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| - I recently moved to the area and needed to find a new dental office. Before the move, I regularly went (14 years!) for my 6 month cleanings to an amazing small office in the suburbs of Chicago, got all my other dental work there, and was generally a very happy camper when it came to my teeth.
Cue the move. Now I needed a new dentist. Norterra Dental is very close to my home, so I booked an appointment when I was due for another cleaning. I expected to be there for about an hour.
The office staff is really nice, as is the space itself: super high tech and everything is new. As a new patient, I got the whole battery of x-rays and pictures. It took a lot longer than I was expecting, but about 20 minutes after I arrived I was seated in the exam chair and received the exam that checks how deep the pockets are around your teeth. The lady (very nice!) examining my teeth took the measurements and gave me some bad news: some of the measurements showed an infection in my gums. I was shocked. Even worse, the bone around my teeth was eroding. I was told I needed a special cleaning, preferably using lasers, to clean the area out and prevent any further damage. I was pretty shaken by this, since my old dentist had never informed me of these problems. I was then left alone for about 20 minutes. One of the receptionists came in during this time and informed me that the special deep cleaning would be $160 with my insurance, not free since it wasn't preventive. With the state of my teeth, I'd need to get this cleaning ever 3 months. Feeling like my mouth was about to rot, I consented to the cleaning. Since this was a new addition to the schedule, I waited for another 30 minutes. The very nice lady came in again and cleaned my teeth, then cut me a deal: the laser treatment I needed was $50 per tooth, and I needed to get 6 teeth done, but she would to the worst four and give me a lower price of $75 for the whole thing. Why not...... I have now been at the office for 2 hours and my bill, originally $0 for a preventive cleaning, was now up to $225. But OK, my teeth would be saved. After my cleaning, I was visited by the dentist (also very nice!) who gave me more bad news: one of my teeth probably has a broken root. My option was to get a free consultation with a specialist, which the office could schedule, but likely, I'd need to pull the tooth and get an implant ($3-4K) or a bridge. i questioned his finding, but was told there was definitely an issue. I left the office 3 hours after I got there feeling really discouraged about the state of my teeth, but happy that I was on the right direction to a healthy mouth. I scheduled the consultation with the specialist, as well as another deep cleaning in 3 months.
Cut to today. Ever since my appointment a week ago, I had been wondering why my original dentist never caught all these issues. Were they even issues to begin with? I called and asked about my previous records. My old dentist, wonderful as he is, was able to talk with me about them. Turns out, what looked like a cracked root was present on every single one of my x-rays dating back 10 years. He had been keeping an eye on it and it has never caused me any issues... therefore, I do not need to do anything about it, and I certainly do not need to get it pulled. The pockets around some of my teeth, which I was told meant that an infection was raging in my gums, had also been stable for years. They were not even deep enough yet to warrant intervention, certainly not special deep cleanings every 3 months. He reminded me of this: my teeth haven't bothered me in years, I floss and rinse daily, my gums never bleed, and I generally have no other problems. I felt like a fool for paying all that money. He advised me to not go back to Norterra.
My verdict on the office is this: They mean well, but also have a high overhead and will try to squeeze money of of you in any way possible. If you go, get a second opinion on every procedure they recommend, you probably don't need it. I will cancel the appointments I have made there. That part does make me a little sad, since I really liked the staff, but I now feel like I can't trust their advice.
My search for a dentist begins again....
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