Disclaimer: I've only seen Dr. Brenda Lewis for a consultation.
Yay!!! I finally found a periodontist I like!!
I, unfortunately, have had gum recession for quite some time now, and my dentist had been bugging me for oh, maybe 5 years to get it done. However, I just couldn't seem to find someone I liked and felt comfortable with. (I did actually like Dr. Barney Lim, a recommendation from my dentist friend, but then they didn't take my insurance and by the time I got a new job and got insurance they took, he had retired.) That is - until I met Dr. Lewis. The whole experience from my first phone call to after the appointment was superb. Her staff was very kind, patient, and extremely helpful. They took the time to answer all my questions about my insurance and also called me a few times to try and get me an earlier appointment as people cancelled (since I had asked to be put on a wait list). Yay for nice people!! They were so pleasant to work with.
I love the location (only 10 - 15 min from my house) and they also have plenty of parking (they are close to downtown San Mateo so I was worried I'd have to either fight or pay for parking - or both). They also have a good variety of magazines, although the wait was so short that I hardly had time to flip open People. Darn! Lol.
So then it was time for my appointment. Her assistant, Chelsea, also showed the same care and kindness that I'd already received from everyone else. And finally, I met Dr. Lewis. She did the usual pokes and gave Chelsea all the numbers I used to understand and the whole time I was thinking "Oh man, I am going to get such a big lecture from her when this is done! She's going to tell me how I really should've taken care of this issue 5 years ago." Here's the best part - she didn't push me toward surgery!! Instead, she was very honest with me and said that I may not need it at this point. She said 1) I could get it if I cared about aesthetics. But for me, the recession is mostly on my front bottom teeth and top side teeth, so you can't see it when I smile or talk. So I didn't really care for that. 2) I could get it to help with my sensitivity, but she wouldn't let that be my main driving factor since the sensitivity is mostly at the line where my exposed root starts, and the gum grafting is not guaranteed to make the sensitivity go away. 3) I should get it to prevent further recession or decay. But she said that the exposed roots didn't actually look worn and my gums weren't inflamed where it was receding. So she felt it was pretty stable and wouldn't be a problem.
Her final suggestion was to see me again in 8 months and then, if the roots have gotten worse or worn out, then we could talk about surgery again. And then she gave me not 1 (like most places) but like 10 sample tubes of Sensodyne to help with the sensitivity! How generous =). I LOVED that she wasn't pushy and I felt that she was very honest with me. I'm looking forward to seeing her again in 8 months when she'll hopefully still tell me I don't need surgery. Haha! read more