<p>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.<br></p><p>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.)</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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?)</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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 . . .</p>
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