I had high hopes for Dr. Dunya Antwan at Civic Dental, but unfortunately, that confidence faded pretty quickly. I went in initially and had a tooth pulled, and everything went fine. She had mostly good reviews. We talked. I liked her, and I even told her I felt like I had finally found a good dentist.
The next time I went in, though, something seemed different. I had another tooth causing me significant pain, but she told me she couldn't extract it because I had taken too much aspirin. So we rescheduled. I thought that was odd because I had been taking plenty of aspirin when she pulled the first tooth, and she hadn't asked me about aspirin at all before that extraction. Still, I trusted her, so I went with her advice.
Before my next appointment, I stood up and accidentally hit my head on the corner of a shelf. The corner broke the skin and caused some bleeding, but it wasn't a serious head injury. When I went to my dental appointment, I mentioned what had happened. She told me I could have a concussion and once again wouldn't remove the problem tooth, which by this point was becoming infected. I was still willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.
What really changed my opinion was what happened next. I told her I had run out of the ibuprofen she had prescribed. She just looked at me. She didn't offer a refill, suggest an alternative or offer any other help with the pain. Then she rescheduled me for another appointment ten days later. I was experiencing severe pain every day. It wasn't constant, but when it hit, the pain was bad enough to make me feel sick.
About eight days later, I couldn't take it anymore. I walked into what is now my new dentist's office. Within 15 minutes, I was sitting in a dental chair. The tooth was infected. They pulled it, and the pain was gone. I had also been taking aspirin for days beforehand, and in my experience, there was no problem with the extraction or clotting afterward.
I'm incredibly happy to have found my new dentist. The difference wasn't just in how quickly they took care of the problem; it was the entire atmosphere. People were smiling. We laughed. I felt comfortable and taken care of. That was a stark contrast to my experience at Civic Dental, where the atmosphere always seemed gloomy.
I went into Civic Dental with high hopes, but after my experience there, those hopes disappeared. I'm just glad I finally found a dental office where I feel like I'm in good hands. read more
