Alexandra S. George, DDS LVIF

I have an irrational fear of dentists. As a child I had a butcher of a dentist who caused me a lot of pain, and so I know the feeling of having a tooth drilled without numbing, and a variety of other negative dental experiences. I guess in that sense my fear is not all that irrational.
Because of this, I require dentists who are both skilled, and gentle. One or the other is not enough. Dr. Alexandra George and her staff are both, and I seriously can not rate or praise them highly enough. I explained that I was nervous and had bad experiences in the past, and was treated professionally, sensitively, and awesomely.
The first part of going to the dentist is being nervous and anxious about the experience because you know it’s going to be awful. Dr. George has a comfortable, quiet, clean, well-​designed office which helps to put you at ease from the time you walk through the door. There is a little fountain on one wall which is soothing, and the lighting is non-​clinical. It’s like somebody hired a feng-​shui master to come in and set the place up, and it really does help. That’s a minor detail though. To continue to keep me at ease, communication was frequent, open, and completely transparent. I didn’t have to wonder what was being stuck in my mouth at any given time or why, or what they were observing or working on. This level of communication helps build trust, and made me feel like I was part of the decision making process and the team — not just a paycheck in a chair.
I had several cavities that needed to be filled, in the back of my mouth, and front. As I said, I’ve had issues with not being properly numbed in the past, and a lot of dentists do not do due diligence when it comes to making sure a patient is comfortable and properly numbed before proceeding. Not the case here. I was first given acupuncture in my ears. Does this work? Well, I don’t know, but it didn’t hurt, and it wasn’t bad. So I’m going to say it was a good thing. Then, a local topical anesthetic was rubbed on my gums. This is awesome, because I don’t like being stabbed with needles in my gums, mainly because it hurts like hell. The local makes it so that the pain of the initial novocaine injection is almost nothing. I’m not talking about the «This might pinch a little» stuff that dentists love to say right before they jab you in the mouth — I mean it really didn’t hurt. With this numbing effect, and an initial injection of novocaine, Dr. George made sure I was totally numb before starting, which greatly set me at ease. There was no talk about excuses or how certain teeth are difficult to numb, and after she started drilling, I was frequently checked with to make sure I was comfortable and experiencing no pain.
During the procedure I was informed of what was happening, how much longer things would take, made sure I was comfortable, and treated like a real person with real fears and feelings who wasn’t thrilled about having my face drilled into. The entire experience was extremely professional, and incredibly comfortable.
Anyway, I no longer have a fear of dentists — just a fear of bad dentists, who unfortunately greatly outnumber the good ones. If you’ve been putting off going to the dentist, as I had been for 5 years, or if you just want to go somewhere where your experience can actually be GOOD, go here. I can not recommend them enough.