Mint + Bella Dental — Local services in New York

Based on the many glowing reviews, I was eager to try Mint + Bella after my dentist retired. Unfortunately, my experience did not correspond to what others describe here.

The problem occurred during the cleaning. At the start, the hygienist inclined the chair backwards farther than I've been accustomed to in the past. I could have asked for a change but kept quiet, thinking the steep backward incline would ensure a good cleaning. Big mistake!

Instead, the chair angle "helped" the suction tool to leave the corner of my mouth and to fall back into my throat, attaching itself to my uvula and causing a lot of pain. At first I was too stunned to act, but then realized I urgently needed to free myself from this horrible situation. The hygienist did nothing to help, and I had to rip the suction tool away which was also quite painful.

After that debacle the cleaning and exam proceeded "normally" and the pain gradually lessened. I stupidly did not make a fuss at the time, hoping the issue would end in an hour or two. Well, in fact the uvula was badly inflamed and enlarged... it took two weeks for the problem to mostly resolve itself. To this day, the uvula is longer than it was, so in that respect the damage seems permanent. Fortunately, it is not tormenting me the way it did during the recovery.

The dentist, Dr. Isabel Del Carpio, did see me at no charge a couple days after the accident. She did prescribe steroids (which I declined to take) and she did refund my membership payment. She did not pay for 2 doctor visits I obtained because of the accident, which I feel should defintely have been covered by her office under these circumstances.

I will say that everyone apart from the hygienist was polite and professional despite my understandable anger about the incident. It seems likely this was a rare problem that the office will take pains to prevent in the future. But the public should at least know what happened to me at Mint + Bella and that it was not at all a pleasant experience.

Moral of the story: glowing reviews do not ensure perfect experiences... and NEVER let a hygienist take you back in the chair to the point your feet are the least bit higher...

Is there a 6 star because 5 star isn’t enough for this amazing luxe dental experience and that’s definitely a first for anything especially for dental work as that’s no one’s favorite appointment to make. I can’t rave enough about today. Rose who manages the office and all client relations really welcomed me in as I stopped in after walking by, made me feel so comfortable and at ease, and really removed my nerves about creating a more in depth dental routine. I mean if us women can do microneedling then we can certainly do more routine dental visits and they have a membership for this!! So on day of my appointment Rose got me set up, Emilio helped me get my xrays, photos, and examination prep underway and even had the dental review screen fitted with my name, made the gorgeous chair so comfortable, and talked me through how smooth the appointment was going to go. Then Doctor Isabel introduced herself and went into great detail about my dental health, gum health, throughly cleaned teeth, described plan of action for my wisdom tooth and options all without suggesting a surgery that was unnecessary, and helped me plan out future cleaning and hygienist appointment. The whole office from customers care, serenity, ambience, decor, attention to interior and comfort was A1. It felt like a mImai soa or luxury experience. I left throughly delighted and in no pain or anxiety. I even took some flyers for my gym because I have never had such an easy fun dental experience and left happy and my teeth look phenomenal. Thank you guys a lot and...

Wow, I am so glad I was referred by my friend to come to Dr. Isabel's clinic. The level of care and attention really goes a long way here.

Thank you to Bridget for being really thorough with answering all my questions prior to even coming in to the office.

Thank you to my hygienist (really pretty name that I can't spell), Liz, and other ladies there who made my first teeth cleaning experience here a great one. I felt so safe, heard, unrushed, and I did not go through any random upselling for unnecessary services as I did from my other dental practices.

And a big thank you to Dr. Isabel for taking the time and patience to provide me full details on what I need/don't need for my current dental needs. She really gives all necessary information, pros and cons for everything to help me make an informed decision with certain procedures that I'll be needing. And she does not hesitate to refer out when understanding certain things may be in the better scope of practice of a specialist.

Regarding dental cleaning - my teeth and gums feel squeaky clean. No gimmicks here, no random new gadget where you can barely feel the plaque being scraped off as in some other bougie dentist offices now.

Though I didn't budget this year for needing to fix chips in my teeth (not an issue that I encountered from this dental clinic btw), I at least feel safe knowing that my money and teeth will be in great hands here to fix...