Gentle Dental Oakland

TL;DR: This place was AWFUL. the doctor was RUDE and AGGRESSIVE. they tried to get me to pay for treatments i had neither received nor consented to. The treatment they did give me was extremely subpar. I now have to try to convince my insurance company to pay for me to ACTUALLY get my teeth cleaned somewhere else!
Full story: i never rate places on Unilocal but this was such an awful experience i have to speak up. it was so horrible. they were definitely overbooked, which was frustrating, but whatever. stuff happens. i need to start off my saying: i have very good teeth. i’m 34 and i’ve never even had a cavity. last time i went to the dentist i was told «people would pay for those teeth» i went to gentle dental oakland to get a routine cleaning. i had to wait over an hour to be seen. when the dental hygienist finally saw me she was pretty nice. she took abt a dozen X-​rays of my head and then left, i waited another 30 mins for the dentist to come in. when she did, it was terrible. i had dr. lama. she hardly even greeted me. she spent less than 5 minutes looking at my teeth, during which time she very roughly & painfully checked my gum pockets. oh and also the irrigation machine wasn’t working, so i had to drink water out of a cup. i have a very high tolerance for pain but she wasn’t even trying and she was going so fast, she showed zero care. after this very brief, painful examination she said i had numerous cavities and needed «deep cleaning» which would require anesthetic and come at an extra cost and take an additional 30 – 40 minutes. at this point i had been there over an hour and a half. i said i didn’t have the time to get a deep cleaning that day (plus tbh i didn’t rlly feel comfortable having this person stick a needle in my gums at this point) but asked if i cld just have a regular cleaning. at this point the dentist basically started yelling at me that «THAT GOES AGAINST MY RECOMMENDATIONS». i tried to explain that i wasn’t dismissing her recommendations, just didn’t have the time for the extra work today and rlly was hoping to get my teeth cleaned. she once again raised her voice and said that she would not clean my teeth bc she was recommending a *DEEP* cleaning. i was super confused, and again said that i didn’t have time for a deep cleaning that day, but had made the appointment to have my regular yearly cleaning, and could i please have that. we went back and forth for a bit and the best i could get her to agree to was to clean SOME of my teeth and «Polish» the ones that needed the «deep cleaning». she then left again. at this point I almost got up and left. i didn’t know what to do. i had already invested almost 1:45 minutes in this appointment and just wanted to get my damn teeth cleaned! i waited another few minutes, texted my boyfriend that i was having a terrible experience and was on the verge of tears. the dentist came back in and began to «clean» my teeth. the whole process was less than 10 minutes. she once again used zero care. she pretty much just lightly scraped over each tooth, seemingly in a haphazard way. usually when i have my teeth cleaned… it takes a while, they really get in and clean. this was pretty much just a gesture. i was flabbergasted. she «finished» and i was once again left to wait. i was told a clerk would be in to talk to me about my bill «for my privacy». which made no sense because i shouldn’t have had a bill, since the exam and cleaning were totally covered. after another 10 minutes of waiting, i just walked out to reception and checked in with the receptionist to let her know i was heading out. she told me i owed $ 30. i asked why, since i knew everythign was covered. she said it was for my «deep cleaning». i said «i didn’t have a deep cleaning.» and she said «the doctor said you did.» and i said «no, i didn’t.» so she said «okay, fine. just sign this». she handed me a piece of paper to sign and without thinking much (and frankly because i wanted to leave, very badly) i signed it. then i thought twice and asked to take a look at the sheet of paper. it was an agreement to take financial responsibility for a list of thousands of dollars of dental work!!! i said «why are you having me sign this, i didn’t get any of this work done and i don’t plan to??» she said «it’s just to show that we told you you needed it, in case something gets worse.» and i said «then why does it say that i am agreeing to pay for it???» and she said «it’s not» and i pointed to where it said that, indeed i would. so – she told me to write «Declined service» on the paper. which i did. i have no idea why they had me sign it. in the end i spent over two hours for nothing and my insurance company probably paid these people a lot of money and now i am out my yearly cleaning!

I chose Gentle Dental because they’re in network for my insurance and close to my home. When I arrived in the office and waited for my cleaning, I looked up their Unilocal page, and found awful reviews! I felt like I’d made a huge mistake but since I was already there, figured I’d go forward with my appointment. I mentioned the awful Unilocal reviews to the girl at the front desk and she told me that they recently had a change in management and the previous folks were pretty bad with billing, service, etc.
Dr. Rasheed was the dentist who did my cleaning (and fillings a few weeks after the cleaning). Dr. Rasheed was funny, personable, friendly and nice. We got along great. The cleaning went well, and when I came back for my fillings, Dr. Rasheed made sure I was totally numb before she started her work. She completed the fillings quickly (yay!) and I was very impressed with how my teeth felt afterwards — my bite was perfect.
On April 27, my «permanent» retainer (glued to the back of my bottom bite) fell out for the fourth time since 2010. My orthodontist is not someone I like or want to ever see again, so I called Gentle Dental and asked if they could glue my retainer back in. They said yes, they could see me that day, so I immediately drove over to their office. Their on-​staff orthodontist (I can’t remember his name) was GREAT! Very happy with him. He’s nothing like my previous ortho, who I swear is a sadist.
Anyway, I’m happy with Gentle Dental. The women at the front desk are always friendly and nice, the dentist is great, the hygienists are great, and the orthodontist on staff is great too. I’ve never had a problem with billing! They’re always responsive and helpful if I call or need help with anything.
Highly recommend Gentle Dental!

My poor husband went in to have a filling refilled and now after reading all of these posts!!! am more convinced that he didn’t need the work done! His tongue hurts from the poorly given shot and he is confused as to why!!! They also left him sitting there for 30 minutes while they ran between other appointments — he was at office for 2.5 hours when he was told it would take 30 minutes for the appointment — his entire day was screwed up and now he can’t feel his tongue! I plan on paying them a visit and mark my words when I say they will not be receiving payment for this!!!

They are very disorganized especially when it comes to payments. I paid off my orthodontic bill and they did not have any record of it. Thank GOD, I have my receipt and paid with my Visa Card. They have a sign indicating they no longer take cash payments, I wonder why… I really cannot wait for my orthodontics visits to be over so I can go to another dental office. My orthodontist is great, by the way.

Worst dentist office I ve ever experienced. Dentists are great but the front desk staff are just horrible. I would highly recommend not to use this office

I called and scheduled a cleaning apt for 1:30pm. I should have made it a point, when they called and asked me when is my scheduled appt. It was strange that they were asking me when I had an appt instead of a reminder call. Anyways, I ignored my intuition and proceed of coming in for the cleaning appt. I showed up 15 mins early to do paper work and saw 3 other new clients doing paper there to get their teeth clean. So all four of us were scheduled for the same time with only one hygienist. Well, I waited 40 mins after my appt when with excitement I was finally called. They began with x-​rays and measuring the gums then left me in the room for 25mins. They came back and said well we can’t take you in, we need to reschedule your appt. I was extremely confused since they began my cleaning. So after wasting my valuable 1 hour and 20 mins I left without rescheduling. Not sure if they will bill to insurance since they began my cleaning.

The dentist currently there Dr Rasheed. She wasn’t exactly gentle, tried to upsell me to do irrigation when I was there for a general cleaning. Like the last reviewer who gave this place glowing stars because Dr Rasheed advised him he had a leaky filling and did it right there, she also said some of my fillings should be replaced because they were decaying. I got a second opinion and no they were just fine. It’s a ploy to get more profit. The hygienist is new and a sweet guy, and he was gentle, and I think he should go elsewhere. The biggest issue is that I was just there for a preventative exam and cleaning and I stayed there for 3 hours to get that done.
3 hours… for a preventative exam and cleaning.
Making people wait seems to be the norm here. People tend to wait in the waiting area and then in between the person taking the xrays, the dentist, and hygienist, I had a long wait in between each of them. What they made me wait the longest about is that they tried calling my dental insurance to make sure I don’t have a copay for the cleaning. It’s like um, I can figure that out for myself and no, I don’t have a copay. But they were denying me any service while they tried to figure that out. Most other places would just have the patient verify that themselves before coming or will find out later what was covered. But no, they just decided to have me wait there for 3 hours while they verified if I have a copay, and the hygienist was not allowed to see me to finish the cleaning until then.
The technician also took 20 xrays. I counted them. And when I went to get my records I only saw 11. So I don’t know if she just messed up and had to take a bunch, but I got some extra radiation to go with my deal. She was a nice woman but clearly not skilled and she began with some of my cleaning because she felt bad I was waiting so long.
It was overall just a crude and poorly managed place. The fact that there is so much turnover there is just a giant red flag. There’s a reason this place is overall just poor quality, no matter which location you go to. They are owned by a giant corp which expects them to follow rules to maximize profit or be fired. Generally there’s a lot of turnover.
I found another place that takes my DMO, so I went to Gentle Dental today to get my records and xrays so I can transfer them to my new dentist. They made me wait 40 minutes for that. And charged me $ 27 for them. Another patient was in the waiting room and very hesitant about being there because of the reviews and asked me various questions regarding why I was leaving the practice, so because she was fishing for some insight I decided to tell her about my experience. She got up and left. Then Dr Rasheed said loudly that I’m chasing the patients away so I could hear it. Real classy.
I’m really glad I decided to leave. I made no fuss about it during my visit and was uncomfortable just waiting for my records but all I wanted to do is get my records and get out. It is hard to find people willing to take DMO but you still can find something better. Just don’t go with a large organization like Gentle Dental or Western Dental and try to find a small private dentist practice, you’ll be better off.

I overheard the woman at the reception saying she’d recently taken over the business, and judging by the majority of the previous reviews, she must be doing a bang up job. I hadn’t been in the dental chair for a good 3 years after suffering from the horror of their next door neighbor, which I will leave unnamed so this doesn’t sound like a proxy attack review.
I was impressed by the guy that did my teeth cleaning and gum measurements. Unlike the previous years of going to the dentists (somewhere around 40), he explained that whole number system they do when they’re sticking that utensil in between your gums and your teeth. Which, I’ll admit, kind of made a thrill ride already knowing the consequences of getting a 5 or higher. Both of the prep women were really nice and jovial as well.
Dr. Rasheed gave me my exam and, I’ll be honest, dentists are up there with auto mechanics in my book when it comes to my suspicion of them putting their kids through college at my expense. She spotted a ‘leaky’ filling, but advised that we could keep an eye on it and probably hold off for another half year. I elected to have it taken care of and right then and there they got the job done. As the business name implies she had a very gentle touch and made sure to check in occasionally and ask me how I was doing. The safety sunglasses to keep stuff from flying into my eyes was also a nice touch, as was the cotton hand towel they draped over the usual dental bib they give you while cleaning your teeth.
I’d give this place a try, it isn’t the most super fancy state of the art place with TV monitors on the ceiling for you to watch while you’re impatiently judging all of those trying to care for you, but if that’s you, I’d rather not sit in the waiting room with you :)
I’m stoked I found a solid dental office in Oakland within walking distance of my place.

This place seems to be in the business of denying services to its contracted clients in order to upsell them on unnecessary procedures.
Also the quality of the work by the current dentist leaves much to be desired. Had a filling in one of my teeth — before the dentist was even done it had already broken and then he fixed it and it was way too high so the bite was off — which he was going to just leave that way until I told him that that was not acceptable. Now only five weeks later that filling has broken and falling out and now after the drilling around the tooth is sensitive and painful which it never was before.
My wife has anxiety about dental work but at this place it seems that the word «gentle» is only in the name of the business and not at all in any of their practice. Instead of a kind encouraging manner everything is dramatized to make it seem like it’s the worst possible thing in the world so that they can pump you for more money on unnecessary services.
Add to that parking in the area is impossible the office building is old and run down and the office staff — especially the «pump you for more money lady» — are rude and unpleasant and this is altogether a zero star business.

I recently went to a new dentist.
A Gentle dental dentist told me I needed a filling… You can imagine how surprised I was that less than one year later this «cavity» I never had filled no longer exists at all.
The new dentist called gentle dental for my X-​ray. Gentle Dental claimed they didn’t have one on record for me… I absolutely had X-​rays there and the insurance statement to prove it.
There are many dental practices in the Bay.
I sincerely recommend going to anyone else.

They upsold me on an unnecessary enamel without asking me. All I heard was the dentist asking his assistant for it while my mouth was pried open. I tried to ask him not to use it, but he couldn’t understand me and told me not to talk.
Then when I complained to billing, they refused to take a penny off… And were pretty rude about it too.
Never go here! And if they have already ripped you off, let the bill go to collections then pay it off when you get the first collection letter. Then Douchebag Dental only gets a fraction, and collections will remove the referral from your credit report. (how do I know… Insurance Underwriter)

My daughter had her wisdom teeth removed on Monday by Dr Phan. We were pretty nervous since we had not met him prior to this appointment. X-​rays were taken right then and there and surgery was set to happen immediately since all looked good. As soon as Dr. Phan entered the room, we both relaxed. He made us both feel so comfortable! Surgery was complete in less than 20 minutes! All 4 wisdom teeth gone! She has had minimal pain and almost no swelling. She went out to dinner with friends last night! And to top it off, insurance covered all but a small amount! Thank you Dr. Phan and Gentle Dental! Such a great experience!

They were very kind and did a really good job on my mouth. I was able to find out about loan solutions that I would not have been able to complete my dental care without. This is a very good place to go. Nhi was a very good customer service specialist and nurse. I would recommend this to anyone

Let me preface this by saying that I’m a person with a high tolerance for mishaps. I’ve worked in healthcare, food service, retail, childcare, et cetera; I know that mistakes and misunderstandings happen.
So now: UGH. Zero stars. None. You’d be slightly better off going to a back-​alley dentist, because at least he’s not trying to pass for reputable.
Gentle Dental has spent four months failing to correct a sketchy-​at-​best (criminal-​at-​worst? Any lawyers know?) practice of charging us up front for procedures, then charging our insurance company for those same procedures. It’s been four months, and we’ve yet to receive a full refund for *hundreds of dollars* of overpayment. Oh, we got some of it back, with the promise that the rest would arrive the following week. …And then a few weeks went by, and they had to check with management. A month later, they forgot all about it and said they’d re-​check with management and get back to us. Two weeks after that, they’re still looking into it, but say they don’t owe us money that — according to our insurance company’s claim form and receipts of what we paid — they owe us.
I dunno. I can’t speak for you. Maybe you’ll love GD! If you can part with hundreds of dollars for months at a time, and you love the challenge of getting the customer-​service runaround, you might love it!
Oh, and calling their weekend line is a bloody joke, but that’s for another review and another day.

I don’t normally leave reviews, but I had such a good experience here I had to. The staff there were so incredibly nice and helpful (especially my hygienist Nhi). The dentist is usually something that I usually put off because it is so unnerving, but it sure helps when you’re helped out by great people!

I can’t even begin to explain how livid I am with this place! I sent my two sons here (7 & 9) for a checkup. They hadn’t been to the dentist in about 15 months (bad mommy!) so I expected some issues, however NOTHING could have prepared me for what was to come. They claimed my 7 yo needed 4 sealants and 5 fillings, and my 9 yo needed 1 sealant, 5 fillings and 3 crowns!!! Total out of pocket cost? Almost $ 1,500!!! There was no possible way my kids could have that many issues. I’ll admit I’m not as diligent with their oral hygiene as I should be, but this raised SO MANY red flags.
I immediately scheduled an appointment at a different dentist to get a second opinion. The verdict? My 7 yo only needs 1 filling, and my 9 yo needs 2 crowns and 2 fillings, for a total out of pocket cost of under $ 400. Interesting, isn’t it? Also concerning is the fact that they sent me only 4 bite wing x-​rays for each child. I have zero dental experience, though I couldn’t see where the dentist could figure that much work was required based on those x-​rays alone. I can’t wait to get my EOB from my insurance carrier. I wonder what treasures I will find…
The outrageous cost is one matter, but the thing that angers me the most is that they wanted to perform all of this unnecessary dental work on my kids’ perfectly (for the most part) healthy teeth!!!

The pain is gone from the botched Gentle Dental crowns. Compared to GD the new dentist is great. He cut the Gentle Dental crowns out, took more xrays, did the molds, then fitted me with temporary crowns. That evening the pain from the two GD crowned teeth was gone and I could finally chew on the right side.
A few weeks later the permanent crowns were cemented in and I’m finally good with it.
Today I received second check from Gentle Dental, this one is for $ 145. I expected more and am considering other actions for this miserable experience, pain, suffering, and loss of work resulting from the ‘care’ received at Gentle Dental.

Beware this place is shady beyond belief and should probably be shutdown for malpractice (this is literally the worst dental office I have ever been to). They recommended fillings for teeth without cavities, dental treatments for gingivitis I didn’t need, added additional charges unrelated to my cleaning since insurance would cover them, and refused to clean my stains unless I payed for whitening treatment. All of this was confirmed shortly after I left and went to a better dental office who actually cared about my teeth more than my wallet.
For example they tried to charge me around $ 700 on a bill with items completely unrelated to the dental treatment. $ 300 dollars of that bill was misc. items such as numbing gel and ridiculous amounts of numbing shots that were overpriced.
Not to mention they use severely outdated x-​rays modern offices do not accept. They told me that my teeth were filling full of cavities, once again confirmed not to be true by a different dental office. Also they charge to transfer your dental data to other offices.

I apologize for leaving my positive review up after I started having problems with this office and the work they did on my mouth. I’ve spent a few grand out of pocket now at other dentists trying to find out what all went wrong with my treatments at Gentle Dental. I am left with new nerve pain, a potential root canal from a poorly placed filling, and nobody in that office can tell me where the dentist who started all this work has gone.
To add insult to injury they are billing me for an odd amount (which insurance claims to have covered) even though the office manager stated that part of it was their office’s error and removed it from my bill, billing doesn’t know that so has been sending me erroneous invoices.
I wish I’d read their reviews before I started in with all this work. My jaw is out of alignment causing TMJ and radiating pain down my neck, my teeth feel like they have no home in this mouth of pain. I’m starting an insurance inquiry after being told by an independent dentist that there is no evidence on the bottom jaw of the deep cleaning/​scaling that they charged me a ton of money and kept my mouth jacked open for two long appointments to do.
I was patient, I was nice, I tried to ignore that 4 out of my 6 appointments were rescheduled so last minute that I wasted several days of my time and lost wages over. The kicker? When I brought a letter with my complaints to the «manager» she said she was really sorry but hadn’t been aware that appointments are only kept willy nilly, that the office sometimes isn’t stocked with needed supplies for procedures, which then have to be rescheduled, and that the billing is haywire. If the manager isn’t aware then who on earth do they think is running the show over there?
Back to being a dentalphobe. 7 months, 7K, and a whole lot of torture has left my mouth in significantly worse shape than I started off with. My apologies if anyone continued or initiated treatments over there based on my previous review.

The staff– anyone NOT a manager/​dentist/​orthodontist is superb! They’re proficient and by far had more common knowledge of the services they were providing than their superiors.
As for the manager– Adriana, dentist– Bryan Bui, orthodontist– Leif Cobain:
I understand there are protocols you abide by, therefore, when providing service abide by the most basic protocol to the patient– be available.
Not only do you look bad when you lack this but your staff pays the consequences because you may be out of the office and they get the shorter end of the stick.
On the surface, the facility is warm and accommodating. Once you are called in from the waiting room, it’s a whole new place. There are holes in the walls where pictures may have hung, the file folders on the shelves in the back offices, not where the admin staff are, have no order. Why even have shelves in the first place if all documents you need are at the front?
Why is there a foldable wheelchair and other office equipment in the same room as the Xray room? Is it both the Xray room and a storage room?
Why do your dental techs not know where hand mirrors are or even common items in a dental office, floss is located?
As the manager/​dentist/​orthodontist– be more proactive. Your staff is the ONLY reason I’m giving 2 stars.