Western Dental & Orthodontics

"I'm not even sure where to begin with this review, so I'll start from the beginning. I thought I had a cavity (there was throbbing pain) in my lower right molars, so I had Medi-Cal (Medicare for Californians) help me find a dentist office that was accepting new patients that also take state-funded insurance. As you might imagine, most dentists do not do this. So, after calling a few other offices that didn't answer, they connected me with Western Dental on International Blvd. I got an appointment the very next day, which was great (or so I thought!). Upon arriving, there was an instant red flag. As a part of the paperwork for new patients, they include 2 pages for folks to sign that is a binding arbitration agreement, which means if you sign it, you can't sue them in regular court, not even for malpractice. Instantly, I refused to sign that portion, to which the receptionist said "just write 'I decline' " and finish the paperwork. Weird, and disturbing, especially since a lot of their clientele are poor people or folks whose 1st language isn't English. Sketchy. Then I got pulled into the back area, where some dental tech took more individual X-rays than I've ever had done before. I counted over 12, possibly 15. That's completely insane, and I even asked why so many. The woman said they do it for all new patients, X-rays of individual teeth. I'm in my early 40s and used to have regular employer-sponsored health insurance, and I've been seeing dentists since I was a child. I've NEVER had that much radiation shot at my head in one sitting. Red flag #2. Afterwards, I was put into a different chair, where a dentist looked at my teeth and gums-- but not before I was handed an iPad and shown what is essentially an infomercial about a product I'd never heard of before-- something that only Western Dental uses, and is not covered even by Medi-Cal. Something about having custom retainers made and a daily peroxide-based gel to combat gum disease. And its cost was over $1,000. Note that because of my health insurance, I don't even have to pay for an ambulance or prescriptions etc. So, I declined it. Again, it was presented in a way that people who aren't so savvy might be convinced they need it, and the fact that it was presented in such a definitive way was disgusting. HUGE red flag, #3. I then got moved to yet another area, where I was told that I didn't have a cavity where I thought I had one, but I did have bad gum disease and two large cavities that would need to be filled with metal fillings, because "they were too big for composite fillings". Funny, I don't nor didn't have any sensitivity or pain at either of those spots. After the other red flags, I took the opportunity when they left me alone for nearly 30 minutes before doing any actual work to Google this practice. It turns out that Western Dental seems to be almost universally sketchy, not just at this office but nationwide. Gigantic, huge red flag #4. At this point, I didn't even want them to touch my teeth. I'd already been X-Ray'ed way too much, and I saw the amount of lidocaine or whatever numbing agent they were going to use (again, I was just sitting in this chair for roughly 25-30 minutes with nobody coming), I decided that this place was not for me. I got up, walked towards the lobby (nobody stopped me or asked me what was going on!), with my dental bib still on, and told the receptionist that I had an emergency and couldn't stay. Long story short: don't be me and not read reviews before wasting time and money with these people. It's amazing that this business gets away with what seems to me like deceptive sales techniques, excess bill padding, bad wait times, and potentially straight-up lying to patients. This is amplified hugely due to a lot of their clientele being poor or immigrants and some folks not knowing any better. Shame on this company. And shame on the fake 5 star reviews you can read. All of the real people who have rated this place have similarly disturbing stories. Stay far, far away."

"They only care about money don’t go to this place. When I got my braces off one tooth was slightly crooked. What I think was glue that holds the bracket was left over on some of my teeth. They don’t do a good job of removing it. Also obviously even when done with the process of having my braces off I was paying monthly. They are not available 24/7 to process a payment with a worker. So they have 2 options to either have auto payment or make a payment with the robot/machine they provide. Let’s say you have to make a monthly payment every month on the 12 and you pay with the machine which is on time. The machine will process the payment every 1-3 business days making your payment late . Which causes you to be late and it increases your interest . I was on the phone with Jeremy who works with billing who confirmed all of this. It’s sad I would advice to pay ahead of your due date ."

"They pushed a new experimental gum treatment that they’re aware isn’t covered by any insurance. When I asked about alternative treatments (that literally every other dentist office offers), they said “no” They tried to charge me thousands and the dentist only saw me for 30 seconds. This is the most profit-motivated dental clinic I’ve ever seen. Be wary."

"Starting to feel like this place is just a money grab. Tried this place out initially because my son needed braces. Was told that he needed braces but because his needs weren't severe (his insurance only paid for severe cases), I would have to pay out of pocket 6000 dollars. I considered it and begin to make plans to do monthly payments. Made a separate appointment for myself afterwards for general dentistry. Had my first appointment today and was told that my insurance only covered my exam and that I would need to pay 1500 dollars to proceed with my regular cleaning. This was a shock to me. I wanted to know more about why it was so much and tried to ask the the lady more about my coverage and to explain the bill. She was very rude, nonchalant and did not make eye contact with me. She just kept pointing to the paper and telling me "it's all right there" after I repeatedly said I didn't understand what I was looking at. Will not come back for my dentistry needs nor my son's braces. If I have to pay out of pocket for anything, I rather go to somewhere else who have better customer service. I'm upset with myself for even wasting my time here."

"Years ago this place was a great office to go to, now not so much. My appointment was for 9am and I was not done until 1:30pm. I was charged for procedure that I said multiple times I did not want, I was even lied to by (nicest way possible, the big man at the front desk) saying it has already been processed at 1pm. When I told him I didn’t leave the office until 1:30pm so that wouldn’t be possible, he was also shocked of how long it took but it didn’t justify on why he lied. So I am now stuck with a bill that I’m over charged for $900 and the service here is bad, the assistants complain about breaks when they’re 5 of them. And it takes your whole day. I arrived before 9am, I sat down in the dental chair at 9:10am. They had numb me at 10am, they had to renumb me at 12:30pm because that’s when they started on my tooth. I did not leave until 1:30pm and was charged for procedure I constantly told I did not want. This office do not care for there passant, they rush things and try to charge for anything they can. This is not a friendly environment. Not to mention but before my appointment I witness that same man at the front desk trying to refuse a man trying to become a passant. I witness the man coming in saying he has pain in his tooth and I can’t believe the man at the front desk replayed with “so why are you here” as if that upcoming passant didn’t say he had tooth pain. There was so much more that happened that did not seem friendly or professional at this establishment. I will insert pictures of how dirty my station was as well when I first walked to the chair, things stuck on equipment and dirty work area with stuff on the floor. I forgotten to take a picture of the table next to me but it had a tray from the previous passion with used equipment."