Ekren Bart W DDS PC

I highly recommend Dr. Bart Eckren as a competent, caring orthodontist in the Portland area. Working gently and reassuringly with every age of patient, Dr. Ekren has «the artist’s eye» for a lasting, beautiful smile at the end of the teeth-​straightening process. He is thorough, patient and gentle, and takes the time to let you know about each process.
Dr. Ekren’s office is very efficient and accommodating. It is located in SW Portland near Washington Square, with free parking and a comfortable waiting area. I gave Dr. Ekren five stars because he stands out in his field. I refer anyone who asks to Dr. Ekren!

I was a patient of his a very long time ago — 25+ years, which is hard to believe. He has been in the same location since he first opened his practice. I might not have been his first patient, but I was one of the first. He was a very nice man and a very good orthodontist. His kids were «little» then and looking on his website, I was happy to see that his son now works for him and very sad that his daughter is deceased. The treatment lasted almost 3 years… a pretty average amount of time. My teeth were not really crooked, but they were bad. So was my bite. I will admit, I did not adhere to some of the treatment he was trying to do on me — I was a very rebellious 12 – 14 year old kid. It all worked out in the end though and he never got mad at me. He had a very perky young secretary named Cathy who also served as his dental assistant.
The outcome was good — my teeth are straight and my bite is comfortable. I remember one time, a salesman of rubber gloves came in during my appointment and for some reason, Dr. Ekren could not get rid of the guy and he spent like 10 minutes trying on some different gloves. After he finally left, Dr. Ekren apologized up and down for taking time away from me. On another note, I never did understand why he placed a bonded retainer on my lower teeth. I got the braces off, but he said he wanted to leave the retainer on indefinitely. I don’t know if it ever did any good… I doubt it. And, it made flossing difficult. Eventually I went back and had him remove it, 2 – 3 years later. For some reason, I think he puts one of these things on every patient, as he even mentions it on his website. I don’t think this is common practice of other orthodontists but maybe for some patients, it works.
On my last visit there, I noticed he had an enormous number of patient files. When I first started the treatment, he had hardly any. The sign of a good doctor! If you’re a good one, you get tons of referrals. I see also that he now has an office down at the coast so he’s straightening out teeth in two cities! Wishing him and the practice all the best for many more years to come.