Dr. Bengi Aydinel

I'm 72 and terrified of dentists after a childhood trauma. My dentures from 15 years ago were causing sores and I could barely eat. Dr. Bengi didn't just see 'an old lady with denture problems.' She spent our first consultation just listening to my fears, then proposed a phased approach starting with soft relines instead of jumping to new dentures. Her assistant showed me 3D imaging of how my jawbone had changed - I'd never seen anything like it! The temporary fix worked so well we postponed major work. She treats me like a person, not a set of teeth. At Kent Medical Center, they even have a special waiting area with softer chairs for seniors.

Our 8-year-old son knocked out his front tooth at a soccer match on Sunday evening. Panicked, we called the emergency line. Dr. Bengi met us at the clinic within 45 minutes - she was wearing casual clothes and had clearly come from home. What amazed me wasn't just the successful reimplantation (she explained it had a 50% chance but was worth trying before considering an implant later). It was how she calmed our crying child by showing him the 'tooth rescue kit' she used, letting him hold the saline container, and calling it a 'tooth superhero mission.' Three follow-up visits later, the tooth has taken! She created a custom mouthguard molded from blue glittery material he chose. We've never seen a child actually excited for dental appointments.

As a musician who plays wind instruments, my jaw alignment is everything. Multiple dentists told me my TMJ pain and clicking were 'just stress.' Dr. Bengi approached it like a forensic investigation. She had me bring my saxophone to the appointment, recorded slow-motion video of me playing, then correlated the footage with dynamic jaw tracking data. The diagnosis? A subtle developmental asymmetry exacerbated by years of uneven pressure. The surgery was complex - she coordinated with a maxillofacial specialist - but her pre-op preparation included custom exercises with my instrument mouthpiece. The recovery was longer than expected, but she was brutally honest about timelines. Now I play without pain for the first time in a decade. She understands that teeth exist in a living, functioning human.

I came in for what I thought was a routine cleaning and mentioned in passing that I'd had a canker sore for three weeks. Dr. Bengi's demeanor changed immediately. She did a painless brush biopsy right then, something no dentist had ever done during a cleaning. When it showed abnormal cells, she personally walked me to the oral medicine department in the same building and introduced me to the specialist. Turned out to be early-stage lichen planus, not cancer, but her vigilance caught it before it became painful. What struck me was her system: she reviews every patient's entire medical history before each appointment, not just dental records. At my follow-up, she remembered my medication allergies without checking the chart. That level of attention in a busy practice at Kent Medical Center is extraordinary.