Lori M Lovette,DDS

At first I liked this office, but I found their medical billing practices lacked transparency and honesty which is my reason for the one star. In short, I believe that I was uninformed and overcharged due to their lack of due diligence to accurately communicate the cost of my procedure.
Dr. Lovette suggested that I refill my metal fillings with «tooth-​colored» amalgam fillings in Fall 2013. It was not a necessary procedure and they were not causing me any discomfort or problems. Nonetheless, I decided it would be good to do that at her recommendation as it seemed they would need replacing eventually. I asked them how much it would be because my new and better dental insurance was kicking in in a couple of months and I told them if my current insurance wouldn’t cover it or would have a higher co-​pay than my new insurance, that I would prefer to wait until my new (and better) coverage kicked in. I also had a health savings account that I could use to pay for the co-​pay tax-​free that would kick in at the same time.
The front desk person told me that it was impossible to know the exact amount, but that my insurance would cover the fillings. She said that it’s hard to determine the exact amount they would reimburse. She suggested that i not wait until my new insurance kicks in but to do it now. I went ahead with this plan and then received a bill for $ 400-​$ 500 in addition to my co-​pay, which I think was about $ 75. I was very upset with this because while it may be a fair price for the type of insurance that I had, I was paying for a more premium insurance later that would have likely covered this cost. While I understand that insurance may always deny a claim, I think it should be pretty straightforward to check whether or not they cover «tooth-​colored» amalgam fillings or not and if not, let me know what the charge would be from their end. They did not do this for me and instead it cost me money. I called and they were not willing to decrease any of the charges.
Also, in my opinion, $ 400-​$ 500 is not a «small amount». For many people, this is a significant amount of pay. I think this shows a lack of sensitivity to people’s financial situations. I think assuming that a bill over $ 400 is not a big deal shows a lack of disconnect between what real people earn and burdens them.
A new dentist, Dr. Winum, opened recently in the area and I think I will go check her out instead as I have heard great things.

Dr. LoVette is located in suite 1002 of the professional building on 1211 N Shartel. Her office is a fantastic place for a dentist office because each of the rooms looks out 10 stories above Oklahoma City and it is definitely a calming view.
The staff is fantastic and on the ball and the office doesn’t look hi-​tech at first glance, but the equipment they use certainly is.
The first person I saw was Debbie and she took a million x-​rays. She is such a neat person and fun to talk to so my nerves weren’t an issue. And, all of the x-​rays were displayed on a computer monitor so you could actually see the results! I had fun trying to figure out which tooth was my crown!
Then Dr. LoVette came in and introduced herself. She examined my x-​rays, talked about what she saw, what we needed to do (three baby cavities). They happened to have a cancellation and could do the work at the same visit if I were interested. Uh, shots and drilling, didn’t really think I felt up to it.
From there I went to see Jamie and she cleaned my teeth and we had a great conversation about diets and Bob Stoops. She told me upfront my insurance wasn’t going to cover the fluoride treatment but I could pay out of pocket and this is how much it cost. We finished in 30 minutes so I decided to go ahead and get the fillings done today. Heck, I had time to take a xanax before they would start the work, so why not.
What a waste of a pill!!! The procedure was flawless and, just fine. Debbie gave me a topical to numb, Dr. LoVette gave me a few injections and we were off. I was listening to a pod cast so the drilling noise didn’t bother me too much. Because of where the fillings were, the compound got «all over» my teeth, but Dr. LoVette polished everything and I was off.
I detailed probably too much, but I want you to know I was there for nearly three hours and only had the slightest bit of «dentist» nerves. The entire office is full of people that like their jobs and like their patients, and like Dr. LoVette. It had been almost 3 years since I had been to a dentist because I relocated to OKC from Houston, so I was terrified of what we were going to find. But it was actually a very nice experience and I highly recommend her. Actually looking forward to my 6 month follow up.

Walking into a place knowing you have to get numbed up for a filling does not sit well. This feeling is worse than walking into a tattoo shop. You know the pain is coming, but it’s not a welcome feeling! Naturally, right off the bat I told Lori’s assistant (think her name is Desiree) that I was scared and nervous. She calmed me down and diverted my attention by asking questions to get my mind off the filling business. Well played!
I told Lori to make that side of my mouth as numb as possible. Lori did a play by play while I clenched my eyes shut during the whole process. Half and hour later I was done. I had a hard time eating that day, but at least my cavity is filled!

Remember the last time you fell in love? Maybe you met her/​him in school or out at a pub trivia night. She/​He was stunningly beautiful, smart, lisp… Well imagine that feeling every time you walk into a dentist office. Dr. Lovette exceeds my idea of a perfect dentist, she is good (so far three cavities and a chipped front tooth), she is friendly and she runs a really tight ship.
Her shop is as state of the art as it gets and her staff is amazing.
I wish I was better with words but if you have the right insurance, go see Dr. Lovette.