Harvard Dental Center

I have been a victim of malpractice and negligence, and have suffered from severe pain for more than a year due to faulty practice at Harvard Dental Center FACULTY practice. After discussing with many people I noticed that Harvard Dental Center has had the reputation of having high rates of malpractice. Read some more patient reviews of Harvard Dental Center here:
Please read a lot of reviews before choosing a dental center and a dentist to make sure you receive the care that you deserve. Take your oral health seriously and don’t take risk. Go elsewhere, somewhere that you find good reputation, skill, and professional care. A big name (Harvard) does not bring any value here. It is the reputation and professionalism that matters.

I wish I could give this place negative stars!!! STAY AWAY!
I had teacher’s dental insurance, which prior to going to this office, mostly covered the cost of my dental work. At Harvard they NEVER knew how much ANYTHING would cost me and then weeks later I would end up with HUGE HUGE BILLS. I had a root canal from years ago that needed to be redone. With my insurance it cost me $ 3000+ .
Then I needed to pay for a special crown for my root canal and that was an additional exorbitant cost.
BEST PART: less than a year later the crown cracked and they refused to fix it unless I repaid THOUSANDS OF EXTRA DOLLARS FOR THE TOOTH I ALREADY paid over $ 3000!!!
I fought this and went to the head of this place and got NOWHERE. The dentist who did the original work no longer worked there and some other random dentist said that her work was in general very good and so it was likely my fault that the crown had issues. TOTAL RIP OFF AND BULLSHIT EXCUSE.
GO ANYWHERE BUT HERE!!!

The COURTESY and EXPERTISE and ADVANCED EQUIPMENT and LEVEL and EXTENT of DETAILED ATTENTION (in my book) earns the Harvard Dental Center on Longwood Avenue in Harvard’s Longwood Medical Area) a 5+ rating (on a 5-​point scale).
I’ve looked at HSDM’s AGE program, which trains the postgraduate specialty dentists, and there’s great oversight in every aspect of the training of a carefully-​selected small group of practicing dentists who want to master an advanced specialty.
I’ve been shown that HDC offers its clients; IMO it’s excellent.
However, PLAN AROUND student schedules and DON’T expect to rush to the top of a waiting list for new clients. Their patient retention is very good; they are SO busy that they don’t need additional clients.

I went to Harvard Dental on a referral from a friend. It was a free consultation for implants and ended up getting charged for the visit because my insurance company told me that the dentist charges the moment they open your mouth. My daughter needs 2 implants and waa quoted $ 5,000 for EACH. Really! Find a more ethical practice and one which has more realistic pricing!

I’ve been seen here about 4 times now since moving to Boston. I chose this practice because of the convenient hours and they take my insurance. They also have a teaching practice incase you are ever without dental insurance. However, the only good thing I can say is about this practice is on of the hygienists, Melanie. She is fabulous and not judgmental at all (which is rare). However, my experience with the dentists and other hygienists have been less than pleasant. I’ve found the dentists condescending and the billing policies confusing. I once waited over an hour after my scheduled appointment to be seen, and during the same visit, the hygienist left the room twice (twice!) when her cell phone rang to answer it, leaving me alone in the room (after my appointment was already over an hour late). This last spectacle was the last time I will be going there… there are far too many practices in Boston to waste time here.

So, I never actually had an appointment here, but I tried. I made an appointment with the faculty practice for a consult on removal of my wisdom teeth. I made the appointment in either February or March of 2011 for early June. After about a month or so, they called a rescheduled a couple times and finally settled on August 1. I finally got to within a week of my appointment, and they called to CANCEL my appointment. After waiting over 6 months, I still don’t get to see anyone. This is ridiculous, I’m going elsewhere.

the facility itself is just a nightmare. It’s impossible to call and actually get through – no matter when. This includes the Faculty Practice, which may be even worse. When the phone is answered it is usually by someone who sounds like a sullen teenager, unprofessional and sullen. I had important records lost and although, I received an apology, this has never happened to me before and it took forever to get through to the right people. There is a large turnover of providers. Far better to go to a private office where one can get excellent, personalized care.

I have never had such an unpleasant experience with any health provider as with Minoo Chaichian (DMD, MS) who was my dentist for a year at the Harvard Dental Center. While I’m generally someone who gets along very easily with people, Dr. Chaichian was rude from the moment I met her and consistently so whenever I came for appointments. She is extremely rough and almost punitive in the way she deals with your mouth. At one point I had a cavity (my first ever at age 32) and she poked it repeatedly with a tool (causing me to flinch in pain no fewer than five times) saying «see, this is what happens when you don’t brush properly.»
I got the cavity filled and 12 months and one week later, the filling came out as I was eating an apple. When I returned to her office, she again poked repeatedly at the exposed crater (extremely painful!) and then as if that didn’t tell her enough, she blew air directly into it using the blowing tool (if she was trying to see if it was painful or not this was beyond redundant). Having established the painfulness so thoroughly said very abruptly «there is decay inside. This is what happens when you don’t brush properly.» When I asked how decay would occur behind the filling if the filling had been properly adhered/​sealed to the tooth she got very irritated and said «it’s not a problem with the filling. You can’t expect fillings to last forever, especially when you have poor oral hygiene.» (For the record, I brush twice a day with a fancy sonicare toothbrush that tells me exactly how long to brush in each part of my mouth and I floss regularly). I’d had my filling for a year. When I calmly asked her how long she expects fillings should last, she left the room without answering.
She refused to redo the repeat filling for free and wouldn’t even offer me a rushed appointment even though I literally had a crater with an exposed nerve that made me unable to eat on one side of my mouth (she had drilled a quarter of my tooth away during the original procedure).
I did have a very pleasant cleaning with Cynthia Kahn at the same office who has a lovely manner and a very gentle touch. Unfortunately I can’t stick with such a horrific dentist for the sake of enjoyable cleanings twice a year.

With the money I’ve spent on dental procedures I probably could have bought a house or two by now. When I found out I needed a apicoectomy I shopped around and found the best prices at HDC. Of course, it is a teaching school so appointments prior to surgery will be lengthily. My endo, Dr. Tina Vani, was patient answering my endless question and very caring. The procedure was painless, Dr. Vani seemed very comfortable and professional and just in case you’re worried about a resident performing surgery it’s supervised the whole time by Harvard professors. What more could I ask for? Thanks Dr. Vani… you’re the best!