Gentle Dental

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I had not made a dental appointment for over 2 years before contacting Gentle Dental
as I always had a negative experience. This dental practice is superb. The Dr. and tech have wonderful communication during the procedures, there is laughter and the inter-personal dynamics in the office are unbelievable. I will never go to another dental practice as I've had two procedures and have felt no pain. They are truly a first-class, customer oriented business!

Hello! I have been a patient at Gentle Dental for over a year now. I wanted to leave a review to let everyone know just how amazing and helpful all the staff members have been to me. Dr. Kim is so wonderful and truly caring. The assistants greet you with a smile and are all very kind and polite. I had severe dental anxiety and now, since I have been a patient here for so long, I don't worry about coming to the dentist anymore. They are all almost like family! They stay true to their name, very gentle. And lastly, the face of the office-the front desk. They helped me understand my insurance and gave me estimates at the beginning of my appointment every visit so I am never bombarded with a hefty bill. Brandy breaks it down for me, step by step. Brandy, the office manager, is beyond professional and delightful-always greets me with a smile :) That is why I was so surprised to see the comment listed below. Just remember folks, there is always two sides to every story. I have several friends that attend this practice and I have never heard a bad word about the staff or the doctors. I would highly recommend this office, you'll come to love it just as much as I have!

I'm very impressed!! Today was my first time going to the dentist in about 4 years. I was very anxious about going but luckily I came across Gentle Dental. The front receptionists were so warm and welcoming. They helped answer all my questions regarding my insurance and helped me to better understand my coverage. My hygienist was very bubbly and friendly. She made me feel comfortable and more at ease about being at the dentist. Dr. Kim was the most gentle doctor I've ever encountered, I will say they definitely live up to their name! She explained what needed to be done for my treatment and answered all my questions thoroughly. I will be referring all my friends and family to this office! I can actually say that I like going to the dentist now. :)

Crooks! They know I have insurance as my insurance has paid them twice before. I sent my son on his own to have some cavities filled and gave him my checkbook. They charged him $1200 and told him he had no insurance left. When I called back I was told the insurance would pay $200. When I called the insurance they told me they would pay$400. After insurance reduced their overpriced services and sent in payment I will owe $150 not $1200. But now I have to wait for them to refund me $1050!! Don't trust them!!

Wow. I surprised that there aren't more reviews here. Dr Hwang has been my dentist for 4 years. It's been hard for me to find a dentist I liked. Now that I've found one, I don't intend to change. Dr Hwang takes special pride in doing quality work and it shows. Plus his staff are some of the nicest people you will ever meet.

I was new to the So. Portland area and looking for a dentist. I found an ad in a phone book that said new customers got a free exam and x-rays, so I called for an appointment. The ad didn't claim to be a coupon, but the receptionist said it was and that only I could use it and not my wife. This was the first tip that these guys weren't totally on the up and up.



Anyway, I went to the appointment and got a thorough set of x-rays and checkup. The hygienist was nice and all was professional, which is why I give this review 2 stars instead of 1. I agree with those who say these guys do good work -- I'm sure they do.



So why the 2 star review then? Well, my "numbers" for receding gums were pretty good (I'm 54). The hygienist said 1-3 was good and I had nothing worse than a 4 and only a few of those. In the past I'd had some 5s so I thought that was good news.



So, I just figured I would get a regular cleaning as I had no other issues. But the hygienist wanted to do something called "full mouth debridement" which is apparently only necessary in cases of severe tartar buildup and gum inflammation, which I didn't have even by the hygienist's own account. It's also a fairly painful and quite pricy procedure ($385 + $100 followup one month later).



I listened patiently and, long story short, said I just wanted a regular cleaning. She immediately started talking about lawsuits and said that if she did what I asked and I got periodontal disease that I would sue her and blah, blah, blah.



Later, my wife called to follow up and the receptionist immediately went to the same position of saying they were protecting themselves against lawsuits. My wife said I would be happy to sign a waiver as some other dentist's use, but they wouldn't have it. They were simply going to refuse service unless I did what they wanted to do.



I'm not saying that these guys use the "free coupon" thing as a trick and then try to make up for it by suggesting more work than people need. What I am saying is that if you go to these guys and ever decide you want to do something other than what they recommend, possibly as advised by another dentist, they will drop you as a patient and leave you high and dry.



For example, what if they wanted to give you a root canal and crown and you decided you would rather just pull the tooth and have done with it (something like this happened to me once). These guys would tell you to take your raging toothache and go find another dentist on the spot. If they should be sued for anything, it would be that!



FOLLOWUP: I just had a checkup from another dentist today who was aghast at the Gentle Dental recommendation. He agreed that I had minimal tartar buildup and no gum inflammation and that a normal cleaning was more than sufficient. I would say more about his views on "corporate" dentistry, but I'll leave it at that!

I haven't been so the dentist in years do to a bad experience. I did a lot of research and found Gentle Dental. So glad I did! The receptionist was very friendly and helpful! The hygienist was very knowledgeable. Way more than any other one I have seen. Dr Kim was very nice and really made me feel comfortable. I feel very confident that I will be in great hands! Anyone with any type of dental anxiety should really look into this place its amazing!

I'm shocked reading some negatives reviews below.. I've been to this office quite a few times for 2 regular cleanings, 1 deep cleaning, 8 large fillings (some were new but some were more than 10 years old and needed to be replaced), and a crown. Dr. Hwang is simply amazing! Everything feels and looks great! Talking about crowns, they have this unbelievable high tech machine that makes your crowns right there in the office in front of your eyes - very cool to watch :)



That's being said, every single time I was satisfied with the service I received and everyone in the office was very pleasant and professional. I have another crown to finish and have my appointment already scheduled with no any hesitation.. I guess you cannot always please everyone, but still can't believe someone actually had such negative experience with this office.



Would absolutely recommend this place to all my friends!

Rude

Unorganized

Wait forever to be seen

Never see the same Dr or receptionist. Therefor I get different answers all the time.

Fees change all the time

Just awful! Going back to my old dentist, he's worth the four hour drive to VT!

Good luck!

My first appointment/cleaning went fine.

A second appointment was made for four weeks later. But when I showed up, they had no record of the appointment.

So a third appointment was made, a month later.

The week before the third appointment, they called and wanted to move it another month!

I canceled my appointments. No one should have to deal with this run around.

I hope others have better luck!



*UPDATE 8/15/12*

Guess who called to change another appointment? The appointment I canceled five months ago.



To end on a positive note, I got my records transferred for free. (they usually charge for this)