Liberty Station Orthodontics

Reviews 4

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Alexis MacMillan

Sunset Cliff Ortho was recommended to both my husband and I years ago from separate doctors and for separate reasons. Small world? Not really. Drs. McLaughlin and Upatham are just that good. Almost 2 years ago, I found out that I had bad joints and needed double jaw surgery for my overbite. I live in San Diego but my surgeon, Dr. Michael Gunson, is based in Santa Barbara. He and his partner, Dr. Arnett, are top of their field. I figured that if youre going to have your face reconstructed, you should be in the best hands. Theyve worked closely with Drs. McLaughlin and Upatham on patients for years and recommended that I do the orthodontic side of the surgery with them; moreover, Drs. McLaughlin and Upatham parallel the surgeons in their expertise. It was a no-brainer. I got my braces on about a year and a half ago, had the surgery 7 months ago and got the braces off last week (best. day. ever.). Its been a long journey that isnt over yet but everything has gone SO smoothly and thats due to the detailed attention Ive gotten from these three phenomenal doctors and their staff. Ive been to countless offices that just want to churn through patients. Its rare to find doctors that truly take the time to talk to you, know your case, communicate with other doctors and--most importantly--care. They care about their patients and it shows in their work. Even when every seat in the office is full and the doctors are swamped, when they come to your chair, they take their time to focus on YOU and are never flustered or rush. Surgery and orthodontics aside, as an office, Sunset Cliffs Ortho is like a well-oiled machine. Ive never waited more than 5-minutes for an appointment (and, as a jaw surgery patient, Ive had a lot of appointments). From the receptionists (thank you Lindsay for your perpetual patience) to the orthodontic assistants (rock stars), the entire staff is professional, gentle, super friendly and genuinely cares about the patients. Im on a first name basis with everyone and look forward to coming in; not because I enjoy dental work (ha!), but because its a happy, comfortable environment. When you go through something as extreme as jaw surgery, having an orthodontic team that you can count on means everything. I continually tell my surgeon and Drs. McLaughlin and Upatham that theyre the "dream team," and they laugh, but I mean it from the bottom of my heart. Without such phenomenal doctors, I wouldnt have had this success. Drs. McLaughlin and Upatham are world-class and Ill forever be grateful for what theyve done for me.

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A Private User

Our family has been seeing Dr. McLaughlin and Dr. Upatham for 10+ years now -- through 4 separate, non-overlapping sets of braces (the last one Invisalign for me). There are several well-respected orthodontists much closer to us in La Jolla, but I would travel an hour to see these guys if I had to. I have a serious phobia about dental work (and extremely sensitive teeth), sometimes requiring mild sedation for a cleaning, but Dr. Upatham has made it possible for me to relax and get my orthodontic work done without nitrous or anything else. Whenever he needs to do something requiring loud equipment, he talks me through it and hes really sensitive to my anxiety. Hes calm, positive and the consummate professional, and hes been able to do things with Invisalign that are supposed to be impossible (closing a huge gap). I love Dr. McLaughlin just as much. My older son (when he hit puberty) started developing an unusually severe underbite and his appointments were sometimes scheduled to coincide (always with my permission) with seminars that Dr. McLaughlin was teaching. My son was made to feel special and in observing McLaughlin with these other orthodontists, I felt confident that my son was getting the best possible care. Additionally, my college junior sons girlfriend is now seeing the office to correct orthodontic work done another San Diego orthodontic office! My son and his girlfriend are going to school in Colorado, but were referred back to McLaughlins office, because McLaughlin has an excellent reputation that extends well beyond San Diego. I love these guys -- not just the doctors but the whole staff, from the front desk, to Merry in finance, to the clinical team. The appointments are well-scheduled so you never wait long and the check-in is fast. The office and clinical staff are friendly and professional, and great with kids. The office is always sparkling clean and busy, but I never feel rushed or that my concerns arent addressed. I was a little shocked when I read that other review because thats not my experience at all. My kids were encouraged to take responsibility, but never made to feel guilty. Any time they had a broken bracket or loose wire, Lindsay or Amanda fit us in immediately. They are very conscious of their clients time and the schedule, so the times that Ive been late, I have felt guilty, but no one has EVER said anything negative or rude to me. And Ive been late more times than I care to remember.

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Natalie Parun

My daughters experience and mine at your office was a positive one. I felt that my questions were always answered if I had any and everyone was friendly.She particularly liked Krystle because she was nice and gave her the time to ask questions and talk. We had originally gone to another orthodontist when my daughter was eight or so and they wanted to put spacers in her mouth right away before her permanent teeth were even in her mouth. I am so glad that we waited. I liked the attitude of the front desk staff and her appointments were always completed in a timely fashion. This was much appreciated when youre driving across town and trying to fit appointments in between work and school. I had one surprise over the course of the last eleven months which was I was never made aware that my daughter would be seeing Dr Upatham more than Dr Mc Laughlin when we had originally signed up with Dr Mc Laughlin. I had nothing against Dr Upatham but I had never met him when we started, I would recommend this office to other people. My only negative comment is that I dont think it is necessary to hand out candy and gum when the process is over. That just gives kids the permission to eat sweets and chew gum. To me that is a big no-no! Why not just hand out popcorn or even just a small gift card if youd prefer? Thank you for the great work!

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A Private User

Who knew that teeth could be so satisfying. I had congenital deformities that caused me to have a serious open bite and slight under bite. The open bite allowed only my very back molars to touch when biting down. My dentist, Dr. Edward K. Holly (an excellent dentist BTW) referred my family to Dr. McLaughlin. After watching him work on my kids for several years I finally decided to pull the trigger at 40. My case was definitely not the average case. To make it short and sweet, I had upper and lower jaw surgery (Dr. Beaty, also excellent oral surgeon and referred by Dr. McLaughlin and Upatham) accompanied by 18-20 months of braces and teeth rearrangement. Perfection is what is strived for and you feel the passion for what they do when you are there. Also, everyone, and I mean everyone, is super friendly. They are also very good about payment plans, which is nice when you have multiple kids going through it at the same time as you. Bottom line...there is no way you can find a more professional well trained orthodontists in San Diego. Both Dr. McLaughlin and Dr. Upatham are extremely communicative, explaining exactly what is going on during the entire process. Highly recommended and a must visit when choosing an orthodontist.

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