Return-Path: Received: from c.gp.cs.cmu.edu by K.GP.CS.CMU.EDU id aa06367; 4 Dec 92 7:41:16 EST Received: from c.gp.cs.cmu.edu by C.GP.CS.CMU.EDU id aa00658; 4 Dec 92 7:41:01 EST From: "Jeffrey J. Basista" To: bovik+@K.GP.CS.CMU.EDU Subject: database--health; class--dentists Date: Fri, 04 Dec 92 07:40:59 EST Message-ID: <656.723472859@C.GP.CS.CMU.EDU> Sender: Jeffrey_Basista@C.GP.CS.CMU.EDU -------------- Hi, Harry: I sent you some mail about dentists a few days ago. Here's a revised version of that mail, containing more information. -Jeff ********************************************************************** Here are some responses I got when I asked for recommendations for a HealthAmerica dentist. In case you're curious, I'll probably go to either Josephson or Peretich. Soster (Sq. Hill): 6 for, 2 against Peretich (Forest Hills): 2 for Josephson (East Liberty): 1 for Melnick (Oakland): 2 for, 1 against Pinelli (Monroeville): 1 for I don't trust Melnick, mainly because he performed tests on my teeth that seemed completely unnecessary, and I've never had such a high bill for a routine checkup. The e-mail messages (edited) and my story on Melnick follow: ****** Soster ****** I've been using Soster Dentists (or Dental Associates or something like that) - they're in Squirrel Hill on Shady just North of Forbes - in the building above Wendy's. I cannot say that they're wonderful - but then who loves going to a dentist :-) They seem reasonable - I haven't had any real complaints about them, and they do take Health America. -------------------------------------------------- I've had good luck with Soster Dental on Forbes & Shady (right above Wendy's), but I've never had any major work - a couple of fillings. My only complaint is that unless you specifically ask, you won't get the same dentist from visit to visit (they seem to rotate between a couple of offices). -------------------------------------------------- I go to Dr. Abel Soster @ 5889 Forbes Ave. He and his staff take great care and I trust him. He has a couple of other offices around the area his number is in the phone book, if you're interested. -------------------------------------------------- I've been going to Soster Dental in Squirrel Hill (they're above Wendy's). I've been pleased with them, though I've only needed to see the dentist once. My hygenist thought that I needed three cavities filled. When I saw the dentist, she filled one, decided the other two didn't need to be filled but that they would watch them before deciding to fill. That impressed me -- and saved me lots of money. -------------------------------------------------- I recommend Soster Dental Associates, on the corner of Forbes & Shady- in the same building as Wendy's. I have been there 3 times for cleaning/xray/exam, and each time the cleaning/xraying was done by the asst, and the exam by Paul Keehan, the dentist. -------------------------------------------------- I have been once to Soster Dental assocs in Squirell Hill, but was not too happy with the care. -------------------------------------------------- I go to Soster Dental which is in Squirrel Hill (at the corner of Forbes and Shady, above Wendy's). The dentist I see there is Paul Keelan and he is terrific -- I've also been more than pleased with other people in the office who have treated me. I recommended Keelan to a colleague here in my office who went there recently and was also satisfied. -------------------------------------------------- STAY AWAY FROM SOSTER DENTAL!!! Here's my history with them: Feb/March (?) 91: went to Soster with what turned out to be a filling which needed to be replaced. The decay went fairly deep, so they put in a temp filling to "calm down the nerve". March 91: went to Soster for a cleaning/check-up. Was told I had 4 more cavities. Made appointments to fill these, as well as an appointment to replace the temp filling with a permanent filling. April 91: drilling and filling. Sept 91: saw a new dentist (since original dentist had since moved on). She told me that the replacement filling in my "problem tooth" had chipped off (evidently the surface hadn't been contoured to fit with the tooth below it), and so it needed to be replaced. At this time the dentist also found two more cavities. May 92: at this check-up the doctor told me that the replacement filling needed to be trimmed on the side of the tooth. More drilling. The dentist also found one more cavity. September 92: at this point I went back to the dentist in Cleveland who I'd been going to before I started with Soster. I'd now been having pain in one tooth since Feb of 91, and I was dammed scared. The dentist took x-rays of the tooth, and said that it was basically healthy, but that all the filling and drilling had left it fairly traumatized, so that it was going to twinge for a while. He was more concerned that I'd had 7 additional fillings in the two years since I'd seen him, and he felt that most of these were probably quite unecessary, since before that I'd needed a filling once every two or three years. His advice was to find another dentist in Pittsburgh. So this was my experience: it took two dentists three tries to get one filling right, plus 7 additional, possibly unnecessary, fillings. Additional stories: My husband was going to them. He'd never had a filling in his life, but last year Soster said he needed one. The next visit they said he needed two more. He's looking for another dentist too. A co-worker here went to them. They cracked a tooth while filling it. She's still going to a different doctor there, who's going to put on a crown for her. Basically, it's a production-line place. You probably won't see the same dentist twice, cause there's a lot of turn-over. When they clean your teeth they take x-rays. You won't see a doctor then unless you request it, (and they'll charge). The standard practice is for the doctor to look at the x-rays, and s/he will figure out how many cavities you have on the basis of the x-rays alone. All the people I've dealt with there have been nice, sympathetic, etc. But, I don't think the dentists are very competent, and, given my experience, I think sometimes they drill just to meet a quota. ******* Melnick ******* Michael S. Melnick (Dentist) 128 N. Craig Street 687-8888 -------------------------------------------------- I'd recommend Dr. Melnick. I've been going to him for over a year now, and he's been great. His office is in the Duncan building on Craig St. (right across from the college club, near mellon bank). There office number is 687-8888. He has a very professional and friendly staff. -------------------------------------------------- In 1982, my teeth collided with someone's knee in a game of killer frisbee. Two teeth were partially knocked out. I pushed them back into place and went to Montefiore Hospital, where an oral surgeon took a look at me. He told me that the teeth might give me trouble. They might abscess, and I might need to have them taken out and have root canal surgery performed. However, he added, if the teeth gave me no real trouble in the following few months, I could probably keep the teeth and not have any serious problems. They are cracked, but they look normal and get their job done. To this very day, I get pain under those teeth when the weather changes. Still, I have had no serious problems with them. I might get lucky and avoid root canal surgery after all. After 10 years, I still have my teeth. Every dentist I've seen has said that I've had good fortune, and that as long as I realized that I *could* have problems in the future, there was no need for action now. Melnick had a different view. First of all, he insisted on administering a "vitality test" to the two cracked teeth and to several surrounding teeth. The vitality test is essentially electric shock torture, in which the dentist applies current to a tooth until you signal that you can feel the current (usually by yelling "ouch"). This stupid test showed that the nerves in both of the cracked teeth were dead, and that the surrounding nerves don't like electric current at all! These results were not surprising. Keep in mind that I went to see him about three years ago. My accident had happened 6-7 years earlier. Why did he have to determine if the nerves were dead? Did it make any difference? I wasn't having any trouble, so the vitality of the nerves seemed more an academic matter than a practical matter. Of course, the test put money in his pocket, so I guess it was practical for him. He also noted several surfaces on my teeth that looked suspicious, and he was worried that I might have some problem with my gums-- in addition to the terrible problems I might be having with my cracked teeth. He referred me to a periodontist and told me to schedule another appointment with him. (It seems that he refers lots of people to this periodontal practice.) I haven't been back to Melnick, and I haven't had a filling or had any sort of problem with my teeth. Two dentists have remarked that my teeth are in very good shape, and they concur that if my cracked teeth aren't bothering me, I should leave them alone. (There are a few other negative messages about Melnick in the SCS "bovik" database.) ******** Peretich ******** My family has been pretty happy with David Peretich on Ardmore Boulevard. He's competent, his prices are reasonable, he's a good guy, and he treats children like children and adults like adults. -------------------------------------------------- I started going to Dr. Peretich at 2020 Ardmore Blvd in Forest Hills (271-1602). I also brought my son there. Everything was routine except that I had a small cavity in a front tooth that he filled. He's a low-key guy. He explained my bite and its consequences better than any other dentist that I've had. If you are with Health America he gives you the HA discount on all services. If you also have one of the CMU dental plans, he first applies for that coverage. If they don't pay everything, then he discounts the whole service, and charges the difference. There was one service that he charges two dollars more than the CMU plan pays, but after the HA discount, he charged me nothing. He explained that all HA dentists are supposed to do it that way. ********* Josephson ********* Gerald M. Josephson 5901 Penn Ave in S'Liberty 361-7300 Excellent dentist, good guy, good friend. I've used him for the past 10 years and recommended him to many people from CMU who have been satisfied. ******* Pinelli ******* I know of a healthamerica dentist in Monroeville. I think he is good. His name is Steven Pinnelli. He is in the phone book. ***** Other ***** You might want to try dialing 2-HEALTH. I needed to find a doctor and they were very helpful. It's a cool, free service. They can give you a lot of background info. 2-HEALTH is run by some independent group of hospitals in the area. The idea (that they advertise) is that they have NO allegience to any particular practitioners. I was very happy with them when I was looking for a doctor that would be able to meet my specific needs in my zip-code area.