Downtown Dental: Kowalczyk Ryan DDS

After years of going to the same Dentist that all of my family always went to, I finally decided to branch out and try Downtown Dental after it was recommended by a friend, and I am thrilled I did!
I hadn't realized before my experience with Hygienist, Ashlee, and Dr. Kowalczyk how poor all my visits to the dentist before were! Ashlee made sure that I was comfortable at all times, let me know what steps she was taking, and even made sure I enjoyed the music that was playing! After Ashlee had done a thorough review of my x-rays and the process she had taken in the cleaning stages, she introduced me to Dr. Kowalczyk who was friendly, honest, and let me know in terms I actually understood, the processes I needed to follow to maintain my freshly cleaned teeth, and how to care for them in the future.
Thank you Downtown Dental for showing me that that Dentist isn't supposed to be a scary experience!

Permanently damaged my tongue. They said it may take up to six months to get the numbness in my tongue to go away after doing a routine scaling and cleaning. I waited that amount of time but the numbness never left. Went to an oral surgeon who said I had permanent nerve damage and said he may have been able to help if I had come to him within the first few months of the damage. Asked Dr. Kowalczyk if his insurance would pay for the damage. He said it is the risk you take when you visit a dentist. They won't return phone calls or emails. I am a nice guy and don't complain often. Don't trust this dentist!

Can't say enough about the fantastic and professional care I've received at Downtown Dental from Dr. Kowalcyk and company... I am a special dental case with overcrowding and other issues and Ryan and crew have always gone above and beyond to give me the utmost in care. Most importantly, they make you feel like everything is fine, super groovy, fun, comfortable and more. Payment arrangements and flexible scheduling top off an exceptional experience. I wish I had been going here since birth, but feel lucky that I found them when I did.
A+++++

Ryan has been my dentist for years. He is knowledgable, friendly, and professional. When I lived in California, I would wait to come visit to go to the dentist- he is that good. Even when I was struggling financially, Ryan would help me out.

He is a great dentist and a great guy. The staff is friendly, and they seem to have elephant memories. You can go in months later, and they will ask you about conversations from the last visit. Which, if you don't like going to the dentist, can be comforting.

I had my first really bad tooth ache at 45 years old. Dr. K diagnosed that my tooth was fractured. He got me in quickly, helped alleviate the pain and was thorough with my 'after visit care'. Very knowledge. Friendly staff. Highly recommend and I believe they have a referral program too. Erika S

EXPERIENCE

Raelee (Receptionist):

The first point of contact was Raelee, even before coming into the office, she called and texted me with clear details on what I can expect to pay and how the process would go. Crystal clear clarity in communication, no part of the process was unclear. There was an issue with my insurance just before my 11/30/20 visit and she called and texted with specific information so I was not at all surprised by anything. She’s a very sweet, chill person too but her professionalism and communication skills are X-games mode.

Ashley (Hygienist):

Let me preface this by saying that I am so scared of dentists that over 37 years, I have NEVER gone more than once every 2-3 years and I’ve never opted into deep cleanings despite my nasty teeth needing them. I psyched myself out to get a general cleaning on 10/5/20 (honestly, I was close to canceling the appointment on the day prior out of fear) and I was lucky to have Ashley assigned as my Hygienist. This person is the most caring and gentle professional I’ve ever met in healthcare (and this includes the 7 years I spent actually running a hospital). I’m no stranger to the healthcare setting as I’ve experienced a number of injuries and some serious health issues in my life, Ashley takes the cake on setting an environment where you feel comfortable and you’ll know what’s going on at every moment. She’ll make you laugh, just an amazing, engaging personality but don’t think that she’s not a dental genius. She not only explained what she was doing to my teeth, but she explained what the sounds meant as she was working, what the tingling feelings meant around my gums, how to take better care of each tooth (I mean EACH TOOTH, there’s a way to care for your molars v. your canines v. your front teeth), etc. She checked in with me every step of the way, making sure that I was comfortable, I wasn’t in any pain, even guiding me to control my breathing so I wouldn’t get too worked up (not my proudest moments here, I was nervous to the point of shaking but she picked up on that and calmed me down). How anyone can be so nice, so caring, so gentle and so intelligent at the same time is beyond comprehension. Usually, people with good bedside manner tend to be poor practitioners and good practitioners tend to have poor bedside manner, you get one or the other and based on what your facility has and needs, you hire accordingly. Not Ashley though, her heart is as advanced as her brain.

Dr. Kowalczyk (Dentist):

After working with Ashley, I was nervous to have a new person in the room working on my teeth, but the handoff was seamless with Dr. Kowalczyk coming in and continuing the environment of care and communication. He has a great personality too, funny, engaging, calms you down and explains what he’s doing to you while he’s doing it. Maybe it’s a me-thing but I get most freaked out when I don’t know what’s happening, both Ashley and Dr. Kowalczyk are experts at communicating.

Overall:

I’m not going to pretend as though I love going to the dentist now, I’m not exactly looking forward to 6/1/20, but because of Ashley, Dr. Kowalsczyk and Raelee too (from an administrative standpoint), I can say that I now have an appreciation for the importance of dental health and I plan on staying consistent with it moving forward. I guess that’s the point of this review isn’t it? If you think you’re going to come out of this experience wishing you could see the dentist every day for the rest of your life, you’re being completely unrealistic. But I do think if you get the opportunity to work with Raelee, Ashley and Dr. Kowalczyk, you’ll have an appreciation for dental health and you’ll be inspired to care for your dental health enough that you will not let your fear and trepidation stop you from pursuing peak health.

RATINGS

Raelee (Receptionist): 5 out of 5

Ashley (Hygienist): 10 out of 5 (I know you might think this is hyperbole, but go see her and you’ll find that I’m not exaggerating on this rating)

Dr. Kowalczyk (Dentist): 5 out of 5

Dr. Ryan Kowalczyk provides outstanding, painless dental care. He and his staff are laid back, yet highly professional.

I have neglected my teeth for years as I suffer an extreme fear of dentistry. Recently, I broke a tooth; half of the tooth broke off clear down to the gum line. My husband took me to his dentist, Ryan Kowalczyk, whom he couldn't say enough about. Now I know why! Dr. Ryan Kowalczyk and his staff truly care about their clients and treat each one like family.

I will remain a loyal customer and return for ally dental needs, including regular cleanings & check ups.

I have been going to Downtown Dental since I moved to Boise about 3 years ago. Dr. Ryan Kowalczyk is a great dentist and very professional. The entire staff is very personable and friendly. I highly recommend this practice to anybody looking for a dentist.

My experience at Downtown Dental was okay. I’m giving it 2 stars because of the hygienist’s, who were very personable and were the reason I came back. They showed they cared and were very kind. Appointments took months upon months to schedule, sometimes with texts weeks later saying “sorry we are actually unavailable that date now”. The dentist himself was not personable at all, he walked in and said hello and then walked out. Seemed like he didn’t care too much about the patient in the seat. I was suppose to get a call back so I could use up the rest of my insurance before I switched jobs and just never heard back.

Dr. K is by far the best dentist I have ever had. I have been going for about 2 years, and the standard of patient care is off the charts amazing. Would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a new Dentist!