Howard Chi Oral Maxillofacial Surgery

Referred. Had two wisdoms taken out and opted out of the sedation…
It was by far the best dental experience I’ve had to date! What I originally thought would be an hour procedure was actually a 15 – 20 minute pullout. Of course the initial needles hurt, but Dr. Chi had such a relaxed demeanor about him, I felt at ease. The tugging is a bit scary but just remember, if he does not have to use tools for removal, you are blessed.
Great and looking forward to taking out the last of my wisdoms.

Can I get a amen for this dentist?! I’m usually very good with pain, vaccines, blood test? No problem. But when it comes to needles in my mouth it becomes a problem. However, at DR. Chi’s I was given two options local anesthesia or the sedative (he throughly explained each one to me). Of course I chose the sedative! It was quick and painless, I think I may of dosed off but I didn’t really remember much & next thing you know my tooth was on the tray, I was stitched up and ready to head home! I was given instructions on how to take care of my gums post wisdom teeth removal & how the medication should be taken. I highly recommend DR. Howard Chi because even for someone whose terrified of dental visits, it wasn’t so bad after all.

Second time coming here for my third wisdom tooth removal. Definitely get the IV sedation, you pass out in 10 seconds and by the time you get your consciousness back (around half an hour), the procedure will have been completed. I had great experience here with Dr. Chi, he’s kind, professional and answers all my questions. My recovery time for the last wisdom teeth extraction was around 8 days. It should be shorter this time with only one tooth. It takes long time to get an appointment, I waited mine for a month only because someone canceled; so definitely act fast if you want to get it done here.

Quick and efficient wisdom teeth removal. Dr. Chi is very good at answering all your questions and concerns. Speedy recovery. Healed in 1 – 2 weeks. Iced it and no swelling next day. My boyfriend and I both extracted all of our wisdom teeth here and no complications even though they were impacted. Wait isn’t too bad either if you’re on time for your appointment!

THIS IS A REALLY LONG REVIEW!
I just got my wisdom teeth removed today! I vowed if it goes well, I’d write a review to add onto the one that has been here for over a year so that someone else (like my paranoid self) can benefit from the information. I’ve searched LONG and HARD (haha! that’s what she said: P) for as many reviews for Dr. Chi as humanly possible, but couldn’t find any except the one on here (THANK YOU BTW)! The two months leading up to the dreaded day was full of mini panic/​anxiety attacks whenever I thought about going in. Pretty sure I broke out into cold sweats every time I thought about it. I have a huge fear of pain. I’ve worked at a general dentist’s office for many years and have witnessed many of these wisdom teeth procedures being done, but I’m scared of physically feeling the prodding and the pain that comes with the procedure. It’s def not a comfortable one to watch! They don’t call it a minor SURGERY for NOTHING!
I had a consultation a few months prior to the dreaded day and during the consultation, he informed me about everything I needed to know leading up to the wisdom teeth extraction. I took out 2 on my right side today. My 10 o’clock appointment began about 30 mins after the time they told me, which I didn’t mind. When I walked into the room, I was a mess inside. I was thinking to myself I can actually just say I’m not feeling well and to just leave, but NO! If it wasn’t happening today, it would be another month or so of watching YouTube videos and Googling information about other peoples experiences (which both relieved and made me more nervous at the same time, depending on the review).
They first hook you up to a heart rate monitor and give you a breathing tube through your nose. That heart rate monitor scared the living daylights out of me! It was beeping REALLY loud and at the most random times, never consistently beeping either. I was thinking something was wrong with me, but I think it was just LOUD in general. I got the IV sedation shortly after where they put you in a «twilight zone» state through a needle that is inserted into your arm. I asked Dr. Chi if the needle was big and he replies nonchalantly «yes». I was like WHAT!!! I looked at it and he wasn’t lying, it was long, but not thick. The needle wasn’t too bad. It felt like the needles they use during a routine blood check up. I was THE MOST scared about this IV because 1) what if it doesn’t work? 2) what if I woke up mid way and realize this is going on? 3) what if I feel the pain? Dr. Chi tells you that IV sedation is not like general anesthesia where you are KNOCKED OUT COLD, but you are relaxed, «out of it», and still able to follow simple instructions. When the needle went in, I would say about 10 seconds or less later, I’m pretty sure I fell asleep/​KNOCKED OUT COLD. He put the local anesthesia in during this time I would assume because I woke up with a numb right cheek and I saw the needle on the tray (I couldn’t even feel my ears when I scratched it for about 2 hours! haha!). I woke up to what felt like maybe 2 minutes? I don’t even recall any parts of the procedure at all and did NOT FEEL anything! :D I woke up like the previous reviewer and thought when was he going to give me the local anesthesia (the numbing shot they give your gums)?! IT WAS OVER BY THIS TIME! He finished both extractions and had already moved onto his next patient! I don’t remember a thing after the IV was put into my arm. I did however look over at his assistant (who was waiting for me) and asked if I could take a picture of my wisdom teeth! BOY WERE THEY BIG! One had to be cut in half. I believe the procedure took about 20 minutes in all.
12 hours later, I’m sitting on my bed writing this review. 2 hours after the surgery, the numbness went away on my right cheek and I could feel the pain from the stitches. I got a prescription from Dr. Chi for both a strong pain reliever (this one knocks me out and gets me drowsy) and antibiotics (probably to prevent infections). I’m actually quite excited to go back for round 2 to take out the two on my left side. If you’re super scared and nervous (I would say from a scale of 1(no panic)-10(PANIC!!), I would have picked a 10 as to how much I dreaded and felt like I may pass out from thinking about this procedure. My sister and brother in law had to calm me down every day during the week leading up to this procedure (HAHA!). BOY WAS I ANNOYING THE NIGHT BEFORE IT! I couldn’t even sleep!
DO THE IV SEDATION — THANK ME LATER. IT IS 100% WORTH IT! I’m lucky my insurance pays for it, but I believe he said it was about $ 250. I’m sitting here and I’m still in disbelief that I do not remember anything! I did wake up acting kind of giggly and feeling woozy. Bleeding stopped in an hour for me so I didn’t use the gauze they gave after that time. I was able to speak normally without gritting my teeth about 10 hours later.

When I heard that my bottom wisdom teeth were impacted and needed to be removed, I freaked out. As someone who has always been afraid of dentists, oral surgery was something beyond I wanted to handle in my life. I took a long time trying to find an oral surgeon who has good online reviews and accepts my insurance, and I found Dr.Chi. I am surprised no one has reviewed him on Unilocal yet, so I guess I will be the first!
Dr.Chi was very friendly even from my first consultation with him. He was patient and asked me if I had any questions and answered most of my questions at the time. He also informed me of the risks of getting my wisdom teeth pulled, although it did freaked me out a little. But hey, if I had to get it removed, I have to trust him! I am just glad that he was so honest with me from the start so I know what I am getting myself into.
I spent countless hours on the internet searching about wisdom teeth removal since the consultation and I think no one could get as paranoid as I did. I thought of all the possible outcomes: permanent nerve damage, dry sockets… etc. The day of the operation finally arrived. I chose to have IV sedation+local anesthesia. There was an emergency at the time of my appointment, so I had to wait an extra forty-​five minutes. The nurse made up for it by sweetly apologizing as soon as I was introduced to the operation room. The operating room was very bright, with big windows across so that I can see buildings and sunlight – calmed me down a little. As soon as I was seated, the nurse placed a blood pressure cuff and an oxygen monitor on me, the numbers were quite high. I remember my heart rate being in the 110s even though I tried taking numerous deep breathes to calm myself down. Then Dr. Chi walked in and again very kindly asked if I had any last minute questions. He walked out of the room briefly and returned again. Then he inserted a needle into my inner elbow, but I turned away from this. I merely felt a small pinch (comparable to when you are getting your blood drawn). Then I remembered looking back at the needle and seeing a tube filled with blood? and the next thing that I remembered was opening my eyes wide (thinking that I was awake and conscious the whole time) and wondering when Dr. Chi was going to administer the local anesthesia. It turned out that he was in the middle of pulling my teeth, but I felt no pain at all. Then before I realized what was happening, everything was done. I was then taken outside where my mom was waiting and we went home soon after I was conscious enough to walk and stand with no problem. Apparently, I had been in the operating room for about an hour, but it literally felt like three seconds with the sedation (so definitely do sedation if you are afraid of dental work like me). The secretary handed me a pack of gauze and an instruction sheet as to what to do for the recovery period.
I came home with very some pain that evening. I only took one painkiller since the surgery. Bleeding also stopped in about four hours for me, and numbness also went away around that time. I did end up swelling pretty bad for three days though. I am still swelling as I am typing this, and I hope that it will go away pretty soon.
Dr.Chi’s office also called me today to check on me, which was a very considerate move on their part that motivated me to write this long review. :)
So to put this briefly, for those of you who are also looking for a good oral surgeon and fearing wisdom teeth extraction, look no further. I would recommend Dr. Chi to everyone. Thank you Dr. Chi for taking such a good care of me!