One of the most desirable aspects of living in Silver Lake is the community aspect. Even as gentrification forces mom and pop businesses out of their storefronts, this is still a neighborhood, and small business still flourishes. I was reminded of this today when I visited Dr. Suren Chtchyan for the first time.
Some background: I have / had a dentist that I love, but they are about 30 minutes away from me. This made scheduling appointments hard. The last time I saw the dentist, they told me that I had a cavity in one of my wisdom teeth and that I should have the tooth extracted.
This was about a year ago. I hadn't quite made time for the extraction, and the oral surgeon my dentist recommended is expensive and almost as far away. And the reason I still had any wisdom teeth at all was that this particular surgeon advised against pulling one side and just pulled the other four years ago, thus creating additional hassle and expense.
Factor in my travel schedule, the fact that I would need to take a day away from my busy life, get someone to drive me home, recovery time. Ugh. I wasn't feeling good about this situation at all. And when I asked my dental insurance to recommend a closer option, they sent me a spreadsheet with hundreds of doctors on it, leaving me and Google to fend for ourselves.
So I turned to Yelp. And there I discovered that there was a highly reviewed DDS / MD close to my house. Very close to my house. Like, three minutes walking slow from my house. Where could this place possibly be?
I realized that Dr. Chtchyan's office was in the mini-mall on Sunset and Lucille. I had seen the small, nondescript space over the 18 years I've lived in Silver Lake but never given it a second thought.
I called the office and dealt with Marsha, who was quite charming and immediately made time for me and set up an appointment the following day. She also came through with a quote for the extraction that was -- get ready -- less than 25% of what I had previously paid.
I showed up at 9am and was in the chair by 9:10. The office is bare bones, but very clean. Marsha flew through my digital X-rays and Dr. C came in to take a look.
He was incredibly honest: 'I have extensive training in oral surgery. I love pulling wisdom teeth. Yours do not need extraction. We can monitor the cavities for now and fill them if needed.'
Um, yay?!
He pulled up another set of X-rays to show me what wisdom teeth that need extracting look like. And we agreed that it would be a good idea to have a cleaning. 'But you don't need a deep cleaning,' Dr. C said, continuing the trend towards honest dentistry.
They were able to get me back in for a cleaning an hour later -- just enough time to walk home and eat breakfast. And to my surprise, Dr. C himself did the cleaning. How often does that happen?
Overall, everything in Dr. C's office happens quickly and efficiently, and my teeth feel amazing. I had zero pain during the cleaning, and Dr. C and his assistant have their routine down incredibly well. They made sure I knew how to let them know if I needed to spit or wanted a break, and there was not one wasted moment. Completely professional.
Overall, the experience was exceedingly positive and put an upbeat spin on my entire day. While the office is short on flashy interior design, I'll take quality, honest dental care any day.
Dr. Suren Chtchyan has my highest recommendation. Especially so if you are local to Silver Lake or Echo Park. While many dentists seem to play to social media these days, I find it very refreshing that I have found a dental office that is more concerned with quality dental care. read more