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Review content:
I am writing this review as a peer, former employee and current patient of Dr. Castaneda. I continue as a loyal patient because I have seen first hand in all three capacities, the devotion that Dr. Castaneda has to her profession and patients. She is the ultimate perfectionist in every thing that she does. She is kind and compassionate and is a mentor to many people, including myself. Her patients see her as more than just a dentist, I have seen how they trust in her in so many ways, not just as their dental care provider.
I practice general dentistry in the East Bay but I have worked in many dental offices. No where have I seen the same consistent quality of care. This is why I travel to San Francisco, as many of her patients do, to have my dental care with Dr. Castaneda. While I worked with Dr. Castaneda, first as her dental assistant, eventually as her dental hygienist, I could not understand why so many patients traveled so far to see her. Now I understand. When you are in her chair, she is extremely gentle. I don't feel the needle when she gives me an injection. Her touch is reassuring, soft yet deliberate.
Observing Dr. Castaneda, I see that she practices a philosophy that I learned from her about 12 years ago. That is, to have a very clear treatment objective for each patient, and to attain this objective with the minimal amount of treatment. Sometimes this can be extensive and expensive treatment, at other times what appears to be a big problem, she is able to resolve with a simple procedure at a nominal fee. I guess that is the advantage you acquire with 20 years of experience and training in the dental specialty of Prosthodontics.
Dr. Castaneda is the artist that everyone talks about. I have seen her design the smiles of her patients, not relying on the arbitrary fabrication by a remote technician. She works closely with her technician to convert what is tested in the mouth, into the porcelain that her patients walk away with. It is pretty fantastic to see this. I remember a particular patient that wanted very bright teeth. I assisted Dr. Castaneda on this treatment ""case"" some 10 years ago when the meaning of ""white"" is not what it is today. And so the patient got what we thought were very, very white veneers (10 of them) and she agreed to the color before we placed the veneers on her teeth. A week later the patient came back complaining that she had wanted even whiter teeth. I do not know of ANY dentist that would have done what Dr. Castaneda did. She looked at the veneers, called the technician in to see the patient, he said he could in fact remake them with a new porcelain bearing the name ""California white"". Dr. Castaneda graciously replaced the veneers at no charge to the patient. I don't think I would do this myself.
What Dr. Castaneda did for me was to give me a great smile, one that I am proud to show the world. She placed two crowns on my front teeth in such a way that you cannot tell that they are not my own. Her German master ceramist (Jorg) is also a perfectionist. He was present to see that my new crowns matched perfectly; he had to put a custom stain in order to get an exact match. I also had several fillings and crowns on my back teeth placed by Dr Castaneda. Every appointment has been productive, a bit on the long side, but at the end I am so grateful to Dr. Castaneda. Just recently (about 2 weeks ago) I had an old root canal go bad. I had the root canal re-treated, then went to Aesthetika for a new crown. I got the same service and care that I have witnessed going on for twelve years.....
Pros: Perfectionist
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