John R Leverenz, DDS

I have gone to Dr. Leverenz since I was a kid, and now I bring my kids. I’m no longer in the city, but it’s worth the trip to see him and his staff. They’re great at what they do, incredibly friendly and they’re frank with you about what you need done and what can wait. If you’re looking for a new dentist, they’re worth checking out!

I am compelled to write about Dr. Leverenz for several reasons: the quality of care, the HONESTY of care, and the reasonable pricing of care offered at Dr. Leverenz’s office are all the best I’ve experienced with any dentist.
When other dentists told me I needed expensive work done, Dr. Leverenz paid close enough attention to notice the «cavities» the other dentists identified were — I’m not kidding — coffee stains. If I go in asking to have work done that isn’t necessary, Dr. Leverenz will tell me it’s not necessary. He never tries to talk me into extra, elective work that would make him money, and he tells me all kinds of good things to do to decrease the odds of having to have any work done on my teeth.
Examples: Did you know that using mouth wash with alcohol can sometimes be harmful to your teeth? Use mouthwash that doesn’t have alcohol (Crest makes the BEST such mouthwash, it’s awesome), use a good amount and rinse your mouth for a solid minute. Don’t brush your teeth too soon after eating acidic foods. Don’t rely on calcium pills to supplement your nutritional needs, your body needs to absorb calcium from foods and liquids (like milk) in order to truly get use out of it. These are just a few examples of tips that have helped me increase the health of my teeth, and some of them came from Dr. Leverenz and his staff. My teeth were already very tough and healthy, but since I began visiting Dr. Leverenz they’ve gotten even better.
The dental work itself is always great — teeth cleanings are never, ever painful; X-​rays are explained in detail to make sure I understand everything; I am kept up to date on the health of my gums, on any plaque on my teeth that had to be removed (they even remember my previous visit and will tell me I had less plaque than last time); and they are always careful to make sure I’m comfortable and to answer any questions I might have during the visit.
Going to the dentist shouldn’t be a stressful experience, and you shouldn’t have to worry whether you’re paying too much or whether the work is really necessary. At Dr. Leverenz’s office, you won’t have to worry about those things, the environment is stress-​free, and your wallet won’t be drained.
One final note: My wife and I don’t live in Michigan, but we visit a couple of times a year and we always have our dental work done there, that’s how impressed we are with Dr. Leverenz. And (I’m not making this up) when my wife needed work done recently on some cavities, we figured out that it’s cheaper to fly to Michigan and let Dr. Leverenz do it, than to have it done locally where we live!

Dr. Leverenz is fantastic as is his staff. He is honest, friendly, and takes a cautious approach, making sure work is done that is necessary but not doing unnecessary work. In the last five or ten years, he moved to a new office, which is very comfortable and has a wall with photos of kids who are in the no cavities club. There are also birdfeeders outside of the windows!
I’d been going to Dr. Leverenz since I was a child. However, at one point, I made the huge mistake of waiting several years before going to a dentist. I was living in D.C. where my husband and I finally went to a dentist who told us we needed close to $ 10,000 of dental work, including several root canals between us and many, many fillings. They told us it was an emergency and that the teeth could need to be pulled if we did not do the work right away. Within hours, we realized it would be foolish to go forward without a second opinion.
Dr. Leverenz saved us and our insurance many thousands of dollars, pain, and the risk associated with unnecessary dental work. My husband did not need a single root canal, and needed no traditional fillings (just the side of one or two teeth had chips and he needed a good cleaning). I needed one root canal — but the X-​rays were not determinative, even of that, and he drilled into the tooth to determine whether it was really necessary before sending me to an oral surgeon, who was also fantastic, but whose name I don’t remember. I also needed some fillings, but fewer than the other dentist had said.
After that, we would only go to Dr. Leverenz for dental work for several years, even though we lived more than 500 miles away. A few months ago, I decided to try a dentist in my new home state — California — and it was very close to a repeat experience. (I’ve posted a review of that office, too.) Though the new dentist seemed extremely nice and helpful, I was told I needed seven unnecessary fillings at great expense (in addition to three necessary ones).
So, I have now decided that I will only go to the dentist (Dr. Leverenz only) while visiting family in Michigan. For those of you who are lucky enough to live closer, I highly recommend his office. It could save you/​your insurance a fortune and a lot of unnecessary work. And, he and his staff always do a great job.