Willow Glen Dental Specialists

"I haven’t been to a dentist or had any procedures done for many many many years. I was embarrassed, prideful, broke, pretty much every excuse used to avoid the dentist I use it. But finally it’s unavoidable and things need to happen. I was referred to this office for a tooth extraction of my number 1 which over the course of this year had been coming out in pieces and hurting really really badly. I’m almost 40 paying for the mistakes made by my teenage self I get it I accept it. Having not had any dental work/visits in a couple decades I always anticipate Little House On The Prairie type dental work. Nothing but pain discomfort and screaming. That is not at all the case. The staff at the front desk are sweet and patient. The staff in the back are calm comforting and efficient. I wasn’t 100% sure I’d be getting my excitation done the same day as Dr. Simel would need to review the 360 scan. I sat down and waited a few minutes and when he walked up his energy was very chill and casual which I like, treating the whole thing like it’s no big deal and routine. For me that goes a long way because I don’t appreciate being scolded and disrespected in vulnerable medical type situations like this. So I greatly appreciate how the staff talks to you and handles everything. Once he told me it would be straight forward and simple he set me up and administered the anesthetic which I have to say was the worst part of the whole ordeal and still not even that bad in comparison to the horror show I had predicted in my mind. After five minutes he and his assistants came back, had me open my mouth and before I really knew it and get anything my number 1 wisdom tooth was out and they were telling me my aftercare instructions. Dr. Simel was already off to his next task I didn’t even get a chance to say thank you. I walked out and even the staff at the desk was shocked at how fast it was done. They thought I was coming to reschedule my next visit to actually do the procedure. So for someone who’s avoided the dentist and dig himself a huge hole I can’t compliment this office and it’s staff more other than maybe saying they’ve made me excited and look forward to all my future procedures. I’ve walked out of doctors offices before because of remarks, tone of voice, disrespect, etc and it’s so comforting having something like this go so smoothly and have a feel of it just being “whatever no big deal” and actually be whatever no big deal. Do yourself a favor, go here if you have to get something done. And Dr. Simel’s name spells Smile if you rearrange the letters a bit so that’s cool too."

"The staff is very friendly and Dr. Kim is very professional. I got 5 teeth extracted with bone graph surgery and all this with practically no pain. I highly recommend this office."

"The oral surgeon was nice. Asked if I had questions. Had my tooth out in less than a minute. The whole process including paperwork took exactly one hour."

"It had been 18 years since my first root canal procedure. That one was caused by experiencing chronic stress. This same procedure was my second at Willow Glen Dental Specialists recommended by my dentist after agitating a nerve experimenting with a rubber bristle toothbrush head. I found the office clean and modernized and with what appeared to be up-to-date equipment. All who I met there were professional: the front desk staff handled my paperwork and insurance issues and the back office staff and Dr. Ma performed the procedure. Although I had a question regarding a dental code not covered by my insurance and was told to expect an answer before my procedure, however I did not. I don’t believe that staff member is still working there. Dr. Ma performed my root canal and Tanya assisted. They showed concern about my comfort level and safety, and told me what to expect next during the procedure, which I appreciated. Two times, during and after the root canal procedure, Dr. Ma took digital photos to make sure the procedure was complete, which impressed me and gave me reassurance that I would not need to return."

"Staff are poorly-informed about dental procedures. I left the clinic feeling like nobody knows what they’re doing and that I could not trust the medical advice given to me. I rang the front desk the day before to double check I could get my wisdom tooth removed with local anesthetic only, they said yes. This is after I had submitted my referral (with xrays). Then I find out at my appointment that it cannot be done unless I go fully under, which I had obviously not fasted nor prepared for, and precisely what I was trying to avoid by calling ahead. This meant I could not get the procedure done as planned, meaning I had to come back another time (AKA another consultation fee). The MD said the front desk aren’t medical staff so they don’t know what they’re saying. If they don’t know what they’re saying, they should not have confirmed that I could have an extraction without full sedation, or they should have said they needed to check with the MD, or they could have told me they cannot be sure. Any of the above options would have been better than misinforming the patient and causing someone to make the wrong plans. The fact that the front desk said “we already have you down as local anesthetic” when I first asked means someone in that office that was not the MD who would be doing my procedure made a medical call, and decided that my case did not require full anesthesia, only to be incorrect. The misinformation of the patient (me) caused great inconvenience. I took a day off of work and made lots of arrangements at work to get this done, which I now have to do again because it did not get done. This is also a clinic where the oral surgeon is only available one day a week, so there was no flexibility in rescheduling whatsoever. I was quite honestly furious by the lack of professionalism displayed. Even the assistants did not seem to be well-educated in dental practice. One assistant told me I would need the saline syringe while going over the post-op plan. This is right after the surgeon said I did not. I confronted the assistant about the contradictory information, she said “I wasn’t there when the surgeon told you that so I don’t know.” I then asked the oral surgeon about it when he returned to the room, and he told me again that I did not need the saline syringe. I then told both him and the assistant in their faces that they are giving me contradictory information at which point they both looked confused. Left the clinic with absolutely no idea who I should have listened to. Overall, I would say the staff here seem careless and clueless, and if I weren’t in urgent need (due to pain) to get my wisdom teeth removed, I would have spent the time and gone through the trouble to get a new referral to find a new practice."