Nicollet Dental

I came across Nicollet Dental via a referral from a friend about a year and a half ago. The whole process (cleaning and 2 fillings) was seamless. Great, friendly staff that made me feel at home and Dr. Nelson answered all my questions in detail. I never felt rushed, it’s obvious he know his stuff. I’ve been going every 6 months, getting my cleaning, the staff all knows my name and the best part, NO CAVITIES!

Awesome staff and the Dr. was great and very thorough. I also like the dental plan you can get there. From walking in to leaving very welcoming and helpful.

Worst dental experience ever.
At a cleaning I was sold on the the idea of changing out my amalgam fillings for composite, even though my existing fillings were intact. Dr. Nelson told me that composite lasts longer, that it is now the standard for fillings and that it has fewer problems. I found out from another dentist who teaches at the U of MN that all of these points are lies. I told Dr. Nelson that my decision would depend on my out-​of-​pocket expense at which point his tech left the room, ostensibly to call my insurance company. She came back to the room saying that she found it would cost me $ 120 for the side with fewer fillings and $ 160 for the side with more fillings.
I had the side with fewer fillings done first and ended up with a sore tongue for a couple weeks, tooth sensitivity, and a bill of $ 275.
The office personnel returned my phone calls to talk about my «billing questions» and said that they couldn’t be held responsible for «the fine print of your policy» that said they didn’t cover some parts of the procedure. The techs were not able to respond to my complaint of the sore tongue and sensitivity and I never received a call from the dentist. I went to another dentist (the prof) who shaved down a lip on the composite that was laying over the tooth edge and acting as a sharp edge that was harming my tongue. He also shaved down the composite on one tooth because it had been left too thick; this helped much of the sensitivity.
My insurance company said that no inquiry had been made on my account since 2008. I never received an explanation from Nicollet Dental as to how they came up with the figures they quoted me.
Aside from being unethical and doing poor work, they have a tv that blares in the bathroom-​sized waiting room and a dental tech that talks non-​stop about the minutia of her kids’ daily routines.
Turns out that they are not a general dental clinic; they are a cosmetic dental clinic that has to sell clients on a certain number of procedures each month. And they do sell. By any means necessary.

After many years of hating my teeth (thanks to terrible genetics/​enamel and some poor orthodontistry), it was time to take the plunge and get a consultation for veneers. After the initial consultation, I decided to go for it. Both Dr. Nelson and Chrissy, his dental assistant, were friendly and went out of their way to check up on me throughout the month long process to make sure everything was going alright.
If you’re like me, going to the dentist isn’t ever the most pleasant experience, but here it’s more than tolerable. Nice people, and music playing while they worked on my teeth made the whole thing (long appointments and all) well worth it — and the results are amazing! Thanks so much for my new smile!

Being relatively new to Minneapolis, it was finally time to find a good dental office close to home. For the most part, after my initial teeth cleaning earlier this month, Nicollet Dental seems to fit the bill.
Just an observation, but the clientele is a bit on the senior side, and the office is somewhat claustrophobic. Thus the waiting room was a bit cramped with customers, their walkers, and a wheelchair. But the dental hygienist I had was pleasurably talkative, had on nice ‘80s tunes instead of muzak, and the dentist was like a friendlier version of my grandfather. And the office is less than 5 minutes from my house. Can’t beat that!