Testimonials

Dear Dr. Kessler,

Few are the craftsmen who are also artists and even fewer are the artists who are considered craftsmen. You however, represent the finest of the marriage of both these talents. On Tuesday last, upon seeing the gleam in your eyes after having completed the last plateau after many months of vigilance of the installation of my first eight implants, you were a sight to behold. And to think that I too became a “star” for thirty seconds after being asked to “open up” in front of three of your colleagues in order for them to witness the bounty of your efforts - well, the whole ordeal just threw me for a loop!

Many, many thanks “Doc” for giving me the opportunity to set my toaster on “DARK” again in order to prepare my English muffin – for now I am once again able to “chomp down” all sorts of foods and textures. While we have not taken advantage of your generosity in the gift giving department as of this writing, we wanted you to know that we shall soon and at the same time, “toast” to you talents. Many thanks again. Respectfully,

David D. - Newtown

What Our Patients are Saying

Dear Dr. Kessler,

Few are the craftsmen who are also artists and even fewer are the artists who are considered craftsmen. You however, represent the finest of the marriage of both these talents. On Tuesday last, upon seeing the gleam in your eyes after having completed the last plateau after many months of vigilance of the installation of my first eight implants, you were a sight to behold. And to think that I too became a “star” for thirty seconds after being asked to “open up” in front of three of your colleagues in order for them to witness the bounty of your efforts - well, the whole ordeal just threw me for a loop!

Many, many thanks “Doc” for giving me the opportunity to set my toaster on “DARK” again in order to prepare my English muffin – for now I am once again able to “chomp down” all sorts of foods and textures. While we have not taken advantage of your generosity in the gift giving department as of this writing, we wanted you to know that we shall soon and at the same time, “toast” to you talents. Many thanks again.

 

I enjoy coming here! The staff is wonderful and my dental treatment has been very successful.

Jacquelynn G - Trumbull

 

Don't change a thing, the staff is fantastic, courteous, friendly and accommodating—both adult and pediatrics, a very pleasant experience!

 

Dear Dr. Aledort, Where do I begin to thank you for your patience and kindness in tolerating my nerves in that dentist chair. You truly are a gem and yes I do love you. I could not have gotten through it without all of you and that goes for Chris & Laura too. I never thought I would be saying “I really miss going to the dentist” but you made that happen. You’re one in a million.

 

We had an excellent first visit here. The staff was super with the kids. Thank you!

Dear Dental Associates:

On behalf of our family and our team, we thank Dental Associates for your donation to the Reed/Middle Gate Odyssey of the Mind team.  Your donation helped up compete at the World Finals at Michigan State University.  The finals were a great learning experience for the team.  They became experienced problem solvers, met people from all over the world and were exposed to a plethora of innovative ideas.  Although the team did not place in the top six in the finals, they compensated with their enthusiasm and creativity.

Your commitment to the youth of Newtown is very much appreciated.

Catherine F. - Newtown

 

The staff are the friendliest people and I would refer my friends and family!

 

I was seen today by Dr. Fusillo and am very impressed by his expertise and the excellent work he did on my tooth. I am totally satisfied and think he is the best dentist that has ever worked on me. It was a great experience.

 

A lot of people are afraid to go to the dentist, but I look forward to coming to Dental Associates. From the second you walk through the door you are treated like one of the family. From the receptionists, my hygienist Nancy to Dr. Dores and Dr. Klein, you are treated with quality healthcare and they really care how you feel. They not only care about you, but are sincere how members of your family are. I’ve never been to your other offices, but I’m sure they are all the same when it comes to how you treat your patients.

 

Dr. Herbstman, You really know how to make somebody smile!

 

I had Invisalign as adult with Dr. Gilman and I could not be happier with my result. Other orthodontists that I consulted with told me that I was not a candidate but Dr. Gilman proved them wrong.

 

Everyone is so nice and helpful

Melissa M. - Trumbull

 

You are great at customer service. I have already referred 2 new patients.

  

My compliments to all the docs and staff for always providing outstanding service in a courteous and professional manner. I couldn’t possibly write compliments without including my favorite dentist, Dr. Richard Klein. When I came in for the first time, my dental problems seemed insurmountable; however, Dr. Klein has given me a new “dental” lease on life! Thank you Dr. Klein for your professional work, great customer service, and your efforts to explain everything and work with me!

 

To All! Thank you for making my smile match who I am! Love,

 

Nabeth: Thank you for visiting our center and teaching all about dental health. We truly appreciate your time!

Dear Dr. Gilman & Staff at Dental Associates: I would like to thank you very much for the opportunity to visit you at Dental Associates. It was a great experience for me and I enjoyed "job shadowing" you. Thank you again!

  

Very acoomodating to my busy schedule - (This is why I switched to this practice).  Thank you.

M. Pearlstone, MD - Trumbull

Julia is awesome! She fit me in today when my doctor was on vacation and the office schedule was packed. She even managed to get me in during my lunch so I didn’t miss work. Thanks again.

  

I truly appreciate your immediate attention when a problem exists – you’re the best!

 

This was the most loving thing that ever happened to my husband and me! Especially after moving to Redding. We filled in quickly for a cancelled appointment and my husband said, “We’ll be there so bake us a cake”. After our appointment, Julia presented us with the most delicious cake – chocolate! We will never forget it – or her!

 

I would like to thank everyone at Dental Associates. My family and I have had a number of dental emergencies as well as regular appointments. Everyone is always extremely helpful – from checking in to checking out. The hygienists and dentists are professional, nice and very sensitive to our needs. Thank you Dental Associates! (Hi to Dr. Renzi)

 

I was very impressed with my first visit here and referred a colleague who was looking for a new dentist for herself and her family. She was very pleased with her experience with Dr. George. I was very surprised to get the lottery ticket – a very nice idea to acknowledge my referral.

 

I love the way you all make everyone feel like family. This is the first dental office that I like coming to. Don’t change a thing.

  

Hi Dr. Gilman, Long time no talk! How have you been? I was just thinking of you and I wanted to share some very good news with you. I will be attending Harvard Dental School next year! I am so excited and part of me still doesn't believe that it is actually happening, but I guess I will be in up in Boston for another 4 years! Also, I wanted to let you know that during my interviews at the dental schools, my interviewers were extremely interested in my experience at Dental Associates, and I just went on and on about everything that you had taught me, so THANK YOU once again for the wonderful opportunity during the past few summers, and also for the letter of recommendation. I know that it is because of your help and support that I was able to navigate through the application process.

 

This is a beautiful office space.

 

Everyone here is very friendly, welcoming and patient. Thank you for outstanding services for our family of four.

  

I would like to say the appearance of the office and the staff have helped so much in my fear of visiting the dentist. Keep up the good work.

 

Dear Dr. Solomons, We have never met, but my husband and I are patients of Dr. Klein in your New Milford office. Thanks to you and your on-call staff on the weekend of Jan. 16th when my daughter had a dental emergency. It was late in the evening and she was leaving at 5:30AM for a long awaited vacation with her husband. She is 6 ½ months pregnant and is not feeling extremely glamorous at the moment so when she lost the bonding on her front tooth, leaving a jagged, uncomfortable and embarrassing gap, she was devastated. You all came to the rescue. I immediately got on the phone in within a ½ hour, I had spoken with you and your staff and explained the situation. Needless to say, Dr. Solomons, you saved the day, the week – the trip.

 

Don’t change anything – I love this place!!!

 

You folks are the best. I recommend you every time dentists are discussed!

 

My children just had their six month cleanings. Dr. Saintil and Jodie were terrific with my special needs child. They were very patient and attentive to his needs and he had a very positive experience. Dr. Saintil was also terrific with my younger son. She thoroughly explained her recommendation for sealants for him. I am very pleased with the courteous staff – thank you all!

 

"Dr. Gund, Thank you for all that you have done for me over the past two years to bring this beautiful smile to my face"

 

“Don’t change the arcade games and video games – the kids love to come to the dentist!”

 

“Thank you very much to Dr. Dowling and her assistant Yan for making my daughter’s experience having a cavity a very good one. Dr. Dowling was wonderful with her – she talked through everything and my daughter was calm and chatting away during the whole process. I was very impressed because I didn’t want her to fear coming to the dentist in the future – that definitely won’t be the case!”

 

“Dear Kathy & Dr. Herbstman: Being a dental coward, it was bad enough contemplating changing from Dr. Snyder to a new dentist. To come in and see a strange dentist for a chipped tooth could have put me over the edge! Instead, I left the office calm, confident and smiling. I can't thank both of you enough for the way the entire visit was handled and for easing my transition to a new dentist.”

 

“Dental Associates has always been here for us in New Milford for every family member - especially if there is an emergency. Our family and our community are lucky to have such a team to serve everyone and also to use their funds in the community so people will know where to go if they need expert treatment or are new to New Milford. This is the only dental office I know of that is dedicated to helping people with other health risks such as heart disease or diabetes.”

 

“I would like to personally thank Dr. Boc, Patty, Mary Ann, Dawn, Lee and all else who strive to do such an excellent job at Dental Associates in Newtown. Everyone is always a pleasure to deal with and Dr. Boc always helps me in any way he can. I love you guys & greatly appreciate all your help throughout the years. Keep up the great job. ”

 

“I have never seen nicer, friendlier people ever! What great staff! No one has ever been so helpful and nice, I can't say enough about everyone (Judie) is #1.”

 

“Dear Dr. Aledort, I just wanted to write you and thank you for taking me as an emergency patient. Your professionalism and personality are sincerely great. In the past years, with my experience with dentists, you are without a doubt the most excellent professional. Thank you again. See you on May 18!”

 

“Hello! I just wanted to thank Lee for coming to talk to our Kindergarten students. We really appreciated it - the students loved the program, and they were thrilled with the goodies! The time spent was very generous. Thank you again, The Kindergarten Team at Quaker Farms School ”

 

“My son knocked his front tooth out at 18 months old, so his first visit to the dentist (not yours) was traumatic. Now at 3, he’s still uneasy about going to the dentist but the staff go out of their way to put him at ease and make his visits as pleasant as possible. Your office is truly dedicated to kids and because of this, kids are much more comfortable – even going through crowns and fillings as Jack has been. The doctor is very patient, sweet, understanding and very flexible. Even though your office is not “in-network” with my insurance, we wouldn’t think of taking our kids anywhere else. Keep up the great work and thanks so much for your quality dental care!”

 

“It was a painless procedure - it makes me enjoy going to the dentist.”

 

 

“I have been a patient at Dental Associates for many years. I had been going to a dentist in a single practice and that did not work out very well. If you had an emergency, you were just stuck. That situation came up one Saturday afternoon when my dentist had already left the office. My friend had been going to Dental Associates for quite some time and suggested I call them. They took me and relieved me of my pain that same day! I was very impressed! These people really know how to run a practice. The girls at the front desk are helpful and knowledgeable. The hygienists and assistants are very caring and attentive. I have only had the occasion to visit one dentist since that first time and he is Dr. Renzi. I cannot say enough good things about him - I would use too much space! He is extremely caring of both my husband and myself. If anyone decides to use Dental Associates, that person will not be sorry. Oh yes, I forgot the most important part - for those of you who are afraid to go to the dentist - there is no pain! ”

 

“The group at Dental Associates are a very courteous, fun group but always maintain a professional attitude. Are always willing to make time for missed appointments and emergencies. Keep up the great work. All of my experiences at Dental Associates have been painless as well. The staff always are very gentle and careful. Thank you.”

 

“Dear Dr. Gilman, I am writing this note to share my experiences with Invisalign with you and your patients. When I first met with you in September 2005 to discuss orthodontia options I must admit that I was skeptical about “pushing back my tooth” at my age! Your explanations, complete with computer pictures, helped me to understand this “miraculous” procedure and gave me the impetus to try. From the start in December 2005 to the present, I have never had a hard time with Invisalign. In fact, I do a lot of public speaking and never even had to remove my “braces” when in public. Nobody ever knew they were in place! The braces never hurt, were never inconvenient, and I could do, and did, everything I normally do with them in place. As a result, my teeth are now better that I ever imagined. Some say they are “perfect”. My husband claims that I would make a great “poster girl” for Invisalign! Thank you, thank you, and thank you for giving me a wonderful smile!”

 

“I just wanted to let everyone know what a positive experience I had while experiencing a miserable toothache. I called while in extreme pain and spoke to Alex. She was absolutely wonderful - helpful and truly concerned. I didn't feel like she was just 'going through the motions'. Her help made the unbearable ache more bearable - truly.”

 

“Excellent service always. Caring, courteous & professional. Lisa - you're the best! Dr. Kessler - thanks for understanding.”

 

“I felt like walking into a familiar friends house, again, for the 1st time. Everyone was so nice and empathetic to my pain situation. Thanks a million.”

 

“Theresa Piccinini is excellent - her teaching is extremely beneficial to me. My husband and I recommend your practice and Theresa in particular, very highly.”

 

“Thank you for sponsoring a team in the Brookfield Parks & Recreation Department's Winter Youth Basketball League. Please accept this team shirt and plaque with our appreciation of the 400 children who were part of this program. It is an absolute pleasure to have Dental Associates as a sponsor for our Basketball League. We appreciate your continued support.”

 

“Dr. Gilman, Thanks so much for helping Ashley to have a beautiful smile! It matches her! Great picture! Thanks to everyone in your office - you all are so wonderful! :) THANK YOU! See you soon! ”

 

“Hi Dr. Wachs, Thank you for your excellent care over this past year. I’m looking forward to going back to Dr. Nkabinde to complete the last stages of my dental implants, but I will miss the team upstairs. I’ll stop by for a visit from time to time to show off my bright new smile! My daughter is doing very well without her wisdom teeth. Her words were, “Dr. Wachs is great, it wasn’t that scary at all”. Thanks again for taking such good care of us. ”

 

“THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!! On behalf of the Neighborhood Services Department of CACD, I would like to thank you very much for your extremely generous donation of toothbrushes. Your thoughtfulness directly helped low-income families of Danbury during the 2007 Thanksgiving and Winter Holiday season.”

 

“I have been seeing Dr. Nkabinde now as my dentist for 4 years, and I honestly do not know a more caring, skilled and professional dentist. I now bring my whole family to Dental Associates – my son sees Dr. Gund for his orthodontics and Dr. Christine Dowling for dental visits. Dental Associates is truly a professional organization where we feel our dental needs are fully covered. I am exuberant about referring friends to your care.”

 

“Dr. George: Thank you SO much for everything - especially your patience and kindness - not me mention the wonderful outcome. I'm thrilled!! I've been hiding for so long - a decade! People (some) would say they couldn't tell but of course they could - but more importantly, I was constantly aware - thinking about how embarrassing my smile was. It played a part in every single moment of any day - sometimes farther back in my mind, but always there. Now I'm going to start doing the opposite and carry my new smile with every part of every day. Truly, it will take some paractice I'm sure, but I'm so excited to begin. Next wedding I go to - look out... Thanks again, I think you're amazing.”

 

“My son recently came home from the Children’s Center with a bunch of goodies from your office and they are great. We are lucky in that, at 4 years old, he is already a good brusher but a little extra excitement never hurts. The dental professionals as a whole and your office in particular do a great job in educating the public. Thank you.”

April 2007 - "We admire the generosity your office holds for donating these mouthguards to the local high school students. It is a wonderful cause and your office should gain further recognition and respect for your charity."

April 2008 - “Thank you for continuing to choose Mueller for your mouth guard donations. We are honored to have our name associated with Dental Associates and look forward to helping you give back to your communities in the future.”

“Always a great experience. Everyone treats you like a human, not a number. The office staff is GREAT!! I've referred a number of folks to your practice. Thanks for the great care.”

 

I was seen today by Dr. Fusillo and very impressed with his expertise and the excellent work he did on my tooth. I am totally satisfied and think that he is the best dentist that has ever worked on me – it was a great experience!

"This is the best dentist office I’ve ever been to! Keep up the fun : ) I actually like coming to appointments now!"

"Dear Dr. Herbstman: Thank you so very much for fixing my teeth. You will never know how much I appreciate the beautiful work you did in my mouth."

 

 

FROM: Lisa – patient of Dr. Gilman

To Whom It May Concern:

I would like to share with you my experience with your orthodontist Dr. Aaron Gilman.

In the Spring of 2007, I had been making several visits to Dental Associates for various dental issues.  I had only seen a dentist a handful of times in the previous 20 years of my life.  The issues I had accumulated over that time had become fairly extensive for someone my age, and the fact that my teeth were significantly crowded only worsened my dental dilemmas.

Unfortunately, wearing braces was comparable to the end of the world to me.  Just the thought of daily flossing made me very irritable.  But regardless of what I was or was not comfortable with, various hygienists, dentists, and periodontists warned me that I must look into braces if I wanted to keep my teeth due to the severity of my problems.

And so the end of the world was now upon me.  Not only would I have to wear braces, but I was also told there was a good chance I could lose all four of my lower incisors during the straightening process.  It was a bit of a damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation.

Losing four teeth is traumatic at any age, let alone at age 30.  I tried to be grateful for the invent of implants, but this did not do much to quell my anxiety.  When I spoke to my family about my situation, they were quite supportive and encouraged me to try the braces and hope that all went well.  Of course, they are not dental professionals and could only go on instinct and educated guesses.

This is the point at which Dr. Gilman separated himself from the rest.  In the medical profession, patients often complain of not being heard by their doctors, and do not feel empowered or even a part of their own medical decisions.  Often doctors and dentists seem to make your decisions for you.  This was not the case with Dr. Gilman.  I felt that he was genuinely concerned for not only the well being of my teeth, but also that I was able to make an informed decision I could be confident in.

It is apparent that he put a lot of time and effort into making sure I got the best treatment.  This is another quality often missed in doctors – they have a tendency to rubber stamp their prescriptions and treatments.  My case was a difficult one – and instead of being frustrated or lax and simply suggesting typical treatment methods, he came up with new ones.  He literally said to me, “I’m not afraid to think outside the box.”

He even humored some rather unreasonable requests on my part in an effort to make me more comfortable with my treatment.  In consideration of my aversion to metal braces, he attempted to make Invisalign successful on my unbelievably crowded lower teeth.  In the end I had to wear the metal braces for a few months, and although I will never say that I liked them, it was much less frustrating knowing we tried it my way first.  After I gave in and abandoned my foolish aversion to braces, I knew it was the right thing to do – and even developed a bit of patience (which was never my strong point).

One other factors of huge benefit to me is his use of email.  I have always wondered why doctors don’t favor this more.  Why should a patient have to interrupt a doctor’s busy day with brief questions?  A quick email in their free time sent from patient to doctor and vice versa seems most logical.  Dr. Gilman is the first and only doctor I have seen use it on a regular basis, always returning my messages promptly and thoroughly.  This facet of his practice helped me immensely, for I would have asked fewer questions due to feeling “on the spot” in the office and not wanting to take up too much of his time outside of my appointments.

I am now in the retainer phase of my braces journey, and though I can’t speak for the future, I have retained three of my incisors, losing only one to a scheduled pull to make room for the other three to align.  In other words, no teeth were lost through a failure of the straightening process.  I am completely satisfied with how things turned out, and may even start flossing now.  (That’s a joke.)

In conclusion, I believe the difference between a good and a great doctor is compassion and creativity.  I know that Dr. Gilman possesses both qualities.

Thank you for your time in reading this.

Sincerely,

Lisa

BEFORE	AFTER

FROM: Cindi Harron – patient of Dr. Dores and Dr. Gilman

….and with her new beautiful smile she met the man of her dreams and lived happily ever after. The End

For those of you who like the end first there you are. For any one else, you probably are wondering what the smile has to do with happiness.

I was born in 1966 and almost from birth I was plagued with allergies and illnesses. I was prescribed large doses of an anti-biotic called tetracycline. Even then doctors knew that a side-effect of this drug was stained teeth, but they continued to prescribe it. My baby teeth were normal and white but when they fell out and my adult teeth came in they were gray all over and a dark blue-black at the roots.

I didn’t love my teeth. I didn’t love my smile. Photographs of me throughout my life smiling and showing teeth were rare. And trust me, I didn’t love the fact that people would always look at my teeth questioningly. I loved even less some of the comments people made to me over the years; my favorite is still a customer who came into my store and told me that I should brush my teeth before they all fell out.

By chance I met a wonderful yoga teacher named Gloria. She works at a dental office and knew exactly what the staining on my teeth was. She told me that there were many options these days and that her dental office, Dental Associates, could help me. Since I was a reformed optimist, I tried to look interested without really taking to heart what she said.

I then went for a consultation with Dr. Dores and Dr. Gilman. Dr. Gilman, the orthodontist, took me first. He explained that there were a lot of changes in today’s orthodontics, however, in order to move my teeth as quickly and safely as we wanted, I would not be able to use the Invisalign braces, but would instead have a “tin grin”. Of course I wasn’t happy about having a tin smile in my late 30’s, but what was the option? Interestingly enough, when the braces were on most people never even noticed them. It seems that since my teeth were so dark in the first place, most people thought I had braces all along!

The next part of my “make-over” was veneers for my top 10 teeth with Dr. Dores. After the initial preparation of the teeth, they fit on the temporary veneers. The impressions of my teeth that they took before they started were being used to create my permanent veneers in the lab. Dr. Dores fit on the temporary coverings and sculpted them so that they looked like real, individual teeth even though it was really just one piece that fit over all 10 teeth. He did an awesome job! For all intents and purposes these temporary ones looked like what the real ones would look like. A short while later, the permanent veneers went on.

After an entire lifetime of hiding my smile in photographs and feeling bad about myself I wasn’t happy with my new smile. I was really uncomfortable. All my friends were shocked. For years I thought that if someone stared at my mouth they were thinking that my teeth were gross. I have 39 years of photos of me with my mouth closed and a weird grimace/smile on my face. When people would say I was beautiful I would roll my eyes because I knew I wasn’t beautiful with these hideous teeth. But now all that was gone! All of my identity and the way I had always thought of myself was changed. I could now be someone different. An entire lifetime of hating something about myself no longer existed. Since I was a child I had developed the personality of the class clown, the best friend, the joker. All of this was to mask how bad I felt about myself. Believe it or not it was because of my teeth. They were that bad!

You couldn’t pay me to go back to my old teeth! Monday came and I had to go to work, so I got dressed and when my family and co-workers saw me they were blown away. Life had to go on and so I went to yoga that night and to the gym the next day and everywhere I went people said “you look great” and “oh you got your braces off”. People who knew I was getting this done were amazed by the work that was done. Everyone agreed that my smile was the greatest.

My new teeth are amazing. If you haven’t seen the photos, check them out. The people at Dental Associates did an amazing job. Dr Gilman and all of his staff as well as Dr. Dores and his staff all made this arduous process fun and amazing. I thank them all. I don’t think they realize how much has changed for me because of their hard work.

And what’s my life like now? It’s been interesting certainly. I don’t think I smile or act any different than I always did – except that now I think when people look at my mouth that they surely must be thinking “wow look at her beautiful teeth” – but I think people treat me different. People I’ve seen over the years but have never actually spoken to, now go out of their way to engage me in conversation. I’m certainly more comfortable with myself and have stopped hiding my smile with my hand when I laugh. And I met a wonderful man, the best ever. On our first date one of the first things he said to me was “you have a beautiful smile”! I of course replied “thanks, it’s totally fake!” Nevertheless, he loves my teeth and thinks that it shows a lot about my character that I went through everything I did to better myself and change something about myself that I didn’t like at all. And funny enough, when I said I had braces the year before he said he remembered seeing me with them. He said I was walking out of a restaurant and flashed him a cheeky, full smile with my braces blaring and he thought that I must be very comfortable with myself to be wearing braces in my 30’s. So Dr. Gilman, your tin grin is what made him notice me first! I thank you.

Thank you Dental Associates for the chance to live a very different life.

BEFORE	AFTER