a good job, the founder Dr R is a nice woman but as I write I am still not sure why DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS Ms. TW does not have a forgiving spirit that is sad despite all pleas!!!
MiMi Johnson
3 years ago
Dr Rondeno and her staff always take good care of my son and make me feel comfortable as well when he goes to visit. My son is autistic and nonverbal.
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