Not a big fan of dentists, but found myself requiring an emergency appointment after several days of consistent toothache. Found Apollo on a Google search, and had a look at the prices etc to get a feeling for the place. Phoned them up, as there was an offline problem, spoke to a receptionist who told me that their systems were down, but took my details and promised to call me back. Honestly did not expect to hear from them, but within an hour, the phone rang, and there was the offer of an appointment later that day. Very impressed with the receptionists manner and explanations. I was not a patient, just booking an emergency appointment, but was made to feel very welcome on the phone. Drove to the practice, and was pleasantly surprised by how tranquil and serene it was. Filled in the required forms and went through the paperwork, then sat down to wait. The waiting room was bright, clean and spacious, and the staff were calling people to their appointments using first names, which reduced the formality of the situation and made the area feel very friendly. When it was my turn, a dentist appeared, called my name and I was shown to a small clean and light room, packed with hi tech equipment. I had a good chat with the dentist about my problem tooth, and he took an x-ray, after inspecting my mouth, and then proceeded to show me the x-ray, discussing the reasons my tooth was like this and more importantly, what the options were. At no point was there a hard sell. In this case, the molar, which had a cavity may have been able to be repaired, but it would be difficult to reach, and may take a while to complete the procedure, maybe even over several visits? The dentist, Jon Lee, explained the options honestly, and we agreed that extraction was the way to go. There and then. He then explained the fees that would be incurred - which I was more than happy to pay to be rid of the problem, and more importantly, what he would be doing and the risks involved. Not scared tactics, but just highlighting some of the things that could go wrong which I found reassuring, all the scenarios had a resolve plan, which I found impressive. The manner in which all this was explained and the way that Jon conducted himself throughout made me feel like I was in expert hands, and after a quick Q and A session, we went ahead with the extraction. The problem tooth was the rearmost upper right molar. 2 injections into the gum, numbed the area. Then the plaits were applied and the tooth was loosened. Jon was very keen to ensure that I was comfortable at all times, and even put some swabs in between my lip and gum, to ensure that the piars would not crush my lip on my teeth whilst manipulating the tooth. Within 2-3 minutes of twisting and cajouling, Jon calmly said...tooth out, to which I sqwaked a surprised Uuh?. It was without a doubt the easiest tooth extraction I have ever had. We examined the removed tooth, and then I was told the do's and dont's for the next 24 hours, backed up with a paper copy in case I was not taking it in. After thanking Jon and his assistant, I went to the front desk to pay. Never had such a good experience at a dentist, which is why I am writing the review. the Apollo is a fantastic practice, quite reasonable, and in my experience, offers fantastic service for the price, with great facilities and friendly efficient staff.
South of England
