Howard L. Blivaiss, DDS & Associates, PC

I feel a responsibility to leave a review because I was recently on the market for a new dentist (had to select a provider for my DHMO plan) and found not only a lack of useful Unilocal reviews, but also found it difficult to parse out the real reviews from the fake ones. For what it’s worth, I’m a real person (grad student at NU living in Rogers Park) and this is my honest, uncoerced opinion.
I had a great experience at Dr. Blivaiss’s office. I’m not sure about the two negative reviews (which mostly had beef with a rude receptionist) — the practice is very small as far as I can tell, just Dr. Blivaiss and his assistant/​receptionist Diana. Diana was extremely sweet and nice to talk to on the phone, and I was able to make an appointment as early as the next weekday (I called on a Friday and she said she could schedule me for the following Monday). Maybe he used to have a rude assistant and got a new one; all I know is Diana is awesome.
I found Dr. Blivaiss to be both professional and friendly, with a sense of humor I appreciated (one negative reviewer was obviously not a fan of his sarcastic jokes though!). I was only there for a routine cleaning, so I can’t speak to how he handles more serious dental issues, but he seems extremely knowledgeable and experienced. He did all the cleaning himself and was thorough yet gentle. Above all I appreciated him providing me with relevant information but not trying to talk me into expensive and unnecessary procedures, respecting both the limits of my DHMO coverage, my relative lack of income (thanks, grad school!), and my autonomy in my healthcare decision-​making.
The office was clean and comfortable, and there was parking in the lot under the building. The entire experience was worlds above my experience with my previous dental provider in Evanston (4 month waiting list for routine cleanings; gross office; dentist that coerces you into unneeded fillings). If you are an NU student looking for a provider through the Cigna DHMO student dental plan, do yourself a favor and look outside of Evanston! Yes you will either need to drive to this office or take the red line to the Peterson bus (a bit of a trip) but it is WORTH IT! Be an empowered consumer!

I am almost 60 with quite a dental history. Dr. Blivaiss has been my dentist since first coming to Chicago in 2005. He has proven to be the most careful, skilled and thorough dentist I have ever had. Both with routine work and extensive development of a very complex 5-​implant bridge project after a bicycle accident, Dr. Blivaiss has continued to prove his ability as a master dental craftsman. He always follows through with what he agrees to do, and works well as a team player; as with the implant bridge project which involved several others including surgeon and technicians. I was glad that he stayed with Guardian so that I can continue with him. I highly recommend Dr. Blivaiss for every aspect of dental care you may need.
By the way, the receptionist that some people report as rude and troublesome is no longer working there. So please do not let that keep you away from working with Dr. Blivaiss!

Dr. Blivaiss is a very experienced, contientious dentist. He takes the time to do work at the highest level of quality and also gives hus patients mouths time to adjust to work before moving forwards.

I called the dentist office of Blivaiss Howard to set up an appointment since it was in my network. The receptionist was not helpful and not very friendly at all. Here I am trying to get an appointment and she was very rude. Shhesh… who knew that trying to get a dentist appointment would be that difficult and frustrating? So, I called my healthcare provider, told them what the receptionist aka also the manager told me, and that I wanted to switch to a new dentist because I don’t want to go to a place where I have to argue about trying to get a simple «dentist appointment.» Great customer service lady… NOT! Btw, it’s only a dentist office and not a high end store — so you should be more nice & helpful! VERY, VERY DISAPPOINTED!

I moved to Scottsdale from Chicago, about 11 years ago. I have been seeing a great dentist since I got here and he’s repaired or replaced crowns I had done 15 — 30 years ago.
Last time i went in to see him he pointedly asked me about a specific crown that was the only one he hadn’t had to replace or repair. I told him it was installed back in 1994 when I lived in Chicago by Dr. Blivass. He said that Dr. Blivass was obviously a really good dentist since crowns normally don’t last that long. Next time I go to Chicago I’ll make sure to call the Good Doctor Blivass but until then, if you read this Dr. Blivass, I want to thank you for the value and professionalism you imparted to me.