COULD NOT SAY ENOUGH GOOD THINGS ABOUT DR. VICE. She is a delightful person, she is extremely…read moreskilled, and she is HONEST. She will NOT try to talk you into having work done that is not necessary or doesn't have to be done now.
I am 68, my husband is 79. We moved to Durham from S. Francisco 2 years ago and a friend enthusiastically recommended Sunrise Dental to us. These reviews are based on maybe 6 visits I've had and maybe 10 or 12 for my husband, who has had more complex work done.
I am an honest person and had always assumed that my dentists were honest. Then, 15 years ago, I dated a man who taught dentistry at UCSF -- a highly respected man who actually ran an elite program with spots for just 8 post-docs. I was SHOCKED to hear how "flexible" his billing was -- charging people more if he thought they wouldn't notice or blink an eye at the high charges and it was common for his hot-shot dentist friends often did that, too. They would all sit around and compare how much money they'd made that month and what kind of expensive cars they were driving. It was a real (and very
sad) revelation.
EXAMPLES OF WHY I"VE GIVEN 5 STARS
1. SHE'S HONEST -- SHE WILL NOT PUSH YOU TO HAVE WORK DONE THAT YOU DON'T REALLY NEED -- OR BUY THINGS.
SHE WILL SUGGEST THE MORE AFFORDABLE OPTION.
I was told years ago that wear on my teeth shows that I clench my teeth. As I've never experienced any pain, I didn't get a night guard...but I noticed that my teeth are looking very flat. Dr. Vice had mentioned it --and when I came back, asked her about getting a plastic night guard. She said, of course, she could order one for me....but truthfully, you can order a kit on Amazon that costs about $12 and they seem to work very well for a lot of people so -- why don't I try that first and see if it works? Would save me a couple hundred bucks.
I had also mentioned an old filling in a back took that seemed "low" -- and I was afraid maybe some of the tooth that was high around it could crack or something. She said yes, it was old. No hadn't fallen out...but a little low. Could build it up... didn't push. Two years later, I said "I'd like to have that built up" -- and she did.
2. SHE REALLY CARES & WILL BE AVAILABLE IF YOU NEED HER.
I take good care of my teeth but one Friday, I suddenly had a tooth ache and though it could possibly be an infection or the first signs of needing a root canal -- I've had 2, so know how they start.
I was able to get in that afternoon. Dr. Vice said "nope -- that tooth already has a root canal, so can't be the nerve -- I'm guessing it's a sinus issue." Well, I've never had sinus problems -- no allergies, no headaches, et. I trust her -- but it did seem odd. She said take antihistamine and to CALL HER OVER THE WEEKEND if it got worse. She said she could call in a prescription for an antibiotic, so it if got worse, I could get that filled. I said yeah, better be safe...
As I said, sinus sounded weird but -- took an antihistamine and -- must've been what it was cuz it went away. SO appreciated her saying to please call on a WEEKEND if needed and she's see me.
SHE IS A PERFECTIONIST ABOUT HER WORK.
That's a good thing in a dentist!
for example, my husband was having a crown done to close an annoying gap between 2 teeth that was always trapping food. The crown arrived -- but she said she didn't like the tolerance -- still too wide, she thought it would still tend to trap food. Instead of not saying anything and just putting it in his mouth -- whoosh! Back it went to redo it.
Know this is long -- but I read reviews carefully and if someone says something good or bad, I want to know WHY.
Might add that I've been lucky to have excellent dental care all my life.
Grew up a mile from Stanford U., lived in S. Francisco all my adult life -- which has TWO dental schools -- top-rated UCSF and Univ. of the Pacific. So there is -- literally-- a dentist office with exceptional dentists every 2 blocks if not on every block The competition is so fierce that dentistry is actually one of the only things in SF that DOES NOT cost more than it does in other cities!
