Dr. Denise is a 2008 graduate of New Athens High School and is the middle daughter of Dennis and Susan Works. Her two sisters, Sarah Jansen and Molly Wittmer, are both high school teachers. Dr. Denise has been married to her husband, Erik, for ten years and they have a two year old son named Tarik. Denise completed the Doctor of Dental Medicine program at SIU in Alton, Illinois and came to Freeburg to practice dentistry with her father-in-law, Dr. Burl Hand, in 2017. In 2020, Dr. Burl retired and amidst a pandemic, Dr. Denise bought and became the sole owner of Freeburg Family Dental. In the rare time she takes vacation, Dr. Denise loves camping and hiking. Her favorite places to travel have been the national parks in Utah and Colorado.
Tiffany is from Freeburg and graduated from Freeburg High School in 2004. She then attended Kaskaskia Colleges Dental Assisting Program followed by John A Logan College in Carterville, Illinois where she earned her Associate of Applied Science in Dental Hygiene. Tiffany has worked at this office for the past 12 years. She has a big heart for working with children and special needs patients. She has 3 kids, 2 dogs, and loves interior decorating. She has renovated four houses over the last 12 years. In 2018 she decided to expand her education and get her real-estate license. When she is not at the office making patients smile, she is celebrating with clients starting new chapters in their lives by helping them find or sell their homes.
Shelby Szumigala is one of our dental hygienists here at Freeburg Family Dental. She graduated from New Athens High School in 2012 and SIUE with her Bachelors of Science in 2016. After five years of dental assisting experience, she continued into the dental field at Lewis and Clark Dental Hygiene School. Shelby married her husband JC in September 2019, and they have one fat cat, Annie. Shelby enjoys being outside swimming, hiking, or jumping into her latest home renovation project.
Bethany graduated from Freeburg Community High School in 2005. She graduated from the Dental Assisting Program at John A. Logan College as a Certified Expanded Functions Dental Assistant. She started working for Freeburg Family Dental in 2009 as a Dental Assistant and Receptionist. She proceeded to expand her abilities and became the insurance advocate. She loves being able to help our patients with any questions they have about their treatment plan, insurance, or financial needs. In 2020 her title changed to Office Manager. She still enjoys helping and interacting with patients. So when she is not behind the scenes, you will see her jumping in to help any of our team members. Outside of the office, she enjoys family time with her husband and 6 kids. She also enjoys running and is working towards her goal of completing a marathon in every state.
Dannette is a graduate of Kaskaskia college. She has been married for 27 years and has three children. She has been a dental assistant for 18 years and enjoys cooking for her family and going fishing. She currently lives in New Baden with her family and her four dogs.
Reviews
Rating 4.7 out of 5 based on 43 reviews
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newest oldest highest lowestTerri Bauer
2 years ago
Dr. Hand is really a great dentist. She is caring and will go,that extra mile for her patients. The entire staff, especially Bethany, are amazing. They are all so helpful and kind. They care about their patients and treat everyone with respect.
Brice Bertelsman
2 years ago
The dentist is more interested in talking to her assistant about there weekends then working on your teeth
Danielle Zip
2 years ago
Dr. Denise is amazing! Freeburg Family Dental will always be my go to dentist.
Terry Short
2 years ago
Love Dr. Denise and girls! They are Faith's favorites! Faith has autism and Denise has worked with her for a few years, we followed her from Shiloh to Freeburg, and are excited how Faith trusts this group!
Amelia Jones
2 years ago
Super friendly staff!
Larissa McDowell
2 years ago
I live in St. Louis, but drive all the way out for this amazing dental office! Everyone there is so sweet and they don't push unnecessary treatments like some other dentists do. Highly recommend.
Alexis Deutsch
2 years ago
Dr. Denise Hand is the best!
Aleen Dutkanych
2 years ago
I've been going to FFD for years now and can confidently recommend this business! Not only do they treat you with the utmost respect, but they do it with a smile on their faces. They make going to the dentist FUN!
Daphne Edwards (Mammaduck)
2 years ago
Absolutly love this place! My kids and I go here and its the only place my son trusts with his teeth.
Zagk Gibbons
2 years ago
Everyone at Freeburg Family Dental is extremely friendly, helpful, genuine, and sweet. I honestly look forward to going there because it's such a friendly and gleeful environment. They've helped me work through a number of dental issues, and their membership plan is a great deal. Best Dentist Office Ever!
Judy Hazelwood
2 years ago
After putting off a dental checkup, I recently went to Freeburg Family Dental. The entire staff was super friendly. The hygienist and Dr. Denise Hand were both gentle and honest about the needed dental care. I would definitely recommend Freeburg Family Dental and will be returning for my next checkup, instead of dreading it and putting it off!
Keri Strackeljahn
2 years ago
I am not a fan of going to the dentist. My experience was great! Dr. Denise Hand is so gentle you don't even realize was is happening. The ladies at the front desk are friendly & work hard to accommodate your appointments. Great Staff. Highly recommend!
Lynn Lingafelter
2 years ago
I absolutely LOVE this office! Dr Denise is one of the sweetest most considerate dentist that I have ever seen. Her staff is wonderful! Bethany greats me very professionally and friendly every time she answers the phone. And the dental hygienist Tiffany and Shelby are professional and friendly, it has never been a dull moment spent in this office. They always do their best to get me an appointment in a timely manner, which I understand is difficult at this point in time. Thank you ladies for being so professional and making every visit the best experience that it can be!
Jane Lake
2 years ago
I've never been a patient here, but I was paying for my niece to get work done. After my niece told me she was no longer going back to this office, I called myself on Thursday and spoke to Bethany. The conversation was based upon my niece calling and completing the work. So after an hour long conversation with Nicole, I was able to get her to give them one more chance. Nicole contacted them many ways and was never contacted back. This is not good practice, especially when not only one, but two people are in pain. I paid them thousands of dollars for this. I would NOT recommend this business.
Nikki Lyn
2 years ago
My first appointment was in August. I decided to do the membership because I needed 5k worth of work due to lack of insurance for two years. Let's just say I've had 3 out of 11 teeth actually completed and it's April. If you have the time to wait 3 months for appointments, then God forbid you catch Covid in December so I had to reschedule 3 that were all a week apart to now April. I had an appointment last week at 8am, was almost to the office I received a text stating they had to reschedule. Okay, I get it. Things happen. I'm a Director of Revenue so I barely have time to breathe, but my teeth are very important to me. I had an appointment scheduled for tomorrow, I checked my personal phone it said to call by 10:00am today to confirm my appointment. Well, unfortunately I didn't see it by 10:00am. I called the office at noon and I was already taken off the schedule for tomorrow. Nice huh? I will say the Dr. was very gentle and sweet even when I hemorrhaged from an extraction, but Bethany the office coordinator needs to be more professional. I had them take all my future visits off of their schedule, along with my 16 year old daughter whom I was going to make a patient. Sum it up; Great Dr., yet ran unprofessionally. Edit: The date is now 04/19/2021. Upon reading the reply to the review, and my Aunt speaking to Bethany I decided to try one more time. There has been a few thousand invested, and they're aware of the work that I need. As stated before, the Dr. is amazing. I called this past Friday and sent a long text message to the office cell. It's now late Monday evening so two full office days have passed, and the weekend without a word. You see it's mentioned below for me to contact them to complete care. As I stated in the original post, unprofessional. At the very least reply. I've been in Business Management my entire career and couldn't imagine treating clients in this manner. I've now got decay coming to the front of my tooth from the back, (mind you this cavity developed in the 8 months of waiting to get work done, didn't even show on the X-ray) in a ton of pain with multiple teeth. I know who I'll be calling in the morning after I pick up my records, they stated they get their patients in same day to do work when in pain. I should've known from the very beginning when Bethany offered to find me an oral surgeon because I was in pain. I'm proficient in locating my own Dentist's and or specialists. Also when she told me I couldn't have a procedure done due to plaque not causing the device to fit properly, but I can have three cavities in that area and it will! Okay, I'm done. Have a great day out in Freeburg, I'm choosing to stay in Belleville! - Nicole
Heather Beccue
2 years ago
The staff and Dr. Denise are amazing! I take my kids there and Dr. Denise did amazing with both my boys who have autism. Amazing customer service and absolutely love the whole staff! Thank you for everything you have done and continue to do for the community.
McKenzi Geaschel
2 years ago
I havent gone to a dentist in a long time because i had a hard time really finding somewhere that i liked and ive had bad experiences which ultimately lead me to having to need 3 very bad teeth that needed taken out. When i first walked in the office the entire staff was very kind and welcoming. Getting extractions is already kind of scary, but they made me be feel very comfortable and made sure i didnt feel a thing. I was very pleased. Now i have started the process to get a partial. I am so happy i finally found a dentist that I like!
Aleah Drennan
2 years ago
We love dr hand! We switched here after my dentist of 25 years retired. I was so nervous. But the staff makes me feel so welcomed and comfortable at every visit!
James Smith
2 years ago
Freeburg Family Dental says it all in the name every time I go in for a routine check up or professional cleaning they make me feel comfortable and like part of their awesome little family!!! I never thought I would feel so comfortable going to a dental office like I do now! Thank you all so much for making my dental experience so wonderful!!
Lisa Christophe
2 years ago
I would HIGHLY recommend Dr. Denise Hand and all of the staff at Freeburg Family Dental to anyone! Dr. Hand is very knowledgeable, patient, and kind, and the staff is so hardworking and will do everything they can to help schedule appointments in a timely manner and go above and beyond to help patients with insurance questions. Everyone at Freeburg Family Dental is perpetually friendly and professional. I applaud them for how they are handling all of the challenges thrust upon them due to Covid!
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