We moved to the QC area 22 years ago and started looking around for a dental office. We went to…read moreanother place first that had a bunch of dentists and claimed to be great with families and kids. We did NOT have a good experience there and then someone told us about Dr. Nelson. We immediately fell in love with the office and the people there. The general staff has changed over, almost completely, since we started going there. That would be expected as people move or their family circumstances change, but the care and professionalism has remained constant.
There has been an occasional glitch with what the insurance will pay, but not any more than I've had with medical doctors' offices. The problem is that doctors and dentists don't (or haven't historically, at least) have "real-time" connections with insurance companies. If you go to a pharmacy, their computer can tell you immediately if your medication is covered, and the price you'll pay, but this is not the case with doctors and dentists. Each time there's been a problem we've been able to get it figured out and take care of it.
Dr. Nelson has a Type A personality and is constantly jumping from bay to bay as he and his team take care of patients. It is a well-orchestrated "dance" that ensures that you don't have a lot of time just sitting around while all the activity is next to or behind you.
He uses all of the latest techno-wizardry available. One of my favorites is a CNC-type machine that can make a crown out of a cube of whatever kind of material a crown is usually made of, while you wait. The machine makes the actual permanent crown, not some temporary one. He took me back and let me watch it work on a crown for me. When it was done, he "glued" it onto my tooth and I was out the door with a permanent crown (and no need for a return visit in 10 days to get the "real" crown installed). What a time (and money) saver.
At the end of each visit, the staff puts together a "goody bag" including a toothbrush (or brush head if you have an Oral-B electric toothbrush), toothpaste samples, and other tooth-related items. It isn't a BIG thing, but is an example of some of the little things they do at this office to let you know they appreciate you.
The best example of why I wouldn't think of going to another dentist is because of something Dr. Nelson once did for me over a weekend. He had done some extensive work on one of my teeth, trying to save the "root". This was on a Thursday, as I remember. Once the anesthetic wore off, the tooth started bothering me. I took ibuprofen and tried to gut it out, thinking I would get it fixed on Monday (they only see patients for a half day on Friday). Well my plan didn't work. The pain kept getting worse and I eventually decided I wouldn't make it to Monday. I hated to bother Dr. Nelson on a Saturday evening, but I either needed a root canal or pain relief that was stronger than ibuprofen. Dr. Nelson said he was going to finish dinner then call me back to meet him at the office. When I got there, he sat me down, took one look in my mouth and said he would have to do a root canal right after all. Using my chest as a staging area for his tools and equipment, he got down to business and, half an hour later, I had (yet another) rootless tooth in my head. Maybe any dentist would do that for a patient, but it was a first for me.
The bottom line is, I wouldn't think of changing dentists and hope Dr. Nelson doesn't retire anytime soon.