
First off, this is going to be an on-going review as my treatment will require several appointments to complete, but Dr. Vasquez's office is firmly holding five stars for the nonce.In short, I haven't had dental insurance for several years, and although I'd like to believe I take pretty good care of my teeth, I always had something better and/or more important to do than drop $100+ to go in for a regular cleaning (Note: I realize how stupid this is, so you don't need to remind me.)Well, my stupid plan of procrastination and ignorance finally failed me when one of my teeth began to cry out in mortal agony three days ago (which thankfully subsided this morning), I still waited another day to bother calling Dr. Vasquez's office, which happens to be next door to the pharmacy I use.Needless to say, I was thoroughly impressed from the moment I walked through the door. The office itself is light, modern and tastefully decorated, while being equipped with all of the latest state-of the art equipment and an attentive staff who immediately got me started on the necessary paperwork.I was brought back promptly, and the hygienist was the nicest and most professional I have ever encountered. Getting dental X-rays has always been an issue for me, but she was terrific in getting the digital sensor aligned in my mouth with minimal discomfort, and it was neat seeing the x-rays come up in realtime on the screen attached to the chair (as well as having an indicator of how many more were left to do. Can't we figure out a way to do this with less than 18 separate X-rays?)That said, it didn't take much poking around after that before the hygienist ran to get the dentist who promptly (but very gently) informed me of all the consequences I was now facing due to my lack of attention for these past several years.At that point, it was time to get out of the chair & sit down with the office manager to discuss how much my treatment was going to cost. She was utterly superb in both her professionalism and patience as I spent 20 minutes haggling over each of the line items on the extensive treatment proposal & spreadsheet she had drafted on the spot.As it turns out, after I returned home and checked the quoted prices with a respected online source (just Google "dental price comparison" and it'll be in the top three results) the price turned out to be extremely competitive for a patient like myself (cash patient without dental insurance.) And although I'm lucky enough that I won't require a payment plan, the office manager nevertheless explained the no-interest payment options that were available if I wanted to use them.Nevertheless, as I said at the onset, this review is based solely on my initial consultation, and is subject to being edited/re-rated until my treatment is complete and the final bill is presented (which is all that really matters, isn't it?) To be continued . . .
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