Alvarez R Michael, DDS

I am grateful that I was referred to him when I first moved to Fremont by my handyman. He and his staff do exceptional work and make me feel like family member.

Best dentist ever. Have been seeing Dr. Mike for 35 years as he «catered to cowards» and I was. If I could give him and his great staff 10 stars I would. He’s not only our family dentist but a friend and and Washington High School Alumni, like myself. I could go on forever and rave about him, but that would take forever. Just know this, he and his staff makes you feel as if your family. Hoping for many years with him and his staff.
Mike and Charmaine

I absolutely love coming to Dr. Alvarez’s office because everyone is so friendly and personable and it almost makes me not think about the pain that I am in while I am at the dentists office. He is very knowledgeable with what he does and when I have a cavity or something is wrong with my teeth the doctor and the hygienist do a very good job of not only giving me preventative solutions but help me understand what is going on in my mouth whereas my other dentists used to just tell me something wrong and leave me questioning what to do to make sure things like this don’t happen again. I 110% recommend doctor Alvarez because he and his staff are truly the best I have ever experienced when it comes to dentistry.

Doctor Michael Alvarez Saved my Marriage
I never took my habitual snoring seriously until the day my wife decided to kick me out of the bedroom. By then my snoring had become so bad that I was not only keeping her awake at night, I was now disrupting our newborn’s sleep and making it difficult for everyone in our home to get a good night’s rest.
Fortunately for me, I met Dr. Michael Alvarez. His intervention worked so well, that my wife and I are back to sleeping together and everyone in the home is finally getting the rest we all deserve! Let me tell you how it all began.
Once I realized how serious my snoring had become, I decided to see a neurologist. She ordered my first sleep study in 2012 and prescribed a C-​PAP machine. I used this device for 30 days. When it worked, I had the best sleep ever but most mornings I awoke with device dislodged and out of sight! You see, a C-​PAP machine requires that you sleep on your back the entire time and I just couldn’t get myself to do that. I much prefer to sleep on my side so without even knowing it, I would yank the C-​PAP device from my face before morning. After 30 days, I still wasn’t getting the restorative sleep I needed on a consistent basis.
After the failed C-​PAP trial, the neurologist referred me to Dr. Michael Alvarez. She spoke very highly of Dr. Alvarez and said his use of a dental appliance had positive results with many of her patients who, like me, had obstructive sleep apnea.
My first meeting with Dr. Alvarez was remarkable! He demonstrated a rare combination of professionalism and astute interpersonal skills that many doctors lack and unlike my neurologist, Dr. Alvarez helped me understand the root cause of my sleep apnea by taking the time to carefully review the results of my sleep study with me. No doctor or technician had ever bothered to do this with me and it established a deep sense of connection with Dr. Alvarez because I knew that finally I was working with someone who really cared about his patients.
During this initial consult, Dr. Alvarez also helped me reconstruct my dental history. He described, for example, how my childhood orthodontist probably aggravated my obstructive sleep apnea by narrowing my breathing passage (a common occurrence for orthodontic patients who have teeth removed prior to getting braces). This was very empowering information! It helped me understand the nature of my sleep disorder in ways that integrated my childhood history with scientific data. This would not have been possible without Dr. Alvarez’s scope of knowledge, rapport, and capacity to decipher polysomnographic reports in a down-​to-​earth language.
And just when you think things couldn’t be better, Dr. Alvarez’s staff and office space are very welcoming and help make the entire experience even more gratifying. I’ve worked successfully with Sergio, Patti, and Lola. Sergio is very skilled, patient and well informed and Lola and Patti are excellent at scheduling and navigating the insurance maze. I say this because within the first few months of working with Dr. Alvarez, I changed jobs, moved to my wife’s insurance, then back to my own health coverage. This required lots of research into the available health insurance plans and medical groups. Lola was particularly exceptional in guiding me through this process. I am thankful for her patience and skill!
While I believe it is critical that clients take responsibility for knowing what is covered by their plans and not blame the providers for bureaucratic nightmares and misunderstandings associated with the health industry, the staff at Dr. Alvarez’ office helped guide me. I learned that the sleep apnea appliance that Dr. Alvarez provided me, for example, is covered by Alta Bates, Sutter, and John Muir medical groups (coverage varies). I also learned that it helps to get quotes in writing from your insurance provider before agreeing to any type of treatment. Since the appliance offered by Dr. Alvarez requires regular inspection and maintenance (i.e., regular replacement of bands), treatment is not a one-​shot deal. It requires a long-​term relationship with Dr. Alvarez and his staff, which I’m more than happy to have. His entire team is highly qualified and worthy of trust, respect, and gratitude.
Dr. Alvarez, thank you for saving not only my marriage but for restoring my health and overall productivity.
I highly recommend that anyone who is serious about getting the health benefits associated with consistent, restorative sleep from a thoughtful and highly knowledgeable practitioner see Dr. Michael Alvarez. The results are truly transformative!

Dr. Alvarez is seemingly the most happy person I’ve ever met. He’s super friendly, always smiling, and I love giving him a hug when I visit.
No complaints with him as my dentist. Top notch, small town type of feel :)

I have «severe sleep apnea» according to a sleep study from about 3 years ago. It’s «off the charts» according to the lab tech and don’t I know it. Dr. Alvarez and his staff have helped change that for the better. They’ve changed my life. I was a walking zombie before I came into their office desperate. They’ve fitted me w/​a «dental appliance» (basically a highly customized night guard) which helps me breathe while sleeping. I still haven’t gotten rid of the dreaded CPAP but the night guard truly helps. In addition I’m using during the day an their own invention: the «P3 Root» a small plastic oral orthotic (practically invisible so no cosmetic issues) which has been helping move my tongue forward for better air intake during the day.
I’m no longer dead-​tired day & night. I have enough energy to attend the gym and just hiked 16 miles last Sunday. This was impossible prior to my therapy w/​Dr. Alvarez
.
If you have any issues w/​sleep apnea, I HIGHLY recommend you go to Dr. Alvarez’ office. They’ll help you.

I don’t know how typical is my experience with this DDS.
When I called, the front office nurse Patty sounded friendly, explaining a lot to me, especially ensuring me she’s very experienced dealing with insurance company, since I was concerned the office is not in preferred network. During my visit, Dr. Alvarez was friendly too, but I felt a little too much, he tried hard to sell me the dental appliance I was considering. I decided not to commit right away. But the story took a turn here.
Upon leaving, they insist to have my credit card info, just to «establish good patient relationship». They charged $ 150 on the card for my visit, promised to file claim with insurance and pay me back, which they never did. I called numerous times, every time I was given different excuses, and it dragged for over a month. Although I have repeatedly tell them my insurance has authorized the visit, also faxed them the authorization letter, they still didn’t file the claim. I can only think they have got the money regardless, so they don’t care the rest.
I think this place is dishonest and deceiving. I will never talk to them again. My advice, be extremely careful with them regarding payment, never give them credit card.

PATIENT BEWARE.
Michael Alvarez was NOT in the Metlife Preferred Dentist Program.
I *used* to love Dr. Alvarez’s office.
I still love his office staff and his assistant, Penelope, but I went from disappointed to angry last year after discovering through X-​rays that NINE CROWNS that he installed were made wrong.
I personally think it was carelessness, at best, for two reasons.
1) He had misread his chart before and ordered a crown in the
wrong color.
2) One of the metal-​less crowns broke and when he fixed it, he
blamed it on the lab and remade it with metal the second time.
I had a full mouth of restoration over several years with Alvarez and he is the one that convinced me that metal core crowns were more durable than porcelain only crowns, yet he would not make it right when we discovered that 9 of the back crowns were missing metal.
When I wrote to him and when I spoke to him, I used the example of buying tires. If you buy radial tires then find out they put on plain poly tires, you’d expect the tire shop to FIX the TIRES by putting on what you paid for…
What I learned when discovering my recourse:
1– The Metlife helpdesk advised me that he was NOT a Metlife Preferred Dentist and even though they were out thousands of dollars too, they wouldn’t go after him. If he had been in their Preferred Dentist Program that they would have taken action.
2– The Dental Society advised me that they couldn’t do anything in regard to the improper materials (only bad workmanship) and suggested I pursue legal action.
3– I discussed this and more with an attorney specializing in dental malpractice. I felt there were more issues than just the crowns being made wrong, but I made the mistake of fixing the bite problem that I suspected caused me to break a tooth before consulting the attorney. Additionally, by the time I figured this all out, it was too late to take action for malpractice. In California, you only have 1 year from the date you discover a problem to bring suit.
I was advised by an attorney that I had a case for breach of contract for the wrong materials, however the financial cost and labor effort was too high to bother. I still have the right to pursue the bad materials, but frankly can’t be bothered. I have found a new dentist and am over it.
So. as much as I love Dr. Alvarez’s office staff, I will never set foot in there again. And for those of you considering him, I suggest you check to see if he is a MetLife Preferred Dentist before have any serious restoration work done.
* This feedback is just my opinion and you should not substitute my judgement for your own.*