Norwich, Norfolk

[letsconnect]

"I do happen to know 2 very good dentists in Norwich, Norfolk England one is a private dentist called roel Bester at the tree tops dental surgery at potter gate in Norwich, he is expensive but excellent with nervous patients and offer iv sedation. The other dentist is an nhs dentist at plummers dental practice in Thorpe st Andrew Norwich, his name is Daniel Evans, he is excellent, very patient and gentle."

 

[LesleyAnn]

I went to see Dr Roel Bester at Tree Tops in Norwich due to the recommendation here.

I havent been to a dentist for many many years due to my severe phobia and have been filling my own teeth and buying antibiotics off the internet. I got to a position where I knew I had to see someone about a tooth but was so frightened I was physically sick at even the thought of phoning. With a lot of pressure from friends and family I made an appointment to see Roel Bester.

He is such a kind, caring and considerate understanding man. He didnt even sit me in the chair until he had been talking to me and making me feel comfortable. He made me feel that I trusted him and I was able to let him have a look in my mouth and even take some x-rays! Boy was I proud of myself. He confirmed what I knew which was that a tooth needed to come out but was very complimentary about the rest of my teeth and that even though there is some work he made me feel that they are in a much better state than I thought.

Dr Bester does intravenous sedation himself at the surgery but as I was so terrified at the thought of the extraction he bought in an anaethetist to help him. He and all his staff were so caring and understanding and managed to put me at ease. I had the sedation and the tooth was removed and I never knew anything about it!! I am so impressed with him and so comfortable with him that I am going to see him again to have the rest of the work I need done and will visit him on a regular basis from now onwards.

I would highly recommend this dentist to any dental phobics who can get to Norwich. He will understand all of your problems and will only work at your own pace. He will not push you into anything. I would like to thank the administrator from the bottom of my heart for recommending him and hope that there are others of you who can find the strength to give him a ring and go and see him.

 

[unklep]

Hi all,
I too would like to add my two cents worth for this dentist.
I have seen Roel twice now after weeks of reading every thread on this forum.. i was so nervous of dentists I too did some self dentistry with temp filling kits from Boots!
I went to Treetops and on my first consultation was immediately put at ease by Roel and his team... he doesnt prod around with sharp implements, he talks to you and really takes his time with you, explaining everything.
I have visited twice since.. I had a root canal which was so painless i never felt a thing and the tooth doesnt even look like its got a filling!
Secondly, today I had a previously root canalled tooth that had since crumbled extracted. Again he explained everything and put me at ease.

Its worth noting that I saw another private dentist in Norfolk who recommended re-root canalling the damaged tooth and putting a crown on. Roel however said it was not worth saving and when it came out i could see why, there was nothing left.
This to me shows that Roel is genuinely delivering the best for me and not trying to do expensive work for the sake of it.
I am going to go back to have more stuff done and totally trust Roel, I feel comfortable and unpressured and my fears are respected and talked through.. if you too are nervous I wholeheartedly recommend this practice.

Take care
Paul

 

[CandyJane2]

I would like to second the recomendation of Plummers, i must be the world's most panicky dental patient but they always take time with me, tell me to ask them to stop during any procedure if i am uncomfortable, always explain exactly what is happeneing, do not try to recommend unecessary procedures, always give options for treatment.

i am very happy with them and the way they treat me.

 

[Wymondham]

I was petrified of dentists - I had been to an NHS dentist but they seem to remove teeth rather sharpish. I guess down to costs? I decided to save what was left of my teeth Id look for a private practice. I asked several people - literally people who had nice teeth and 2 of them mentioned this chap in Hellesdon, Chris Lefkaditis.

He tells you every inch of the way what he is doing and how it will effect you. He doesnt rush you and will explain fully what he intends to do. His nurse Jilly is also lovely and sat holding my hand at my first visit as I was terrified.

I have no problems visiting him now. I know he is brilliant at his job and that gives me a lot of confidence.

 

[blarnystone]

I was petrified of dentists - I had been to an NHS dentist but they seem to remove teeth rather sharpish. I guess down to costs? I decided to save what was left of my teeth Id look for a private practice. I asked several people - literally people who had nice teeth and 2 of them mentioned this chap in Hellesdon, Chris Lefkaditis

He tells you every inch of the way what he is doing and how it will effect you. He doesnt rush you and will explain fully what he intends to do. His nurse Jilly is also lovely and sat holding my hand at my first visit as I was terrified.

I have no problems visiting him now. I know he is brilliant at his job and that gives me a lot of confidence.

Hello fellow dental phobia sufferers.

I can only re-iterate what Wymondham has said about Dr. Chris Lefkaditis. He is an outstanding dentist. Before visiting him, I hadn't been to the dentist for over 6 years due to phobia. I visited him, and naturally needed a lot of work doing - 2 extractions and 10 fillings. I was petrified. Chris recognised this, and set about re-assuring me at every step.

Firstly, he told me that I had nothing to worry about - he wouldn't hurt me - in fact, he said I wouldn't even feel anything. Naturally I was sceptical, since the reason I have a dental phobia is from being butchered by a previous NHS dentist and I'd never felt such pain in my life. He told me that if I felt anything at all (not even necessarily pain, just anything) I should stop him immediately.

He explained what he was doing at every stage. He started with the injections - he told me he would start with the least painful place and wait until I was numb before even giving further injections. We then waited a good 20 minutes to make sure I was totally numb before he started any drilling. During that time, he explained the X-rays he'd taken to me, what work needed doing. Then we had a little chat and some small-talk which calmed me down no end.

When he started the drilling, he only drilled for about 5 seconds before stopping and asking me if I left anything at all. I told him no, and so he continued again for a few seconds and asked again. Again, I felt nothing, and it continued like this for the duration of treatment. Constantly stopping and asking to make sure I couldn't feel anything. At each pause he would add an explanation, such as "That's the worst of the drilling over now" or 'You won't feel anything worse than that' or 'nearly done now' and after each filling he would ask me how it was and if I was ready for the next one.

I can't stress enough how great he is. Consequently, I've practically gotten over my fear of the dentist now - I've now had over 20 fillings with Chris and to this day haven't felt a thing. I now live in London but travel all the way to Norwich to have dental treatment because he is the only dentist I trust. My brother and father also both have a fear of the dentist, and now both go to Chris as well and also highly recommend him. Another thing I would mention is that he does composite fillings these days and so even when you've had fillings your teeth look great! No horrible metal work in your mouth.

I highly, highly recommend Chris. Make sure that you explain to him that you are nervous/scared/petrified and he will do his very best to make the whole experience as pleasant as possible for you.

 

[KBunting]

I would like to add a strong recommendation for Roel Bester at Treetops Dental Surgery.

I had not been to a dentist for several years due to phobia, but even though Roel was recommended to me I chose to visit an NHS dentist instead to save some money. I had an awful experience there which left me bloodied and in pain. This only made my phobia worse but I knew I had to go back to the dentist to sort out a tooth that I was worried about.

Reluctantly (and in tears) I called Treetops surgery and the receptionist was wonderful. She was so kind and friendly and assured me that my visit would not be a painful one! When I arrived every staff member that I saw put me at ease whilst I was waiting, and when I went in to see Roel he was so kind, patient and respectful of my phobia that I felt completely comfortable with him. He explained everything that he was going to do before he did anything and talked through his recommendations for me. Luckily I only needed one filling (which he showed me a picture of) and assured me that it wouldnt hurt!

After chickening out and cancelling the appointment twice I finally went to have it done yesterday. He wasnt lying when he said it wouldnt hurt! Again he was patient, he explained everything to me before even looking in my mouth and when it came to the injections (the part I was most worried about) I never felt a thing because he numbed my gum with a gel first. Then he chatted with me whilst we waited for my gum to get completely numb and once he started on the filling he paused every 10 seconds or so to make sure that I was ok. The whole thing was over in 30 mins and 15 mins of that was letting the injections take effect!

I have complete confidence in this dentist and his team. All the years of bad dentistry that I have had are now in the past and I would recommend Treetops to anybody who is a nervous patient.

 

[dazzler1976]

I went to see Dr Roel Bester at Tree Tops in Norwich due to the recommendation here.

I havent been to a dentist for many many years due to my severe phobia and have been filling my own teeth and buying antibiotics off the internet. I got to a position where I knew I had to see someone about a tooth but was so frightened I was physically sick at even the thought of phoning. With a lot of pressure from friends and family I made an appointment to see Roel Bester.

He is such a kind, caring and considerate understanding man. He didnt even sit me in the chair until he had been talking to me and making me feel comfortable. He made me feel that I trusted him and I was able to let him have a look in my mouth and even take some x-rays! Boy was I proud of myself. He confirmed what I knew which was that a tooth needed to come out but was very complimentary about the rest of my teeth and that even though there is some work he made me feel that they are in a much better state than I thought.

Dr Bester does intravenous sedation himself at the surgery but as I was so terrified at the thought of the extraction he bought in an anaethetist to help him. He and all his staff were so caring and understanding and managed to put me at ease. I had the sedation and the tooth was removed and I never knew anything about it!! I am so impressed with him and so comfortable with him that I am going to see him again to have the rest of the work I need done and will visit him on a regular basis from now onwards.

I would highly recommend this dentist to any dental phobics who can get to Norwich. He will understand all of your problems and will only work at your own pace. He will not push you into anything. I would like to thank the administrator from the bottom of my heart for recommending him and hope that there are others of you who can find the strength to give him a ring and go and see him.

Hi there.
Just joined also suffer gagging and its embarrassing. Is this dentist guy still there?how much does he charge.? My tooth broken in half . Thank you

 

[Stuartetheridge]

I'm new to the forum and wanted to add my bit.
I have avioded the dentist for years through sheer terror. I have swallowed endless pain killers and ordered antibiotics from the Internet to get by. Enough was enough and I had to get it sorted.
I spent some time googling and came up with Hellesdon Dental.

They were phenomenal from the first visit. Kind, patient and professional. I told them that I though sedation was the only way forward and they agreed.
I have been for two sessions of intensive work including root canal surgery and multiple fillings. They have also cleaned and polished my teeth and I can barely remember any of it.
The entire staff from reception to dentists have been amazing.
i cannot recommend them enough.
The only downside is that they are only taking private patients on.
They certainly aren't cheap but having said that they have done the work that should have been carried out over years.
if you're in the same position and prepared to spend some money then go and see them.

 

[Aj64]

I'm so glad to see the recommendations for Chris at Hellesdon Dental. I am due to see him on April 1st and will need a very difficult extraction. I'm glad to hear I'm in good hands as I'm terrified

 

[chasingrainbows]

Hi, i know this thread is old but can anyone recommend a dentist which is good with phobias in Norwich/ north Norfolk area please? i see the recommendation for Chris at Hellesdon is he still there please? I have had some really bad experiences with dentists and so need someone amazing to get me back into a dentist chair

 

[letsconnect]

He sure is still there : http://www.hellesdondentalcare.co.uk/dentists/chris-lefkaditis.html

 

[Aj64]

Hi, i know this thread is old but can anyone recommend a dentist which is good with phobias in Norwich/ north Norfolk area please? i see the recommendation for Chris at Hellesdon is he still there please? I have had some really bad experiences with dentists and so need someone amazing to get me back into a dentist chair

He sure is still there. Hes now my dentist. He hasn't done any work on me yet but is due to remove a particularly difficult tooth soon so I'm hoping he is as good as everyone says

 

[chasingrainbows]

He sure is still there. Hes now my dentist. He hasn't done any work on me yet but is due to remove a particularly difficult tooth soon so I'm hoping he is as good as everyone says

Fingers crossed for you. Keep me updated on how it goes, I'm still trying to summon the courage to book a appointment

 

[Aj64]

Just wanted to put in a good review for Chris Lefkaditis at Hellesdon Dental Care. I finally had my difficult extraction today and Chris was fantastic. He explained every step of the procedure to me and was very calm and professional even though my tooth was stubborn and didn't want to come out easily. I was very scared before the procedure and Chris helped to make the whole experience as easy as possible.

 

[bronze]

Dr Bester at Tree tops retired a few year ago. His replacement is supposed to be good according to them but he made me cry.
Lefkaditis at Hellesdon is only doing implants now.

If anyone else has got any suggestions would love to hear them.
Don’t mind a reasonable amount of travel

 

[letsconnect]

Hi @bronze - happy to have a look for other suggestions, can you let us know a bit more about what you're looking for in a dentist? As in, personality-wise, what they offer, if they need to be specialists in anything, etc. Thanks

 

[bronze]

@letsconnect
Thanks. I need sedation. Apparently even under sedation I’m quite reactive.
And I need someone who doesn’t make me feel judged.

 

[letsconnect]

Hi, I had a look and came across a few dentists in your area who say they enjoy helping people with dental fears, for example Richard Brocklesby at Reepham Dental Centre and Sean Danino at Corner House Dental Practice, but they don't seem to offer sedation unfortunately.

However, you could try contacting Shilpa Shah via this website:

Dental Sedation Solutions

dentalsedationsolutions.co.uk

They say on their website that they operate in the North West of England and North Wales - however, they seem to have lots of contacts in other areas of the UK and may be able to recommend someone in or around Norwich.

Please let us know how you get on!