General Dentists - Stony Brook, NY

"I recently saw Dr. Syed Fahim at CHDC in Pottstown for the first time. I was given x-rays by an assistant who was apparently trying to cause as much discomfort as possible as she shoved the bitewings in my mouth, often times not positioned properly causing cuts/abrasions and making it impossible to bite down. When I would wince, move, or express that I was unable to bite in that position, she would audibly sigh and grow impatient. When that was thankfully over, she yelled out to the doctor that she was ready for him. Dr. Fahim arrived, looked at the x-rays, told me I had three cavities, and did a cursory examination with only a mirrored tool that lasted approximately one minute. During this time, I told him that I had temperature sensitivity and was unable to chew on the left side. He seemed to brush it off, equating it to my cavities. I was told that I was done and to schedule my appointments for a cleaning and fillings at the front desk. Please note that you can only get one filling per visit, forcing people to come back multiple times, presumably to max out their billables on office visits. For my second visit for a filling, the assistant put the Q-Tip with lidocaine on the right side of my mouth. She removed it several minutes later right before the dentist entered the room. He then proceeded to inject Novocain into the opposite side of my mouth. I stopped him to ask if we were all on the same page, because she had topically numbed the right and he was injecting the left. They conferred the x-rays, realized there were cavities on both sides and decided to proceed with numbing and filling both. He drills both teeth in preparation for the fillings, and then announces that he’s done and the ASSISTANT will complete the fillings?!? Never in my life has a dental assistant completed a filling. As if all of this weren’t bad enough, at no point during his overly brief examination (when I told him of my sensitivity and inability to chew), nor when he was drilling on an adjacent tooth, did he notice the molar with a large black hole in it and obvious signs of infection. This was discovered by my doctor a few days later when I made an appointment for what I thought was an ear infection (significant pain on the side of my face and jaw area, swollen glands, low grade fever). He prescribed strong antibiotics and told me I would need to see a dentist as soon as possible. I (obviously) went to see a different (reputable) dentist, who explained that the tooth would need a root canal or extraction right away. This place is a dental chop shop—all the seats full, keep ‘em moving—with doctors/staff that either don’t have the time, experience, or desire to properly treat patients. "

"Dentist is polite and welcoming. My teeth were in horrible condition when I first visited the office and felt insecure about them. I did not feel judged and was confident I could get my smile back. The dentist has gone above and beyond in treatment and am always well taken care of. Great dentist. Been to many. Has great attitude and am always excited to go back."