Just back from the dentist where I was pleasantly surprised to find a nice, laid-back dentist and a compentent staff.
As I mentioned while
Four months ago, I picked a new dentist from the provider list. He was within walking distance of my house. His office was high tech. And his staff seemed competent. Then, HE WALKED INTO THE EXAM ROOM!!!!
He looked like a poster boy for cosmetic dentistry. I had to keep my sunglasses on because his teeth were so huge, white and shiny.
Looks aside, he seemed OK until he started examining my teeth, and wanted to overhaul each and every one. As a devout flosser, brusher and dentistgoer for my entire life, I knew my teeth did not need anything more than polishing. There was one tooth my old dentist always kept an eye on since I've had some work done on it, but overall my mouth was and is in good shape.
Dr. Cosmetic Dentistry wanted me to spend about $10,000 out of pocket to fix things that didn't need fixing. The only thing good to come out of the visit was that I went home with a bunch of pens, notepads, golf tees (I don't even golf), magnets, etc., with his name plastered all over them. Of course, I ultimately would have paid for these "Welcome" gifts if I had gone back to him, but instead I ran the other way as fast as I could.
Now, four months later, I was due for another polishing (yes, I see the dentist every four months -- not six...). I picked another dentist in the same complex and was prepared to fend off more freebies and recommendations for unncessary dental treatments.
Instead, I found Mr. Rogers in a dental smock waiting for me. He said my teeth look great overall -- but wants to watch my one problem tooth. He didn't hoist any free junk on me and said he would keep my out-of-pocket expense down by documenting my previous perio visit (some fancy dental surgeon who worked on my problem tooth) in his records and on the insurance form each time he submitted a cleaning bill.
I thought this was very nice of him. Even nicer was that I didn't owe anything today.
January 10th, 2008 at 07:02 pm 1199991725
Good for you! My DH goes to a dentist-friend (friend first, then dentist) and while he like this guy, the office isn't at all family friendly (nothing to occupy small ones, except travel brochures). We went back to the old one who has a cool Thomas the Train table and a tooth fairy that visits twice a year to get the little ones interested in dental hygiene.
My point? Everyone has their own favorite dentist. Sounds like you found a good one! And love the visuals I get imagining the dentist in the interim
January 11th, 2008 at 01:24 pm 1200057896
My current dentist (who works in a really swanky neighborhood and drives an Aston Martin by the way) charged me only about $300 for extraction, and roughly half was insured.