Smiles of Bellevue

Thank god for Dr. Lawson! I am the biggest baby when it comes to any doctor or dentist and somehow when I walk into his office I immediately feel like I’m going to be just fine. From the polite gals at the front desk who clearly enjoy their job and also have a great sense of humor to the soothing music (James Taylor) that plays throughout the office. I love this place. I’m actually kind of excited to go back for my 6 month cleaning in August. Dr. Lawson and his Hygienist (Annie?) are extremely gentle with me and understand my pain threshold. The entire staff is professional, personable and everything I would ever hope for in a dental office. If you’ve been dreading the Dentist call Dr. Lawson and make an appointment today.

Dental work is good. But I feel like as soon as they found out I worked at a big tech firm, I had a dollar sign stamped on my forehead. The dental work was probably even better than average, but I really feel like every time I have an appointment they are constantly trying to sell something to me.

This review is a long time coming, 4.5 years to be exact. My first experience with Dr Lawson was during perhaps one of the scariest experiences of my life. After a botched cavity drilling in 2009, my two front teeth became badly infected. And then at midnight one July night the infection exploded/​popped, I’m not even sure what happened — my entire front of my mouth poofed up and excruciating painful.
We had no idea what to do, we considered going to the emergency room but what could they do? We took to Google and discovered that Dr Lawson was on call! So at 2 am in the morning, we met him in his Bellevue office and he performed an emergency double root canal for me. Yes, the man left his comfortable bed and willingly came to meet a blubbering crying patient in the middle of the night.
I was absolutely terrified and in too much pain to fully understand what was fully going on, Dr Lawson ensured that I was comfortable and quickly performed the procedure. From that day on I was a loyal patient. I returned for the fittings of my crowns and various dental work.
About 4 months back while flossing, I noticed a slight chip in one of my crowns. I called the office to ask about it and they informed me that I was was still covered under the warranty for my front teeth and set an appointment a few weeks out for me to come in to get it checked out. (Mind you — I have since relocated to the East coast.)
Turns out that I grind my teeth. pretty badly. Both of my crowns had extensive cracks. Under his warranty I was able to get them replaced for 50% off the original price! Talk about a man who stands by his work. But here is what sets them above and beyond, knowing that I was making a 6 hour trip to go see him, he worked with me to get me in and out of the office and get my teeth rushed to fit my schedule for when I was in town.
I am just in absolute awe by Dr. Lawson and his team for their excellent work and how much they clearly value and accommodate for their patients! A million thanks! And yes, I will still continue to return for my regular dental work!
PS. For those of you who are totally skiddish and afraid of everything, they have nitrous/​laughing gas.

I have had some bad experiences with the dentist, to the point of developing a fear of them! I decided I needed to at least try a new one and I am so glad I did. Smiles of Bellevue (Dr. Lawson) has been better than I could have expected.
First off, Linda is a phenomenal hygienist. She could tell I was a runner by looking at my teeth! She is gentle, extremely knowledgeable, and really tries to make the experience as pleasant as possible.
The front office is helpful with billing and scheduling, the office is clean and modern. I highly recommend them! Make sure you ask for Linda to clean your teeth!

I went to Dr. Lawson’s office based on Unilocal reviews. And, I am glad I did!
My experience with Dr. Lawson has been terrific! So far I have done two procedures — root-​canal variation and fillings. During both, Dr. Lawson has been great at patiently explaining stuff upfront and even during the procedure. The other impressive thing was that he is sensitive to your pain and knows how to make these appointments go painless. I have also found him to be very thorough in making sure that there is no oversight!
He is supported by a great staff especially Ming. Ming took responsibility and did a several follow-​ups with me so that I fully understand the procedures and know the cost. Overall — if you are in doubt on which dentist to see — go to this one. I am glad I did!

I have been seeing Dr. Lawson for a couple years now. I honestly had very poor dental history before coming to see him. My mouth was in shambles you could say. He has taken great care of me and my teeth over the years. I have had no issues with any of the work done and have been very pleased overall.
The office is very nice, the staff is great and Dr Lawson is professional and fun. I like that he chats with his assistant during the exam. It makes me feel more comfortable and distracts you from thinking about being in a dental chair. The only issue I have is that I can’t interject into the conversation since my mouth is full of hands and tools.

I love that I love seeing my dentist!!!
I moved here to Seattle a few years ago and was having a hard time finding a dentist I even liked and that met my requirements.
One of my biggest requirements is the dentist ability to mill their own crowns (most dentist have to send out for crowns and put temporary fillers in until the crown comes in. temporary fillers almost always fall out which requires going back in and wasting more time. not to mention that once the crown comes in, you have to make another appointment, miss more work, etc… and then hope the color matches and the fit is right. so in-​house crowns is a must for me).
Another one of my requirements is seeing dental hygienists that don’t constantly ask me accusatorially «have you been flossing?» This is a pet peeve of mine as I’m an avid flosser and I expect that my hygienist should be able to tell that i have, in deed, been flossing. Or at minimum, be able to see that my teeth are cared for.
Lastly, I like going to a dentist office and feeling welcome as an individual and not just another patient. The bonus is that the staff here is friendly and personable. I always feel that I can ask questions without feeling reservation to do so.
At my last visit, I had a question about an insurance reimbursement and let Dr. Lawson know that I wanted reassurance that the issue was being handled. And to my surprise, he actually walked with me to the front desk and asked a member of his team, personally, to ensure I got the answers I needed. Never had a dentist take that extra step.
In short, this is a great dental practice and I can’t recommend Dr Lawson highly enough.

Best Dentists Ever!

Dr Lawson and his staff are amazing ! I am always treated with the utmost kindness and professionalism. The Dr makes sure every procedure is as pain free as possible and the results are always beautiful. I love my smile! He is my favorite dentist ever. I have referred both my adult children and friends, and they couldn’t be more satisfied. I had ‘Zoom’ whitening done and they managed to get my teeth much whiter than I thought possible.

After way too long not going to a dentist, I was finally encouraged to give Smiles of Bellevue a shot. I found that they were extremely skilled and pleasant people! Dr. Lawson does an excellent job, and his assistant Amber was as pleasant and helpful as can be. It’s certainly the best dentist experience I’ve ever had, and has eliminated my former anxiety about visiting the dentist.

Let me just start by saying if anyone knows me, you will know I hate going to see the dentist. The sound of those tools going through your mouth while you’re already in pain just doesn’t give you the most comfortable feeling.
I went to visit Smiles of Bellevue for the first time to do my semi annual cleaning and check up. I was referred to these guys from someone because my old office is no longer around.
When I first walked into the office, the front desk greeted me very nicely as I was nervous. I can see why they call this place Smiles of Bellevue, everyone I encountered in the office had a very nice smile.
First off, Amber, the assistant came out and brought me back to the office. She could probably feel that I was already nervous to start with so she kept engaging me with casual conversation. She thoroughly explained to me what was going to happen and how easy this will be. The best part was she didn’t give me a whole bunch of mumble jumble dentist terminology that I couldn’t understand.
Then came Dr. Todd Lawson. Now as he was coming, I was getting nervous again. Dr. Lawson greeted me with a very friendly smile, told me to relax and he’ll take a look to see if we needed to do anything. The good doctor looks over my mouth, tells me things are looking good, but he had a little concern with one of the crowns I currently have on my upper right side. He asked me «do you get a lot of food stuck in that area?» Then explained to me why a small part of my gums were kinda getting beat up in that one area. I knew that area of my gums get sore a lot, but I never knew why, except for the fact so much food gets stuck up there and I have to carry a floss pick with me everywhere I go.
This wasn’t an urgent matter, but Dr Lawson wanted to get this corrected for me. He had the front office check with my insurance to make sure we had enough coverage to get this done. This was in Nov of 2012. It turned out that my coverage was not enough and we had to wait till the 2013 year. As soon as 2013 came and my insurance renewed, I received a call from them to make my appointment.
I’ll admit, I was hesitant to come in just because I don’t like to see the dentist. But I knew this was something that will be good for me and to prevent further problems in the future. Now to make a long story short, Dr. Lawson, remade my crown to fit correctly, I felt no pain when he was working on it, I don’t know how he did that, but hey, «I’ll take it.» Now it’s been about a month since this correction is done, I haven’t had any sore gums in that area, I’m not constantly flossing with every single thing I eat, and feel a huge difference of comfort in that area.
You guys helped me save money, and trips to see the dentist a lot more comfortable. Thanks Smiles of Bellevue, you guys truly look out for your patience best interest.
Best regards,
Man afraid of the dentist.

I have no idea how this place has 5 stars, but I urge you not to go.
Here’s the story. Went in to get my normal annual check up. Went fine, everyone was really nice. Told that I needed 3 fillings, fine. I was told that I would have to pay 250 out of pocket for these because «my insurance will only cover metal fillings and their office only does composite.» They said it like they actually had called my insurance to find out what my coverage was. It irritated me that I would have to pay that much out of pocket because I’ve NEVER had to pay that much out of pocket for filings before. So I called around, asked my old dentist to look at my xrays and give me his opinion on whether or not these fillings are necessary, and when he confirmed that they were, I called back.
Went in for my appointment, again everyone (including the doctor) was very nice. But here’s where the problems begin. When the procedure was over, I was asked to pay. Before this appointment I was promised a payment plan. They won’t let you do the payment plan unless you also agree to let them auto-​debit your credit card. That is ridiculous. So I had to put the whole thing on my credit card. Then I went back to work for the day, and felt a big hole in my tooth (that was supposed to have a filling put in it that AM) about 6 hours after the procedure. So I called them, told them my filling that they put in that morning came out, and had to come back in. Right when I saw the doctor, he said, «Oh, when I saw your name on the schedule for the end of the day I knew what happened. I let moisture get to your tooth and I should have redone your filling. That’s why it came out.» Then he looks at my tooth and says «Oh, no, your filling didn’t come out, just the excess composite that I left on the side of your tooth did. I will polish that for you now, but if you have any issues at all with this filling just give us a call.» Who leaves excess composite on the side of a tooth? It’s not a wall that needs to be spackled! At $ 218.00 per tooth I expect that they are properly polished and that composite isn’t just applied haphazardly.
THEN, I told the girl up front that I did the math in my head and that there was no way that I should have paid $ 250 when my insurance covers 80%. She again tried to explain to me that actually, my insurance would only cover the metal fillings. But, since I’ve literally never had this issue before at any other dentist office, I told her to call my insurance and make sure. She checked with them, and they would not only pay for the composite fillings, but they would pay 80% of $ 221.00 per filling instead of $ 218.00 for filling. Then, while she has them on the phone (for obviously the FIRST TIME EVER) she asks them if they will pay for the ¼ of a small cup of fluoride that I rinsed my mouth out with during the cleaning BECAUSE I WAS ASSURED MY INSURANCE WOULD COVER IT. They said no, they would not.
So she hangs up the phone, and tells me that yes, I am owed a $ 80.00 refund but that they would need to take the $ 36.00 for fluoride out of that refund. Yes, ladies and gents, they wanted to charge me $ 36.00 for about 2 or 3 tablespoons of fluoride mouthwash. Google how much fluoride mouthwash costs. It’s about $ 7.00 a BOTTLE! I responded with, «Um, let’s call the mouthwash good. I just had to drive back to your office for the second time today and take time off of work to come and get my tooth fixed from the procedure earlier today.» So they gave me my $ 80.00 back and proceeded to tell me that NO INSURANCE EVER EVER EVER pays for the composite filling. Really? I think it’s that most dental offices don’t LIE TO YOUR FACE about how much the insurance company will pay WITHOUT EVER CALLING THEM FIRST TO CHECK BENEFITS AND don’t try to charge their patients for every penny that the insurance company doesn’t pay. Because they’re honest.
Don’t go here unless you want to pay way too much for way too little.

So like too many Americans, I did not have great Dental care growing up. Once I got to the age where the Dentist suggested I needed braces (which I do), my parents basically stopped taking me. So now at the ripe old age of 27, I decided to get back on the Dentist bandwagon and whip my teeth into shape. My parents both have had to have painful root canals and lots of expensive dental work done, and I do not want that to happen. I am a wimp, and cheap.
I picked Smiles of Bellevue because of it’s awesome reviews, and it’s proximity to my work (what can I say, I like being able to walk to the doctor/dentist’s office). Over the last 6 months I’ve had a fair amount of work done here, including cleanings and fillings. I’ve gotta say that Dr Lawson really is fantastic. He is very personable, honest without scaring you, and does the job quick, and painlessly.
The Dental hygienist, Linda, is a bit scary about tooth care, but can you blame her? It is her job. She is a really nice person though, and does a really good job.
One thing I really love is that all the work I needed to have done was going to cost a couple thousand dollars, so they did a lot of it last year right at the end of the year so that it would be included in 2011 to save me a few bucks in 2012, which I really appreciated. They also basically do power sessions so I don’t have to go that often.
My most recent visit I did have a very long wait in the chair (45+ minutes) because of an extraction that took too long, but Dr Lawson gave me a Gift Certificate for my trouble, and did the work super quickly to get me on my way, which I really appreciated.
Now, just to have that damn Wisdom tooth removed…

I had a horrible experience with another dentist in Bellevue (refused to put a crown on my tooth after having a root canal for no apparent reason). Because of the short time frame I had to get a crown on, I decided to look up another dentist that was on my preferred plan and Smiles of Bellevue (Dr. Lawson) was one of the first people on my list.
I made an appointment in the morning and got in that afternoon. The office was very nice, staff was very friendly and I got in very quickly. I told the dental assistant and Dr. Lawson what happened and not only were they shocked, but after looking at my tooth, he couldn’t figure out why the other dentist wouldn’t put the crown on asked if he could put it on for me (the temporary of course) right then. His staff came over to make sure that what I had to cover was ok (WHICH was $ 350 cheaper than the other dentist) and then he got right to it. It only took about 25 – 30 minutes and set me up for my next appointment to have the permanent crown on.
Overall (as you can see from my star rating), I am over joyed by my experience here. I will no longer be seeing the other dentist but will most definitely see Dr. Lawson for all dental work (and so will my husband). You will not regret having Dr. Lawson as your dentist… TRUST ME (and all of the other wonderful reviews on
).
A+

Poor experience with office and billing. They didn’t bill work that needed to be used for end of year to use my HSA until AFTER the new year. Even worse when the office calls to tell me they can squeeze me in before the new year so that I can use the HSA. Now I am stuck with a large bill, and just «lost”/forfeited the money on my HSA.
Very unsatisfied!

What’s the most annoying sound in the world?
Yes I’m referring to the movie quote… You know the rest. If you don’t you are probably neither deserving the work of Dr. Lawson, or his ability to quote classic movies on the fly.
Now that we have that out of the way, on to business. Like 108.6% of the population, I too have had poor dental experiences in the past. And like others in this statistic, I was no more thrilled on my way to my first visit to Dr. Lawson than any of my previous dental adventures. So like you and your friends, I too don’t have much good to say about dental experiences. That is, until now.
There really isn’t much negative to say about Dr. Lawson. And I can speak from experience; over 10 sittings in less than 6 months including but not limited to multiple root canals, fillings, crowns, and what Dr. Lawson claims to be the longest dentistry session he has ever performed on a patient. But even though the odds of a less than awesome experience were not in my favor, I somehow now look forward to my return visits. I have not experienced any unbearable pain, discomfort, or botched work. And in fact, sometimes things that shouldn’t normally be fun kind of are. It doesn’t make sense, but it’s true, and you’ll just have to see for yourself.
Alright my ramblings have gone on long enough. I neither encourage or expect you to take my word for it, you just need to go find out for yourself. And I mean that.

I have been to a lot of dentists and had some terrible experiences, and was hesitant to try another dentist, but I just couldn’t go back to the previous one, so I thought I’d give Aesthetic Denistry of Bellevue a try since they were a preferred provider for Regence.
I am so glad that I did! I saw Dr. Todd Lawson. He was incredible. He immediately identified a dental health problem that 3 – 4 other dentists in the past were unable to identify (my two front teeth are crowns and my gums had become severely inflamed due to a nickel allergy).
They started by whitening my teeth using Zoom so that they could get the new crowns to match my other teeth. They provide free Zoom to all of their patients 2X/​year so don’t bother waiting for a coupon to pop up in the mail!
Dr. Lawson and his staff took extreme care when removing my old crowns and made sure that the temporarys looked aesthetically pleasing. Unfortunately the lab did not get the new crowns right the first time, so they needed to be redone, but we finally got a good match, and my gum inflammation was completely resolved.
Dr. Lawson guarantees his work and spends as much time with you as needed. He is very friendly but most importantly knowledgeable and down to business without recommending unnessary procedures. While being traditional dentists, they are helping to move the dental industry forward by admitting that Fluoride and Root Canals are not necessarily good things.
I have since referred my husband and a friend to Aesthetic Dentistry of Bellevue and they were both extremely happy. I am so glad that I have finally found a regular dentist that I can trust. Make an appointment today!!!