Needed to consult with an expert at a center specializing in implants. Consultation would be free…read moreof charge. Arrived, led to an office, Diana, the specialist, walks in with a yellow pad and pen. She never asks questions or clarification while I provide a summary of current care and reiterate my interest in what is possible. To answer, she informs me, requires a digital scans (X-rays and a panoramic) for an accurate evaluation and treatment plan. Diana informs us these essentials aren't insurance approved. Unapproved essential, oxymoronic? Maybe. Cost? $380. I agree. Returning after the images are taken, screen showing the last image which was a rendering of the mouth/teeth, she sits nearby. Not facing images, rewinding, discussing, or even examining the mouth. Note: I, the patient, was never shown any image to support the diagnosis and judgement she's about to make, "You are the most difficult, complicated case I have ever seen"-
She continues- without referring to (generally done by pointing to an image on screen) or mentioning any possible findings, "..not enough density for implants. My advice, and your only option, is to find an oral surgeon and periodontist to place a horizontal bar inside to hold a removable. I don't work with any."
With that, the consultation was over, spent $380 and had no new information.
Here are some facts Diana failed to consider or discuss;
a) I already had 5 implants with crowns, never an issue for years.
b) the same area she claimed lacked bone density had 3 successful implants- 1st over 6 years, and next 2 for 18 months.
c) her suggestion for a rod-held removable is at least from lack of attention or at worst from ignorance. Based on reports from dental professionals, a bar-retained removable would need a few implants into the bone for support. Of course existing implants in the area have to be removed first- creating less density.
My entire interaction with Diana followed a unique form of deductive reasoning; to communicate an emotional predetermined decision against providing care, whether from lack of competence or distaste for patient, I will know.
Anyway, armed with a concept of a suggestion, my goal was stiff upper lip, pay and leave. Emotionally distraught, I walked to the reception, made the $380 charge for scan and requested a receipt. For a simple consult, the 3 people behind the reception had many side discussions about what was done.
Assuming the papers they handed as the typical paperwork; list of services rendered, cost, total due plus receipt to reflect zero balance.
After returning home, I realized my paperwork was limited to a printed paper with date, my name and total paid. I called the office to request paperwork with appropriate codes, cost and zero balance on account following payment. I also requested a copy of the digital scans. After few hours, I received a single email- scan of one X-ray. No paperwork, no scan, silence.
If you are interested in implants, avoid this "center"- I saw hygienist, technicians, receptionists and Diana. Dental chairs were unoccupied except for 2.
This place is nothing like Ridgetop in Reston pre-2020.
This place gives a warehouse vibe, from parking to suite- with its numerous cubby dental chairs lining a narrow hallway, a large scanner at one end, the receptionist at the other. One thinks of a mass production facility without presence of "expert" knowledge- maybe one comes when a procedure is scheduled?
A place run by a person as callous as Diana, making radical conclusions unhindered by annoying facts or deductive reasoning is unsafe.
If that isn't enough to deter any interested potential clients, allow me to add how this client felt in her company; I felt almost resented (I wonder if an overheard talk of shared heritage with another irked her) and with each question she dismissed, I felt silenced by a cold glare void of a healer's concern. By the end, cruelty replaced the coldness. May we never cross paths.
For most, having implants is a step toward cosmetic perfection, and for others an opportunity to finally solve a decades old problem with new technology. Neither one should ever seek consultation here. We know there are dentists that may not be the best in every area, but I have never met one as aloof, unkind and arrogant as Diana. I can almost bet that if she donned a façade of civil chair-side behavior, the suffocated contempt would explosively bypass awareness ISO the bliss she must associate with crushing hope with alternative facts.
