Short version - Dr. Hadeed Haitham was great! He performed two surgeries on me and I wouldn't hesitate to use him again. Plan to use him for wisdom teeth removal when my three kids need it. Great staff all around. :)
Long version - I never imagined at 45 that I would ever find myself choosing dentures over my own God given teeth that my parents paid a fortune to straighten with braces in my teens.
The first time I broke a tooth I was 37. I was eating popcorn and there were no hard kernels or anything, but one of my top back molars broke in half and I found myself spitting out something hard only to find it was half of my tooth. Saw the dentist. Needed root canal first, so off to the endodontist. Root canal done. Temporary crown put in place while waiting for the permanent one to arrive at the dentist's from the lab. Permanent crown placed. End of problem, or so I thought.
After breaking this first tooth at age 37, my teeth began breaking, mostly molars with old silver fillings from high school causing the breaks, at the rate of 1 or 2 a year. Dental insurance normally helps with one broken tooth a year before benefits are maxed out for the year. Even with the insurance, I was paying about $1,000 per tooth if it was covered by insurance. If the insurance was already maxed out, each broken tooth instantly became at least a $2,000 problem. About $1,000 for the root canal and another for the white tooth colored crown.
With 3 growing boys who will soon be starting braces, I opted to sacrifice my teeth for theirs. We had already done root canals and crowns on 8 or 9 teeth in those few years, but more just continued to chip or break randomly. The last estimate I had to fix all my dental problems was nearly $30,000 on top of the thousands we'd already invested in my teeth as they broke here and there. This estimate was not for anything fancy or cosmetic like veneers. It was just root canals and crowns all over the place. $30,000 is just not in the budget for this family of five.
Our insurance at the time was pretty limited, so my regular dentist and dentures went through Aspen Dental. However, I didn't want to wait for their oral surgeon who travels to several locations so it takes a while to get even the initial appointment let alone two surgery dates. I wanted someone local that I could see any day of the week if I had an emergency or problem after my surgeries to remove all my teeth.
Soooooooooo glad I found Dr. Haitham and his practice. Was able to get initial appointment within a week or so whereas most offices were backed up 4-6 weeks for an appointment. He examined my teeth and X-rays and understood why I chose the route of dentures for financial reasons and didn't belittle me or make me feel insecure about my decision at all.
Since we were going to extract all my teeth, he recommended doing it in two sessions about a month apart to help me manage the amount of pain I'd be dealing with to heal. He prescribed antibiotics for after surgery and offered pain meds prescription. I took the Rx for the antibiotics but turned down the pain meds Rx because I'm already on long term pain meds due to chronic issues. Had appointment to see him the day after both surgeries to make sure all was ok and again a time or two over the month.
Fantastic patient care from ALL staff members beginning to end. I opted to be put to sleep for both surgeries because I suffer from anxiety and panic attacks. The days I actually had the surgeries, I was taken into the treatment room shortly after arriving. The doctor answered any questions I had and then explained the aftercare instructions to both me and my husband because I wouldn't remember much after the surgeries. That was certainly the case. :) One of the best things for me who doesn't handle the stress and anxiety caused by the anticipation of the whole thing is that as soon as we were done with my questions and his instructions about follow up care, I was out in less than a minute. No shots or iv's that I ever felt going in. Just put an air hose over my nose and I was out like a light. Couldn't have asked for anything better for this scaredy cat, for sure!
Just found out this week my 16 year old and my 13 year old will both need wisdom teeth removed in the near future. We received new dental insurance in March. First thing I did this week after finding out about their wisdom teeth from the dentist was to find out if Dr. Haitham was on our new plan. He is, thank God. We will definitely use him for all our kids when it's wisdom teeth time.
Thank you to Dr. Hadeed Haitham and his staff for helping me through an incredibly stressful time in my life. I couldn't have made it through that difficult time without your help and care. Thank you for taking time to really care for each of your patients, not all do. We will see you with our boys in the future!
Gratefully yours,
Nancy Youngkin & family read more
