My family and I visited this office four weeks ago and were very pleased with our initial…read moreexperience. Dr. Golestani was extremely informative and kind, and Dr. Natalie was wonderful with my children. During that visit, it was recommended that my 7-year-old son have a baby tooth extracted because his adult tooth had already begun to grow behind it, and the baby tooth was not loose.
Fast forward to today, and we had an appointment scheduled for Friday, 12/13/2024, for the extraction. On Tuesday, my husband called the office with questions about the procedure, specifically regarding the use of laughing gas and the numbing process. He first spoke with Chelsea at the front desk, who was very polite and provided some answers. She also emailed us instructions to review before the visit. After reading the instructions and discussing the call, we had additional questions, so my husband called back.
The second time, he spoke with a male staff member whose name we didn't catch. Unfortunately, the information he provided was unclear, and there seemed to be a misunderstanding about what we were asking. We wanted to know if laughing gas was a mandatory part of the procedure, as I recalled having a similar extraction as a child with just numbing, no gas. Additionally, we were curious about why we were instructed to give our son 1 tsp of Benadryl an hour before the procedure and wanted to understand the rationale behind that step. We also noticed that the instructions stated parents would need to wait in the waiting room during the procedure, which concerned us.
After several calls, my husband mentioned that the last two people he spoke with--the male staff member and Edy, the office manager--were rude. He understood they might have been frustrated with the repeated calls, but their tone was unprofessional and unacceptable. Hearing this, I decided to step away from work to call the office myself.
When I called, Chelsea answered and, as before, was kind and tried to help. She explained that Edy, the office manager, would be better able to address my questions but was on lunch at the time. Edy later returned my call, but we missed it, so I called her back. While Edy answered my questions, she did not apologize for the way she spoke to my husband.
On Wednesday, I called again to speak with Chelsea because I appreciated her politeness and wanted to see if we could request an exception to allow one of us to stay in the room with our son during the procedure. Chelsea informed me that their director did not permit parents in the procedure room. While she wasn't rude, this policy left us feeling uncomfortable.
To gain more perspective, we contacted three other pediatric dental offices to ask about their procedures for baby tooth extractions. Each of them said parents were welcome in the room, as if it were standard practice. After this, my husband and I decided to postpone our son's procedure and cancel the appointment at this office.
At 4:15 PM, I called the office to cancel the appointment. My call went to voicemail, and I received a text message stating that the office was closed. However, their website clearly showed they were open until 6:00 PM. Out of curiosity, I called again using a different number, and the male staff member answered the phone. I told him who I was and mentioned that I had been sent to voicemail earlier and received a text stating the office was closed, which was untrue. I also brought up my husband's earlier experience with him and Hedy, expressing our disappointment.
It's unfortunate because I really liked Dr. Golestani. However, due to the way the front desk staff--specifically the male employee and Edy--handled this situation, we will not be returning to this office. As a family visiting for the first time, we had valid concerns and questions about a procedure for our young child. We did not appreciate the dismissive attitude, the rude tone, or the misleading voicemail and text.
As the first point of contact for patients, the front desk staff should be kind, patient, and professional. I wish I could let Dr. Golestani know directly about how we were treated because this experience does not reflect well on the office overall.
