Coast Dental – Cascade

I previously rated this office with 5 stars and now, unfortunately, I have to change that. I wanted this to be my dentist office for the long run, because I hate jumping from place to place, but I had to request a change with my dental insurance this morning (I can’t wait to get rid of this HMO dental insurance– it sucks having to wait on the ins company to switch your general dentist and for everything else you have to have a referral from the general dentist to go elsewhere).
Ok, so first things first– the positive: The staff are very nice and helpful. I never had an issue scheduling an appt. and they have always been friendly during my visits. I even called to attempt to move my appt to an earlier time and while they didn’t have availability at that moment, they called me back when they had a cancellation to check if I wanted to move to that time. As stated in my initial review, the Endodontist here was good from that one time that I had to see her. The dental hygienist was good too based on one cleaning that I got here. Those are the reasons that I went ahead and gave this place 2 generous stars.
When I went for my initial visit with the General Dentist– Dr. Wash, I only went for the basic exam to make sure everything was good after getting my braces removed. I have nothing negative to say about that visit but also nothing great to say either, as it was the typical full x-​ray/​exam type of visit. After that I made an appointment for my cleaning– which went well. And I also made an appt. for my crown which I have needed for years from a root canal done when I was 19– never had any issues with that tooth after getting the «temporary» buildup (that never chipped) so I just never got the crown. I eventually cancelled the crown appt. here, honestly, because I didn’t have the best feeling about getting it done here after meeting the new general dentist (Dr. Wash is no longer at this location). And now I am glad I did cancel that appointment.
Fast forward to today– I went for an issue that didn’t seem to appear until after my initial visit here with the General Dentist– Dr. Wash– but it could have very well been there when I got my braces removed– I just didn’t notice. Although I feel as though I would have noticed it right away because I was all up in my mouth looking at my teeth everyday when my braces were removed. I even spoke with the dental hygienist about it and she did a temporary fix during the cleaning. Nevertheless, I did research– a lot of research– and scheduled me an appointment with this new general dentist– Dr. Gordon-​Willis. I was told by the dentist that there is nothing that can be done other than drilling a hole in my tooth (basically creating a cavity) and then filling it. Sooo, why would I want to create a cavity that doesn’t exist? Of course, I said no to that option. And according to the dentist, that is the ONLY option I have. There is absolutely nothing else that can be done. So I have researched this, and it’s not an isolated issue– I guess its fairly common looking at various dentists websites (whom my current insurance doesn’t cover). I also asked if there is any kind of instrument I could use other than a regular toothbrush. Her response was no– it’s just something I’d have to live with if I don’t want to go the drilling and filling route. Ok. And I’d have to live with it, when there are a couple of options out there for similar issues. Of course, she is the dental professional, with way more knowledge than me– but to tell me that my only option is living with it or creating a cavity… that just sounds crazy to me. She also told me that bleaching my teeth could be the cause and when I said that it existed prior to whitening, she just said no more bleaching. So, if its possible that whitening can worsen it– WHY the heck was I provided a whitening kit during my last visit for a cleaning– after speaking the hygienist about it… AND even telling Dr. Wash that I wanted to do whitening and she didn’t object. So, of course I am switching and have no plans to return here. I will also be getting rid of HMO dental so that I can have more options than just the chain dentists.
I guess when you get a gut feeling to go with that because upon first meeting this dentist it was something that I didn’t like. Her vibe just didn’t sit well with me and I started to go ahead and switch to a different dentist then but I thought «I’m just tripping– let me give her a chance. Welp, she had that chance… and aside from her «consultation» the negative vibe was still there. If your insurance allows, just go somewhere else– preferably a non-​chain dentist. I previously heard about chains «creating issues» just so they will have more issues to treat– meaning more money… so I almost feel like maybe that’s the case with me since my teeth were perfectly okay the days after getting my braces off– before my initial exam here.

I first started going to Coast Dental in the Winter of 2010 because an acquaintance of mine was a dentist there at the time. She left a month later because she opened her own practice. In comes in another dentist-​at the time I didn’t know that Coast dental rotated their dentists around from location to location. The next dentist was considered one of the best in the field in Atlanta but he was really cocky. He slightly got upset with me because I didn’t go to the endodontist he referred me to. I’m sorry I’m going to go to who takes my insurance. He scared me away from here for a while.
Fast forward to 2013– Dr. Wash and her staff are excellent. She is the first dentist to actually explain to me the reason why I need braces beside the fact that my teeth are crooked. She is very patient. If she has to leave this Coast location I will definitely follow her.
#yelp100