Perfect Smiles: Cosmetic, Family & Sedation Dentistry

My 8 year old son had such anxiety about the dentist office, that we were unable to get him to even sit in the chair or get an x-ray for over a year. Although it was a pediatric dentist office, the staff seemed ill-equipped to deal with childhood anxieties. I decided to try Perfect Smiles on the advice of a friend, and cannot believe how well the visit went. The staff were friendly, accommodating, and gentle, and never made my son to feel uncomfortable or silly for being hesitant. They did not rush him and we were miraculously able to get both x-rays and a cleaning completed - and without the sedation that I suspected we'd need in order to accomplish such a feat. What a difference! Dr. Henckler, the pediatric dentist, was phenomenal - and the dental assistants were down to earth, friendly, and upbeat. What a relief!

I have extreme anxiety and fear with dental procedures as well as serious concerns regarding infection due to an immune-suppressant Rx. When I called Perfect Smiles it was because of their claims of being particularly compassionate and committed to working with someone like me.

I was initially seen with a painful back molar and after the exam I decided to have the tooth extracted.

My experience during the first exam was very nice. I was greeted by professional staff on every level. I had an opportunity to express my concerns and when I became very anxious during the x-ray and exam process, I was quite respectfully supported by the hygienist, Michele.

The following appointment for the extraction had actually been scheduled so that Michele would be available. This was reassuring to me, but when I arrived for the procedure, Michele was not there. I was greeted by perfectly lovely young women and prepped for the extraction. I asked to speak to the doctor before being sedated and the nurse asked what I wanted him to know. I reiterated the information about my extreme fear, anxiety and infection concerns. She assured me that the doctor was aware.

They started the nitrous mask and after the nurse questioned why he was taking so long, Dr. Michelsohn came in. He did not ask me any questions, only stated that he was aware of my concerns.

During the extraction, the tooth broke and the doctor had to be pretty rough to get all the pieces and the root out. It was exceedingly unpleasant and my anxiety increased dramatically as Dr. Michelsohn needed to use a drill and brusquely called to staff for "the larger root pick". With me tensing up, hyperventilating, grasping at the arms of the chair and tears running down my face, Dr. Michelsohn, unaffected, asked "What is the problem here?". The nurse answered awkwardly, "She has anxiety". Michelsohn clearly was NOT aware of my concerns.

When it was all over, my only comment to Dr. Michelsohn was, "that really sucked". He left for a moment, came back, spoke to me briefly about pain meds and did not address how upset I was in the least.

As I was leaving, at least 5 people asked me how I was and how it went. I politely let everyone know that it was awful and that I was not okay. The staff seemed uncomfortable with my candor and no one had the skill set or presence of mind to address the obvious: Dr Michelson, personally, had not done his part in provided the comfortable, fear and anxiety-free experience that Perfect Smiles wants to sell and indeed states as its mission.

I understand the inherent complications I unfortunately experienced with my procedure. However, I do not understand Dr. Michelsohn's arrogance and indifference toward me as a patient and a customer. As the leader of the team that served me, all I can assume is that he is the only true representative of the Perfect Smiles practice and I will never set foot in the office again.

Nicole is the gentlest hygienists I have ever had there. My husband, however, has had two horrible experiences at the Seekonk office. A cleaning that lasted two hours and a crown install that was over an hour. No one has reached out to him at all. I'm very disappointed as I referred him there.

I love this place! They helped me with my dental concerns in a professional and kind way. Dr. Ahern is the best and so is the entire staff. They will go out of their way to make you comfortable. I have recommended them to many my friends!

Im so dissapointed it taken me awhile to finally write a review. But as everyone there is so nice i felt bad but iv had 3 fillings all of witch are so bad i can not even eat on that side of my mouth but what's worse is they scared my face during a filling and i did go back to see the dentist and she never seen me i saw another dentist and they still charged me alot of money never the less i have a permanat scare from the file hitting my face i have called sevral times and between the pain in the fillings the scar on my face and the fact they still expect me to pay so frustrating and i was very nice about the incident when i called. But i guess it comes down to spa treatment and not actual dental work as i said everyone was nice but dental skill is lacking my mom also went her as well during the same time as i told her they where very nice not knowing the out come and she as well went for dental work and now had permanat nerve damage. Im so upset and so afraid i rather suffer with pain at this point.

I would like to let everyone that I met today at Perfect Smile in Westport were excellent. You all made me feel very comfortable. I will be back to finish what we have started. I have never felt more comfortable then at Perfect Smiles. I have a fear of dentist that is beyond fear. And walked out of there office looking forward to going back. Thank you everyone.

Well, there have been a few bumps in the road with communicating at perfect smiles dentistry. The second time I went there I had made an appointment and apparently they had sent a text and phone call asking me to re-confirm my appointment a few weeks beforehand. Since I was out of town I never responded and the day of appointment came and I found that they had canceled my appointment since I hadn't responded to their text. I put that down to just a
"rules of the road " mistake on my part but today I had another appointment and I was texted a week ago to confirm, which I did.
I then received ANOTHER text message asking if I wanted to make an appointment since they hadn't seen me in a while. This was confusing, so I called them and they apologized and said that the two systems don't talk to each other and no one had been watching the other system.
Okayyy...... Well, the night before I was texted again to fill out a questionnaire and paperwork which took about seven or eight minutes but I'm sure saves this office time during check-in. ANOTHER text showed up last night saying that when I checked in I should stay in the parking lot and text the staff that I was outside waiting and they would contact me when my appointment was ready.
When I arrived first thing in the morning at 8:30 a.m. (my appointment being first thing at 9:00 a.m.),
I texted them at 20 minutes before my appointment and never heard anything back. I texted them again a few minutes later asking for them to acknowledge that they had seen my text and again, didn't get any response. Another car pulled in and the person waited a bit and then I saw them walk in,.... it's now my appointment time and no message from the staff. It wasn't until 10 minutes after my appointment time that somebody walked out into the parking lot and said to come in. They explained that the text system shouldn't have had me wait in the parking lot. So even though they text you to death with instructions to follow they apparently don't have anybody really watching the text number. This is a real office failure. I wrote this text in the hopes that an actual manager May see this and maybe they can fix their systems, but the communications at this office, while probably saving the staff time, is a bit of a pain for the patients, and quite impersonal. I did want to give them three stars though as once you're inside and talking to real people their office system seem to work well.

Today I had Dr. Anderson for the first time......as is the norm everything was outstanding.
Perfect Smiles-Westport was and always has been very supportive of my fear factor. After the first 2 visits I no longer have the anxiety that has plagued me for most of my life (57 yrs or so).

God bless the hands and skills of the entire dental staff!

I am moving on to a warmer climate but rest assured every 6 months I'll return for my dental care at PERFECT SMILES-WESTPORT.
😄 Susan Lucas

Great experience! The staff is all very friendly and helpful. Knowledgeable people that make you feel comfortable. I will be doing all my future dental work with them.

Rebekah was amazing!!!!! She taught me some wonderful anxiety reducing techniques while getting my dental impressions. She’s a wonderful and calming person, kudos to her! Amazing person.