As her appointment progressed and she saw that Dr. Donaldson and I were having fun, joking about how the materials should come in fun colors instead of “serious white,” she started to relax and by the end of her appointment was also having fun. We explained the procedure and what to expect in the days following her appointment. She was so pleased and must have thanked me at least 10 times for taking such good care of her before leaving.

I explained that is how we do things here; we work hard at keeping our patients comfortable during everything we do.
She enjoyed her appointment and was appreciative of the information and follow up after the fairly complex procedures.

-Irene

- Kara

Having just moved to Ann Arbor from NYC, I was in search of a dental practice for my family.  I stumbled across Donaldson & Guenther as I happened to be in the building for another appointment.    I was immediately struck by Ann’s professionalism and kindess, not to mention the calmness of the office.  I scheduled a cleaning for my husband and reluctantly, one for myself only after being assured by my husband that he didn’t feel a thing.

Surprisingly, I made it through the cleaning and was warmly greeted by Dr. Donaldson who went over what seemed an endless list of dental problems. I listened politely (terrified, honestly), all the while thinking there’s no way I’m ever stepping foot in this office again. I was sure that I could come up with some reason to avoid coming back.

Three months later, much to my dismay, a piece of my tooth chipped off and I thought, oh boy, this is it, my teeth are all about to fall out because I didn’t go back. I went back to see Dr. Donaldson who, again, very professionally explained the work that needed to be done and without judgement, listened to my fears. Dr. Donaldson and his staff showed such a true concern for my health and fears – I trusted them.

The morning of my appointment, I walked in and was greeted by warm smiles and was literally hand held through the entire sedation process.  The assistants went over the process with me step by step. Dr. Donaldson went over the dental work with me and explained what and how I would feel. Despite being treated with incredible patience and compassion, I was still extremely anxious. I was given some sedation meds which I was sure wasn’t going to work since I felt fine, not a bit sleepy, wide awake and very aware about everything going around me. The assistants came in and tried to relax me, but my heartrate was sky high, my knees were shaking, and you couldn’t pry my hands apart if you tried! The last thing I remember is hearing one of the assistants telling me everything was going to be all right.

I was told I left the office around noon but I can’t really remember a thing. When I woke up later that evening, my husband told me Dr. Donaldson had called to check on me and offered some tips in the event that I had any discomfort, which I never did.

I have now undergone two dental appointments under sedation and this last appointment, without. Thank you, Dr. Donaldson, and your entire staff for your support and for giving me the confidence to have dental work done without the use of sedation.

-Janice

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

-Kelly

-David R Sarns

In this case, one of our patients had an emergency and I was able to help her.  One of her front teeth had become so loose that it fell out completely.  She wasn’t in any pain (the tooth had a root canal and post) but was mortified because she had this gaping hole when she smiled!

As an assistant, I am limited as to what I can do to help.  So after thinking about it, I was able to affix the tooth back into place long enough to take an impression.  By doing this, it allowed me to make her a clear retainer which would hold her tooth in place until Dr. Donaldson could restore it more permanently.  The patient was so happy that I was able to help her!  She still remembers how “Irene made me a retainer and saved my smile.”

-Irene

regards
Barry Kliger

He hung out with my office manager afterward and went on and on about how relieved, hopeful, and genuinely excited he was. He knew he could have good dental health and how we were going to help him with sedation dentistry to get a few things back under control. He could have confidence in himself again and the dentist wasn’t going to be the enemy any more. As a dentist, this is what it is all about for me: helping people get to a better place in their lives.

It is almost a daily goal and practice for me to help people get past their fears, resentments, and shame related to their dental health. When I meet new people, I try to find out what they want for themselves and what obstacles they need to overcome, like fear, trust, and shame. I see people start to relax as they realize I want to know what is on their mind. They slowly drop their walls as they realize that I’m not going to tell them how bad they are.

Instead, I help them see what the status of their health is and explain what they can do for themselves. We talk about what is important to them and a reasonable phased approach of how to get there. The confidence and trust build over time. I have seen so many guarded personalities become warm wonderful professional friends over the years. I know that is why our out-of-state population continues to grow. It just comes from walking the talk. And we are guilty of trying.

At Donaldson and Guenther, we do our work when it is right for you, our patients. In these hard times, there are many people we are just keeping stabilized until they can do more definitive work later. We do world class dentistry at realistic fees… Work that rarely needs to be re-done. Comprehensive Care in a supportive environment: implants, sleep apnea and snoring devices, root canals, cosmetic and restorative dentistry, and general care. More and more patients are making use of sedation dentistry with excellent results and little memory of the process.

It is for good reason that people like the man I saw this week sometimes try to hold back tears. In this world is seems unfortunately hard to find old-fashioned caring blended with state of the art quality. We do it every day at Donaldson and Guenther. Real people, real caring, real talent. Yep…. For real.

S. Thatcher