OMG THIS PLACE IS GREAT. I say this in caps because I seriously have not had a better dental experience since I was a child and was bribed with toys and stickers; maybe even ever! Let me explain- brace yourself. After being in the emergency room Monday with insane tooth pain, I quickly went to my new insurance's website to find a dentist. Brite dental (Milwaukee location) was able to get me in that afternoon. Unfortunately after being told I had an infection in my tooth and that both wisdoms on my left side needed to be extracted, the doctor had to refer me to their Kimball location since they couldn't perform the task there. Kimball had an extraction specialist; apparently my mouth was in really bad shape. Their front desk staff called the Kimball location to see if they had an opening, which they didn't, but they were nice enough to squeeze me in anyway two days later even though they had a full book.
Wednesday I arrived. Now, I have very bad anxiety, and Brite Dental does not put you under for extractions (which I didn't know when I made the appointment). So having had painful and scary dental experiences in the past, it was safe to say I was INCREDIBLY NERVOUS ABOUT WHAT WAS ABOUT TO HAPPEN.
Hurdle number two was when I was getting prepped for the procedure. I was told I would have to pay out of pocket, or delay the extraction until my insurance could switch my primary dentist to their location which could take up to another month. I couldn't afford to pay out of pocket or wait any longer so I called my insurance company in a desperate attempt to see if they would make an exception and let me switch my primary care dentist right away for the second time in three days. The front desk staff was VERY helpful. They talked on the phone with my insurance and were willing to assist in this process without me even asking.
Once that was taken care of, I lay back down in the dentist chair with my headphones and sloth stuffed animal (I'm 25 years old laugh all you want), and start crying/becoming anxious looking at the giant needle that was about to be injected into my mouth. After I got the shots, still crying, waiting for my mouth to numb, the nurse could tell I was upset and started talking me through my anxiety! She told me to "imagine a color and breathe deeply". She led me through this exercise for about five minutes. After I calmed down she told me she uses that exercise with her 10 year old son. I thought it was SO sweet that she took the time to help me relax. Very nice of her.
Finally, after receiving another shot, afraid I wouldn't be numb enough, the dentist gets to work. I squeeze my sloth, turn up my headphones, and try not to cry anymore. Then the dentist taps my shoulder, "Okay you're all done." I said "....what?" as I looked at him with shock and disbelief. "It's over. You're welcome". I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT. All that worry and this guy got my teeth out in what felt like ten minutes! Faster than it took for me to numb up! I'm seriously still in shock.
I'm sorry this ended up being so long but I wanted the staff and whoever is reading to understand how scared I was to go in and how extremely happy I am that I did- and that I went to Brite Dental. The entire staff from the front desk, to the nurses, to the doctor himself, were all so nice and helpful. I have put off the dentist for so long because of my fear and anxiety, and to finally have that weight off my shoulders feels incredible.Thank you all SO much! For once I can finally say that I don't hate the dentist anymore. I'm actually kind of excited to go for my filling next week! Weird, huh? read more