Dennis A Prat, DDS – The Dental Touch

Dr. Prat is an absolute delight. I feel like he really cares about me and my families health. I definitely recommend him to others.

Dr. Prat and his team are the best dental practice I’ve ever been to. They toughed it out for a number of years through office renovations that would have driven most people to distraction, but were always friendly, accessible, and accommodating. They have chased my insurance company down like bounty hunters when the insurers tried to reject claims, revised ill-​fitting crowns multiple times to make sure I had a comfortable and hygenic fit (for free), and helped me make informed decisions about whether or not work needed to be done now or in the future (e.g. when I had a fresh year’s benefits or a new pot of HSA money to work with, rather than having to pay out of pocket if work could safely be postponed.) I pay a little higher co-​pay with my insurance because of the «tier» they’re in but they’re worth it. They also took good emergency care of a friend of mine who developed an abscess the day he was scheduled for long-​awaited outpatient surgery, and was both in pain and worried about having to postpone the procedure. They squeezed him in and gave him a diagnosis, a treatment plan, and medication that allowed the surgery to go forward, then gave him great care when he came back a week later for the root canal.

Dr. Prat was my dentist for nearly 3 years, but I left because:
1) Prioritization of treatment changed from visit to visit.
2) The pressure to do large amounts of expensive work was driving me crazy. The practice is run primarily for profit, with little or no consideration for cost-​effective patient care.
3) Dr. Prat’s qualifications are not the usual ones for the work he performs.
4) He uses X-​rays far more than any other dentist I’ve ever seen. Despite that, he missed or ignored major problems, one of which he caused.
Expanding on the first two items: With my encouragement, Dr. Prat prepared a (very expensive) treatment plan. I quickly realized that his idea was to do everything on it, as soon as possible. I told him I would cherry-​pick, in order of importance. The order of importance changed every time I asked him. As a result, I ended up having a very costly multiple crown and implant procedure which was remedial work, caused by an an unnecessary extraction performed 45 years earlier, and could have waited at least a couple of years more. In the meantime he ignored a problem with another tooth, which he eventually extracted, after initially telling me it could be saved. Also, he did my initial oral exams himself, and told me my gums were fine, which surprised me, because I have minor hereditary gum problems. My last exam was done by a technician, who told me that my gums were not in good shape, and needed root planing (deep cleaning, under anesthetic). I believe she was right. Could it be that there isn’t enough profit in root planing?
Re: Dr. Prat’s qualifications. He practices, or will tell you that he practices, periodontics, endodontics and oral surgery, but unlike other specialists, he is not a member of either the American Academy of Periodontology, American Association of Endodontists or the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons.
Enough reasons to quit? I think so.

these guys will squeeze every last dime out of your pocket– beware!

I am not sure on how to rate a dentist. Calling up and seeing him on a Saturday morning 5 Stars. He was pleasant enough. We were shocked though at the price to replace a porcelain cap. $ 2800.00 My wife had this done in Brazil 8 years ago for basically 100.00. It included a root canal. We were charged 75.00 for the office call and 25.00 for a x-​ray and a prescription for antibiotics. WOW is this how much the profession milk us now??? The service was very satisfactory. I am just miffed about the cost.
Attention: The actual Doctor was Mustafa «Michael» Wak.

Well, let’s see:
1. The dentist took personal calls during my cleaning.
2. I wasn’t asked if it was okay for an INTERN to work on me.
3. The dental chair looked like someone had picked it up from Goodwill.