Gilbert Thomas J DDS

I saw Dr. Gilbert a few years ago as I was experiencing terrible pain on the left side of my mouth. One thing I was certain of was that a crown put on by Dr. Gilbert years earlier had shifted and it was affecting my bite in the worst way. But, according to the Dr. it had only moved a little bit and that wasn’t the problem. I didn’t really have the money for treatment but he was kind enough to enter into a contract with me for repayment. After a few visits and Dr. Gilbert taking x-​rays and doing a partial root canal on one tooth and then removing a gold crown and putting a temp in it’s place… I was still in pain. He told me I was suffering from «dental anxiety» and he wanted me to take Xanax for that… I am not one to take prescription meds unless it is life-saving…I declined. So on my last visit (when the gold crown was removed) I left said crown on the tray as I left with a partial root canal and 2 temporarys now in my mouth and still in a great deal of pain… I spoke with the secretary who set up the contract and she told me that the Dr. was going to stop seeing me and because of that the contract was going to be torn up…
Now three years later I look on my credit report to find that I still owe said Dr. $ 477…and that’s not the worst part of it… he’s been sending that bill to an address I haven’t lived in in sixteen years…16 years??? I have lived in my present home for over 14 years and this is the address that was on the contract!
Seriously…first you put in a crown that jacks up all the teeth on the top row… second, you tell me I am imagining things when I say your crown has caused me severe TMJ… third, you jack up my teeth some more and back out of a contract… or so you say!
Then you jack up my credit by not giving me even a fair shake at making civil payment arrangements… nope you have to send it to a really old address… this…is the only thing on my credit report.
So the only thing to do at this point it to point out to other folks just how bloody unfair this all is… at least to me!

After a brief anxiety-​induced hiatus from the dentist, I found Dr. Gilbert. I explained my fears, having received a filling without Novacaine in my youth. He has been very understanding. It seems like he really takes his time and pays attention to detail with procedures. My hygienist, Bruce, was great. I have not witnessed any of his assistants trying to do procedures. They get me set up and Dr. Gilbert does the numbing, drilling, and filling.

My daughter needed a tooth extracted. Dr. Gilbert gave her a shot and went away while it went to work. She started having what we thought was a horrible reaction and when we asked the attendant that he left us with if that was normal he said he had no idea and went to ask Dr. Gilbert. The attendant returned to say that it was okay.
You know what– the whole story is so horrible I don’t want to recount the whole thing, but I will say that we got a letter from Dr. Gilbert saying that he had never seen that reaction before. THEN HOW THE HELL DID HE KNOW IT WAS OKAY, AND WHY DIDN’T HE COME IN HIMSELF TO CHECK ON HER!!! It was incredibly traumatizing for all of us.
He was so incredibly awful. I don’t want anyone to go to his office ever. His hygienist who cleaned my daughter’s teeth was wonderful, though.

I have to admit, it’s been a long time since I’ve been to a dentist. We’re talking a decade. Yeah, ten years. In that ten years, I’ve mostly been alright. Being particular about brushing your teeth helps. But, two months ago I ran into a problem. So, I gave in and started looking for a dentist.
This is no easy task. It’s not like I’m afraid of the dentist. Even when I was a little kid, I didn’t mind it at all. As an adult, I wasn’t exactly thrilled about the medieval-​looking brace with tightening screws that they put on your mouth to hold it open when you’re getting a filling in a back molar, but I dealt with it.
So I approached friends for a referral, because there’s no way I was going to randomly choose a dentist from my insurance directory. I got lots of good suggestions, but this one was close to where I work, in my insurance network, and was referred by someone I trust.
Dr. Gilbert’s office is where I ended up. And I’m glad I did. Mark, my hygienist was thorough and explained some things that no hygienist has ever explained to me, as far as I can remember. Also, maybe it was just how it was at my old dentist’s office, but I always had questions about things I saw on the x-​rays and they never had time to fully answer me. Mark answered all of my questions thoroughly.
Then Dr. Gilbert came in and did his exam. He was gentle, easy-​going, and didn’t just recite a bunch of jargon back to me. He explained what he found and all the available options.
The receptionist at the end was very knowledgeable about the follow-​up procedures that I needed. Also, she thoroughly went through my options for payment. They have some flexibility, and I appreciate that.
Overall, I’m glad I chose Dr. Gilbert for my first Detroit area dentist.