Dickran Y Ketenjian, DDS

I’ve been going to Dr. Ketenjian at his Pasadena, CA offcie for a few years and have been satisfied with his work. Unfortunately, I lost trust in him when he performed a cosmetic procedure without discussing it with me first Though I no longer feel comfortable going to a dentist I believe that at least in this one instance put his finances ahead of the health of his patient, I will try to give an honest review.
The positives:
Dr. K is a competent dentist who is able to perform a wide variety of procedures from basic fillings, crowns, root canals and cosmetic dentistry. He is very meticulous and ensures that the work is done property.
Dr. K is personable and pleasant, and except on one occasion never kept me waiting for more than 30 minutes.
Though I do not have dental insurance, I know that Dr. K takes dental insurance in addition to traditional payments by cash, credit card and check.
The negatives:
The first is related to a positive. Dr. K is a very meticulous dentist, taking as long as the procedure requires to ensure that the work is done right. Unfortunately that can mean long hours in the chair. One crown for a molar required four visits and over six hours, another required three visits and over four hours. For someone who is self-​employed with flexible hours, this is barely tolerable, for someone with a 9 – 5 job, the time required for some jobs might not be acceptable
Prices: Dr. K charges market to high market prices for his work. For example the last crown he installed on one of my molars cost $ 1400, not out of market range in Los Angeles, but on the high side of what is typically charged for the procedure. Charges for fillings, cosmetic work and more complicated work such as root canals also fall within the range of market to high market. Another problem is that on at least three occasions, I was charged a price higher that originally quoted, and on other occasions was surprised by charges I did not expect to pay such as xrays I assumed were part of the exam since price was never discussed before the xrays were taken. I first considered this a minor annoyance, but if you decide to make Dr. K your dentist, be sure to discuss all costs before allowing ANY work including xrays to be done.
Inconvenience: Dr K is basically a one-​man operation with a part time dental hygienist/​office worker. Since there isn’t a full-​time office worker he makes most of the appointments. Many times nobody answers the phone, so you’ll have to leave a message and have him call you back. On one occasion, he did not show up for an appointment to prepare a crown. I considered this one instance an exception, but it shows what can happen when there isn’t anybody full time to handle appointments.
I hesitate to include this in my review, because it gives a very bad impression of someone who I thought was a nice guy and who I still believe is a competent dentist. After the bonding on my two front teeth was done, I later asked him why he performed the procedure after I had made it clear on many occasions that I could not afford and did not want any cosmetic dentistry to be performed on my teeth. He laughed and offered to take the bonding off, but without a refund. After this instance of what I considered a betrayal of trust, I decided that I needed a new dentist after I determined that I could no longer trust the health of my teeth to a man who performed what I considered an unnecessary procedure.
To summarize:
I would give Dr. Ketenjian a 4-​star rating for competency, a 2-​star rating for time taken for procedures, a 2-​star rating for prices, and a 1-​star rating for trust. Overall, I would rate him a 2-​star dentist.
I hope you found this review helpful.

This guy is incredible, my whole family and I have been coming here for over 20 years, he’s been taking care of my teeth since when I first had them! Incredibly honest, always looking out for your dental health, and he has a great staff. Rest assured your teeth are safe in his hands