All Smiles — Local services in Norwalk

I went to all smiles because of all the fantastic reviews but I sadly did not have the same experience as most people shared.

As a new patient, I was told I hadn’t had a full mouth x ray in some time and my insurance would cover it so they wanted to do it. I get my teeth cleaned every 4 months and xrays regularly so it seemed unusual for me that immediately they wanted to do a full mouth x ray.

The hygienist i had seemed like she didn’t know how to really work the machine and had to keep retaking the image. The way she also positioned the wings in my mouth was extremely painful which I had never experienced before in x rays. At one point the contraption fell apart in my mouth causing me to gag on it.

During the actual cleaning she caused pain several times which caused me to say “ow” which I don’t think has ever happened at any dentist my entire life. Throughout the cleaning random people were coming in and out of the room and the whole experience was very uncomfortable. The hygienist also had to leave the room multiple times.

The dentist then came in and poked around my mouth a little and told me she thought “something was going on” under my sealants. She then used a tool that gave a numeric reading (which I assume is tooth decay) to tell me if I had any cavities. She mentioned she didn’t fix anything below a “16” but didn’t explain what that meant to me or what she was using and did not use a periodontal stick to check my mouth.

Given the state of the other tools where the x ray literally died (I guess it wasn’t charged) and the tools being used in some strange box that had masking tap on it - I had a hard time believing this tool was going to tell if I had a cavity or not. I am 33 and have had one cavity my entire life so when the dentist said I had three cavities I was very surprised. They gave a print out of which teeth had the cavities and the amount I would owe.

Given my level of discomfort throughout the entire procedure I decided to seek a second opinion from a dentist who came highly recommended from others living in my town. He did a very thorough exam with a periodontal stick and also measured the depth of my gums and he mentioned he did actually find three cavities - BUT they were on totally different teeth!!!! So not only was I told I had cavities on teeth there were NO cavities, but the teeth I actually DID have cavities on were completely missed. I even had him recheck the teeth twice that I was told by all smiles I had cavities and he took another x ray of the area - no cavities.

They also had to redo the xrays at the second dentist because they said they were so grainy they couldn’t really see what was going on - which further caused me to question why my xrays were not redone properly at all smiles. All smiles also did not ask for my previous dental records or xrays or ask me any background or information on my dental history.

I would not recommend this place to anyone and am honestly shocked by the reviews - but maybe no one has ever bothered to get a second opinion. I don’t even want to think about what my experience would be getting nova-cane and having them drill. I don’t think I ever have left a negative review on anything before but wanted others to be aware of...

I have visited several dentists in this locality (Stamford-Fairfield) over the past 7 years. The service I received from Dr. Giraldo at All Smiles in Norwalk stands out as it was the first time, in all these years, that I came across a practice that seemed to have all the good elements you'd expect. Dentists are mysterious - each seem to have their nuances and everyone seems to have a different version of what needs to be done imminently vs what is needed. It reaches a point where you don't even know whether the first opinion or the second opinion was accurate (or whether it was only so that the insurance could get billed for something that was more expensive) because the versions and the verdicts could be so different. Many of them are run like businesses where the dentists seem to be evaluated on how many patients they can treat during the course of a day - often at the cost of spending less and less time on patients and instead on how quickly they can complete a procedure.

So, when I visited All Smiles earlier this year, I didn't know what to expect other than that I had received some good feedback on them. My experience with Dr. Giraldo was very different from the usual. She reviewed my records and candidly explained all the options, it was very clear that she wasn't trying to "sell services," but rather providing a seemingly honest opinion on what was necessary and what I could do in order to avoid further procedures. I had a couple of procedures done through her office. On the first occasion, I had very little discomfort and the entire procedure was performed very smoothly and elegantly. Instead of dreading the following procedure, the first service instilled enough confidence for me to visit Dr. Giraldo again and the experience was just as pleasant as the first time - minimal discomfort, minimal pain compared to earlier similar services elsewhere. The service was not rushed in any way and she performed the procedure very attentively.

Angel, the hygienist was also excellent and deserves mention. I had a deep cleaning procedure done and like Dr. Giraldo, she was skilled, performed the procedures very attentively. In short, she did not treat it as just yet another cleaning, but was thorough and very professional.

I'd highly recommend this place. It has helped me to a great extent and hopefully others will have the same experience. -...

I have only gone to a handful of Dentists in my life. I went to the same Dentist in New Canaan, CT from childhood until I was about 27 years old. My former dentist is an Adjust Professor at Georgetown and very thorough and I had no fillings or cavities until I turned 43 so obviously he did something right (and the bar was set high). However, with insurance changing, etc..it made financial sense to at least consider finding someone new. That said, after trying a handful of other Dentists, I found Dr. Giraldo about ten years ago. Specifically, I've been to a hygienist named Annie who is phenomenal. Annie has surpassed all expectations that I've ever had for any type of medical care/service provider. Annie has a terrific personality (as does all the staff at All Smiles) and very thorough but perhaps more important to me is that she puts the same effort every time you go to her. You can absolutely tell that she cares about what she is doing and she cares about the well being of her patients. To this point, I've never had as thorough a cleaning and I've never experienced such sincere, knowledgeable and comprehensive service. Annie is far and away the most sincere and caring practitioner that I've experienced and the same can be said for Dr. Giraldo. In short, the office is CLEAN, modern and the entire staff is genuinely friendly. The atmosphere/culture of the office is a credit to Dr. Giraldo which translates into a first rate, confident, patient experience. In short, this office is a class act. Also noteworthy, the office regularly reinvests in technology and aesthetics in the office so it is clear that all equipment and facilities are state of the art and always improving. All told, this is a terrific dental practice and in my view, a model of what other medical offices should resemble. Highly...