Note the date: this is August 2022. I've been going to WCD for about 15 years and thought the world of Dr. Craig Wright. Sadly, he retired over a year ago. But I still had faith in the practice and his high standards and went back last week when a crown came off. Dr. Wright had predicted about four years ago that eventually I'd need an implant in that spot, and that day had come.
I had a horrible experience. The practice is not the same, and I will never go back to Windcrest.
The young dentist I saw, Dr. Lima, took an x-ray and as we both looked at it, he said I'd need some bone grafting due to bone loss, and that after he pulled the tooth, it would take four months to heal before he could put in the implant device. Then THAT would take another four months to heal before he could put the artificial tooth on top of that. It's now August 2022... so I'd be done by Fiesta Week of 2023??? WHAAA?
Still, I was ready to go ahead. Dr. Wright had done an implant about six years ago, and I knew it took several months, although I didn't remember it being THAT long. Dr. Lima gave me a couple of shots to numb my mouth. After a while he checked, but we decided I could use one more. That was when the visit went south! That third shot went right into a nerve. I yelped and as soon as he pulled the needle out, I broke into uncontrollable sobs. It hurt! The pain was so intense, sudden, and shocking that I couldn't stop myself from sobbing. It was like slamming your hand in a car door. I made a point of crying as quietly as I could so I wouldn't scare the other patients-- but holy cow! I was stunned and shaken. That has never happened to me at the dentist before and I'm an old lady with a mouth full of dental work. I cried for about 10 solid minutes.
When he came back in FORTY MINUTES later, needless to say, my mouth was totally numb. I said, let's get this done. Then he started waffling and backtracking, telling me that he might have to give me another shot, and then I'd have this long four-month healing period, and then there would be more shots when I came back for the rest of the procedure, blahblahblah-- basically he was undermining my confidence and talking me out of having the implant done. I think my crying scared the pants off him! I'm pretty sure in his short career he'd probably never seen a reaction like mine from an adult. Certainly not an adult older than his mom (or possibly his grandmom).
I was beside myself-- annoyed, angry, shaky, anxious-- and had lost any confidence I might have had in him and, frankly, in the Windcrest practice. Sorry to say, but there you have it. There are probably some good, competent dentists at Windcrest, but I didn't get one of those. I walked out. Full disclosure: I left in a huff but did not indulge in any name-calling or cursing.
I did call the office the next day to pay for the x-ray-- I'm not a deadbeat. At no time had we discussed price. My previous implant had been $3,900, so I knew it would be a lot, but they should have quoted me a price before any x-rays or shots. I don't have insurance and would be paying out of pocket.
Today I saw an implant specialist who has 40+ years of experience, and he filled me with confidence. He took a panoramic x-ray and said my bone looks good and I wouldn't need any grafting. He said the whole process from tooth extraction, placing of the implant, healing, and final attachment of the fake tooth would be TWO MONTHS. His office quoted me the entire price of $3,700 up front, and I will go back to begin the procedure next week. THAT'S how you run a dental office.
Moral of the story: There's no substitute for competence and experience.
BTW, don't bother following the web link on this page; WCD does not currently have a website. They did in the past, but right now it's "in process" -- I called the office when I couldn't find them on a google search and that's what they told me. read more
