After a decade of having a close family member take care of my dental needs, a move to Miami prompted me to search for a new dentist. Anyone who has been with the same health care provider for a long time, especially when it's a trusted family member, can surely relate to the panic of having to find a new one--and one who isn't family.
My first visit yesterday for a routine cleaning (in addition to a couple of routine fillings) was a welcome and unexpected surprise. Dr. Coba is as good as it gets when it comes to what you would ideally want in a health care professional. From the second we met, his demeanor, attitude, and kind manner exuded a certain warmth that is generally lacking in the healthcare field. In addition, he is an extremely knowledgeable and talented dentist, with a "light" hand.
The offices are brand new and immaculate. All the support staff are also very friendly and courteous. Facilities and equipment are state-of-the-art. I feel very fortunate to have found Dr. Coba's dental practice, and it comes as a huge relief to know that this kind of competent and trustworthy dentist is going to be providing me with my dental care in the years to come.
A little back-story on how I ended up in Coba Dental's offices in the first place:
My wife and I, who have no major issues related to our teeth, signed up for a discount dental plan that covers us for 2 free cleanings each, per year, in addition to one set of X-rays each. The first dentist she went to said that she needed a "full mouth debridement" (FMD) which isn't a type of cleaning covered by the insurance. In fact, that dentist refused to do just the regular cleaning, saying that he couldn't undertake any other procedures without this type of cleaning first. My wife submitted to the FMD at the time. When I went for my cleaning a few weeks later and got the same diagnosis from the dentist, I knew something was wrong. Knowing that my aunt is my dentist, and one of the best in Canada, and that not only do I go every 6 months for cleanings, but between cleanings I follow a strict regimen of brushing, flossing, water pik, and mouth rinse, I realized that this was just a scam being perpetrated by this disreputable dentist to make more money. As simple as that. He also refused to do a regular cleaning on me, at which point I got up and left.
As it turns out, it appears that it is a widespread problem. Before finding Dr. Coba's practice, we had called several other dentists to get me an appointment for a cleaning. Knowing what we knew, we didn't want any surprises on my next visit, but almost every dentist's office said the same thing when we asked about the FMD on the phone -- "it's up to the doctor to decide what procedures need to be done."
Bottom line, the full mouth debridement should not have been recommended or performed in the first place, as it relates to me and my wife. A FMD is a heavy scaling generally performed on people who haven't submitted to a cleaning in a long time, and who may not practice proper dental hygiene, and who as a result have very heavy tartar and plaque build-up that needs to be removed. In my case, the first thing Dr. Coba told me after the preliminary examination was what great condition my teeth were in, and then proceeded with the regular cleaning as scheduled.
Needless to say, my wife is going to be scheduling her next appointment with Dr. Coba as well. I also found out that Dr. Coba started his own practice and opened this location 10 months ago. We wish him many years of success so that he can continue providing a high quality of dental care to the local community. read more
