At Family & Cosmetic Dentistry, located on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., in the small plaza next to MidFlorida Credit Union in front of the Live Oak Preserve community in New Tampa, Neeraja Jasthi, DMD, says her practice offers family-oriented, comprehensive care for patients ages four and older.
“We are a place that takes care of all of your dental needs,” explains Dr. Jasthi. “We are friendly, safe and give quality treatment.”
Dr. Jasthi moved her practice to its current location in 2005 after opening in a smaller office in the Highwoods Preserve area of New Tampa in 2002. She has been practicing in the New Tampa/Wesley Chapel area since 1998, after earning her DMD (Doctor of Medicine in Dentistry) degree from the Tufts Dental School in Boston, MA, in 1996.
Linda Park, DDS, joined the practice in 2018. Dr. Park earned her Doctor of Dental Surgery degree in 2005 from Loma Linda University School of Dentistry in Loma Linda, CA.
With two doctors and five hygienists in the practice, Dr. Jasthi says appointments are almost always available quickly. If someone is in pain, they usually can be seen right away. And, new patients can often be scheduled within a couple of weeks, and Dr. Jasthi’s attentive administrative staff can often get patients in sooner, especially if another patient cancels an appointment and opens a spot for those who want to be seen quickly to be accommodated.
New patients also are happy to learn that, unlike some dental practices that require an exam first, before scheduling a cleaning, Family & Cosmetic Dentistry always provides an exam and cleaning at the first appointment. If treatment is required, however, the patient may need to come back for another appointment to complete that treatment.
Dr. Jasthi says Family & Cosmetic Dentistry feels like a family, and she always wants her patients to be able to bring the whole family to them. While she and Dr. Park typically see all family members ages four and up, they do sometimes see younger children, as well.
“For established patients of record who have children younger than four,” Dr. Jasthi says, “we will see them if they are cooperative.”
Beyond cleanings and exams of the teeth, Family & Cosmetic Dentistry offers fillings, bridges, crowns and many other necessary dental treatments.
As the practice’s name states, the team also offers cosmetic dentistry to help everyone achieve their best possible smile. This includes services such as teeth whitening, veneers and Invisalign® aligners to straighten the teeth.
“We are doing more Invisalign these days,” says Dr. Jasthi, “helping people with the aesthetics and functionality of their teeth.”
She adds that she also provides dental implants in-house, as well as restorative treatments, and that she is often able to use a veneer instead of porcelain for some cosmetic procedures, which allows her to not cut into the tooth structure.
“For example,” she says, “if someone has a peg-shaped tooth and wants to make it more of an ideal form, we do chair-side composites with injection molding. It’s good for the health of the tooth and it’s very economical, compared to the cost of porcelain.”
Dr. Jasthi says her practice continues to grow “by leaps and bounds,” thanks to many people in the community who support her.
(Photo by Charmaine George)
That includes patients such as Wesley Chapel resident Karina Fernandez, who says she has been a patient of Dr. Jasthi’s since she moved to Florida in 2015.
“They always have appointments available and are very flexible with their schedule,” Karina says.
She also appreciates that she never feels like she’s being sold something she doesn’t need. “They’re not trying to take your money,” Karina says, adding that she is absolutely thrilled with the Invisalign treatment she recently completed.
“I had no idea it would be so effective,” she says. “I thought I would need braces because my bottom teeth were so crooked. I didn’t think it could be fixed with a plastic aligner, but after a year and half, my teeth are straight.”
In fact, she adds, “what I like the best is that I can feel the difference in my bite. I used to have trouble chewing, but now I don’t. I’m really amazed by the difference.”
Karina says every member of her family is now a Family & Cosmetic Dentistry patient and she highly recommends the practice.
Another happy patient is Veronica Givens, a New Tampa resident who says she drove by the office many times on her travels up BBD and one day decided to make an appointment.
As a busy mom, she says she had put off going to the dentist herself, even though she had some concerns about her teeth.
“When I took the time to go in and see Dr. Jasthi and her team, they were open and friendly, and they listened to me,” Veronica says.
One of her concerns was that her teeth were crooked, so Dr. Jasthi suggested Invisalign. “She really transformed my teeth to completely straight,” she says.
“It’s really helped boost my confidence,” she adds. “I talk with a lot of people all day, whether it’s in person or on video, and Invisalign has made me feel more comfortable. I’m no longer wondering if someone is noticing my crooked teeth now. I’m just smiling, laughing and talking.”
Veronica says that, throughout the process, she was impressed with the professionalism of the staff, and how caring everyone in the office seemed to be.
“I always recommend Dr. Jasthi because she’s definitely the best doctor I’ve ever seen in my whole life,” Veronica says. “My teeth are straight and white, and I have healthy gums and no cavities. I’m really grateful for her and her team.”
Family & Cosmetic Dentistry, the office of Dr. Neeraja Jasthi, is located at 20441 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., Tampa. Office hours are available Monday–Thursday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.; and 8 a.m.–4 p.m. on Friday. For more information about the practice, visit DrJasthi.com or call (813) 866- 9913.
