What You Won't Find at Our Clinic — and What You Will.
Dr’s Notes
Scroll through social media these days and you’ll see dental implant ads everywhere. The biggest thing on every ad is the price. Next to it, words like “Same-day,” “Easy,” “Special offer.” While thinking about how to introduce our clinic among ads like these, a thought occurred to me.
Rather than telling you what we have, it might be more accurate to start with what we don’t.
So today, I’d like to honestly share a few things you won’t find at 365 E-LOOK Dental — including why we place dental implants without sedation — and a few things you will.
Things You Won't Find at Our Clinic
One. You Won't Find Quick Appointments
I’ll start with a confession. Chair time at our clinic tends to run long. Patients sometimes ask us why their appointments take so much time, and out of genuine concern, we keep trying to shorten them.
But when we broke our appointments down step by step, there wasn’t much we could cut.
The time we spend explaining — what condition your tooth is in, why this treatment is needed, what the alternatives are and the pros and cons of each, until you can make the judgment yourself — that time can’t be cut. Skipping the explanation makes the appointment faster, but it means you receive treatment without knowing what’s happening inside your own mouth. I don’t believe that’s good dentistry.
The same goes for the treatment itself. There are steps we must take to protect the quality of care, and skipping them saves time but changes the result. It may feel like time saved in the moment — but if a problem develops later, it ends up being treatment that takes far more time in the end.
So our appointments will run a little long today, too. We’d be grateful if you could visit with some time to spare.
Two. Implants Are Not Our First Recommendation
We are not an implant-only clinic.
A problem with a tooth does not automatically mean an implant. The order of treatment we believe in goes like this.
First, we protect your gums. Periodontal (gum) treatment controls inflammation so the bone supporting your teeth doesn’t melt away. That bone is the foundation of your natural teeth — and if you should ever need an implant someday, it becomes the foundation for that, too.
Second, we save your teeth. When a tooth can be saved with root canal treatment, we save it, so you can keep using your own tooth as long as possible. Even the best implant is never as good as a healthy natural tooth.
Third — only when no other option remains — we extract the tooth and place an implant, as the last step.
Implants are an excellent treatment. We simply believe they belong last in the order of care. That’s why, at our clinic, you will never hear “Let’s just pull it and place an implant.”
Three. You Won't Find Budget Implants
This part may sound like an excuse, so let me simply state the facts.
We contract directly with the implant manufacturer and purchase only genuine fixtures. The materials for the restoration that goes on top of the implant are also chosen by one standard: the quality of the result. Having chosen our materials this way, we couldn’t find a way to lower the price any further.
An implant is not a treatment that ends on the day it’s placed. It’s a structure that has to withstand the force of chewing in your mouth for a decade or more — possibly for the rest of your life. With that much time in mind, we couldn’t see anywhere in the materials worth saving money.
We never found a way to make implants cheaper. But we do know how to make implants that last. We chose the latter.
Four. You Won't Find "Sleep" Implants — We Place Dental Implants Without Sedation
We do not administer sedatives during implant surgery.
To be honest, we seriously considered introducing sedation at one point. For patients who find dental treatment frightening, it clearly has something to offer. But after putting on the scale the possibility of safety problems that can arise under sedation, we concluded that our clinic would be better off without it.
Recently, coming across news reports of accidents that occurred while patients were sedated, we’ve found ourselves thinking again that the decision was the right one.
Of course, we know very well that many patients walk through our door feeling anxious. So we put our effort in a different direction. We make sure you don’t feel pain even while fully awake — starting with a careful, step-by-step approach to anesthesia — and we explain what we’re doing as we treat you. If anything feels uncomfortable, raise your hand and we stop, anytime.
Putting you to sleep is not the only way to take the fear away. And above all, we believe nothing matters more than your safety.
Things You Will Find at Our Clinic
One. Doctors Who Diagnose in Person, and Explain in Person
There’s a reason I’m writing down something that should go without saying.
We often hear this story from patients: a surgical drape went over their face the moment they sat in the chair, and they never once saw the dentist’s face until the treatment was over. Going home without knowing why your tooth hurt, or what treatment you actually received, seems to be a more common experience than you’d think.
At our clinic, the doctors diagnose you in person and explain in person. We put your intraoral photos and X-rays — and when needed, your CT scan — up on the screen and go through them together: what condition you’re in, and why this treatment is needed.
If the plan needs to change during treatment, we take a photo right then and there, show it to you, and explain first. It is a cumbersome way to work, admittedly. But in our treatment rooms, no procedure moves forward without an explanation.
And it doesn’t have to be about the treatment. If there’s anything you’d like, just tell us. We’ll take it into account and do our best to accommodate you.
Two. An In-House Dental Lab
The lab that makes our crowns and prosthetic restorations is right inside our clinic.
Because restorations are made in-house, there’s no middleman and no shipping time — they’re completed faster. And because the doctors and the lab technicians communicate side by side, the shape and design of your restoration directly reflects the doctor’s input. The person who actually looked inside your mouth stays involved until your restoration is finished.
We choose the materials ourselves, too. We do not buy or use low-grade zirconia blocks that fracture easily, or unverified abutments. In the end, the material decides how long a restoration lasts. If it’s meant to last, it has to be made from good materials. In our lab, that principle is kept.
Three. Open Weekday Evenings, Saturdays, Sundays — and Holidays
Toothaches don’t only strike on weekday afternoons.
We know that many people simply can’t make it to a dental clinic during weekday daytime hours — because of work, because of school. So we’re open weekday evenings, Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays.
It’s also why our name begins with “365.”
In Closing
If you’re looking for a clinic that’s fast, easy, and cheap, we may not be the first choice for you. But if you want to keep your teeth for a long, long time, we believe we have something real to offer.
Thank you for reading.
— Dr. Junsang Lee, 365 E-LOOK Dental
This post is for general informational purposes only. Individual diagnosis and treatment plans are always determined through a clinical examination.
This article is for general information; individual diagnosis and treatment planning require an in-person examination.
