Audrey
5/5
Dr. Melara is the best dentist I have ever seen! The office as a whole is efficient, compassionate, and organized! I had three fillings done and one crown placed. Making the appointments online was easy and convenient. Filling out the health questionnaires online before the appointments also saved lots of time. For every appointment, I was seen promptly and on time, not the usual 1 hour wait I am used to at other offices. For my consultation and evaluation, Dr. Melara patiently answered all my questions and explained the status of my dental care thoroughly, not continuing until he was sure I completely understood every aspect. I appreciated this a lot because I had seen two dentists prior that had differing opinions and couldn't explain to me why.
Dr. Melara and the assistants made sure I was comfortable for every procedure and frequently checked on me; they have great bedside manner! I felt well taken care of and looked out for; never once was I made to feel ashamed for my dentist phobia. All of my fillings went well and fit perfectly with my bite. I elected to get a temporary crown instead of doing the same day permanent crown option because that's what my insurance would cover. When my temporary crown fell off two days later, I was able to be seen the next morning as an emergency appointment because I had incredible pain/sensitivity. Dr. Melara and his team were kind enough to place the permanent crown that day even though my appointment for the permanent crown wasn't until a month later. The crown fits perfectly and matches my teeth, you can't even tell it's a crown!
I want to emphasize how big of a deal and practically life changing this office has been for me. As a young child, I had an extremely traumatizing experience at a dentist involving tremendous pain as I had 4 teeth pulled. Although I received about 10 or more shots of local anesthetic, it wasn't working on me and I felt every part of the procedure. I am not sure why general anesthesia wasn't used or if maybe the dentist didn't believe me, but I was sobbing uncontrollably and almost passed out. Clearly I have issues with anesthetic and also extremely sensitive teeth/nerves. Combined with PTSD from the traumatic experience, you can imagine why having any dental work done sounds impossible to me. This office is the first place I was actually comfortable during the procedures. Dr. Melara is so gentle. He kept asking if I had any pain and gave me more numbing shots as needed. Unfortunately I do need a lot of numbing shots, but that is much preferred to having lots of pain. When my temporary crown fell off and the permanent one needed to be placed, I was very scared and in a lot of pain despite taking 600mg of ibuprofen. I even started crying in the chair, but Dr. Melara worked on me right away and helped me feel so much more comfortable. I recommend this office and Dr. Melara to anyone that has dentist anxiety/fear/phobia, you will be well taken care of!
Side-note: Reminder that my pain levels are not normal and usually most of these procedures are easy and painless. During the procedures, I need a crazy amount of numbing shots frequently and ultimately usually still feel a little bit of sensitivity. As of now, I have sensitivity/pain in my fillings 3 weeks later. For a lot of people, their temporary crown falls off and they feel nothing, but for me it was immense pain. With my permanent crown, it has been a week and it is still extremely sensitive/painful to cold/heat. I have to drink only warm fluids and eat only warm foods or suffer about 5 minutes of electrifying pain. This is NOT the average experience so don't be scared.
In regards to billing and insurance, I have Blue Shield of CA HMO. As with any HMO, I recommend pre-authorization first. This office is great, they sent in the pre-auth forms immediately for me, which is awesome because they always take a few weeks to process. The office clearly communicates the estimate and answers any questions as needed.
