Lake Nokomis Family Dentistry

I love the staff and so helpful at very patient with me which I hate having anything done to my teeth. dr zhan is great and cares about my pain level and tolerance level my hygentist is great and appointments I have no issues with. I usually don’t want a long visit but they tire to get me in and I want. at first I wasn’t sure about doing all my cavities at once but glad I did get it done they r patience with me as I am not good about it. this review is done for deb not rick who is linked to Unilocal.oh parking is a pain but I just walk or park along the side which is just fine in the summer you can go for lunch

I recently gave this place a chance on a whim and have been very satisfied! When I called to make my initial appointment they were clear about the fact that if you are a new client they perform and exam and x-​rays first and then schedule any needed work from there. I’ve had to go in multiple times to fix old fillings and get a crown and I’ve found the staff to be very friendly and personable. They even let me come in right away with my 2 month old son when I had a problem with my crown (such short notice I couldn’t get a sitter).

I hate giving one-​star reviews… but this place failed on multiple levels.
First, I made an appointment more than a MONTH in advance to fit in both an exam and a cleaning. As noted by another reviewer (who coincidentally enough posted within minutes of my less-​than-​satisfied review… hmm…), they typically only do an exam at a first visit. However, when I called I was VERY clear about wanting to get as much done as possible in one visit. I even asked them about fixing some small cavities I knew I had. They seemed fine with the exam and cleaning, but reluctant about doing any work which was fine considering they wouldn’t know how much work had to be done until after the exam.
***NOTE: I could have had the exam done the same week I called to schedule but taking into consideration I wanted as much done as possible, I opted to book a month out to give them plenty of time on their calendar.***
When I got to the office I got ONE x-​ray (not even a full set), an exam, and lots of BS about why I couldn’t get the cleaning done, which they said took an hour and a half. SAY WHAT?!? I have NEVER had a cleaning take more than half an hour and I once went 5+ years between dentist visits due to insurance gaps (but I also take very good care of my teeth). THAT cleaning took less than an hour and was pain-​free. The excuse I got was that it took too much time and they didn’t know what ‘kind’ of cleaning I was going to need until after the exam (had they said this up front I would have gone elsewhere, I have never had a problem getting an exam and cleaning done in one shot). It sounded to me like they over-​booked and their cleaning methods were behind the times.
Let me restate: I could have gotten this done over a MONTH ago but opted to book further in advance so I could kill two birds with one stone. I wasted a whole MONTH waiting for this appointment.
They did have a cancellation later in the day, but it was only for an hour so they said they would only be able to get half the cleaning done. I thought I’d give them an opportunity to redeem themselves (if it went well, I’d reschedule to have them do all the rest of my work). I had a terrible feeling this could be a mistake and I was right. Though I appreciate them trying to get me in, I went in and waited a half hour meaning the poor tech only had 30 minutes to clean. That 30 minutes was the most painful, bloody cleaning I have EVER had and they only completed a quarter of the cleaning. It also made me nervous when the tech told me to make sure to rinse with Listerine when I got home to avoid infection. o_​O Oh, they wanted me to schedule for another HOUR of cleaning. Sorry, but no way, Jose!
This was by far the worst dental experience of my life and I’ve had braces, wisdom teeth extractions, and had various sealants applied to and replaced on my teeth. I am not shy or sensitive to dental work.
On the up side, everyone was very nice. Their office is in a good location (parking is a challenge as their lot is very small), the dentist, the tech and receptionist were all very friendly and the facilities were clean and inviting. It’s just a shame everything else was so horrible.