Is this place they were taken to a chain of dentists offices, name starts with an A, if so, we have one in our area, and yes they have a bad reputation.
I am getting the feeling money is tight like it is for so many of us. Are there any dental hygiene schools in your area, even a community college sometimes has one. You can take the kids there, they do a great job of screening, all the girls (young ladies!!) are very nice - maybe not as scary as a dentist's office and certainly a very low-cost way to get a second opinion.