Dental TLC

Reviews 3

BE

Becks Brown

I called the afternoon before my appointment, and without begging or selling my firstborn, I was able to get an appointment the very next morning! Which happened to be the ONLY day I was able to go-- Right from the start, it was serendipity, I tell you! As I had just gone to another, horrible, hateful dentist (north ga smiles) the week before, I was only cautiously optimistic, however. Thankfully, my fears were for once unfounded! From the second I walked it, it was a wonderful experience-- The place didnt even SMELL like a dentists in the lobby! Youre greeted by a bright, pleasant staff, 2 internet enabled computers to play on whilst waiting, and a very calm atmosphere. One of the things that I much appreciated was that, while Dental TLC takes patients of ALL ages, it was not Kiddie Central. My name was called in only a few short minutes (just long enough for me to go into the restroom and brush my teeth--score!) and I was led back into a small but nicely setup room with two tvs and headphones. Not my thing (I like control and knowing exactly whats about to go down or I get extremely nervous) but Im sure many others vastly appreciate the effort there, so I wanted to mention that. I had already gotten a panoramic x-ray at the first, horrible dentist, so they did not take another, but took bite wing x-rays with the hand machine very gently and fast! I saw only two people my entire visit once I was in the room-- the dental assistant and the dentist, which was great-- not an abundance of hands in the mouth, so to speak ;) Dr. Patel came in very quickly and me OPTIONS, and was so open and fantastic about everything that I was immediately at ease; instead of insisting, like the prior dentist, that my chipped baby molar (I have 2 congenitally missing permanent molars that have baby teeth hanging on for dear life) just needed to be immediately pulled and a $5000 implant put in its place, she said that if anything, there was no reason it couldnt be crowned if need be until I switched dental insurance in January, but in the end, she took a look (and photographed it with this snazzy dental camera!) and said there was no reason it couldnt be simply fixed with dental filling. Despite not being a part of the original appointment, Dr. Patel worked me in to have that done, with sedation, that SAME day! I could have even done IV sedation, if I felt I needed it, but opted for oral sedation instead because I felt comfortable enough with the office. Unfortunately, because I had eaten breakfast, the doctor in charge of sedation said he did not want me heavily sedated; however, they do offer free nitrous oxide and valium, so I was given both of those and they waited until I was completely off in lala land before starting, so it was excellent experience, even if I was more aware than I wanted to be! The only thing I would suggest is that the front staff needs to tell people NOT to eat if they suspect theyll need sedation, as I was not told this, but fully understand the reasoning. Again, it was an extremely pleasant experience! Dr. Patel went so far as to check my bite twice after the filling to make certain it was correct, something that, in 21 years on this earth, have NEVER had a dentist bother doing! As that was something I was secretly concerned about after having my bite completely out of wack after dental work in the past, I was extremely impressed, especially when I woke up today with a PERFECT bite, no issues at all! And most of you know that your teeth feel funny for a solid week after the dentist. Dr. Patel is amazing, and the assistant (I forget her name, unfortunately, but she is the skinny black girl with braces) was five stars as well.

RA

Randy Borden

Your Previous Reviews 2.0 star rating8/14/2014 Edit » Has been my dentist since my last dentist died, over 15 years. Loved him. Dr. Abbott has been so generous, albeit, quirky, to me and my family and we all actually looked forward to going to his office. I shared many of my adventures at Dental TLC with friends and many made appointments to see him On my last visit for a cleaning, about 5 months ago, everything seems to have changed. I am told that he no longer is seeing patients except in special circumstances. Well, I guess I am no longer special. My favorite hygienist has retired and although he promised to keep an eye on 2 angry looking areas, he no longer sees me. Dr. Abbott knows that I have been with a periodontist for 20 + years and he told me that if the two situations became worse, he would have me see his periodontist. The very nice young lady who cleaned (semi cleaned) my teeth had an issue with one of the problem areas and asked Dr. Abbotts periodontist to step in for just a minute to see what had happened. She said she could not, was too busy and to make a new appointment. I live 90 miles away, have something that seems urgent and cannot get an appointment until the next week. I came back, had a 10 minute consultation, was charged $125.00 and told to see the insurance office person about cost. I did that and she submitted the procedure to my insurance company. They said it could take up to a month and a half. My insurance company sent me the details for their coverage but requested more information. I emailed the information from my insurance company to TLC for resubmission. When I did not hear from them in another month, I called to find that it had not been resubmitted. I spoke with a very nice team member named Christina and she resubmitted but said it might be another 10 days. So, we made an appointment for 4 days after the 10 days it should take. I called her on the 10th day and said that we would need to push the appointment out. Now this has been going on for about 3 months and my gums are getting worse. Christina called me back and showed great compassion, asked why I wanted to cancel both mine and my husbands upcoming appointments and genuinely wanted me to be frank with her. It wasnt until I said the words out loud that I realized that I was about to have a procedure done to me by someone that felt no since of urgency for my mouth or me. Christina thought she had a solution for me but I am afraid it is too little too late. Dr. Abbott used to run a tight but fun ship. With this experience and the legal problems at TLC in the last couple of years, that ship may not be running as tightly as it once was when it felt like he truly was at the helm. Something is lost here and I am very sad. Now back with my former periodontist whom I never should have left and have to find a new dentist. As in many of the negative reviews, this has nothing to do with 3rd party insurance. I love the laughing gas like everyone else but that doesnt seem to be enough to keep me from feeling abandoned and let down.

3

3

Went there about a year and a half ago for a crown. They advertise (on billboards) an initial appointment special and I dont have insurance, so since I pay out of pocket, I went there to try them. Crown preparation took longer than Ive ever had at other dentists. They drilled and drilled to prepare my tooth for a crown... Thank god I made them wait and let the anesthetic shot kick in good, or the experience would have been even worse. The assistants who were putting on the temporary were nice enough but inexperienced, so that made the process take even longer. When I got home, lumps of temporary crown "glue" that hadnt been removed by the assistant fell out of my mouth for the next few days. The real trouble, however, was when the anesthetic from the procedure wore off. I suspected it would be painful, because of the time taken, but had no idea! Needless to say, I was popping plenty of Advil and Aleve to get me through. When I returned for the permanent crown I was asked if I wanted to get a numbing shot before the temporary crown was replaced with the permanent. Stupidly I said no. It had been over 12 years since I had a crown put on and I remembered it as being no big deal. Now I know why. Because I had always been numbed before the temporary was removed! If you have to get a crown, DONT EVER LET THEM PUT THE PERMANENT ON WITHOUT NUMBING YOU FIRST! Dentists! Confidently tell your patients they need to be numbed! Better yet, just do it. The dentist who did my procedure said, "Good", when I tentatively told him I didnt want a numbing shot. So, when my temporary crown was removed, my nerves were exposed, and I felt pain like Ive never felt before at the dentist! I started sweating... so much so that later my clothes were soaked as if I had taken a shower in them... and during the procedure I felt like I was going to pass out! Even the assistant remarked that my forehead was covered in sweat. All I wanted in that moment was for the dentist to put the permanent on, and when he did it felt a lot better. My permanent crown was replacing a molar. It looked small, and I said so to the dentist. He disagreed, but to this day it feels small and doesnt look like it matches my other back teeth. Im just glad it is at least functional and tooth colored. I just recently visited another dentist, and without any prompting from me, they told me that the crown WAS small, and the color didnt match the color of my other teeth! Anyway, I will never return to this business. I truly hope my experience and my review helps anyone reading this, Dental TLC, and any other dentists who may read this.