Wow!  I really like this dentist.  He is warm and friendly, has a good
sense of humor, and has prices that are less than half of the last
dentist I saw!!  He spent an hour and 1/2 with me and only charged me
$25.  The first thing I told him was that I was really scared of
dentists, and he smiled and said he was too.  :-)  He has a dental
hygienist who gives him a shot before his dentist buddy works on him
because she "gives the best shots."  We talked about my Meniere's and
the fact that the sound of the drill hurts my ears, and I asked if he
would pause if I needed him to.  He said of course he would.  All I
had to do was give him a signal.  He seems very understanding.

The dentist in town quoted me $2,300 for a partial.  This guy said
it'd be $1,000.  That's quite a difference.  He looked at the report
the first dentist sent along about periodontal disease.  He then
talked about scraping and planing my teeth to improve the little
"pockets."  Then he examined me and said that he didn't really agree
with the initial evaluation on this.  He said he really had to get in
there and do a thorough exam himself to be certain.  He said my gums
looked really good to him -- nice and tight with little "stipples."
Phew!  I've set up an appointment for the 23rd of March for a full
exam and two bite wing X-rays.  This will help him decide about the
perio treatments.  Then I have an appointment in April with Sylvia --
the good shot lady -- for a cleaning.  The gals in the office laughed
when I said I wanted Sylvia!  They said everybody wants Sylvia.  After
the initial exam, I'll set up the first real appointment where he
works on me.  He wants to decide about the planing and scraping before
we do anything else.

When I first got there, he was standing in the outer office.  They
seemed surprised to see me and said they weren't really open today.
So I showed the gal the card she sent me with the appointment time,
and he just said it was fine -- no worries.  So the environment is
easygoing and relaxed.  I'm psyched.  I even got him to laugh really
loud when I told him I thought he probably wouldn't be too scared of
me.  I like him.  The two ladies in the office are his wife and his
sister.  OK, he has to be nice if his wife can stand to work with him
all day.  He didn't get upset that his sister made a mistake on my
appointment time.  Not a feather was ruffled.

He's really interested in seeing the NTI device, too.  He's going to
want me to let him know how it works so he can advise his other
patients.  I think this might just work out.  It took me 3 minutes to
get to his office.  Fingers crossed!

Thanks for all the help and advice you all have given me.  It is much
appreciated.

Eva