Shari Leavitt, DMD

Dr. Leavitt’s office is friendly, professional, and efficient. She’ll tell you exactly what’s going on in your mouth and talk you through everything every step of the way.
I looked through the other reviews, and I’m little confused as to where all the negativity is coming from, as I’ve never had a bad experience here. I’m chalking it up to the fact that people generally like to complain about their dental work, no matter what it is or how well it’s done. Dr. Leavitt shows a lot of integrity in her work, and has been able to find problems before they manifest into something more serious. You won’t find a better experience in Philly.

All I can say is go somewhere else!!! I have great oral hygiene I go to the dentist twice a year as you should and have only had two cavities in my life, I’m 37. I went to this dentist for my regular six month check-​up because I use to go here awhile ago and my regular dentist moved out of state. After waiting an hour to be seen, I was on time for my appt. I was told I had four cavities and had to come back to get them filled and she wouldn’t clean my teeth at this time. So I come back the following week to have my teeth filled and cleaned. My cavities were filled, it was quite painful and the hygenist comes to clean my teeth. She asked does my teeth bleed when I brush I tell her no. I swear it felt like she picked at my gums until they bleed and she informs me of some product I should buy to help the bleeding. Finally all done sore and numb at the same time. The next day, Im eating and my mouth is in real pain which did not subside within the week so I go back to the dentist. I explain to her the pain Im having and she says this is normal. She doesnt check my teeth, she just looks in my mouth and tells me again this is normal despite the pain I’m telling her that I’m in. Again I’m encouraged to buy some product to help with sensitivity, I don’t. To end this long story, I go to another dentist and describe my pain and after a complete examination of my teeth he discovered I had a slight fracture in the tooth that I just had filled. I can’t say for certain that Leavitt broke my tooth when she filled it but I can say my mouth was pain free before I went to her. I had to get a root canal and a crown to save my tooth. The root canal was less painful than getting my tooth filled. Again I say don’t go this dentist she’s overpriced and stays trying to promote some product and completely ignored me as the patient

Dr. Leavitt’s staff are wonderfully thoughtful, sweet and accommodating. However, I cannot recommend her services as a dentist.
During my regular six month check up, Leavitt told me that I have four cavities (an exceptional amount given that I was there just six months ago). She asked me to get my teeth measured for fluoride trays ($ 100 out of pocket, which she didn’t tell me until I asked, she also told me that there was no guarantee that this would make any difference), which I told her I didn’t want since I already drink tap water (lots), use toothpaste with fluoride, AND got my teeth coated in fluoride by her. I asked to get all four cavities filled at once, because I have a very busy work schedule and it is difficult for me to take time off to come to the dentist.
When I returned for my follow-​up appointment, she filled two cavities. Then after filling two, she told me that once of them will need a root canal or a crown. I asked her to explain what would be best and she didn’t offer me any suggestions, I told her «I don’t know what to do.» She responded, «You’re not supposed to know what to do.» Well, since I’m not a DENTIST, I’m still lost as to what I’m supposed to do! She then ended the appointment and did not fill the other two cavities! I asked her, what about the other two cavities that you were supposed to fill today? She told me that time was up and that I would have to schedule another appointment. She had already numbed both sides of my mouth, and only filled cavities on one side.
This is the second time that she told me that I would need a root canal. The first one she seems to have forgotten about entirely. This second one is confusing because she told me that I could get a crown and then get a root canal later. Or just just a root canal now. But she couldn’t tell me what would be the best situation for me, as a person, with teeth. As other reviewers have mentioned, it feels like she keeps suggesting more and more dental work, with no end in sight. I do not appreciate being loaded up with Novocain, only to be dismissed for asking questions about my oral health that she refused to answer with any clarity.
I have decided that I will not be returning to her offices after this most recent appointment. Additionally, I find myself having to wait 20 minutes to be seen, every time I arrive on time for my appointment.

Dr. Leavitt and her staff are fantastic. She works carefully and efficiently to ensure your teeth are in fighting form. She educates you on dental hygiene and talks you through procedures, so you know what is happening. You can even watch with a hand mirror.
Scheduling appointments is never a problem, and the receptionists go out of their way to work with you. Today (at the afternoon appointment I scheduled this morning) Minerva called my insurance company’s customer service (the worst, right?) to figure out my exact plan. Another receptionist was patient and persistent enough to play phone tag with me when I had questions about some medical stuff.
I didn’t have dental insurance for a time and they put me on the «office plan» through which every other preventive visit was free.
The office is super clean and every chair faces a long, tall windowed wall. The location, 40^th/​Market, is what it is. If you are a stickler for swanky locations, you might be freaked out as you walk through 40^th street market after passing the projects across the street. Home sweet Philly!
I really like how Dr. Leavitt, a Penn Dental grad, stayed in the neighborhood. She is an asset to the community. Even though I moved into center city, I still make the journey to see her in my old hood.
Oh and if you do end up going to see her, tell her I referred you! If 5 of y’all do, I get an electric toothbrush. buzzzz.

The staff were very friendly and Dr, Leavitt was nice, and it was easy to get into an appointment. However, I went for a teeth cleaning and instead of the usual, thorough cleaning that I am accustomed to, the dental hygienist only scraped the plaque off my teeth with a metal tool. I have dental insurance for the purpose of getting a biannual cleaning, and do not plan on returning to this place because of that.
Also, I had a small cavity filled there (which I was previously not aware of or had any pain) and afterwards had pain for many weeks and am still sensitive. I do not believe the cavity was properly filled, but I could be wrong as I have not checked into this and will be going to a different dentist for a 2^nd opinion.

Sketchy billing and procedures that are unnecessary and not recommended by other dentists. And dealing with their billing person was similar to having a root canal — you know you have to but you REALLY don’t want to. Meh.

If you like things done right, come here.
Nobody likes going to the tire shop and hearing they need a whole new set cause one’s got a nail in it and another’s got a mismatched tread. But the best tire shops tell you these things because they have high standards, and that’s what you came for.
Dr. Leavitt has filled several cavities and pulled two wisdom teeth for me. The first cavity was scary, in a molar, and was a millimeter away from needing a root canal. Getting teeth pulled the first time is scary too; but the other work was a breeze. Some might argue the smaller cavities didn’t need to be filled yet. Personally, I’d rather know the slightest problem, and have it corrected immediately. The choice is mine, after all.
I find it helpful to come early but be prepared to wait a bit. Like every other doctor’s office I’ve been to, they work on real problems in real time, and do their best to manage and delegate to make it all run smoothly. But sitting in the big chair you may really appreciate the time you spent in the waiting room.
When I get stuck with a novacaine needle, my body goes into shock and I get an huge rush of adrenaline — an unpleasant one. Frankly, I just need to chill out. It happens to me with EVERY dentist. The difference with Dr. Leavitt is she respects that. More than once she’s let me have 20 minutes or so to calm down before she starts drilling. I’m sure that messes up her schedule!
The fact is, our teeth don’t care what time it is. If I were her, I’d go check out another patient in the meantime too. And that time we spent in the waiting room? It was someone else’s time to chill out.
Like anyone else, I hate going to my doctor’s office, knowing that the insurance company said they can only spend ten minutes with me. I don’t feel like I’ll always get the time I need. Dr. Leavitt, on the other hand, with the help of her staff, is very good at overlapping tasks among patients.
Mouth trauma can be physically draining and it sneaks up on you. When you know you’re getting dental work done, it’s not a good time to rush. You need to take your time, maybe take the day off and meditate. And you need someone who can help you feel comfortable.
That’s Dr. Leavitt.

NOTE:
I had problem with her periodontist — think her name is Ishi. We had to pull out my 2 teeth — which I understand. But then she went to perform bone graft. That graft was not successful! I switched to UPENN dentists and they said that there was no evidence that bone grafting was performed. I talked to my new periodontist and 2 oral surgeons trying to understand why that happened (since I am not an expert but fairly inteligent person). They did tell me that this procedure has a high failure rate (up tp 30%) but they also told me that it is important to put tooth implant soon after the procedure to stabilize graft otherwise it is likely that body won’t take it. That’s where I am confused. Why I had this painfull, expensive procedure (NOT covered by insurance) if we didn’t make a firm plans to do the implant? I called them and asked for a refund which I could at least apply toward the same procedure now repeated at UPENN Dental and they practically ignored me.
In addition, why did they do bone graft if they knew that I will need a sinus lift + another bone graft before implant? Why they didn’t discus taht with me?
So please be avare when doing any oral surgeries!

Although Dr. Leavitt and her staff are nice and friendly, I cannot recommend going to her dental office. She was clearly more concerned with making money than providing quality dental care.
Here’s what happened to me: I only had one cavity and former dentists rarely suggested more than extra flossing. Then I went to Dr. Leavitt, who claimed I had three cavities and needed this expensive dental abrasion cleaning. I naively agreed. She also said all of my wisdom teeth had cavities and needed to be removed ASAP. She filled the cavities and performed the abrasion cleaning, which required that I use a special mouthwash for the following few days. I returned the next week to get my fillings filed down and complained of staining and yellowing from the mouthwash. She said I was not brushing well enough. I pointed out that she and her staff never performed a proper tooth cleaning where the technician scrapes all the plaque off of the teeth (the abrasion cleaning only does it along your gums). She said that wasn’t needed! I asked what I needed to do in terms of brushing better. She turned out a children’s video about how to brush your teeth and left.
I’ve since seen a dentist who said all my teeth (including my wisdom teeth) are fine. My former dentist also said that the dental abrasion cleaning is a scam. I had two other friends who went to Dr. Leavitt who had almost the exact same experience. I think she tries this out on all new patients with dental insurance.

I have been to this dentist a few times; and I do not trust her. She had me replace all my cavity fillings, which resulted in a filling that fell out after two weeks. When I call her Friday night her response was «Don’t worry about it.» Then when I came in Monday to get it filled, she only put in a temporary filling and said I will need a crown. Turns out, I knew several people who have gone to her and have had bad experiences; including one friend who she drilled too far into his (one and only) cavity causing nerve damage so that he needed a root canal.
Also, to get my xrays, it’s a $ 25 fee because I’m going to get to get a second opinion. This is on top of the fact that the information from my dental insurance is that I have overpaid her, and that they’ll give me a credit.

In terms of competence and actual health care, this is 5 stars. In terms of the cleanliness/​advanced-​ness of the office and equipment, again 5 stars. In terms of friendliness, I’d give Dr. Leavitt and her staff again 5 stars.
But I’m sorry I’m getting fed up with their inability to have me see the doctor anywhere near my appointment time. I’ve been 3 times now and each time I’ve had to wait at least 30 minutes to be seen. I’m sorry that’s just absurd, and I value my time and the professionalism that comes with punctuality.

so here is my ordeal. I went in for a typical «check up» which I thought would include a teeth cleaning but really was only radiographs which is fine i totally understand doing that before a full cleaning. My real issues were when I had to have 3 cavities filled (I was still ok with that, I’ve had cavities before etc) but the real problem started when I started having pain in all of the teeth that were filled. The pain then proceeded to extreme pain, taking multiple pain killers in a day. When I went back I was basically told by an assistant that they can be sore for a while after the filling… which I kindly reminded him should not last 3 weeks with such incredible pain that I cannot eat or drink anything that is not exactly body temperature. After having the fillings «filed down» a couple times because maybe they were too high and causing discomfort I was eventually referred to an endodontist to look at my teeth. This resulted in two root canals. So to repeat, I went in pain free for a teeth cleaning and left needing two root canals. I started doing the follow up with Dr. Leavitt and I felt as though every time I went there I needed a new «procedure» that would cost another 1000 dollars. I eventually got very fed up because I am a student and do not have 5,000 just lying around (and this is the cost with a good insurance plan) to do this work. After I was informed I needed a gum surgery in order to place the caps which would cost another 1400 dollars I decided to get a second opinion. It was next to impossible to get my records from them. I had to call multiple times, stop by 3 times, and they refused to email my x-​rays to the other dentist. The other dentist remarked that they have never had so much trouble getting medicals records before.
Long story short — I am not returning there and am going to finish my procedure elsewhere.
Dr. Leavitt is a nice woman, I just felt as though the desire for a paycheck was getting in the way of objective dentistry, as noted in the remark she said to me when she referred me to a specialist «that she just hated to refer them out» — meaning — hated not getting the money in house.
Also, because I am angry at the whole situation and probably wouldn’t complain about this if I wasn’t 5,000 in the hole, but I never once saw them wash their hands before gloving and I never saw them change the sterile preps on the handles etc. I did have a question on cleanliness of the place but they do have very advanced equipment like digital radiographs (which I don’t know how important they are if they cannot even email them to a referring dentist)
While I do feel as though she is a very competent dentist, I personally did not have a good experience and I would encourage others to question procedures that are done before committing time, money, and resources towards them.

I was having trouble with a tooth, and hadn’t located a dentist here in Philadelphia to call my own. I ended up paying Dr. Leavitt a visit after reading reviews on her and her office here. Everything that everyone has said about the level of professionalism and just genuine good nature of everyone employed at this office makes one’s visit there quite the pleasant experience. The office is clean and quiet. The staff is polite, knowledgeable, patient, and more than willing to take all the time you need to explain every procedure as well as various payment options. I’ve never had a more gratifying experience at a dentist’s office.
Sidenote: As a previous reviewer mentioned, the office can be a little hard to locate… that is unless one is taking advantage of public transit. The office is located right across from the 40^th Street Market-​Frankford subway stop.

I went to Dr. Leavitt after my insurance changed and my lifetime dentist didn’t accept it. A tooth had become rather painful and when I went to Dr. Leavitt for an emergency appointment, I was told I was going to have to have the tooth removed and an implant put in it’s place. While the news frightened me, Dr. Leavitt patiently explained the procedure and showed me a video about it. She was very knowledgable and thorough.
Dr. Maki Ishii, the periodontist, perfomed the surgery in the office a few weeks later and I had no pain during the procedure. She was very friendly and explained everything she was doing. She made me feel very comfortable. Dr. Leavitt came in to check on how things were going, which I thought very nice. It has been three days now since my tooth was removed and the implant put in, and I still have had little to no pain, little to no bleeding, and absolutely no swelling.
I am so impressed with experiences with both Dr. Leavitt and Dr. Ishii! Anyone looking for a dentist or periodontist in the Philadelphia area should definitely give Dr. Leavitt’s office a call!

I have had several dental procedures over the past month and therefore, have lots of experience with Dr. Leavitt and her exceptional staff. From the beginning, I have felt tremendously confident in Dr. Leavitt and the care she provides. Dr. Leavitt and her staff were extremely thorough in my initial exam. This resulted in a treatment plan that was clearly articulated and immediately scheduled at my convenience. Dr. Leavitt was very patient in answering all of my questions about how and why each procedure would be done. The office staff and hygienist are professional, friendly, and efficient. Perhaps most notably, all of the staff (and especially Dr. Leavitt) have consistently expressed genuine concern about my health and comfort. Sadly, I feel like this is a somewhat unusual experience in health care. So, I consider myself very lucky to have found Dr. Leavitt. I enthusiastically recommend her.

They fit me in for an emergency appointment today when I thought my tooth was disintegrating.
The staff is so nice, Dr. Leavitt is incredibly friendly and informative.
I was scared to go to the dentist without insurance, but the time finally came today. Dr. Leavitt has an office plan (not quite insurance) that saves you money and makes visits and procedures more affordable.

I’ve been to Dr. Leavitt’s office twice now for a cleaning and filling. In addition, I had molds made for fluoride treatment. Dr. Leavitt is kind and thorough and her administrative staff and technicians are also helpful. I recommend Dr. Leavitt wholeheartedly!
Office can be hard to find. It’s in the back of the University Square building, between the Market and Apartments. First floor.