Dr. Montazem gives me emotionally detached dad vibes: he probably cares about you, but is unlikely to express it. He doesn't have a bedside manner that's catered to anxious folks, but he's probably just being himself. I was told he's "definitely not a hand holder, but a good surgeon". That being said, I'm a researcher and looked deeply into his reviews and qualifications. Some people hated their experience with him, some said it was wonderful. After my consult, I panicked and worried if my extraction was going to be a s**t show. He was very in and out during all of my visits. He did answer my questions, but seemed not to have patience for many. The same goes with his front desk staff. I actually forgot to ask some things at my follow up because it went by so fast. His assistant seemed to balance that all out, though.
The surgery: I was very, very anxious and was indecisive about how many teeth to remove. He was adamant about not telling me what to do, which I respect. He told me I could take out as little or as many teeth as I want and he can't guarantee whether I'll have problems or not with the remaining ones. I decided to take all four wisdom teeth out. His very nice assistant got informed consent and assured me that it would be over before I knew it. It was. He told me exactly what he was doing before I did it. I only knew of what drugs they could've used because of my consult, but he told me when they were applying the nasal mask. The assistant told me she was putting leads and a pulse ox on me, comforting me throughout. He told me when he was inserting the IV, and that was it. I vaguely recall waking up, but was unsure if that was in my own head or not. Every body is different. I just remember joking about the IV fluid burning and then waking up crying...because, drugs. They packed my mouth again and walked me out and I was taken good care of from then on out. I received a second set of aftercare instructions and they called me on the next business day.
They sent painkillers and antibiotics (I didn't take, but you should. don't be a d**k like me) to my pharmacy. I was happy to have everything on hand. I removed the gauze and took narcotics with a blood, saliva and yogurt bolus, about an hour and a half later. I rested and iced my face. I didn't have any bruising or major pain after that. I didn't feel too great (dizziness, throbbing) on day 3 or 4, but I was working, eating Ecuadorian food (sausage rice, fried eggs, peanut sauce) and probably doing too much. My dissolvable stitches came out on day 4 or 5.
Anyway, my healing story doesn't matter much because everyone's teeth are different and their needs are different. Keep your mouth clean and don't smoke or ruin your surgical sites and you'll probably be fine. Overall, I felt well taken fare of and think Dr. Montazem is a very good surgeon. I left with little (physical) trauma, have been healing well and haven't had an infection. I didn't feel anything. I don't even know what happened. I didn't want to know what was going on on his end anyway (I've seen the process on YouTube, but still), that's for him and his assistant to know. The whole process took 45 mins, I was told. I would recommend him to friends. I would send my kid to him. read more