I haven't seen a dentist in quite a while except to have a cracked tooth extracted last year. As I am going back into a new job market after staying home with children, I am anxious to look my best and have that lost tooth replaced. I looked at cosmetic dentists online, made some choices, and had some informational interviews with a few dentists, including Dr. Le.
Dr. Le went a few steps further in that she was personally willing to listen to my emotional and financial concerns. She took photos of my teeth with a little tiny instrument smaller than a toothbrush and was able to show me the results immediately on her chairside computer screen. She examined each tooth and dictated info to Jackie, her dental assistant. With my permission and cost knowledge she took xrays. She then sat with me with those three pieces of information and worked up a best-case scenario for what I probably needed and wanted, including the price of each and the total.
We talked about options, length of treatment, payments--there is even an option for patients to pay on a monthly set fee with no finance charges. Fortunately, I am in a position now to pay as I go, but I know many people who are not, and in fact I have not visited a dentist in years because I am uninsured.
I noticed one of the reviewers here on YELP said the office staff was incompetent. When I first went in, there was a receptionist who was clearly not happy being there. The next time I went in to talk with Dr. Le, there was a new receptionist, Nancy, who is clearly happy to be helping anybody who walks in the door. She is very competent, cheerful and friendly.
In any case, regardless of staffing concerns, it's the dentist herself who is going to make it or break it. Dr. Le is very gentle and soft in your mouth. She is always asking if I'm OK, always asking to know if something is hurting. I've never been afraid of dental work, but I appreciate her always asking me and informing me as to what's going on as she's working.
And my teeth!! I cannot tell you what a difference it has made in my life to have my beautiful teeth back again! Over the last 20 years my teeth have gradually been reduced to huge silver feelings, brown discolorations that the regular dentist would not touch, and the worst of all--losing a tooth where it shows, knowing I could not afford to replace it until I went back to work and had insurance. Let me tell you how I can't go to a professional job interview with a tooth missing! And guess what? Insurance won't pay for that anyway....
My mouth is half done as I write this. All silver fillings replaced with white, a few crowns, a little bit of whitening, a one-tooth temporary denture (kind of like a retainer without the wire) so I don't have to walk around with a black hole in my mouth. Temporary because I will have the implant when Dr. Le is finished making my mouth perfect.
I am so happy and relieved to have normal-looking teeth again that I started going back to the gym and my exercise program that I dropped out of about a year ago. I am so upbeat that I went out and bought myself some really flattering clothes and shoes. I am so proud to feel like my old self with my beautiful smile that I bought a sportscar two weeks ago. (OK, it's 10 years old, but so what.)
Can you really get all that at the dentist office? Yes I did!! My personal, physical self image has changed back to what it used to be when I was younger and still had great-looking teeth. I cannot emphasize enough how Dr. Le's expertise has given me a new confidence and allowed me to regain my former energies.
Stay tuned for the conclusion of the story! read more
