Burns G Preston III DDS

I’ve been going here since I was a kid. It’s a father, son dental business and I have the son as my dentist. He has always been very friendly and I’ve never had a problem with him. As far as his dental assistants go I’m not too impressed. I had been told years ago I would need braces and never could afford to get them until the recent past year. I went in and got a full mouth xray, bitewings, etc and I had a cleaning the same day I believe. I asked my dental assistant if I would be getting braces soon and she told me before I ever got braces I would need to get rid of those cavaties first. My dentist comes in a few minutes later to check over my teeth. Says «Katelyn, nice job! You haven’t been here in 3 years and managed to stay cavatie free!» Uhh not what I was told a few minutes ago. I love my dentist and that is the ONLY reason I continue to go to this place.

So I generally don’t like dentists. This isn’t the result of some traumatized event in my childhood, rather all of the other dentists I have dealt with in my life have been arrogant, contemptuous, full of themselves, and indifferent to me and my dental needs. There was one who did not want to spend more than 3 minutes in the room with me and I never learned his name, there was another who didn’t understand why I would not choose to pay several thousand dollars out of pocket for dental surgery when I was a poor graduate student and my student policy would not cover the costs, and so forth. Yeah, I have had quite the streak of bad dentists. I have forwent cleanings just to avoid being chastised or made to feel small. But over the years I have still had work done — I just had to grin and bear it.
But finally, I found a great dentist. I actually like the guy and would talk to him outside of his work. He is a traveler too, so I immediately felt at home in his office. His rooms are themed based on his travels. I have had a cleaning in his Iranian room. I had surgery in his Asian room. I enjoy walking down the main hallway and seeing his pictures of Mali. Hey, I have been there, I know these places. But traveling aside, he is a friendly guy. And he is very knowledgeable and welcoming. He will stay with you, spend more than 3 minutes in the room, and answer your questions. Unlike some dentists who only run a general practice, he does oral surgery too. And he did a great job with me. He even saw me twice after the surgery to see how I was doing at no charge to me or my insurance. It’s a pity that I moved to New York, but I think I will still travel to VA to have my teeth cleaned. When it takes you your entire life to find a good dentist, you don’t want to give him up. Highly recommend!