Ms. Smarty Pants Know It All

Armitage Oral Surgery
2220 West Armitage
Chicago, IL 60647
773-697-4188

I decided to get one wisdom tooth pulled under my current dental insurance plan. Although none of my teeth were causing me any problems, dentists like to very much insist that they may in the future. So I decided to go with just one, since that would guarantee that I would stay under the yearly cap.

At first, I went for a consultation at a place recommended by my dentist. It turned out that they weren’t in the Blue Cross Blue Shield network. Silly me, I just assumed that most places were.

This time, I actually consulted the BCBS website and got a list of oral surgeons. Then I went looking for online reviews. Dr. Katabi has some very fine reviews from Yelpers.

When I called to make my appointment, I thought it was weird that I could just book a time and say what I wanted to be done. They just took it at face value. Later, I discovered that Dr. Katabi would do an examination and consultation before actually doing any work, but initially, I was concerned.

The thing that worked in his favor is that his front office staff is great. They are very friendly and willing to help. Still, I wanted to check this place out before the big day so I dropped off my x-rays a day early.

His location is very impressive. There’s easy street parking and his office seems new. It is pleasantly decorated—although it’s a tad on the ostentatious side for my taste. Again, the front office staff was super nice.

Finally, as the big tooth day arrived, I was nervous simply because it’s teeth, and I don’t like teeth-oriented business. But from my front-side legwork, I was confident in the doctor and his practice.

(Read about the actual procedure and follow-up in part 2.)

Tags: Chicago //