A previous patient had a dental emergency that her “new” practice could not see her for. She had a temporary crown that had come out of place. The dental practice that had done the preparation for the crown was not available to see her for a few days and the tooth was beginning to hurt. Her concern grew, so she called our office, where she had been a regular patient, years prior. Ann got her in right away.

When I looked at the existing temporary, I was immediately concerned, because the shape and edges of it had caused her gums to become very inflamed, which made the whole area painful. I showed Dr. Donaldson, and asked if I could remake it so that the tissue around it could heal better and reduce the discomfort. He agreed that a new temporary was just the right thing to do. After the new temporary was placed, the patient had an immediate and positive response: no more pain! It was far better now than at any time since it had been worked on. She appreciated the time we took to care for her and felt that she would prefer that we make her permanent crown. She returned to our practice and has become a regular patient once again!

We have seen stories like this from time to time over the years. Patients sometimes go to other practices in town to save $40 or $100 dollars. Most of those patients actually return a year or two later with a comment along the lines of, “Now I get it!” At Donaldson & Guenther, we are guilty of trying. We try to get it very right the first time. That means appointment times that are long enough to do it right, great temporaries and restorations for happy gums and teeth, and using superior materials and technicians.  We do not see allergic reactions that come from cheap materials (like crowns from China) because we don’t do stuff like that. In fact, we pay double to triple for our lab work than the average. Why? We use only world class technicians and the finest materials, so our work fits well, is biocompatible, and is beautiful.

Discount dentists simply cannot afford to consistently do it like that. That is why many of our patients that move out of state continue to see us. Sometimes, they just send a note of appreciation after their new dentist comments about the high quality of their previous dental work. Some dentists even take the time to send us a note. It makes us feel great about how we care for people. So when people return, we have an open door with no strings (or guilty feelings) attached.

-Kara

I recently saw a new patient who was petrified to be in the dental chair.  I calmly spoke to him, letting him know he was in control and I would stop any time he became uncomfortable. He listened to his iPod while I cleaned his teeth. Although that’s routine here at Donaldson and Guenther, it was new for him and helped him relax a bit.  When I was all done he couldn’t believe the difference in how clean his teeth felt and how comfortable he had been. He was very appreciative of my work and caring approach. He said, “My teeth have never felt this great before! Thank you so much.” That just made my day, and this is why I love what I do everyday!

-Kelly

Although I was aware that I was snoring at night, as I was reminded by my wife in the mornings, I was not aware of the “less than restful” sleep I was getting at night until I started using my mouth appliance from Donaldson and Guenther.  I am now getting a more restful sleep at night and wake fully ready for a full and challenging day.  The added benefit is that I am no longer snoring and being an irritant to my wife.  Dr. Kristen Guenther did an excellent job in fitting me for my “sleeping appliance,” which took only 3 visits.  The device fits naturally in my mouth at night and does not cause me any difficulties in falling or staying asleep at night.  I found the people at Donaldson and Guenther extremely helpful when I had questions or if I needed the device “tweaked” after or short time of initial use.  I would highly recommend Donaldson and Guenther to anyone who is seeking help with a snoring condition or who has even a mild case of sleep apnea.

-David R Sarns