Dentist dilemma
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davis_squareI just had a pretty bad experience at Dental Arts and need to decide whether to go back to get the damage fixed or go elsewhere and spin the wheel of fortune.
I've been a patient there for a while. I had a few fillings done, a crown put in, checkups, etc. There have been some signs of problems, though. The crown sat way too high, so they had to grind it down to nearly flat (so what was the point of taking a mold of my bite?) and I can feel the bottom of it with my tongue. And at my most recent checkup, it *hurt* when the hygienist was doing her inspection and cleaning, like she was stabbing me repeatedly with a needle. But I didn't say anything.
Most recently I came in to get an amalgam filling replaced (it was pulling away from the tooth) and a cavity filled on a nearby tooth. It was deeply unpleasant.
- The dentist (Dr. Idrizi?) was very rushed. I kept hearing her and someone else talk about needing to hurry, and I could tell she was hurrying and impatient.
- The assistant was clumsy and kept stabbing my tongue and the floor of my mouth with the suction tube and hurting my lips by pressing them against my teeth.
- The dentist kept sniping at the assistant for being clumsy or doing the wrong thing. I felt bad for the assistant and I didn't want someone irritated in my mouth either.
- The bite on those teeth is now out of alignment, there are two places with sharp edges, and there are big rough patches and places the floss catches. I think she didn't clean up her work.
- I didn't have a chance to speak to the dentist or the assistant about any of this because they rushed out of the room and left someone else to send me out the door.
I called and spoke to the manager afterwards, and she offered to have Dr. Dobrin, who I saw some years ago, fix whatever is wrong and do my remaining filling work. I declined, but now I'm unsure. After all, he's something of a known quantity, whereas if I go elsewhere, well... dentists are of pretty variable quality. Also I'd have to have *two* appointments at the new place, the first one being an intake and comprehensive exam. I'm had a lot of doctor appointments recently and I'm getting sick of it.
I guess my question is: How wrong is it to conflate the individual dentist with the practice?
I've been a patient there for a while. I had a few fillings done, a crown put in, checkups, etc. There have been some signs of problems, though. The crown sat way too high, so they had to grind it down to nearly flat (so what was the point of taking a mold of my bite?) and I can feel the bottom of it with my tongue. And at my most recent checkup, it *hurt* when the hygienist was doing her inspection and cleaning, like she was stabbing me repeatedly with a needle. But I didn't say anything.
Most recently I came in to get an amalgam filling replaced (it was pulling away from the tooth) and a cavity filled on a nearby tooth. It was deeply unpleasant.
- The dentist (Dr. Idrizi?) was very rushed. I kept hearing her and someone else talk about needing to hurry, and I could tell she was hurrying and impatient.
- The assistant was clumsy and kept stabbing my tongue and the floor of my mouth with the suction tube and hurting my lips by pressing them against my teeth.
- The dentist kept sniping at the assistant for being clumsy or doing the wrong thing. I felt bad for the assistant and I didn't want someone irritated in my mouth either.
- The bite on those teeth is now out of alignment, there are two places with sharp edges, and there are big rough patches and places the floss catches. I think she didn't clean up her work.
- I didn't have a chance to speak to the dentist or the assistant about any of this because they rushed out of the room and left someone else to send me out the door.
I called and spoke to the manager afterwards, and she offered to have Dr. Dobrin, who I saw some years ago, fix whatever is wrong and do my remaining filling work. I declined, but now I'm unsure. After all, he's something of a known quantity, whereas if I go elsewhere, well... dentists are of pretty variable quality. Also I'd have to have *two* appointments at the new place, the first one being an intake and comprehensive exam. I'm had a lot of doctor appointments recently and I'm getting sick of it.
I guess my question is: How wrong is it to conflate the individual dentist with the practice?
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no subject
Date: 2017-04-04 06:28 am (UTC)Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in FAQ (https://www.dreamwidth.org/support/faqbrowse?faqid=303).
no subject
Date: 2017-04-04 04:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-04-04 05:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-04-04 11:45 am (UTC)It was only around the end of the post that it really crystallized for me that maybe the practice sucks overall but one dentist there is good -- so it's really good to know that.
(I wonder if it's possible to request a specific hygienist or assistant too...)
no subject
Date: 2017-04-16 10:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-04-04 03:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-04-04 03:46 pm (UTC)If you need another dentist, I would recommend Dr. Lapidus at Belmont Dental on Concord Ave just over the border from Fresh Pond.
no subject
Date: 2017-04-04 06:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-04-04 08:23 pm (UTC)I think the lesson here is that if a dentist is in a bad mood, they're going to take it out on your teeth.
I go to Francis Bane these days and have had nothing but great experiences.
no subject
Date: 2017-04-04 09:38 pm (UTC)I didn't really get that the dentist was in a hurry until things were well underway, and I don't think I would have felt empowered to say "hold up, just cap off whatever you're doing right now and let's do this tomorrow" -- or if that's even a plausible thing to do. (Plus I had some horrible rubber wedge thing holding my mouth open.)
no subject
Date: 2017-04-05 12:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-04-05 12:27 am (UTC)Dental Arts
Date: 2017-04-05 01:17 am (UTC)