The Radiant Smile

If you are looking for a dentist, look no further. You have a dentist in Evanston who is God sent.
He recently did 2 procedures on me (a molar tooth extraction and a molar RCT) and I am happy to say that I went to the right dentist. Before going to him, I had visited 2 dentists, a periodontist and a endodontics. Each one of them had their own agenda and wanted to perform «Oral Surgery» to extract the teeth (which was not necessary) and then implant new ones. I had 32 teeth and the extreme molars had started developing some gaps due to bone loss and 3 of them had started developing some level of cavity. One of them had to be extracted as it was the last one and had a painful cavity. Dr. Chen has very good hand (strong yet precise) and he did a almost painless extraction. Later I went to him for a RCT (despite reading some bad reviews here which were not so good), he did a fantastic RCT procedure. Her assistant even showed me what it looks like before and after the procedure. It took him more than an hour to do the molar RCT on my upper right (as my teeth texture is hard) but he did it very patiently and thoroughly. He saved one of my own molars which all the other so called specialists wanted to extract. It is difficult to find a HONEST dentist these days and Dr. Chen is a rare breed of dentist.

Dr Basko is complete and quick with her cleaning and is actually gentle on the teeth too. She doesn’t push a bunch of products that she gets paid for and gives you what you need. I have seen her twice now and each time has been about an hour from walking on the door to walking out.

Now the amazing place is asking for more money. They didn’t feel they took enough money. If you are a Northwestern Student do yourself a favor and don’t go there.

I’ve been seeing dr Chen for a while and he’s the dentist you want to see. He’s friendly, does a every good job explaining the steps of procedure and always makes u feel that everything will be taken care of, which at the end it’s very true. The front-​desk girls are always super friendly and very good at giving estimates regarding the next procedures or the treatment plan proposed. It’s hard to find a good dentist and I’m soooo happy I found the one I can trust. I highly recommend this place to everyone !!!

I’ve been a patient of Dr Chen for years. Never had a problem with any procedures or billing. Their estimates are always accurate so I never have problems with my insurance. The staff is kind and friendly and very helpful when it comes to scheduling appointments especially when it is an emergency, they will fit you into the schedule for that same day when possible or the next day. I have recommended Dr Chen to my friends from Northwestern because it is five minutes away so there is also that convenience for its location in downtown Evanston. I dont go to northwestern anymore but i still prefer to travel the extra miles to see Dr Chen for any dental work for the same reason that I’ve never had any problems so I highly recommend the Radiant Smile.

I love Dr. Chen and his staff. They work on my whole family and they are always super gentle and patient. I always recommend them to friends.

I searched many years for a good dentist in Chicago, and have come to the following conclusion: avoid any dentist with flashy, expensive office space. Such as Michigan Avenue. Your teeth are paying for that dentist’s pricey overhead, and quite possibly, their boat payments. As a result, such a dentist will find no shortage of urgent dental problems. Perhaps they will even suggest appointments every 3 months in order to «monitor your gums» (which had never before been an issue, or since).
Thank goodness I found Dr. Chen. He has a lovely, modern office space (near the commuter train, on an unassuming side street). All his records are on a computer screen in front of you, which is a nice touch. He makes me (and my teeth) feel like «everything will be okay, Dr. Chen is here.» In fact, I had been going to him for 7 years before he (very gently) suggested that he use some sealant on my back molars, which were heading into cavity territory. I was very nervous about the whole process, but he was very understanding. He has a very gentle manner, and presents the costs for your procedure up front, so there are no surprises about what insurance will pay, and what you will pay. Also: he worked my daughter into his schedule for a same-​day emergency, which was so, so appreciated. She was 3 at the time and hadn’t seen a dentist before. Dr. Chen’s calm gentleness with her won her over, too.
I trust Dr. Chen completely, and you will too.

Best dentist I ever had! I have super strong anxiety from dental work and Dr. Chen pulled my wisdom tooth only with local anesthesia. Zero pain! Very fast, gentle, professional. He made sure I am completely numbed and that I got relaxed. Even afterwards i had no any pain, didnt even needed any pain killers. His clinic is clean, nice atmosphere, kind and carrying stuff. That was my first visit there and I would definitely keep going there.

I’ve been seeing Dr. Chen for a while and this is my go to place now. The staff is very friendly, professional and they always make me feel so comfortable. The prices are reasonable and I’ve never had a bad experience with Dr. Chen. Also, they have been really nice about switching my appointments around, I had to reschedule a couple of times and they were able to accommodate me. Thank you guys for my beautiful teeth and the great service. I’ll be back soon :).

Wow… A root canal done in 35min… swollen glands and infection followed I was afraid to go back … He billed my insurance company for work I never received !
Beware when it comes to BILLING YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY!

I’ve been seeing Dr Chen for a few years now, for everything from routine checkups to a root canal and a wisdom tooth extraction. Believe me, I wouldn’t keep going back if I didn’t believe that I was in good hands. I came to Radiant Smile after several years without a dentist after being brutalized by someone whom, in my recollection, I liken to the back-​alley plastic surgeon who operated on Jack Napier after he fell into the acid at Axis Chemicals in the 1989 Batman movie. Anyway, I was traumatized and afraid to go to another dentist for all those years. So I owe Dr Chen a debt of gratitude for showing a big baby in his mid-​thirties that you don’t have to be skeered of the dentist. Not to mention for a much healthier mouth.
The quality of care is good. Dr Chen is pretty low-​key, optimistic but honest. He also works very quickly without sacrificing gentleness. He makes recommendations but the respects the patient’s choices. I appreciate that he takes a moment to explain what to expect before, during, and after. After a few visits, I realized that no matter what procedure we were doing, the expectation in my mind was always ten times worse than the reality. So after that point, I trust him to do anything in there. He’s really the best all-​around dentist that I can recall seeing.
The technicians are good too. Both they and the front desk staff are pretty nice. Once they have your insurance info, if the doctor recommends some work, they will give you an estimate on the spot of which portion will be covered and what costs will come out of pocket. Invariably the estimate is bang-​on. You can request an appointment by email and their response is pretty prompt. However, the lead time to get an appointment can be over a month.

I have been going to Dr. Chen for about six years. I think he is a *very* good dentist. Most of the time his fees are low enough to be fully paid by Blue Cross! (The fees of other Evanston dentists I have gone to were not.)
He does most of the cleaning himself very quickly. The price is reasonable.
There is rarely much of a wait. We have had no problems with billing, insurance, etc.
That being said, some members of my family don’t like him because they feel he is too rough in the cleaning and/​or doesn’t emphasize preventative-​care enough.

I’ll start off by saying the girl at the front desk is not too bright… This should’ve been a warning to me but I decided to go ahead with my appointment since they had okay Unilocal reviews. Well the doctor was okay, got my cleaning, X-​rays, and exam but everything following that was horrible… Insurance payment, follow up reminder, my calls to the office… Everything just went horrible. I’m so happy I found a new office that’s the complete opposite if this place.

I had a horrible experience with Dr. Chen. I have very good insurance, and Dr. Chen refused to send my entire bill to the insurance company. Instead he tried to make me pay up-​front. I told him «absolutely not.» As with any good insurance company, the entire bill is sent to them first, and the insurance company decides how much the out-​of-​pocket expense is, not the dentist.

What a wonderful place! I called on a Monday morning and got an appointment right away. Which I thought was crazy since I was a new patient and all. When I got there, I
had to wait 5 mins, just long enough for me to fill out my paperwork. They had all my insurance information ran and told me before I left what my cost would be for my filling and sealants. Dr. Chen wanted me to have all of that information before I agreed to come back for those services. I think that is GREAT!
Dr. Chen was so nice! And I love the fact that he was the one who actually cleaned my teeth and not the dental hygienist, a first for me. The place is very clean and organized. And the pictures of his kids all over the office brushing their teeth is so cute.
I picked this place based on proximity to my house and the reviews from others and am VERY glad I went! Even though I have to go back for a filling and new sealants, I couldn’t be more pleased with the results.

I went to Dr. Chen in Nov 2012 for a routine dental checkup & cleaning. Dr. Chen is very nice and it’s a good, clean clinic with state of the art equipment.
The staff is very professional and courteous.
Dr. Chen mentioned that I would have to undergo fillings on both sides of my mouth as my molars had been excessively filed for an orthodontist work done a decade back.
Got 4 fillings (2 up, 2 down) done on the right side of the mouth in early Dec. So far so good.
The problem is that my teeth became excessively sensitive and painful after the procedure. I was i constant pain and had to take ibuprofen to subdue it.
I take Ibuprofen 400 mg at an interval of 8 – 10 hours to just be normal. The pain due to the sensitivity is excruciating.
I went back to Dr. Chen twice and he asked me to wait and watch. In late Dec 2012, Dr. Chen performed a root canal on one of my upper molars.
The procedure itself went well and was painless.
However, the extreme sensitivity of the teeth has not gone. Furthermore, the tooth with the root canal is now also very sensitive.
I saw Dr. Chen again last week, and he mentioned that we’ll change the fillings on the lower tooth in two weeks from now.
I just hope, the sensitivity gets treated and I become normal again.

I was prompted to write this review after I switched from NU’s insurance coverage to my wife’s employee insurance plans. I had a near panic attack about switching dentists as I started to realize what having to find and deal with new dentist would entail. Fortunately, despite what I thought their website said at the time, I stopped in with my new insurance card and discovered that they do take this insurance! Actually, they take quite a few insurance plans, which I deeply appreciate because I hate finding new healthcare providers.
Beyond that, I have no reason to want to switch. I’ve been using Radiant Smile for almost five years now for fairly routine work (cleanings, fillings) and I couldn’t be more pleased with the work.
Kim J’s review is mostly spot on. I get great service all around from this place and the office is really nice and high tech! I do sometimes get the nagging feeling with Dr. Chen that he doesn’t like to deal with complex situations, he has a sort of blow-​offy cool-​guy attitude about stuff that I might find difficult to deal with personally if I had a tense dental issue. I think that with all interactions it can easily be the fault of the customer for not properly standing up for themselves, so at the same time I do wonder about some of these other reviews. I think his attitude leans toward «I’m an expert» arrogance than «I’m going to spend a lot of time consoling you» attitude, so you might have to be firm with him if you run into trouble. As for myself, I haven’t, and I can’t really imagine this being a more pleasant place to get dental work done.

I would like to put in my 2c as fair and objective as possible. I have been a patient for the last couple of months and had quite a lot of dental work done there including cleaning, tooth removal, and fillings.
Like:
–Affordable with insurance coverage
–Clean and conveniently located near the Metra
–Open late and have flexible hours to work with the patients
–Friendly dentist and staff
Dislike:
–I scheduled an lunch hour appointment but I had to wait for 30 minutes in the waiting area. My procedure only took about 40 minutes but I was late back to work. They are not considerate at all with people’s time and schedule.
— A friend of mine had the similar experience of untimeliness, so she stopped going.
–I had my tooth removed and I was pretty much rushed out of office immediately after my procedure was done. The dentist or staff did not take time to explain to me the necessary steps. My previous dentist would at least provide me a list of things to watch out for and the staff members always took time to explain to me.
–They are not very gentle with your mouth and/​or as thorough compared to my previous dentist whom I couldn’t go anymore because of work relocation.
— At my previous dentist, my mouth and chin never hurt for so many days and bad after a simple dental filling.
–Also, my mouth didn’t feel as clean after cleaning here.
–The dentist made everything sound straightforward and simple but I don’t completely trust his opinion.

Dr. Chen is the best dentist I’ve had and I’ve had around 8 now. If I still lived in Evanston, I would be a patient for life.
The office is clean, the staff is friendly, the equipment is very new and up to date, and there is never a wait. They are very considerate of your time and very professional as well.
What I like about Dr. Chen is his no nonsense approach. He seems very smart and very capable of telling me exactly what my teeth need and up front about why. He (quickly) explains any problems you might have an also very open and transparent about any questions or issues you may have. He is not warm and fuzzy but I like that because I feel he’s very genuine. He has never tried to upsell me on what I may or may not need and I have always felt completely comfortable that he’s looking out for the health of my teeth.
I got my husband to go there and he even gives a 10% referral discount on the new patient’s first visit. He was nice enough to work with us to time it with our new insurance coverage.
One thing that I particularly like is the new technology and the transparency that comes along with that. So he’ll take xrays of your teeth and then pull them up on a monitor that directly faces the patient’s chair. Not some monitor in the back and not those old films. He’s looking at what you’re looking at. He’ll step through your teeth and problem areas and show you on the screen.
Dr. Chen, ever consider moving to San Francisco?

I started going to the Radiant Smile in November of 2010. I had been going to another dentist in Evanston for 5 years and he just wasn’t cutting it. I made the switch to Radiant Smile based on reviews from Unilocal.I’m glad I did! I went in November 2010 for a routine exam. Dr Chen was very thorough and discovered two fillings that had come loose. Apparently, it had been this way for quite some time. Not sure why my prior dentist never noticed. Dr Chen even does the routine teeth cleaning himself. What dentist does that these days??? He is awesome!
So I went back to have the cavities refilled. I also just went back in May 2011 for my 6 month check-​up. Dr Chen was there for the entire appoinment and did the cleaning himself. He is really a great dentist in Evanston and I’m glad I found him. I even got my wife to start using him and she is happy!