At Sage Family Dentistry, our teams priorities are simple we want to treat people well whenever theyre here. Developing warm relationships through our care is important to us, and we will work hard in order to create a comprehensive treatment plan that addresses your dental concerns, your needs, and the goals you have for your smile.
Dr. Sage is a graduate of North Beach High School, studied biology at Arizona State University, and achieved his Doctorate of Dental Surgery at the University of Washington School of Dentistry. He also completed a General Practice Residency at the school, working at various clinics and hospitals in the Northgate Seattle area. This process gave him experience in several important dental specialties, including pediatric dentistry, oral surgery, sedation dentistry, and caring for patients with physical and mental disabilities. He is also a mentor at the world-renowned Kois Center and has completed the Ickert Training Center Implant Continuum. Dr. Sage has been regularly honored bySeattle Metropolitanmagazine as one of the top dentists in the Northgate Seattle area!
Today, Dr. Sage has been involved in the dental field for over a decade now. He loves working with such an exceptionally talented and fun team and using the expertise hes developed to help alleviate his patients pressing dental problems. Dr. Sages passion for high-level dentistry is equaled only by his enjoyment of the relationships he is able to develop with his patients. For him, the most rewarding part of dental practice is getting to know people on a personal level, learning about their families, their careers, their experiences, their plans for the future. There is no better feeling for him than being able to help someone with whom hes made a personal connection.
Dr. Sage is originally from Ocean Shores. His wife Becky works for Facebook, and they have three children together: two sons named Mac and Miller and a daughter named Charlie. When he isnt busy at the office, his hobbies include snowboarding in the winter, playing golf in the summer, clamming and paddleboard crabbing when back home in Ocean Shores, reading, and learning new things.
Dr. Sage is proud to have graduated from the Kois Centers advanced graduate didactic and clinical program. The Kois Center is the only continuing education program that actually conducts and publishes independent research. The courses are constantly being updated on a yearly basis due to evolving scientific evidence, and they also use the most current technology available in order to elevate the teaching process. Simply put, this excellent program wants to help dentists reach truly extraordinary levels of dental understanding and application.
Nigel was immediately taken to Eastside Avian and Exotic Animal Medical Center and examined by Dr. Cathy Johnson-Delaney. No flashdrive medical records required: Nigels entire medical history was evident on his shell. The vet was able to tell that he had been attacked by a large dog at least once. His beak had been nearly torn off and there were large puncture wounds on his carapace. She also could tell that he had a calcium and/or UVB deficiency growing up, due to his deformed shell and head shape, twisted toes & plastron curvature. (His head shape is deformed to a point where he doesnt resemble a Russian Tortoise at all. She thought he looked like Bill Slowsky, the Comcast High-Speed Internet CGI tortoise.) He also had been dragged under something large and heavy (drag wound scars on top of carapace), suffered a prolonged dehydration (thick, rotten scales on feet & head, poor skin condition, improper shedding, feet frozen in wrong position), and hadnt received timely care of his wounds (shell rot, scale rot, and broken/chipped marginals).
With a whole bunch of tender loving care, Nigels health improved. Nigel even participated in PNWHS Reptiles Around the World at the Pacific Science Center as the perfect ambassador for How NOT to keep a tortoise. In the following months, Nigels bottom beak continued to grow. The improperly-healed beak-tear began to separate as it moved closer to the bottom tip. It was causing the beak to grow leftwards, putting even greater pressure on the old tear. I was concerned that one wrong bite could break the entire bottom beak right off almost always a death sentence for a tortoise. Something needed to be done right away. Nigels beak was ready to break and the clock was ticking.
As I brushed my teeth Tuesday morning, it dawned on me that my very own dentists office (a smorgasbord of dental cements!) was literally one mile from my house. In a moment of clear insanity, I decided to take a chance on calling my dentist for humans to see if possibly, urgently, he could dental-cement the torn beak of a rescued Russian. Bring him in at 4:30, was the amazing reply. I was thrilled. When I put him in his to-go carrier, Nigel wasnt. My concerns for the least-invasive solution for Nigel (one mile drive) would override any common sense on attempting dentistry on a conscious, cranky tortoise. Someone was going to be pooped on for sure.
Despite a frightening amount of personal knowledge of filling techniques and processes, this was the very first time I had ever had the opportunity to actually watch a dentist in action. I held Nigel and carefully put my index finger on his shoulder to prevent him from retracting his head, a trick only he (as a Russian tortoise with his deformed head shape) can do. Dr. Sage and his assistant carefully etched the area around the tear, and then applied the composite filling. As Dr. Sage carefully sculpted the filling to perfection, I couldnt help but think the ist in dentist should actually come from the word artist. It was quick and quite an impressive work: microscopic speed-spackling on a wiggling, non-compliant target. If youve ever worked with tile, youd be impressed. Nigel pooped.
We were back home within 20 minutes. Nigel pouted and dug himself a new hiding spot. The true test came the very next day, when I brought Nigel a plate of his most favorite greens. He came running, as always; then as always, a careful survey and a little bite. But what came next brought tears to my eyes: as Nigel chewed his dandelion leaf, he realized something was different, and he turned and looked up at me. He paused for a moment, then turned his attention back to his salad and immediately attacked the greens like a velociraptor. I was stunned. Ive never seen him eat that way before. Vigorous, vigorous eating, similar to the Velociraptor Feeding scene in a certain movie I know.
No one can guess how many years had actually passed since Nigel was last able to bite his food properly, but obviously to him, it was like riding a bike, so to say. He has continued to chow down more food than Ive ever seen him eat, thoroughly enjoying his new beak. It is heartwarming to see, and a great reward for all that the members and supporters of PNWHS do in our community.