Mak & Kleiger,DDS

I love my dentist, Dr. DeMesa! My children (11 & 6) & I come here for our check-​ups & cleaning. We all love going! There is nothing like the feeling of newly cleaned teeth! Some of my coworkers also come here. They see the other dentists, and their experience has also been the same, fantastic! This place uses state of the art equipment. They do not try to make you have procedures that you don’t need, like when you get your car serviced. They just do what needs to be done & send you on your way!
Dr. DeMesa is very gentle with your teeth, so perfect for the «afraid of going to the dentist» people.

I have had to have extensive dental work in my mouth for many many years. I have seen some of the «top» denstist in Los Angeles sadly a lot of their work either had to be re-​done or they wanted to remove half my teeth and give me numerous root canals. After doing extensive research for a great dentist I found Dr. Mak. I am so happy I did. He has already replaced a front bridge that looks absolutely gorgeous. He also has listened to my concerns and made an excellent plan to not pull teeth and save as much as possible. I do not want to age with my face caving in so this is VERY important to me.
The front office worked diligently to get my insurance to pre authorize and got me in and out before the end of the year in order to max my benefits. Each time they tell me exactly how much it will be. Scheduling has been easy to do as well. I really like Dr. Mak and I am thrilled to be in his care.

Really nice dentist & great hygienist, but you get nickel & dime to death! Even starts with parking! They charge you to park in their building & had me sitting there for 30 minutes after my appt time & I was early, they charge per min too. Lol. ANYTHING they can charge or bill for while they have you there, you better believe they will try to get it out of you! They wanted to X-​ray after I told them I just want to get in & out with just my cleaning, they said you get 1 free per year. Doesn’t matter when you don’t need or want it! They can’t remove X-​ray until the Dr speaks with you. Oh & u better never miss an appt! Yup, fee for that too! It’s the principle, not the $!

There is a lot to like about this dental office. It is clean and the hygienists are all excellent. Dr. Mak and Kleiger and the others are great too.
My issue is with billing and communication. I specifically tell the lady at the front desk (there are several) each time I reject all services that my dental coverage will not cover in full unless you tell me what the difference will be and why.
The last two times they have «recommended» an exam. I say no I had one not too long ago and then they confirm «it’s covered, you get two per year.» It’s only $ 22 and my gripe is not with the money. However to me you do not do business this way. If your representative tells me «it’s covered,» then it is covered. If it turns out my dental coverage rejects it for whatever reason (I don’t go to any other dentist) then that is on you! Not your client/​customer.
I am considering changing offices. There are too many good dental offices to choose from.

There’s little to separate one office from another in terms of dental treatment, it’s usually rather straight forward: filling here, crown there; unless there’s extensive, complicated work to be done of course. What really makes a dental office worthwhile of your choice is the friendliness of the staff and the proficiency of their service. Unfortunately, this office excels in both incompetence and hostile attitude.
After my initial appointment with Dr. Kleiger, he asked that my X-​rays be sent over for his review — to provide a thorough treatment plan. It took about 2 weeks of contact (2 e-​mails and 3 phone calls) to finally have a staff member give him the requested document that I had sent with my initial e-​mail weeks earlier. I became annoyed.
Finally getting my treatment plan, I noticed that the crown quoted was an all-​ceramic crown, and was interested in the pricing of both PFM (porcelain-​fused-​to metal) and zirconia variants, just to consider my options. I requested this in several e-​mails and 5 (!) phone calls. It took 2 weeks to finally get an answer, again. Only this time, I had to speak to the manager to get the proper pricing. When I expressed my frustration of how the staff would brush off my requests and never get back to me, she (the manager) exhibited the same hostile behavior. This is a toxic workplace.
Dr. Kleiger seemed nice enough, but if you’re interested in him (or any of the other dentists, for that matter) you have to go through that staff.
I am happy to say that I’m no longer enrolled in their office, and have my sights set on better places.

I’ve been going to Dr. Mak and Kleiger for 17 years now. Every time I go I can expect excellent attention from the front desk, they are always ready for me, even often when I get there early, they are ready for me early. The cleanings are thorough, and they always seem to be on top of the latest technology. The times I’ve needed fillings have been trouble-​free with Dr. Mak. He is a master at what he does! They have a highly skilled staff there, and they excel in all aspects.
This is a highly professional dentist, and I wholeheartedly recommend them to anyone who is looking for a dentist.

I booked about a month or so in advance and they ask you to print, fill out, and send them several papers before the appointment. My appointment was tomorrow. They called today to confirm it and to ask that I send the documents, which I had sent a month ago. I had to look for them and re-​send them.
In those documents I made a footnote stating that no work that was not covered by my insurance could be performed without a prior written quote with the price.
In this confirmation call, they stated that they cannot honor my footnote because they «don’t know what things are going to cost». Granted, I could walk in there and have a complete disaster in my mouth, but they should be able to provide a written quote before doing any work.
If they don’t, you might just walk out of there with a $ 5,000 bill.
I cancelled my appointment.
No thanks, I cannot comprehend a dentist that is unable to explain to you in writing the work he is going to do and how much out of pocket money you’ll have to spend. I’m not writing them a blank check.
This is the first review I’ve done where I didn’t even get the chance to put my foot in the door before realizing that I was in for a very, very, bad experience.

Best dental practice I have found in the Pasadena area, IF you make sure your appointment is with Dr. Kleiger himself. The dental skills in the practice vary greatly. Twice for major procedures (crown, filling), a different dentist has done the work and while they wer nice people, there was a major problem with the procedure that required the procedure to be re-​done. When Dr. Kleiger re-​did the work, it was perfect. I wish I had insisted on him each time. His approach is very clearly more skillful. He also genuinely cares for the patients.
The practice is well-​run business wise.
Unfortunately, the hygienists also vary a lot. (I am not sure who does the hiring and why they can’t insist on the highest quality hygienists). I would recommend you keep notes on the hygienists whom you feel are gentle enough yet thorough enough and request them by name.

They don’t tell you how much your appointment costs until 24 hours before your appointment. I called a few times to ask how much my appointment would be, they said they wouldn’t know until hey verified my insurance coverage the day before the appointment. I requested that would do this ahead of time and let me know, they said someone would email me. Called again, and for 2 weeks they never followed through on their promise.
My dentist was a cool young Filipino guy. Dude gave me the best cleaning ever. He replaced some filling and gave me a new filling, I don’t think it’s the best… I feel like my other dentist in Beverly Hills paid more attention to detail. Maybe I’m boujie, but teeth need to look on point. It’s hard for me to not be drawn to people’s teeth while they are talking and their teeth look busted and crusted.

I haven’t been to the dentist in seven years. My teeth are very sensitive, and the last cleaning I had at my previous dentist was so uncomfortable, that I quit going. Finally, I decided to make an appt with Dr. Mak. After x-​rays and an exam, it was pretty obvious I needed a deep clean to remove seven years of buildup. Dr. Mak explained everything very clearly to let me know my options. I let him know that I was apprehensive about the pain given my very sensitive teeth. On the day of the deep clean appt, Dr. Mak did a fantastic job of getting me numbed up, so that I didn’t feel anything at all. Already, I can tell a definite improvement in my gum health. I go in next week to have the other half of my mouth deep cleaned. Given how smooth and painless the first half was, all of my fear of the dentist is gone.
Thanks Dr. Mak!

Drs. Mak and Kleiger are both stellar and their practice is great. They were the first dentist I went to when i moved to LA 4 years ago and I have never once thought about leaving.
They have pretty good hours and are flexible with their scheduling. In my job, I often have to cancel and re-​schedule appointments with very little notice (I’ve bumped up against the 24 hour threshold numerous times). They have always been very polite and happy to get me a new appointment time.
Their offices are very clean and bright, and they have a large amount of staff and chairs to move through a lot of patients quickly. Usually, I can be in and out for a routine checkup/​cleaning in 30 – 45 minutes tops.
They also utilize the newest and best equipment around to aid in doing the job right and with as little pain as possible. Overall, the M&K team is extremely wonderful to deal with and are all great examples of professionals.

Finding new health care providers is such a shot in the dark so when looking for a new dentist, I turned to my coworkers.
My boss recommended his dentist so I gave it a whirl & have been very pleased so far!
Fun fact: i don’t see Mak nor do I see Klieger. I actually like to see Dr. DeMesa. He’s really nice & helps make the dentist less scary :-)
All of the dental techs I’ve had are equally great as well.
Pro tip: there is an overflow lot in between Mentor & Catalina since the lot directly behind the building is so small.

I always have great experiences with the dentists and hygienists in the office. They are professional, quick, thorough, and friendly. One star knocked off because of the office staff, some of whom don’t seem to want to be working there.

yes. I still rate them at 5 stars. because Unilocal doesn’t have half stars. but if i could. i’d knock them down half a star. I’ve been going here for YEARS and have only had really positive experiences here. I usually ALWAYS go to Dr. Kleiger. On occasion, I have seen some of the other dentists, like Dr. DeMesa and have had pleasant experiences, as well.
BUT…I did have a one-​time terrible experience yesterday. Due to work conflicts, I had to reschedule and Dr. Kleiger was not available. So I went to Dr. Li. I believe he is new (er)? I don’t know what their protocol is, but every time I’ve been to the dentist, a hygienist cleans my teeth. and then the dentist comes to check everything out. I’ve had some cavities filled by Dr. Kleiger before and everything, even filling cavities have been fairly painless and mild. Dr. Kleiger is awesome. But this time, Dr. Li did the whole thing. the cleaning and exam. And that. THAT was awful. I know cleanings can hurt, I know that blood can sometimes be drawn. BUT… Dr. Li was so callous with the tools. He pressed into my gums incredibly hard with the little mirror, causing bleeding, he on more than a few occasions poked right AT my gums. not the gum line, drawing blood. In all my cleanings, I have never left with so much blood in my mouth! Even that night, while brushing my teeth, I still had significant bleeding.
Though he asked me how I was doing and though I told him and though I kept flinching, he not once even *tried* to be somewhat gentler.
Lesson learned. loving Dr. Kleiger… never go to Dr. Li.

So far so good. Dr. Kleiger has to be one of the nicest dentists I have ever met. I am scared to death of dentists. And when I say scared to death, I’m talking shaking, and freaking out.
I have had some horrible procedures with previous dentists that have literally landed me in the emergency room, and have had abscesses due to that and emergency surgery on top of that. Other bad issues have resulted in pain and broken crowns and I literally just checked out of dentistry for a number of years.
Dr. Kleiger was recommended through a co worker and he worked on my son’s invisiline last year — and this year I finally got enough courage enough to go in and try to take care of my own problems.
If I haven’t said it before, he’s pretty much the nicest dentist I ever met. While I was freaked out he calmly walked me through all things I needed to get done and today I got done half of them. I am really glad that I did finally get in a chair again — I have to give 5 stars for that. but we’ll have to see when the Novocaine wears off to give more info ;)
. I also have more stuff to do and I’ll update again then. but for now, a big THANK YOU to Dr. Kleiger — if it wasn’t for you — I’d probably be in a worse place than I am now. It’s your humor, calming spirit and downright awesomeness that helped to get in that chair again after all the bad experiences I’ve had.
ETA: Novocaine has worn off. He told me I might feel pain drinking cold things or just pain in general because of what I had to get done. NO PAIN. Not a single piece of pain. This man is pure awesome.

The service is terrible. Their office looks very unprofessional, The woman answering the phone is simply rude. I will never be there again.

Dr. De Mesa is a great dentist. Very fast and efficient, and he know just how to give the novocaine shots so you don’t feel them! I’ve had a particularly difficult tooth, and they have been super patient, seeing me at no charge several times to adjust my bite and do an x-​ray or two. The receptionists are friendly and helpful as well.
My only concern is the billing — there was a time when the Dr told me my appointment would only be $ 35, and then when i got to the desk, they tried to charge me $ 150. And when I asked why it had gone up, they just changed it to $ 35. Seemed rather arbitrary. Best to ask lots of questions about what they are charging you for

Another great experience at Mak & Kleiger.
Dr. Demesa took care of a new filling quickly and painlessly, all before work. As usual, the staff was very friendly.

Dr. Kleiger is really as good as it gets. Aside from dentistry, it is hard to find a person in any business to be as honest, warm hearted and personable as he.
I never leave a review, but after the third time he generously fixed my chipped tooth, I felt he truly deserved a wholesome review.
He always expresses his knowledge and answers any questions you may have very honestly. At this point, any previous dentist I’ve seen would have told me to get veneers or crowns, but Dr. Klieger reminds me that my teeth are still beautiful and he continues to maintain the bonding composite he applied initially.
I switched insurance and he is no longer coved, but I will continue to see him because I trust and value who he is as a professional.
There is no way you will have a negative experience, and making an appointment is never difficult!

I’ve been going to MKD for several years now. Dr. Kleiger is fantastic — warm, knowledgeable and gentle. I’m sad to say this my first negative experience at the dental office, though. Michelle, my dental hygienist was so rude. It started off b/​c I corrected her on my name. Then she proceeded to punish me with a stern dental cleaning, saying if I flossed more or purchased a better toothbrush it wouldn’t hurt so much — she pointed out my Soniccare was not as good as her Platinum Soniccare.
While my mouth was full of dental equipment or fluoride, Michelle would take jabs at me, saying, «Most adults don’t mind the taste of their dental products,» (therefore, I’m childlike). Later she stated, «Other patients are much more versatile and will see which ever dentist is available,» in my response to my request to wait for Dr. K rather than just see which ever dentist was first available. I wanted to follow up with Dr. K about a filling he did 3 months ago that I was having some tenderness with — completely reasonable I think. Michelle proceeded to go to the next room and complain that her patient was «a little difficult.»
It was totally unprofessional and while I didn’t tattle on her to her boss, I did bring it up to her as soon as the dental cleaning was over. At first she denied doing anything wrong and when I told her I heard her talking about me in the next room, she said, «what did I say?» When I repeated her words to her, Michelle’s mouth dropped open. No redeeming apology from her. I told Michelle she should treat her paying customers better next time. WE ARE THE PAYING CUSTOMERS AFTER ALL and there are plenty of other dentist offices to choose from. Too bad.
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PRIOR REVIEW
Dr K looks like the dentist version of Richard Gere from Pretty Woman days — compliment. He’s a good dentist too. Did a filling wonderfully.