Newton Endodontics

Dr. Mani is… I can’t even put it into words. He is magical! I was referred to him by Dental Partners of Watertown for an abscess that just was not responding to antibiotics so I had to get it surgically removed. So there I was 22, at the beginning of my last semester as an undergrad about to get my face cut open (yes, I’m a little dramatic). The worst part about it were the shots to numb me up (the simplest part), everything after that was smooth sailing. I closed my eyes because I didn’t want to see what was happening and before I knew it, it was over. I went back to get the stitches removed a week later and that was completely painless. The abscess was sent to pathology and Dr. Mani told me that results show it wasn’t cancerous. Woo hoo!
The one thing that is VERY clear is that Dr. Mani knows what he is doing! Other reviews in regard to his bedside manner, and what not is not what I experienced at all. Everyone was pleasant from my first interaction to my last. Besides, I’d trade a dentist that holds my hand and potentially messes up for someone who gets straight to business and is an expert in their field. Wouldn’t you?

I saw Mani for a root canal retreatment and extraction and had my one year follow-​up today. My tooth is all healed– I saw the xray with my own eyes! Yes, it’s expensive, yes going through it is unpleasant, but the end result is really what matters, and he got a good result with me! He got an extra star for making it virtually painless.

It’s a root canal… you’re never going to get a 5 star review. I’m reviewing this 3 years later than the other 2 reviews, who’s reviews scared the hell out of me. Here’s what I’ll say: Dr. Mani knows what he’s doing and will explain it all to you if you engage him. I had a difficult calcified root due to a birth defect correction I had as a child. It was my first root canal, and I’m extremely phobic about all things dental/​oral due to a lifetime of braces/​surgeries/​etc. They saw me quick, explained what the issues were, and didn’t push me to get a root canal if l wanted to wait and see. I decided the next day to go for it, they got me in that day (less anxiety build-​up).
As someone who’s afraid of dental stuff, a root canal actually isn’t that bad; it’s not so much pain as the sound/​smell of drilling. He does the job very professionally and even teaches it at BU in his off-​time.

My wife and I were traveling in the Newton area on business when she experienced acute mouth pain on a Sunday evening. We had no idea who to call so I used Unilocal to find a Dentist. Dr. Mani came up so I called him. He returned the call within 15 minutes and had us come into his office first thing Monday morning. Once we arrived, found out this was an acute infection and life-​threatening. Dr. Mani proceeded to work on her mouth and completed some temporary work until the next day. We came back and he continued his process, all the while encouraging my wife and dampening her hightened sense of fear. Another two visits and her mouth is good as new! Dr. Mani caught the infection before it traveled to her brain and killed her… for that, I am eternally grateful!
Our overall experience at Newton Endodontics was very positive, from the receptionist to the Dr. They were wonderful. How often does the patient receive daily calls from the Dr. inquiring as to how she is feeling? Dr. Mani and his staff are a very caring and skilled group of professionals and I highly recommend them! And thank you Doc!

I had the SAME EXACT EXPERIENCE as Nancy. I was dreading my first root canal (who doesn’t?) and I am not a great patient. I am however polite, professional and try to keep my nervousness to myself.
However, Dr. Mani had absolutely no patience or tolerance for my situation. He was equally rude to his staff. It is because of dentists like him that turn people off from going to the dentist and cause the further anxiety that I experienced.

I should start off by stating that I am a nightmare of dental patient. I am sure that most dentists I’ve dealth with have gone into early retirement following their appointments with me.
Knowing this about myself, I was HORRIFIED when I learned that I had to get a root canal. I was referred to Dr. Mani by the Gentle Dental office in Brighton. I called his office on the phone and I spoke directly with him in order to give him the full background on my dental anxiety. I assured him the I would Unilocal,cry, tremble, shiver… you name it. I basically offered him an out, all but telling him that if he didn’t think he wanted to deal with me, I could go elsewhere.
When I told him I was thinking of pursuing an appointment with a sedation dentist, he assured me that he could give me the same oral sedative, and that it would send me straight to la-​la land. There was, he said, a good chance that I would remember nothing, or very little, about the procedure.
When I went in to the office for my appointment, he was as lovely and kind as he had been on the phone.
As the root canal got underway, it became apaprent that the medication he had given me had the same sedative effect as, say, a tic-​tac. I was wide awake in my own personal root canal hell. And yea, I’m gonna admit it… I was NOT at my best. I did everything that one can possibly do to compromise one’s dignity.
Crying? Check.
Unilocaling? Check.
Squirming? Check
Trembling? Check
Pleading for some merciful all powerful being to descend upon the scene and end it all? Check.
The thing that was kind of a bummer was that Dr. Mani obviously became annoyed with me somewhere along the line, and asked me a few times, «Why are you so upset? Calm down. Relax.» (Not kindly, mind you, but with brimming annoyance).
After the appointment was over, I apologized for my antics in the dental chair. The dental assistants were absolutely lovely, brushing off my apologies as totally unnecessary. They were sympathetic and caring and made me feel like I might NOT be the biggest idiot in the entire universe. (Even though, come on, on the heels of a root canal, I wasn’t lookin’ so cool).
When I got to the front desk, I apologized again to Dr. Mani. All I got in return was his expression of gratitude that he does not have to deal with many patients like me and that it’s lucky for him that I’m a real rarity in his patient load.
I was dumbstruck. Did he really say that crap out loud, you ask? Yeah, he did. He didn’t wait until I was out of the office and safely away from earshot to bash me. He did it right there in front of me.
The crap part is that I tried to do the right thing in warning this guy that it was going to get ugly. He could have encouraged me to go to the sedation dentist as I had been poised to do. I gave him the low-​down, and he urged me to come in nevertheless. I felt like kind of a jackass when he made his contempt for my anxiety so obvious.
I kind of wanted to say, «Well, it’s doctors like you who CREATE patients like me.» But I didn’t bother. My face was all numbed up and crap so I would have just sounded like even more of a bumbling idiot than I already looked to be.
I paid my 340 bucks (damn, that root canal must have run around 1700 bucks if that was 20% of it)
I experienced some pain that following the procedure that I thought mgiht be atypical. I decided to swallow my pride and call to ask. I left a message and never got a call back.
But OK, maybe I should give the good news now.
According to my own dentist, this root canal was performed expertly and was «elegant». You’d have to be a dentist to describe a root canal as such.