Refresh Dental

Bait and switch. I called to confirm that they take our insurance. I made an appointment for a general cleaning. I confirmed with my insurance company that this was covered 100%. After the visit, I was charged nearly $ 100 despite the fact that my insurance covers 100% cleaning and X-​rays. They charge for unnecessary screening and treatment without disclosing the additional cost in advance. Do not fall for the same trap I did. Even if you have good insurance, they will bait and switch you. I will be reporting them to the BBB.

I can’t speak highly enough of Dr. Chan and his staff @ Refresh Dental. So professional, so sweet and full of great conversation!!! Had two crowns to be done, and the procedure was a little bit more complex than we anticipated, but they walked me through all of it so well, and I just felt very comfortable. Going to the dentist shouldn’t be this fun, but they make it easy.

This Dentist office is the worst in the country. I highly do not recommend getting any work done here. The office manager Sandra is incompetent. They try to gouge patients for extra money with made up charges without the ability to show proof. I have requested bill statements with them as they claimed I owed them $ 70 claiming I had missed appointments with no proof; I needed to see my dentist as I am having pain, however Sandra made medical decision as an office manager, and not a licensed Dentist. When asked to speak with the owner or the establishment Dr. Shu, I was told he is completely hands off, and that she runs the dental office, and all decisions made in the office. Sandra threatened to hold my medical records back from me, unless I paid her to release them, an additional fee. I have never heard of a medical office holding medical records as ransom of some kind from any patient. Due to the un-​professionalism, and lack of licensed medical staff and management. I would urge you not to trust this dentist office for any type of treatment. It is a shame that it is also an office based in the city of Berkeley California. A city that prides itself on having highly educated people, and being socially responsible. Sandra should be FIRED! Note: I have yet to be treated like a cared for and valued patient. THIS IS A SHAME FOR A MEDICAL OFFICE!

It has been a while since I visited the dentist so I was a little embarassed and a lot terrified of what he might find. Everyone from the front office staff to the hygienist to the Dentist made me feel comfortable, relaxed and at ease. Now I’m not as anxious as I was before. I don’t think I’ll have as much fear in the future going to Dr. Chan. I’m so glad I found this place. I’ve had some terrible dentists in the past and had all but resigned to let my teeth go to hell rather than have another awful experience. Refresh Dental is my saving grace!

This review only applies if you are on an Aetna dmo plan. If so, don’t go to refresh dental!
I signed up and thought I was all set… Then they tell me I have to pay $ 55 for a standard cleaning!?! I wish I knew 3 months earlier (yes that’s how long it takes to get an appointment) so I could have found someone else sooner.

I’ve been coming here for a year and a half and will really miss it when I move away. Every single time I’ve come here, I’ve had my treatment start right on time with no wait. They were also great about scheduling a quick last-​minute appointment when my tooth hurt and I was about to go out of town.
Both doctors are extremely thorough as they explain what they’re doing and why, and they’re great at putting it all into layperson’s terms. The assistants are really gentle when doing X-​rays, and the equipment is all very new and high-​tech.
They seem to have an overall conservative approach when recommending work, although of course they lay out all your options and explain each in detail. They’ve never tried to upsell me; with minor problems they usually want to wait and see rather than fill it immediately.
My one issue is that it can be hard to get their office on the phone. It usually goes to voicemail, and I often have to call multiple times to get my voicemail returned. I guess it bodes well that they’re swamped with eager customers, but it can be annoying all the same.

WARNING! If you’re researching for dentists in the area, do not come here. If you have dental insurance, do not sign up with them as your primary care dentist. I should’ve read and believed the other 1 star reviews. I realized those 1 star reviews are NOT outliers but consistent and typical of the type of service you’ll get from Refresh Dental.
I have insurance with Aetna DMO provided by my company and signed up with Refresh Dental as my primary care dentist. I pay $ 24 every paycheck which comes out to $ 576 annually. I saw that Refresh had a pretty good average rating on Unilocal,so I thought why not, and I signed up with them.
When I called to make an appointment for teeth cleaning (code D1110 Prophylaxis to be specific), I was informed that there would be a $ 58 copay. I was super confused, because I thought I was fully covered based on my insurance. After paying $ 24 every paycheck I expected a routine cleaning should be covered.
When I called them to ask why I was being charged $ 58 for a cleaning, Sandra e-​mailed me a breakdown of services to be provided. I have attached this to the photos section if you care to look. But pretty much, they were charging me $ 58 for SERVICES THAT I DID NOT ASK FOR. And when I asked for an appointment for just the cleaning, they refused, saying that these additional services were mandatory! What kind of dentist office can’t just offer a routine cleaning to it’s patients? What kind of service is that, where procedures are IMPOSED and FORCED on the patients?
I realized that this office is out to get you. They registered to be part of Aetna’s «in-​network» but then when you want to see them for covered services, they add additional charges. I highly recommend avoiding this mess and finding another dentist!

Recently switched insurance and chose this place because my first pick was booked out. I can confirm like many others that the front desk, specifically Sandra is a gigantic hassle to deal with. All I wanted to do was make an appointment, but was asked to jump through several hoops calling back and forth between the insurer and the office. I did what was asked of me and had the insurer fax them everything they needed, only to have Sandra tell me that wasn’t the case. At this point I was becoming audibly upset with her very passive aggressive voice tone. Either the insurer or Sandra was lying to me – I called the insurer and asked them to send it again, which once again they obliged no problem. Called the office back again to have Sandra tell me that she had personally called the insurer to tell them she wanted me to switch offices! Apparently she’s willing to go out of her way to contact an insurance agency to personally get me denied, but wont lift a finger initially to help me out so that I can see the doctor. I was never even able to make an appointment. Just avoid, its that simple, end of story.

Refresh Dental does not care about customers or customer service. If you try to make an appointment under a DHMO plan like Safeguard/​Metlife, they will say «leave your number, and we’ll call you back in a week.» This is not the customer service I look for in a dental provider.

I recently started going to Refresh Dental as a new patient. I had no problems getting an appointment for teeth cleaning and subsequent fillings. The receptionist has always been very friendly and responsive. I love all of the text reminders about appointments. The dentists and their assistants are all nice and very efficient. I had 6 fillings done in one session and couldn’t be more pleased with the appointment or the results. Street parking is easy and the lot is inexpensive.

I changed my insurance to this dental place 8 months ago since my wife’s dentist is here. I worked a lot so never visited them since then. One of my teeth started to hurt 40 days ago and I tried call to make an appointment with the dentist here. The receptionist verified my insurance and told me she will call me back to schedule an appt. A WEEK LATER, Sandra from this office called me and left a voice message in the morning. I called back immediately told them I want to make an appt since last week and 30min earlier Sandra just called me. The receptionist wrote down my information and told me they will call me back. NO CALL BACK! I called again on next day, the receptionist asked my info again, then told me that Sandra not available and she cannot schedule appointment, will call me back. NO CALL BACK in the next two days. I called again and this time Sandra herself picked up the phone. I told her I wanted to make an appt and you called me 4 days ago. She said that the dentist need to ask me some questions first and then they can make me an appt. I told her that my teeth started to hurt really bad. She said they will call me soon. I called again 3 days later and no one answered the phone. I left them a message and NO ONE EVER CALL ME BACK. I finally gave up and called my insurance to change another dentist. I called the other place and got an appt within 6 days. If you are looking to find a new dentist, STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE because they simply don’t care about the patients. I doubt if you can receive quality care with these negligent and irresponsible people.

I don’t know where to start. NOT a family friendly place. Or friendly at all for that matter.
Let’s start with trying to get an appointment. I called, left messages and emailed for months trying to get someone to answer the phone. After several days and no response, I called my insurance carrier to see if they could help. The customer service rep tried calling, and no success there either. Finally someone answered the phone and sharply told me someone would call me back to make the appointment. Great! How reliable that sounded. (sarcasm intended)
FINALLY (a week later) I got a phone call and the only appointment was in 3 weeks. I’d been suffering with pain for months… what’s 3 more weeks right?
I had arranged for my husband to pick up my son at the office for my appointment. He was on his way, and late, which was entirely our fault. But the office staff was completely rude, gossiping about me in another room saying that they were not a daycare facility, and could not watch him for me although I clearly stated that I never asked anyone to do this! I brought a bag of things for him to play with, he was quietly sitting on my lap, not bothering anyone! The receptionist came out telling me that they probably could not see me today seeing as my husband was late and my son is a «liability» to have in the office. So, frustrated with the office staff’s rudeness and inability to be at least sympathetic with my situation as a busy mother (in pain I might add) I told her I would call to reschedule. She then said I would not be allowed to reschedule because the Doctor «doesn’t like people who waste her time.»
So I found a new dentist.
Needless to say I have no idea who the dentist is, or the level of his or her abilities, quality of services etc. But I can say that these people are ONLY interested in efficiency at the expense of other people. So go here only if you’re willing to deal with people who aren’t interested in how their paying customers are treated.
Oh — I forgot one thing. My husband had an appointment for this Friday which they PROMPTLY cancelled because I didn’t answer my phone when they called twice. So they have NO problem quickly getting back to me about that…

Refresh Dental is wonderful! I have had nothing but the BEST experiences with Dr. Chan, Sandra, and the whole Refresh Dental team. I took my 89 year old Mother in and she felt super comfortable with the whole team at Refresh Dental from Sandra who was super with her to Dr. Chan & Calub the assistant. Refresh Dental is the first place that my Mom can get her dental work done feeling assured that they will do everything they can to make her feel at ease and comfortable. I highly recommend Refresh Dental to anyone looking for a dentist!

Dr. Chan and the staff at Refresh Dental were great. Very professional and efficient throughout a routine cleaning for my first appointment. The hygienist wasn’t pushy when I declined a service that wasn’t covered by insurance. Dr. Chan was great at offering professional advice on whitening options for a front tooth with slight discoloration. I’m super happy I picked Refresh Dental.

Dr. Liao is very thorough and considerate, which is a huge godsend if you’re like me – freaked out by dentist visits and easily flustered by impatient responses to my questions. It really feels like he is taking his time in giving you the best care possible, which is refreshing after encountering other medical professionals recently who pretty much dismissed my questions and concerns with the quickness.
They have a cute little waiting room with water and one of those fancy coffee machines with the pods… I can never figure those things out but it’s cool that they have one! The receptionist is amiable and personable, as are the dental assistants. They are highly professional and all seem to be very invested in just doing the best at their jobs. Like some other Unilocalers have said, I really wish I remembered their names, because I don’t remember the last time I felt so comfortable at the dentists office. It really is the people who makes this place five stars.

Found them through my insurance website and checked the Unilocal reviews, decided this was the best choice. Very glad I selected them. High tech office, friendly staff, took care of most the paperwork online. They were perfectly easy to get in touch with and super responsive.

The doctor is awesome. He’s nice, thorough, and considerate. I picked my last dentist from a list of providers mostly due to proximity to my home. But this time I took the time to read up on reviews and did a little research on the dentist before I called the insurance company to make the change. I have absolutely nothing bad to say about the skill and care with which the dentist has provided his services.
Now, the office management on the other hand is another story.
I’ve had more issues with the office than with any other medical provider. I’ve burned hours in the last year trying to work out administrative, payment and eligibility crap between the insurance and the office due to the conflicting information they each provide me. The phone hours they keep are horrid. I’ve had to call multiple times to follow up on issues, left a message, if that was possible, only to have to call back because I don’t get a call back. And the tone from the office manager, over the phone ranges somewhere between «you are S-​O-​L» to «that’s your problem, not mine». Clearly, «helpfulness» is not on the list of services provided by the office.
As much as I like the doctor, I am contemplating finding another provider. Hopefully, someone with a slightly more helpful office rather than one that consistently gives me the cold shoulder.

Refresh Dental is wonderful! I have had nothing but the BEST experiences with Dr. Chan, Sandra, and the whole Refresh Dental team. I have had a fear of going to the dentist for as long as I can remember, but Refresh Dental is the first place that I can get my dental work done feeling assured that they will do everything they can to make me feel at ease and comfortable. I highly recommend Refresh Dental to anyone looking for a dentist!

Getting a hold of anyone there is a challenge, to say the least:
I called during their phone hours many times:
I called in September and on October 11, 16, 17, and 18, often multiple times.
No one ever answered. I left 3 messages, at least. Currently, if you call, you get a message that the mailbox is full; one can’t even leave a message.
They did call back, once on 10/​17, but I missed the call; they did leave a message.
I guess a good dentist is hard to get a hold of!

I had my very first visit today and I have to say, I am a happy camper! The dentist (Phil Liao) did a phenomenal job examing my teeth. He did a fantastic job cleaning my teeth as well. His staff and assistants were all so professional and awesome!
This will be my permanent new dentist place for sure! :D