About Smiles Dentistry

Guido Mina di Sospiro

A Routine Tooth-Cleaning Turns Into an Abscess The dental hygienist, Jennifer, starts cleaning my teeth after having reclined me to an outright horizontal position which is uncomfortable, but she won’t change it because that’s “the best angle” for her. She cleaned my teeth five months ago, so they are not full of plaque and tartar as they were, just a modicum. And yet, this time she is hurting me. I resist for a while, and then gesture to stop, saying, “This hurts, please be gentle. ” She’s wearing a mask, but her eyes tell me that she is disconcerted. She says, “Let’s take an X-ray of the teeth that hurt you. ” “No,” I reply, “the teeth don’t hurt me, you are hurting the teeth. ” “Then,” she says, “I can anesthetize the area locally.

” “That,” I reply, “would be a mistake, because you would go to work on them with no feedback from me, and four or five hours from now I’d have to deal with a lot of pain. Just listen to me: go easy on them, use a light touch. ” It doesn’t seem an outlandish request, but she says, “Let’s just take a pause and I’ll come back in a few minutes. ” And she does as much. When she returns she is accompanied by a colleague, a woman a little older that she is, who is going to help her. So now I have two dental hygienists working inside my mouth, the newcomer keeping my tongue out of the way and siphoning, with the appropriate tool, water out of my mouth. This is a first: in a lifetime of teeth-cleaning, both in Europe and in the US, I’ve never had two hygienists work in my mouth simultaneously. And what is more, I think that from behind her mask Berenice is sobbing quietly; I suppose to distract her, the other hygienist soon starts speaking about weddings and people attending them: talk about a captive audience, just what I was yearning to hear! This peculiar festival of unprofessionalism comes to an end.

Some of my teeth are in pain and I have the bitter taste of blood in my mouth. Update: eight days later, the upper teeth and gum on the left of my mouth still hurt; Jennifer really did a number on them. I make an emergency visit to another dentist. They take X-rays and examine my mouth. By poking too aggressively a specific spot in my gums, just the one that hurt when I told Jennifer to be delicate, I got an infection, on the brink of turning into an abscess. I am now on an antibiotic course, in a bid to make the infection go away. If it the above doesn't make it abundantly clear: stay away from About Smiles Dentistry.

June 1, 2024

Sakineh Majd

Katherine Holtzapple in an INCREDIBLE dentist. I feel that I am an expert in dentists, as I had a very serious dental issue, which was "resolved" for over $10,000. What actually happened was the dentist charged me to do more damage. I spent months consulting dentists in the Annapolis area to see if they could fix the problem. Many said they did not have the experience.

Others proposed solutions which would result in gum surgery and extensive fees. Katherine was the last dentist I interviewed. She said she could handle the job, and finally her explanation for what needed to be done made sense and did not require any sort of additional surgery. In addition, she identified a cavity which NONE of the other dentists had found. I loved her energy and could tell she takes her job very seriously, so I went with her.

My teeth are literally perfect now. I cannot believe how perfectly she was able to perform a procedure that many dentists could not even do. Katherine set me at ease after years of stress over my teeth. If you have a difficult procedure and want guaranteed success, go with Katherine.

March 3, 2024

Robatochan

Dr. Calton and team are exceptional and very professional. We've been patients for many years and on every visit the clinic is always clean, equipment is top-notch, and staff are friendly and accommodating to patient needs. Extraordinary and highly recommended!

January 21, 2025

Meredith Esposito

As a dental professional myself I couldn't be happier with the quality and compassion of the entire staff at About Smiles. From a simple tooth cleaning to more advanced procedures I am so lucky to have found this office. 5 stars!!!

April 25, 2025