The Valley Dentists

This group is superb — both in the office and in the chair!
My spouse, my teen children, and I are all patients of Drs. Bawa and Saxena. I feel very fortunate for this! What I see is excellence in every aspect of the patient experience.
Key points:
— Hygienists are deeply educated, very up-​to-​date, and committed. Yes, you may get instructional info than you expect from other offices (one reviewer felt scolded), but I’d rather know more than less, since we can’t undo damage so easily.
Tip: Be brave and be open — your teeth and gums will be thankful that you did!
— Dentists are mid-​career — mature while having approaches informed by today’s dentistry, not that of decades past. They seem to be well-​rounded and well-​grounded people, who obviously value excellence and comfort for every aspect of the patient experience.
— Care: their approach includes a wealth of core and ancillary measures you can take for your oral health. Nightly paste to re-​calcify; special brush for hard-​to-​reach places; and on and on… Take it as you wish.
— Office staff are accommodating and very sweet, while also sharp and on-​the-​ball. Truly top-​notch.
— Office, exam areas, and waiting space are all comfy and pleasant.
I heartily recommend this business!

I went here with little recommendation, but online recs for the old dentists seemed good enough. And then they retired after my first visit! And the new people are not very good.
I have not had the same experiences as others here with the staff. I moved up here for grad school, never had major problems with my teeth. All of the sudden, the hygienist (Lisa) acts as if my teeth ARE THE MOST HORRIBLE THINGS SHE HAS EVER SEEN and that I am A TERRIBLE PERSON for not spending an hour each night tending to my PROBLEM-​FREE teeth and massaging expensive stuff on them. And then the dentist comes in, mutters things, leaves.
I’ve been too busy in the past to prioritize moving dentists, but every visit here has been awful. They try to emotionally manipulate you to buy things, do things, etc. when my teeth have no probelms. GIRL, GRAD STUDENTS DO NOT HAVE TIME TO FIX THINGS THAT AINT BROKEN.
Move on, I am finally trusting my friends’ recommendations for other places that actually treat you like an adult and not a petulant teenager.

Let me start by saying the staff here is fantastic; the front desk folks are friendly and helpful, an the hygienists are likewise.
I’ve been going to the Valley Dentists for years, and Drs. Cinner and Matusun were fantastic. Unfortunately, both have left the practice and their places have been taken by Drs. Bawa and Saxena.
I had one meeting with one of them (I think Dr. Bawa), and she took a full set of x-​rays and told me I needed one filling urgently, and would eed at least three more within the year. I was about to move out of town and lose my insurance, so I decided to have the urgent one done right away. Big mistake. It was the most painful filling I’ve ever had done, and it was left rough enough that I felt like I was going to cut my tongue on it. Over the next few months I went back twice to have the filling adjusted, and in the end they were talking about drilling it out and starting over. They also told me they were going to have to grind down one of my teeth to change how it met the adjacent tooth: that was the point where I walked away.
I just saw my new dentist for the first time. He took an entirely new set of x-​rays, and said the rest of my teeth are just fine; no concerns, no likely cavities. He also spent about 45 seconds with a grinding tool, and I can no longer feel the edges of the old filling, and floss no longer catches on it, so I think he’s solved that as well.
As far as I can tell the new folks at the Valley Dentists are either inexperienced, bad at their jobs, or just in it for the money, which is another way of saying «bad at their jobs.» I’d stay away, and take my teeth — and my money — elsewhere.

The dentist I saw, Dr. Saxeena, is great. He’s friendly, gives you all the information you need, and he’s very patient with questions. I’ve had some traumatic dental experiences in the past, and once I told the doctor this, he was careful to check in with me throughout the procedure to make sure I was OK. He seemed calm and collected, which is exactly what you want from a dentist.
The hygienist that I saw was also awesome. She was very re-​assuring, and communicated every concern I expressed directly to the dentist when he came to examine me — just to make sure he didn’t miss anything. When I came back for a second appointment, she said she could see that I had been flossing. What better way to encourage someone — she pointed out that she could spot the difference, that a made a difference, and she paid enough attention to detail to notice! She was super sweet and that really helped because I was really nervous.
The best part of this office though is the reception desk! The only thing more painful than a bad dental experience is a bad insurance experience. Rest assured that every one of the ladies working in reception knows her stuff! Without getting into the specifics o my particular insurance, I’ll just keep it short and say that it was messy and complicated, but they are more than competent enough to explain it and sort it out. They’re so familiar with the ins and outs of insurance claims that I even learned a few new things. They’re very upfront about costs, so there isn’t any sticker shock. Even better, if there is any trouble with a claim, they will advocate for you until it’s resolved. I liked them so much I wish I could take all of them and station them in my doctor’s reception office too. They’re seriously on top of their game!

Avoid this dentist unless you have money and teeth to throw away! Seriously, these folks are just a factory. I had two teeth on the same side that got infected. They took two xrays. After tapping my teeth so hard with the instrument that my husband could hear it across the room, Dr. Bawa immediately concluded they both needed root canals. They then gave me a prescription for broad-​spectrum antibiotics and told me to see some local endodontist (who charged a fortune) they always do business with. Just for the two xrays and a two-​minute exam, they charged me almost $ 150! Luckily, I wasn’t staying in the state and I found a wonderfully experienced dentist in Michigan who found that one tooth MIGHT need a root canal but he was going to just fill it first to see how it went (it’s going fine) and the other one doesn’t even need a root canal. I was charged less for a large filling with nitrous than for Valley Dentists’ lousy exam. Otherwise, Valley Dentists was friendly enough and the people at the desk are very nice.

Pretty much the best dental experience you could have. Everyone is super friendly and professional. They really go above and beyond!

Finally! I found the dentist I need! Had an awful experience with another dentist in the area and it is such a relief to find a *real* dentist.
The waiting area is open and inviting, the staff very personable and eager to help. When I first called about my appointment the office assistant, Jessica, was fantastic about being up front about the cost since I don’t have dental insurance. I really appreciate that kind of of openness.
My dental hygienist is Lisa, who is wonderful! I would recommend requesting her if you can, though my partner assures me that her hygienist is good, too (she uses this dentist, too). She’s very good a putting me at ease, discussing my concerns, and explaining what she’s doing as she’s doing it. Completely allayed all the fears garnered in my bad experience (I’ll review that awful place some other time). She, and the dentist I saw, Peter Cinna, are completely of the ‘ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ school of dentistry, for example, they aren’t pushing me to use an electric toothbrush when they saw that I did a fine job brushing manually.
ETA:
They also used good technology: digital x-​rays which get better pictures and greatly reduce the amount of radiation you’re exposed to, and a laser that senses the density of your teeth and indicates whether or not there’s any decay present.

To celebrate finally having dental insurance after three years without, I went to Valley Dentists for an exam and cleaning. The facilities are modern, comfortable, and very clean. Everyone was friendly and they’re very on top of any insurance issues. Blaire did a fantastic job cleaning my teeth, was very knowledgeable and had some good advice. Overall, it was about as good as a visit to the dentist can get. I will definitely recommend them to my friends.