Shadan Jabali, DDS DMD

This practice wrote me to say anew doctor, Dr. Bahrami, has taken over the practice and asked that I take down my review of Jabali. If that is the case, their request is reasonable but why they do not have the name of the new doctor in the business is confusing to me.

I have gone to Dr. Jabali for several years. I partially agree with some of the criticisms. She can be terse to the point of seeming rude. I have had to ask for her to explain what she’s doing. Maybe she’s not the best for pediatric dentistry, or for dental procrastinators (like I used to be) who need some extra reassurance.
However after I got used to Dr. Jabali’s style, I have been very satisfied. She works efficiently, not sloppily. She talks straight, no extra embellishments. And I have had zero problems with her treatment of my teeth and gums.
Regarding appointments: Saturday hours are a nice bonus. I’ve never had a problem getting a cleaning appointment a week or two out. When I chipped a tooth, she took me the next day.

Horrible almost sadistic dentist. The worst experience I have ever had was with this «jewel.» I came for a cleaning and dentist let her helper finish the job. She couldn’t even finish half of my teeth… On top of that, I was given x-​rays solely for profit purposes. I did not need them, but I guess because the insurance pays for them this woman gouges anything she cans. The sadistic part comes from doing the cleaning (the little she did) too forcefully and making it painful.

I took my 2 young children to this dentist. The hygienists were sweet and friendly but the doctor was dismissive and chilly. One of my son’s teeth was particularly yellow which concerned me. She did not address this until I brought it up. Only then did she go back and gave it an extra cleaning.
Because I wanted a more thorough check up for my kids I called in and asked to be transferred to a pediatric dentist. My insurance requires the dentist to send in a request for transfer. The receptionist told me it would take 4 – 6 weeks. When I called the pediatric dentist 3 months later they had never received the transfer authorization. I called Dr. Jabali’s office 3 times and was never able to get a live person. Each time I left a message asking for a call back regarding the transfer.
Eventually I heard from the pediatric dentist. They told me that the receptionist from Dr. Jabali said she had not sent in the form. She said she would fax it in and we should have the authorization within 10 days. I called the pediatric dentist 3 weeks later and they still did not have the authorization. I also called the insurance company directly and they had not received any transfer request.
My only recourse now will be to switch to a new dentist through the insurance company, take my kids to them, then ask them for a referral to a pediatric dentist.
Long story short — if you want customer service do not choose Dr. Jabali.

I love her. She is not only professional, she is very friendly and accommodating. She cares for the patient and I’m completely happy with the services I get from her. Michelle on the front desk is super too.

I needed an extraction. I have been to many low income dentists, but this is by far the worst, I haven’t had insurance for a while, so my teeth were not in the best condition, and Dr. Shadan Jabali was not hesitant to let make me feel uncomfortable about my situation. She asked if I brush everyday, when I replied yes, she said I did not have to lie to her. By this time, I knew she was not going to be my dentist so i had asked for my full set of xrays… $ 45 SHE SAID!!! I’d rather go to Home Depot and buy pliers and do the job myself.

I’m actually not quite sure how she stays in business. we recently switched to a pre-​paid dental insurance instead of having the premium deducted from my paycheck each month. Since both my husband and I have pretty healthy teeth, we figured that we would only need biannual cleaning anyways. I chose Dr. Jabali based on her proximity to our home, and despite the very mixed review here on Unilocal. (although now looking closer I see that two of the five star reviews start off with the exact same sentence, coinkidink? I don’t think so)
We arrived at the dental office for our appointment and the first thing I notice is that signs all over the office stating that «mercury has been found to cause cancer in the state of California.» I thought that was weird, but didn’t think much of it.
I then had my x-​rays taken and Dr. Jabali examined my teeth and did a cleaning. She indicated that I needed something called a «deep cleaning» which required anesthesia, and two separate visits. I was also told of a cavity in one of my upper back tooth, which needed to be filled.
Here is where it gets sketchy, when she asked me to make the subsequent appointment, she told me that to get the ceramic filling I would have to pay an additional co-​pay of $ 230, and she doesn’t recommend the mercury filling, which is covered by insurance. (so that’s why there are the mercury signs in the office!)
We ARE in the age of smartphones, and a quick search while waiting for my husband to be done revealed that the American Dental Association both approves and endorses the use of mercury-​alloy as a filling and that the metal filling has been found to be bio-​stable for the human body, and lasting many years.
Further research also showed that the so called deep cleaning is generally utilized for patients that are over 40, with substantial gum disease. I have had regular checkups/​cleanings, I’m 32, and I brush twice daily. I know that I have pretty healthy teeth.
Sensing that she wanted to bill my insurance for as much as it will cover, I politely told the receptionist that I only wanted my back cavity filled, with the silver material since it won’t be visible, and that I do not want the deep cleaning. an appointment was made for 3 weeks thereafter.
I just received a letter from Dr. Jabali asking me to find another dentist because I am going against her clinical advise by refusing the deep cleaning services.
Thank goodness, I wouldn’t want to trust my teeth to some women who just wants to bill the insurance company anyways. you do get what you paid for, I guess next year we are going back to paid dental insurance, and our old dentist!

First off, let me start by saying that I would only have given the dentist one star, but because she has an amazing receptionist I’ve given an additional one. The only reason I was paired up with Dr Jabali was because the dental plan I selected chose her for me; it wasn’t a conscious decision to go to her in the first place. That being said, I wasn’t expecting much from the start.
The visit I’m reviewing was for a dental «emergency» I had recently. Like most people, we show up when our gums get a little swollen/​irritated to find out what’s happening; my situation wasn’t much different other than this is a regular occurrence and previously my doctor would send me home with an Rx for a special strength mouth wash. Well, I walked in (after getting a last minute appointment) to the examination room. Dr asked what was wrong and as I was telling her my issues, she continually interrupted me telling me nothing looked wrong. Funny is that she hadn’t even asked where the problem started, when or if this occured before… nada. Just cut me off a couple times and TOLD me nothing was wrong, «but we’ll do an xray anyhow to be sure.» Seemed like she wasn’t concerned with why I went in to see her AT ALL.
After the xray showed nothing wrong and she poked my sore gums repeatedly (making them bleed which made me nearly gag!!) she says to me, «I don’t see anything. You need to see a specialist if you think there’s really a problem.» Meanwhile I’m sitting in her chair with tears running down my face by now because she assaulted my mouth! Seriously?! Do you think a grown woman would cry like I was after numerous quick jabs at my gums? That shit hurt!
Anyhow, I was thrilled when I found out she wasn’t donig anything for me because that meant I could get out of her office ASAP. The receptionist was wonderful enough to arrange a referral to a periodontist who was absolutely delightful to go see! All in all, I will be changing my dentist IMMEDIATELY after this horrible experience here.
I definitely DO NOT recommend anyone see Dr Jabali.

After my first visit at this dentist office I controlled my anger and didn’t write a review, however i couldn’t take it anymore after my second visit.
My first visit was to get my teeth cleaned. It was soooo painful I left her office with swollen and bleeding gums. I figured maybe it was supposed to feel like that if she did a thorough job. After talking to a few people about my experience everyone said it wasn’t normal. I decided to give her another shot (three years later) because I woke up with my very first toothache :(They made an emergency appt for the same day, as soon as i walked in the nurse did X-​rays. The nurse didn’t see anything so she called Dr. Jabali in. As soon as Dr. Jabali walked in she had this negative energy about her which made me already regret coming back. She glanced at the X-​rays, said she didn’t see anything wrong, i pointed out which tooth was hurting and she started hitting it with a metal object saying she still didn’t see anything. Im guessing she figured out her banging my tooth wouldn’t hurt though i just told her?! She walks out and stands by the door to talk to some man and it sounded as if she asked him did he think i was lying. I couldn’t believe what i was hearing. She then comes back in the room and asks what do i want her to do since theres nothing wrong so i kindly asked was there anything i could take at home for the pain… she looked at me and walked out. I then went to the receptionist and explained to her how i received no response when i asked what could i take for the pain and the nice woman went and talked to Dr. Jabali and came back with a prescription for vicodin. So i left angry and in pain yet again. I took the vicodin and nothing happened! I was still in pain so i figured maybe it’ll go away by the time i woke up the next day. Nope, pain had gotten worse and now my gums were swollen. I couldn’t eat anything and it was painful to brush my teeth.
I gave this place one star because it wouldn’t let me give it any less. I cannot stand this place with a passion!!!

Dr Jabali is the most caring dentist that I ever met. She is so kind, even I have moved to South Bay, I make sure to go and see her for my dental needs. Her team are also awesome people. Thank you for everything.

Dr Jabali is a wonderful dentist. I have been going to her for several years and have always had a great experience going to her office. She is quick, professional and quite friendly. Have had 5 crowns and 1 root canal done and they were all completed in a minimum amount of time and painlessly. Recommended her to a close friend and she thought she was great also.

Minus 150 stars. This is the second worst dentist that I’ve ever been to, and I’ve had 34 years and a bunch of dentists to make that distinction.
I have a dental plan that requires me to submit a request for a dentist, then wait til the first of the month to kick in. My other half went to see this dentist, and I wanted to try a new one, so I switched also. I was supposed to have a cleaning on 6/​2, but the past couple weeks, pain on the left side of my mouth was getting worse and worse, until the past few days, where it’s kept me from eating and sleeping.
The first strike began with this office being closed on Mondays, with no emergency number available. The second strike was that I left a msg, and did not get a call back. I called again this morning and had to try 2 or 3 times until someone answered the phone, and I got a 12p apt. I told the doctor about my abnormal fear of dentists and pain, all the work I have had done, and the history of the current problem. She *maybe* listened to ¼ of what I had to say. She took some xrays, tapped on my teeth, and then said I probly had a cavity and needed to go see an endodntic in case I needed a root canal or something. They were able to get me right in to Barry Wong’s office (see horrible review for this jerk also).
I go to Dr. Wong’s office, all the way across towne, and had a horrible experience. During his diagnostic tests, he hurt me so bad that I bawled for 5 minutes. He wasn’t even sorry about the amount of pain he put me through. He then told me it was a cavity (a rather painful one), and that I would have to go back to my dentist to get it fixed. Both him and his assistant were cold-​hearted. They told me they’d call my dentist’s office, and that they would call me in a few minutes.
After waiting 15 minutes, I decided to drive *back* across towne to Jabali’s office. I’m in major pain, and she starts getting short with me, telling me she was busy and she didn’t know when she could get me in. She then said that Dr. Wong told her I wasn’t in enough pain to warrant pain killers. Bawling for 5 minutes after he touched the tooth wasn’t enough pain? I was pretty upset by then, and she said, «Fine, I’ll write you a script for 6 Vicodin then.» She told me it wasn’t her problem if I had to wait days or weeks to get the tooth fixed, and she would get to it when she could. This would have been fine if I hadn’t spent the past 3 weeks in pain that was worsening. Did these jerks *really* think I was phishing for drugs? Was screaming from the pain not enough? I stormed out of the office and went back to the car and immediately called the insurance company and switched back to my old dentist.
Soon after, she called the insurance company and tried to drop *me* as a patient, but I beat her to it. Seriously?!? The insurance company gave me 3 offices that would help me on an urgent care basis. *All 3* offices told me they couldn’t help me because even tho the insurance company said it was okay, they weren’t going to take me for various BS reasons they had.
I ended up changing my dental plan from a HMO to a PPO and going back to my awesome dentist in Walnut Creek. She not only understands my fear of a dentist chair, but my fear of pain also. I don’t mind that it’s ‘out of network’ and that they only pay 80% instead of 90% or even 100% if you have an HMO. The HMO is *not* worth it to me.
This woman is EVIL. And a fracking wench. She is very cold-​hearted. She had no regard for people who have dentist or pain fears.
There were two desk people. One, who totally knew what she was doing, and the other, who didn’t speak any English and just sat there the entire time while the other girl did all of the work.
It doesn’t matter if your mouth is gushing blood, this woman is not likely to help you. Do not EVER come here. Go see someone else. Heck, even my other half dropped her as a dentist after he heard my story.
I got a letter dated ⁵⁄₁₁ informing me that I was no longer a patient. I replied back asking them to save it, that I found someone else to help me, and that I hoped they were able to keep their patients. On 5/​17, after seeing my awesome dentist, I sent the prescription that Jabali gave me for the 6 Vicodin *back* to her office, saying she was untrustworthy and that I could not get it filled not knowing if she was legitimate or not. And then I took a scan of it :)

I recently had a cleaning and two fillings done with Dr. Jabali. I was very impressed and have been very happy with the work and the staff. Very professional, very nice.

I would have given it 4.5 stars the day I walked out. I’ve been there twice now, and they’re punctual and nice. I even accidentally missed an appointment and they booked me for the next day. They weren’t claiming to find a bunch of cavities like some money-​grubbing dentists, so I thought it was all on the up-​and-​up. The one slight complaint I had after my last two visits is that my insurance covers 2 visits per year, and even though I have gone both times in September, they have tried to convince me that despite not having any problems, I should come again before Christmas, no doubt so they could charge my insurance again. So, a bit sketchy, but overall, not too bad compared to other dental experiences.
However! I just received my insurance explanation of benefits (EOB). For once, I read it carefully. There was this one 20 second moment during my last visit, where Dr. Jabali told her hygienist to «show her how to brush properly.» I smiled and watched the hygienist do the 45 degree angle thing. Thought nothing of it. Dr. Jabali BILLED ME for «hygiene instruction». It’s not a «covered expense.» So now I owe her $ 5, according to my EOB.
Well I really despise being nickled-​and-​dimed, so she’s now lost me over $ 5 (well, really over the tactic). I’m in the market for a new dentist– one who’s not so desperate for my money. It’s simply no way to treat a repeat client.

0 stars. I switched back to my crappy dental plan to save money and ended up here. The place was dirty and smelled. I was told I needed an x-​ray on one tooth (I already gave them recent x-​rays from another dentist). When I questioned them about the price, which seemed high, Dr. Jabali told me that I needed to look for another dentist. Thanks for the advice because I found a good one in Oakland that takes my crappy insurance.

My whole family goes to Dr. Jabali’s office now which is close and homey. The carpet was recently replaced with flooring and looks great. The new receptionist is super friendly and played funny, educational videos of a monkey brushing and flossing his teeth while we waited (which wasn’t long). Some of the hygienists are better with kids than others. We especially love Ellie who is patient and friendly. My 2 year old just had his first dental experience there and they made it a very positive experience. For grown ups they are efficient and thorough. We haven’t dealt with dental problems there yet, but for routine cleanings they have been wonderful and treat us like family.

Just to give a contrasting opinion here. I got a filling from Dr. Jabali in 2005 that literally fell out a couple of days later. It seemed like shoddy dental work to me, as I got it refilled and it has lasted until now.
Two stars instead of one because she was patient and gentle and did explain everything she was doing as she did it, which I appreciated.

Dr. Jabali is a caring, experienced, and professional dentist. My family and I have been a patient here for the last 10 years and I am very satisfied with the quality of the work and the excellent service. She has a pleasant down to earth manner, educates her patients, provides treatment options, and has very very fair prices! The staff is very friendly and the office is very cozy too! To top it off, it’s easy to get to with public transportation with bart being a few blocks away.
Highly recommend for your family dentist!

Dr. Shabali is on my list of Delta Dentists and I can give her 5 stars based on not just my cleaning, but my boyfriends as well. And he hadn’t seen a dentist in 5+ years, so if he had nothing to complain about then I think that’s a pretty good sign!
I found everyone in the office to be really friendly, personable, and knowledgeable. Making it more comfortable is that the office is in a converted house in Albany– just turn off San Pablo at the Hotsy Totsy!
I kinda wanted to tell someone that their sign out front with a happy smiling tooth?
Yeah, on both sides that little guy has been graffitied with a smoking cigarette hanging out of it’s mouth. And by cigarette, I mean maybe joint. But hey, whatcha gonna do.

Dr. Shabali is gentle, honest, and takes all kinds of dental insurance, even DentiCal for low-​income folks. She has been a fave of me and my 11-​year-​old for years. I went back to Dr. Shabali when another dentist was going to charge me $ 1,000 for dentistry, which after looking at my x-​rays, Dr. Shabali couldn’t see that I needed.
Her staff is bilingual Spanish/​English, and Dr. Jabali herself is bilingual Persian/​English. Very helpful!