Working with Dr Amy
at Excellence Dental
Dr Azadeh Khajavi's (AKA Dr. Amy) competence and expertise were validated the moment I met her.
It went like this...
I walked in and she looked at the X-rays and information that I brought from my dentist here in Ashland, and then she determined a cat scan was needed to look more deeply.
She had one of her assistants drive me to a facility to get the cat scan.
When we got back to the clinic, she loaded all the files into her computer so we could visually compare the images side by side on a very large high definition monitor. The detail was clear, and easy to see. Her clinic is state-of-the-art so all aspects of the dental process can be controlled to produce the highest calibre results. Dr Amy has little need to depend on some other labs halfhearted work.
We sat together at her desk, in front of her monitor, and she didn't just point out a couple of things and wrap it up in a nice, neat explanation. Dr Amy took the time to speak in my language so I could really understand all the implications which I needed to know to make a decision that was absolutely right for me. So we compared everything. And she showed me how since I was very young, most of the work that had been done by competent dentists resulted in mediocre patch work dentistry.
To straighten a mouth full of crooked teeth I had braces when young, and teeth that are critical to proper jaw alignment, were removed by that dentist. I was told that I had too many teeth in my mouth. Now I know they could have expanded my jaw and left the teeth in place that were critical to jaw alignment and function.
Instead they pulled them out, and what that did was it put my jaw out of alignment. This created an over-bite, which puts stress on my teeth and jaw. This stress is a force that impacts the way my mouth functions, and dooms any subsequent dentistry to short term longevity; i.e, how long will a wall last that is crooked, compared to one that is straight? And how will the crooked wall effect the rest of the structure?
Over the years my mouth worked against itself because of poor alignment, causing dental work to fail early, and thus costing me more money and pain than it should've.
Curiously no dentist has ever explained this to me in as simple, direct and understandable way, until Dr Amy showed up. Why? Were they indifferent to the rigors of fine dentistry, did they lack the skill they said they had, or what? Whatever it might be, their work fell short, and I got screwed.. They just went ahead and did their patch work magic. I spent a lot of money on work that didn't correct the fundamental issue of structure, and therefore all subsequent work never lasted as long as it should've.
I felt smarter after I examined all this with her. She guided me to become competent in my own decision making process, and that's where my confidence in her comes from.
Her work is very precise. I don't have to take her word for the quality she delivers. It is self-evident. The first time I sat in the chair it was for a three plus hour surgery. She provided medication to ease possible discomfort. After the surgery and a good night's sleep, what impressed me a lot was, I woke with virtually no discomfort.
That told me a lot about her skill and careful approach. I've never felt this safe and confident with a dentist or dental procedure. She has a skill that I'd describe as gentle dentistry. It's a bit unusual to think of it in this way because I'm describing someone who is pulling teeth and drilling holes in my head.
I've never experienced this kind of care and can honestly say that I look forward to going to the dentist!
David Bortman
Ashland, Oregon read more