Short version - Dr. Pressling is a smart, caring, reliable dentist and has been a true life-saver to me as I've been dealing with a very infected wisdom tooth. I will always go back to him and highly recommend him for any dental issue.
Long long version - I had a tooth infection back in 2020 during COVID - called the 24 hour line and received a call ASAP from Dr. Pressling. Saw him the next day and he gave me a script for antibiotics and urged me to remove my semi-impacted wisdom tooth. Gave me a referral to a surgeon and answered all of my many questions. I stupidly ignored his advice after my infection cleared up and did not pull the wisdom tooth.
Fast forward 3 years, that same tooth is reinfected WITH A VENGEANCE - much more swollen and painful and clearly did need to be removed. I called Dr. Pressling and he called back promptly even though it was after midnight. He listened to my concerns and said he could see me the following afternoon.
I was so anxious about my infection, I ended up seeing another dentist who could squeeze me in earlier in the day - they gave me antibiotics and scheduled my extraction surgery for 3 weeks out. The antibiotics did not seem to be helping and I ended up calling Dr. Pressling again in the middle of the night in a panic. Despite the fact that I didn't even go see him that day, he again promptly returned my call and talked through my concerns about a secondary infection (which did, in fact, form) and gave me some tips for how to treat myself in the meantime until I could see him the following day.
When I saw him the next day, he gave me stronger antibiotics (which I clearly needed for the severity of infection), asked where/when I was getting my surgery, and talked me through parts of that. He asked what sedation they'd be giving me to ensure it was enough for the severity of my issue. I could tell he actually cares.
I am not even a long-time patient and have neglected my dental health due to lack of insurance and frankly laziness - a mistake I won't be making again! Despite my negligence and ignoring his advice the first time, Dr. Pressling still genuinely cares and is a smart, experienced dentist who I know I can trust.
Outcomes:
- My swelling from infection is down from the better antibiotics he gave me
- I'm not totally broke because (despite some weird reviews on here) he didn't charge me an arm and a leg for these services (neither this time nor back in 2020)
- I feel much more confident about how to proceed with this issue I'm having
I can't figure out why there are bad reviews on here but to address some of the things I've seen...
- "the office looks old and outdated" yes, sure lol it's not the best looking space. The other place I went to looked shiny new and the dentist had perfect bedside manner, yet they half-diagnosed my issue and were going to give me surgery with local anesthetic despite a more severe case requiring sedation. So, yeah, if it's most important to you that your dentist office looks like a Crate and Barrel with xrays and drills, this isn't the place. If you want a dentist who knows what he's talking about but hasn't updated his lobby furniture, Augusta Dental is just fine for you.
- "They're thieves! Just want money!" - alright, no. Most affordable dentist I've ever seen, works with me even without insurance, never got a bill higher than was told it would be, always upfront about pricing and it's always been less than I expected. I don't actually know the insurance process since I don't have any, but have seen reviews about "they made me pay up front and submit to insurance to be reimbursed" - yeah, welcome to America. Insurance sucks and sometimes this is just how that works.
- "Dr. Pressling urged me to get unnecessary procedures!" - first, it's on you to be your own advocate always. If you don't want or think you don't need a procedure - get a second opinion. Secondly, Dr. Pressling urged me to get what I, A LAYMAN NON-DENTIST, thought was an unnecessary, expensive procedure...I ignored him thinking I knew better, and now have a fully infected mouth/face. Maybe he errs on the side of caution and recommends procedures because he actually knows what can happen if you don't do them promptly. Just a thought.
Alright, that's it. I don't work for Dr. Pressling lol I just had a really fantastic experience with him (more than once) and think he's the best dentist I've ever had. Wouldn't trust anyone else and am so baffled by some of the bad reviews I saw here so wanted to address them. (Also noting that most were from 2011-2016, maybe he/the staff were going through something then, who knows, but it's 2023 now and this guys is the real deal. 10/10 would recommend) read more