Stuart Dessner, DMD

DENTAL IMPLANT Required…
Currently have to get an extraction and implant for an old root canal that had fractured at the root… something I had an inkling was happening — but not showing up on x-​rays in 2013… so I waited per my dentist, and now there was evidence of the exact issue in 2014… when I switched to a non-​employer dental plan, which did not cover implants (urgh)…
Anywhoo, that is the situation, and my impetus to find an oral surgeon that would discount to Cigna rates, even if they were considered out of network. Without insurance negotiated rates, the str8 OOP (out-​of-​pocket) for extraction, bone graft, post, abutment and crown… was in the $ 3700+ range.
HOW I FOUND THIS OFFICE
So, there are dental discount plans supposedly allowing you to get Cigna negotiated rates… i.e. 50% off, so the ROI seemed reasonable to spend $ 135 for that… would be made up in this procedure and then some… and I looked for an oral surgeon locally that was supposedly accepting of this — with a good review on Unilocal.
OFFICE /​SERVICE
Now FINALLY getting to the review… THIS oral surgeon was on the list and on Unilocal… so I scheduled a consult, taking my general dentist’s proposed treatment plan (he is a great normal dentist, but not sure about getting an implant done from him necessarily)… had the DDS email over the x-​rays as well.
Walked in, and the Russian (?) receptionist or office manager was a little aggressive about upfront charges for the consult $ 110, and having to get better x-​rays ($ ²³⁰⁄₄₅₀? don’t recall a lot of numbers were flying at me) and what insurance I had, etc.
It was a little annoying… I just wanted to get an idea of pricing based on the estimate I had already gotten, with the Cigna discounts factored in, because it seemed like the fee schedule would be significantly less… not the case.
Regardless, it would have been nice to just get that there were expected charges and review to see if their fee schedule would be adjusted BEFORE I came in, that is essentially what I had asked for on the phone… and they said it would be handled at the appointment. Apparently I should have insisted. 8-​/​
SYNOPSIS
The price was essentially the same as my dentist, and I didn’t like the money-​grubby vibe. The place was difficult to find, behind a McDonalds in one of those older 80s brown brick commercial parks… maybe I’m being a little judgy, but the basement sectional furniture does not give the impression of a successful practice… and the attitude from the office staff definitely chased away this client.

We found Dr. Dessner after doing extensive research for my son’s impending wisdom tooth extraction.
We created a list of oral surgeons covered by our dental insurance and asked our referring dental practice to make a recommendation. At the same time we polled friends in the dental industry for recommendations off the list as well. After receiving excellent reviews from the dental practice and our friends, we checked Angie’s list and found an excellent review as well.
Our initial consultation with Dr. Dessner just as we had hoped.
His staff was able to get us in on short notice and he spent a significant amount of time discussing the procedure. Unlike a lot of medical practices that rely on volume and therefore push patients through the process quickly, we never had that feeling with Dr. Dessner.
He explained what we were looking at on X-​Rays, he explained the procedure, addressed our concerns regarding anesthesia, talked us through the recovery and even spoke to potential insurance issues.
The surgery went exactly as expected, recovery was exactly as explained and one week post-​op the prognosis is as expected.
Going into a search for an oral surgeon, we wanted someone who would pay attention to our concerns and educate us about any issues so we would be prepared.
Dr. Dessner did exactly that.
For any other oral surgery in our family, we’ll be using Dr. Stuart Dessner.