Augusta Dental Center

Writing this review because I trusted all of the good reviews and gave this dentist a chance — huge mistake. I called to get an emergency checkup for my wisdom teeth. Figured I would have to get the tooth out but also wanted to consider other options in case I could just get some antibiotics to clear up the infection. I told Dr. Pressling I didn’t want to get my tooth extracted because of a trip I had coming up and he told me that I would be fine in 2 days (never mind the fact that wisdom teeth can take up to 2+ weeks to fully heal) so I said okay we can do the extraction. Despite the fact that he didn’t fully explain this to me, he pretty much decided on his own he would be taking out both the top and bottom tooth on the affected side (even though he only X-Rayed ONE TOOTH). He proceeded to numb me with 0 warning that he would be putting a giant needle in my mouth. He didn’t tell me when he would be putting the needle in and didn’t even count down before he injected the numbing medicine, which startled me and made me feel a bit unsafe in his chair. He was very rough while administering the numbing agent even when I was clearly in pain and uncomfortable. He did not show any care towards me or even acknowledge how painful it is to have someone just stab a needle in your cheek and jerk it around. He also had me sign the consent form AFTER he had already numbed me. He never fully explained how he would be removing the tooth either and continuously did things without even explaining why or how the procedure would go. There was 0 bedside manner or compassion with this doctor. I also communicated early on that I am on a medication that interacts with anti inflammatory medications like ibuprofen so I do not take them. Dr. Pressling proceeded to give me two ibuprofens prior to the procedure. This was literal minutes after I had told him I do not take ibuprofen. I don’t know if he didn’t listen, or didn’t care, or both. I waited in the chair for my mouth to get numb, feeling more and more uncomfortable with how this doctor was handling a procedure that made me extremely nervous. Dr. Pressling then came in, said we were ready and then didn’t even check if I was fully numbed before putting an instrument that looked like a pick in my mouth and pressing on my tooth with extreme pressure to remove it. I began to cry and told him that I would like to stop the procedure there, but he still had to get the rest of the tooth, so I laid there as a dentist I had just met, who poked at me and numbed me with little care for my comfort, a dentist who didn’t even bother explaining the procedure to me, pushed on my tooth with extreme force and not a care in the world. As I left, Dr. Pressling followed me when I went to pay my bill to ask what went wrong. I told him I hope he never treats another patient like this ever again, explaining to him how he numbed me without even warning me and didn’t explain anything he was doing at all. He flat out denied the fact that he numbed me without warning AND WITHOUT ME EVEN SIGNING THE CONSENT FORM YET. I got more agitated as I told him I just wanted to pay my bill and leave as his bedside manner was horrific. I cried the whole time I was paying my bill, and even overheard one of the desk ladies say that I was clearly traumatized. Yes, I was. This was the worst, most degrading and invasive dental experience of my life. My boyfriend (who was in the waiting room) walked me to the car before running back in to ask about my antibiotics prescription. He told the front desk that the dentist had given me ibuprofen, and Dr. Pressling denied that too. The front desk workers proceeded to tell my boyfriend the medications the dentist had given me and the details of the procedure (a complete HIPAA violation) and then gave him amoxicillin from a bottle into a little paper bag for me (pretty sure this is also illegal). If you are considering seeing this emergency dentist, I strongly encourage you to look elsewhere. He does not care for patient’s comfort at all, will lie to you and won’t even apologize.