I waited a year and switched insurance to get into this practice, and I'm so glad I did. The staff is kind, punctual, professional, and highly skilled, and Dr. Dehnert, whom I see, has exceptional skill and goes beyond all expectations in caring for his patients, as my story illustrates.
I saw John Dehnert to repair two root canals done a few years ago by another dentist in Maryland. I had developed a toothache, and when I came in, Dr. Dehnert said he had been looking at my records and felt almost certain there was an infection in these root canals, which he had put on his "watch list." His hypothesis was confirmed by x-rays. He answered all my questions about treatment completely, without rushing.
When I came in for treatment, Dr. Dehnert said, a few minutes into it, that he thought he was seeing the top of a broken instrument in my root canal. This was shortly confirmed by X-ray. There was a long, thin, metal piece of a broken dental instrument embedded in my root; the previous dentist had not told me he had broken a tool and left part of it in my jaw! Dr. Dehnert said it was very difficult to remove a broken instrument under these conditions, but there was "one trick" he could try. He called another assistant to set up an ultrasound machine. He wasn't satisfied with the first machine, so he asked for a second to be set up. He explained to a student at Pima College who was observing that repairing a root canal was one of the longest procedures, because one "had to be meticulous." Indeed, Dr. Dehnert was. Patiently he worked around the embedded instrument until, several minutes later, he was able to pull it out, loosened by the ultrasound. It was at least half an inch long!
After two and a half hours only one tooth was done due to this complication, and Dr. Dehnert gave me the option to come back another day or finish the second tooth. I elected to go ahead and finish the second repair. I asked Dr. Dehnert if that would inconvenience him, and he said it was his lunch hour but he was happy to do it if I wanted. The second tooth proved difficult as well because of a very calcified, 18 mm root. The procedure took all of Dr. Dehnert's lunch hour, but he finished as carefully as he had begun. Then he had an assistant give me ibuprofen before I left, explaining I would be sore from the extensive work he had done and need to take medication for at least one-two days.
That afternoon Dr. Dehnert called to check on how I was feeling and left his cell phone in case I needed to call him. The following morning one of the assistants called me as well to check on me. The assistant, Cheyenne, who worked with Dr. Dehnert, also could not have been better. When I began to panic and feel like I was gagging every few seconds early into the procedure, she suggested breathing through my nose to minimize that sensation, and it worked! She was also very patient and skillful, despite working 4 straight hours on my mouth with Dr. Dehnert.
It's important to trust your dentist. Dr. Dehnert has my complete trust. read more