If you’ve been avoiding a needed trip to the dentist, there’s a new practice offering a gentle approach to dental care for New Tampa and Wesley Chapel residents to consider when they need treatment for their teeth.
Mystic Oaks Family & Cosmetic Dentistry in The Shops at Mystic Oak neighborhood retail center at the intersection of Redfern Way and Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. here in Wesley Chapel, is operated by Prematee Sarwan, DDS, who says she is committed to improving people’s smiles by first easing their concerns.
According to Dr. Sarwan, her patients’ worries aren’t always related to physical pain and discomfort.
“The big issue we deal with is fear; fear of what I’m going to say, fear of cost, fear of judgment,’’ she says. “People don’t want to be judged and we’re just not about that.”
At Mystic Oaks, people who come in for treatment are referred to as guests, not patients. Dr. Sarwan says a little hospitality in a clinical setting can go a long way to improving the quality of care and health.
“We want them to feel so comfortable at the end of their visit that they want to come back,” she says.
For Dr. Sarwan, an informed guest is empowered to take ownership of his or her own dental health and appearance.
“First of all, we’re here to educate and try to alleviate fear,” says Dr. Sarwan, who earned her DDS degree from the Loma Linda University School of Dentistry in Loma Linda, CA.
Recognizing that the way some dentists work can turn a mouth into an oral construction zone, Dr. Sarwan and her team are committed to a different approach — putting your comfort at the forefront of everything they do.
“People may have had experiences in the past that make them apprehensive, but our motto is ‘Gentle Dentistry,’ that’s just what we’re trying to do,” says Dr. Sarwan, who has 10 years of experience as a dentist in group practice but can now treat her patients the way she would like to be treated.
Dr. Sarwan adds that she and her team do everything possible in using their skills to ensure that procedures will be as painless as possible, which means going beyond just administering local anesthesia or nitrous oxide and relying on technology.
“My technique is very gentle, and it’s something I’ve developed over a period of time,” Dr. Sarwan says. “It’s definitely not something they teach you in dental school.”
Patient Mercy Diggs-Terc says Dr. Sarwan’s technique is indeed gentle, and found that getting some dental fillings at Mystic Oaks Dentistry was a welcome contrast to what she experienced at other practices.
“(Dr. Sarwan and her staff) were very caring and friendly and patient,” Diggs-Terc says. “If you were nervous about any of the procedures being done, you could take little breaks. They did everything possible on their end to make me feel as comfortable as possible.”
Diggs-Terc adds that Mystic Oaks Dentistry is ideal for people who have been avoiding a necessary dental treatment.
“For especially the patients that have any anxiety over dentists, this would be the number one place that I would recommend,” she says. “I’ve tried a lot of dentists and (Dr. Sarwan is) the best one so far in making me feel comfortable.”
Dr. Sarwan’s new practice also is garnering Five-Star Google reviews from patients, with a 5.0 overall rating from five reviews as of our press time.
A full range of dental services is available at Mystic Oaks Family and Cosmetic Dentistry, including cleanings, fillings, crowns, bridges, implants, veneers, teeth straightening and even complete smile makeovers, which also can incorporate the use of dermal fillers to reduce wrinkles around the mouth that can occur through loss of teeth or the vital bone structure.
This occurs when the supporting bone tissue of the upper and lower jaws dissolves and the muscles of the face can lose support, which allows wrinkles to deepen.
Botox injections also can be administered by Dr. Sarwan, who lives in Wesley Chapel with her husband, Dr. Somasekhara Reddy Kaipu, MD, and their two young children.
“We are a full-service dental practice catering to both kids and adults,” she says.
Top-Notch Tech, Too!
Dr. Sarwan’s skillful and gentle techniques are supported the dental industry’s latest technology, such as digital X-rays (digital dental radiography) and digital impressions, in place of physical molds.
Digital radiography is more sensitive than traditional film techniques. which means greater safety, since lower levels of radiation are needed to produce the images. There also is a quicker turnaround time to viewing the images, which can be reviewed on a monitor in front of the guest’s chair.
Mystic Oaks Dentistry also has eliminated one of the more distasteful procedures — the taking of dental impressions with putty-like materials made of alginate or silicone. Instead, Dr. Sarwan offers a state-of-the-art digital alternative, using the iTero Element Scanner.
A wand-like scanner is used to take images of the teeth and gums, which can be used to create 3D models for producing crowns, bridges and implants.
To help pass the time while receiving dental treatments, Dr. Sarwan’s guests can watch some of their favorite programs on the same chairside monitors used to view the digital X-rays and impressions.
Dr. Sarwan’s perspective on dentistry encompasses how good dental health affects the whole body.
“My vision is health before anything,” she says. “Don’t underestimate the value of a healthy mouth. Your mouth is the gateway to your body.”
Published research available online at the American Dental Association’s website (ada.org) examines the relationships between oral health and illnesses such as heart disease.
The holistic approach to the dental experience at Mystic Oaks Dentistry extends to the treatment rooms themselves, which are identified by the names of trees — Palm, Oak, Pine and Maple — instead of numbers.
“We’ve created a space that’s less clinical, to increase comfort,” Dr. Sarwan says.
That comfort begins with the initial contact, which could very well be with office manager Sasha Cruz.
“The important thing is to take care of people and not to judge them,” says Cruz, who also coordinates PPO network and other insurance coverage as well as an in-house dental savings plan that offers discounts on services. Mystic Oaks Dentistry also accepts payments through CareCredit financing.
Cecilia Carrasco is an Extended Function Dental Assistant (EFDA), which is a dental assistant who has received additional training and certification to perform services such as applying sealants to teeth and taking the digital dental impressions.
She also is skilled at getting to the root of someone’s dental concerns, according to Dr. Sarwan.
“Cecilia gets more insight into what their main complaint is,’’ Dr. Sarwan says, “so that by the time I come into the room, I already understand the situation.”
While the practice has only been open since June, Dr. Sarwan says her team has really come together. “We’re just about a family now,” she says.
Mystic Oaks Family & Cosmetic Dentistry is offering a Welcome Exam and X-ray for $39, and a Healthy Mouth Cleaning for $59 for new patients.
For more info about Mystic Oaks Family & Cosmetic Dentistry (3751 Bruce B Downs Blvd.) visit online at MysticOaksDental.com, or call (813) 291-0059.
