Stepping into the waiting room, right away you notice a cozy fire is burning in the fire place, and the aroma of freshly baked cookies fills the air. As the staff greets you and gets you settled, you’re offered a warm neck wrap and maybe even a blanket to help you feel relaxed and comfortable. Now you’re ready for your dental procedure. Yes, your DENTAL procedure!
“We kind of see ourselves as a type of dental spa,” says Dr. Will Lopez. “We have a homey, welcoming waiting room that in the winter has a fire going to help people trust the environment. We want it feel like a home, like a family.”
Angela Chang agrees, “The atmosphere of the dental office is very calming, soothing, and peaceful.” Angela has been a patient of Allgood Comprehensive Dentistry for ten years and currently handles marketing for the practice through the Alison South Marketing Group. “For patients who are afraid to go to the dentist, it’s really nice when you walk in – you’re greeted, and throughout the whole process, the people who are working on you are just as kind as the doctors. They really care about their patients and I think that’s one of the biggest things that I love about the practice.”
Dr. Lopez joined the Allgood Comprehensive Dentistry family in July of 2018. He says, “I called Dr. Andrew Allgood right after I was accepted into the residency program [through the Dental College of Georgia]. I met with him, and we started talking about our practice philosophies – and we were really aligned with those goals.”
“We’re geared towards the systemic, comprehensive approach,” he says. “We want to look at how the mouth effects the body and treat everything that needs to be treated. I tell patients this all the time: 'If you were my mom or my dad, how would I want you to be treated?' That comes into play a lot when asking if we should just patch something or do it the right way and have it be a good, long-lasting treatment of a tooth.”
Through Dr. Allgood, the practice has been built upon cosmetic dentistry. Dr. Lopez continues to focus on cosmetic dentistry but also provides services in-house such as root canals, implants, extractions, and bone graphing procedures that, in the past, have been referred out of the office.
“We span all dentistry,” he says. “We do the regular cleaning, exams, fillings and thing like that, but we also have a bit more technology with our crowns.” Using a Cerac machine, they are able to generate a 3D digital model of a patient’s mouth to create same-day crowns.
Additionally, Dr. Lopez is on the cutting edge in what can be done to help patients with TMJ pain. He says, “Once we evaluate a patient, we can sometimes use Botox to calm down the muscle and relieve some of the joint pain associated with TMJ.”
They also have an in-house teeth whitening system called Zoom. It’s this and other teeth-whitening systems that are used to help give back to the community.
Dr. Lopez explains, “We enjoy giving back to the community through Hope House, an organization that helps the children and people of addiction. We call the program Smiles for Hope. For 2 months each year, April & May, proceeds from teeth whitening treatments go to Hope House. Over $70,000 has been given to Hope House over the years.” The practice also supports Hope House by providing dental care for some Hope House clients.
“Their attention to detail and their rapport with patients is so nice,” says Angela. “The doctors and the staff have the same mission…they really strive to make sure that every person, no matter if they’ve come in for a cleaning or they are there for an extensive procedure, feels good when the walk out. They give people confidence to smile. And plus, they give you cookies when you leave!”
Dr. Will Lopez is a Georgia native and has been married to his wife, McKenzie, for 8 years. They have two children, Collier and Mary Charles. The family is actively involved in First Presbyterian Church of Augusta and places a priority on ministry and missions. For more information on services provided through Allgood Comprehensive Dentistry, visit AugustaSmiles.com.