Ken Cirka, DMD

I have been seeing Dr Cirka for about 8 years and it’s the only dentist office I feel comfortable coming to. I tried to switch for convenience when we moved, but I just didn’t feel confident anywhere else. I now drive an hour each way to come here for my 6 monthly cleanings. So worth it!
I had a lot of work done when I first came here and Dr Cirka was amazing and patient with me. Now I get a clean slate almost every time I come. I trust Dr Cirka to tell me the truth about what I do and don’t need.

Before I started going to Ken Cirka, it seemed to me that it was a good joke that such a thing existed as a pleasant dentist. But I have time and again had amazing, great, and awesome dentist visits since I started. Way above and beyond any expectations, the office staff is friendly and welcoming. Visits are downright comfortable! I think that is the highest praise I could give a dentist. Who has a dentist they are comfortable going to? I DO. It’s this one. It’s so good that even though I’m moving to Alaska soon, I might just have to fly back twice a year for my checkups, because there is no way I can replace Ken Cirka!

I took my mom here and she was diagnosed with periodontal disease on the spot. I was suspicious with the quote as high as roughly $ 2300 then. But my mom likes Jen, the hygienist, and so we went for the treatment. Jen is really great.
Then I was asked to do a free exam for potentially the same problem. And I was diagnosed I need the treatment. At that point, I was more comfortable with people there and trusted the person to review my coverage with the insurance. I got an email confirmation that «everything is verified and I have 50% coverage». So great I went in for the full treatment. Then later on, I got insurance check for only $ 90, while I had already paid $ 900ish on the first appt. The dental office said they would file dispute. I let them handle this problem till I got another check for $ 34 a few months later. Then I asked -«that’s it?» So I had to call the insurance and found out what really went wrong. #1. They are out of network. The rates are VASTlY off with insurance allowances. The irritating part is that the dental office knew that. (I checked the Unilocal reviews and apparently this has happened before over and over in the past years) but they conveniently ignored that when they confirmed my coverage. #2. Not the full treatment is approved. I was pregnant and didn’t take X-​ray. So the doctor took the charts and ordered an older x-​Ray from another office for comparison. At the dispute process, they sent in the old x-​ray as well. That’s confusing. Coz that x-​Ray was a few years ago when I didn’t have this problem, lol. Then in the letter where mentions me pregnant was not noticeable in the insurance review. Thus insufficient evidence to qualify for treatment.
Here are the numbers– I paid $ 1500 YTD out of pocket and reimbursed of $ 153 YTD. We are seeking for appeal with the insurance now. But I am really feeling that I have been taken advantage of with misleading information. Their service is good. But I wish I knew what I was going in for with symmetry information the dental office has.

Drs. Cirka and Meier as well as staff (from front desk to DA and DH) are ALL AMAZING. I have never been more pleased with my interaction and results of my dental cleaning or related. I am usually filled with anxiety with visits to the Dentist but at Dr. Cirka’s office. They create a stress free environment, are professional, courteous, fun spirited, excellent clinicians and superior service. I pay cash as my insurance does not cover the cost and its WORTH a peace of mind. I have no reservations and recommending them because I know the will deliver consistent service at the highest quality.
Thanks guys!
Shonta
Philadelphia

I had recently completed Invisalign, and decided to redo the bonding I had on my upper front teeth. I’d had the previous bonding done and redone probably 3 times in the last 16 years, and I was never fully happy with the way my teeth looked. I decided I needed to suck it up and go to a cosmetic dentist to get the results I really wanted. I scheduled a consult (complimentary) and was happy to hear they could help me redo the bonding and get the results I was really looking for. Andy help me set up with Care Credit for a payment plan that day, which was great because I was really concerned about the financial aspect. I had the bonding redone the very next week. Dr. Mier and Kayla were so nice, and I got AMAZING results. When Kayla sat me up to take a look at the results, I was amazed… and I couldn’t even find one thing for her to tweek or touch up. Full disclosure, I am a dental hygienist, so this is an amazing feat! Would (and will) definitely recommend this office… thank you again!

I cannot recommend this place enough. I have been there several times and have always been treated impeccably! There is almost no wait time, and the staff is so friendly and professional. They truly make the entire experience as easy as possible.
One of the most important things is that they do not push dental work on me unless absolutely necessary– their practice focuses on teaching preventative care which is wonderful for my mouth and my wallet! Dr. Cirka and Dr. Meier have a great practice going, and I will continue to travel out of my way past several other practices just to make it to theirs for the high quality service!
THANK YOU!

I want to let everyone know that the people at Ken Cirka DMD did an amazing job! If I could give 6 or 7 stars I would!
First, you should know that prior to visiting their office I went to see a different dentist who told me that I needed a root canal and a crown! Because that is so much money I went to the office at Ken Cirka DMD for a second opinion and guess what: I only needed a deep cleaning and a filling. Which is hundreds of dollars less!
Everyone at the office of Ken Cirka DMD is friendly and know what they are doing. Not only did they save me hundreds of dollars but also a lot of unnecessary pain and damage to my gums.
Natalia took an X-​ray and showed me the image of my decayed tooth, Dr. Jessica Meier gave me the correct diagnosis and also Dr. Jessica Meier did the deep cleaning procedure for my decayed tooth and told me what next steps should be done. Keila did the filling. The whole cleaning and filling process took less than an hour.
About an hour later I was enjoying lunch — as if it was another regular day!
I highly recommend the whole team at Ken Cirka DMD: Natalia, Dr. Jessica Meier, Andy, Keila — and the receptionist was also very sweet!

I recently purchased Invisalign with Philadelphia dentistry. So far everything has gone really well. Everybody has been most helpful.
Dr. Meier discussed in detail the approach and how it will work.
Patrice offered some valuable insights into her experience with Invisalign which was brilliant.
Sandy was really helpful in working out a payment plan that suited me.
My consultation with Keila & Dr Meier to define my trays went well, took a little time but no hassle at all, nothing more than was expected. Kim then worked with me on a cleaning to set me up for a good start.
So far I’ve been delighted with all of my dealings with Philadelphia dentistry. If the service level stays anywhere near the level it has been, then I’m confident my entire treatment will go really well and be a complete success.

Not from Philly, but Dr. Cirka and his staff made me feel like a regular on my first visit.
I’m in town for a day on business and I just had to break a filling. I called Dr. Circa’s office and they got me in within the hour. Filled out some paper work and had a small wait til Eva the friendly hygienist took me back and checked out my teeth. She took an x ray which only cost me $ 40! Soon after, Dr. Cirka came by and explained that if I wanted, he could replace the filling but said it wasn’t necessary and that I could wait til I get back home in LA. WOW. I was blown away. He could have convinced me I needed the new filling right away and made money off me but that wasn’t his priority. I didn’t even get charged for the consultation.
A genuinely nice guy and very professional. A+ to Dr. Cirka.

From the moment I set foot in this establishment I was immediately welcomed by an amazing set of receptionists. I sat down to fill out paperwork and they had me in the doctors chair within 5 minutes. Glad I did not have to wait around forever like I had experienced in other dental practices! I had 5 cavities that I needed fillings on. Dr. Meier and Dr. Cirka both worked on me as well as their extremely compassionate dental assistant, Patrice. Prior to coming to Dr. Cirka’s office I had poor dental work done at a doctor that did not do the same quality work that Dr. Cirka and his team performed. You get what you pay for, right?! I have never experienced such a gentle, almost enjoyable trip to the dentist! Thank you for taking care of me Philadelphia Dentistry.

I have had three separate experiences with this dental office and I gave this practice two stars. Three stars were taken away for feeling misled: as though I did not get all of the information I needed to make an informed decision, being told that they did take my insurance (Delta PPO) when they are an out-​of-​network provider (which means they do not abide by standard prices, and your reimbursement is based on standard rates set by your insurance); and especially for being charged nearly $ 5k in advance of the procedure without my knowledge, taking two full days to get this rectified. I gave two stars because of my first experience, Natalia being so incredibly attentive and wonderful at her job and the fact that they credited my account so that I did not have to follow through with a 45-​day dispute process (setting the bar low here). I think if you go in expecting these things, asking a lot of questions, and advocating for yourself, you’ll be ok, but I will definitely not return. Details of my experiences are below:
My first visit was at the beginning of 2014. I was new to Philly, did not have insurance yet and knew I was grinding terribly, so I needed a night guard. I had a free cleaning, and paid for the night guard out of pocket. It’s still working great. Everyone was really nice. This experience was good and pretty straight forward.
Second time, I started a new job and had insurance. I called for an appointment, was told they took my insurance (great!), so I came in on my lunch break. Again, the staff was very pleasant. I went into the back and the hygienist began describing the details of the appointment, including that they would require payment on the same day of service, then file a claim for reimbursement. I explained that I did not know this and did not have the money to pay for a full set of x-​rays, cleaning, etc so I left and said I would be in touch once I had saved some money. They continued to call me repeatedly after this, making statements about how they had other clients who worked where I worked and they could afford their rates, so why couldn’t I? I decided then that I was not going back. I believe this was the summer of 2014.
Third time was last week, following an experience at another dentist that was horrendous, I decided to give this group another try. So, I called, was told they did take my insurance and this time understood and was prepared to pay at the time of service for any services they thought I needed. I schedule a same day assessment, am told it will not take more than 40 mins. Again, great! So, I went to the office, everyone was pleasant; I arrived on time and waited approximately 30 minutes to be seen. I saw the hygienist Natalia, who is absolutely fantastic. If you ever choose to go here, ask for her. She’s amazing. I meet with a dentist who then told me that I need to have 3 crowns. She spent a lot of time taking x-​rays and explaining everything to me, and by the end of our conversation, I was on board with her recommendations. She randomly mentions they are an out-​of-​network provided, but I wasn’t really sure what that meant since they said they took my insurance, so I let it go… By this time I’ve been there well over an hour and was beginning to feel anxious about getting back to work. I was escorted to the front to meet with Andy, the person who works out the finances, and hurriedly apply for care credit to cover $ 4888. At this point, I begin panicking because I’ve been gone from work way too long, so we go to the counter to schedule my appt, and while I’m scheduling, Andy slides a paper over the counter for me to sign. I’m thinking it’s an agreement to apply for care credit, confirming funds are available for the upcoming appt — I stupidly did not read it. When I get home, I realize they had charged my account $ 4888! I then spent two days going back and forth with Andy, Care Credit, and my insurance. I learned in this process that my particular insurance recommends this crown costs $ 650 and they will reimburse by half of this amount — this office was charging $ 1597 per crown, which they explained was okay because they are out of network, and this fee was based on the quality of service and product delivered by their office. I promptly canceled my appointment.
Andy did credit my account for the full amount, and I scheduled an appt elsewhere. I then requested my records be sent to my new dentist and was met with an email reply requesting I call them with a credit card for a $ 71 charge to release my records due to the x-​rays being considered complementary at their office. At this time I decided to end contact with this office.
According to the dentist I saw today, I did not need three crowns, only two fillings, which were done in less than 2 hours and cost me $ 75 out of pocket with insurance. If you choose to go to this dentist, just make sure to educate yourself on your insurance coverage and maybe get a second opinion before having any major work done.

You know how most people dread going to the dentist? I always look forward to going to my appointments at Dr. Cirka’s office because of their top-​notch treatment and very friendly staff. I will say that the treatment is a little more than I can afford, but I suppose that you get what you pay for. The business hours are suitable for my work schedule so that there won’t be as many conflicts as most other dentist offices. Parking around there can be difficult, since it is in the middle of center city, but taking public transportation should be sufficient. As for the office itself, I would certainly recommend Dr. Cirka. Perhaps one of, if not, the best dentists I’ve been to in recent memory.

Full disclosure here… before 6 months ago, the last time I was inside a dentist’s office we had a different president. Yes, I am one of many who had an irrational fear of dentists and dentist offices. Something about all the pointy objects. No more!
Thanks to a nagging wife and the reco of my fellow Unilocalers, I found Dr. Cirka’s office. Very warm and inviting from the get go. Sure you pay up front, but they handle all the reimbursements for you (longest I waited was over a week). Cirka is a nice guy… if you can forgive him for being a Steelers fan. The staff is really wonderful too. I’m sure everyone has their favorites, but mine is Natalia. She scales, she cleans, and she can carry a conversation no matter how many devices are hanging out of your mouth. And she does it all with a bright smile. Can’t recommend her and this place enough. Thanks

Going to the dentist isn’t one of the things I look forward too until going to Dr.Cirka. I’ve been going to Dr. Cirka for 3 – 4 years now and let me tell you, every visit, every interaction with his team has been pretty amazing. The team is always welcoming and very understanding about your needs. Their first priority is to get and keep you healthy. I am finishing up my invisalign and I couldn’t be happier with my results. I highly recommend going to Dr. Cirka, the best dentist and team! Thank you for keeping me healthy!

I came here when I was new to Philly and looking for a dentist. They seemed to have gotten good reviews, so I gave it a shot. Off the bat, they told me I had some severe gum issues and I would have to pay them something like $ 2,500 before they could get started on anything, even a cleaning. They were quick to push me onto a payment plan with them, only to (hopefully) be reimbursed by my insurance. I was pretty startled and was convinced all my teeth were about to fall out, but I just couldn’t pay that kind of money out of pocket as I was just out of college.
I found a doctor in private practice in the same neighborhood and interestingly enough wasn’t diagnosed with any gum disease there. I still had a few cavities that needed filled, but I could pay for them as I received the fillings, instead of having to pay up front for ALL of the potential dental work like at Cirka’s office.
Their amenities looked great and I’m sure the actual dental work is top notch. I just found it to be way more work and stress than what I want from a dentist.

This place is everything that you don’t want in a dentist. Cheesy staff wearing matching purple polos. A heavy dose of pretentiousness with a «we wish we were LA attitude.» Super gross.

I’ve been going here for about 5 years and even though I have moved, I still travel from DC during my work trips to get a cleaning from Kim. Very professional staff, very friendly and very clean office. I find Kim helpful with any question I ask and I know she cares about the health of my teeth. I reccomend all my friends to go here and have never heard of a bad experience.

First I would like to say that the Dental Staff are very professional and welcoming. The dental work was very good and Eva and Kayla were very personable.
I recently got married and added my wife to my Dental Insurance and she called to inquire if we could use Delta Dental and was told that they work with them. We both went in for a significant amount of work over the past two months thinking everything was covered. Once we received the first claim info from Delta I found that my sealants which I was told would likely be covered has an age cap of 14 years old, $ 620. I would have still had them done, it would have been nice to know ahead of time.
Then today we called Delta to find out why the amount being reimbursed to us on the most recent claim was so low and not in accord with the benefit stated on the website. Turns out they are not in network. This was never mentioned, ever. We are now out $ 1000 because we did not know that they were not in network. They deal with insurance every day and would have to know that we were severely paying out of pocket. I am not a dentist and being new to a dentist I would expect that they would tell me that they are out of network.
When we called to inquire they said that they were out of network and there was nothing they could do to help us. We were happy with the work but now feel hurt and mislead.

I have visited Dr. Cirka’s office about three times in the past 5 years due to my crazy work/​life schedule and frequent travel. The office atmosphere is very friendly, the assistants are beyond polite (almost scary) and the office gives multiple notices of upcoming appointments, reminders about cleanings, etc.
In my opinion, the notices is one of the reasons I return to Dr. Cirka’s office. Dr. Cirka is the real deal. He knows what he is talking about and his hygienists are very knowledgeable as well. Furthermore, he makes the dentist experience very comfortable, the office is small, but very clean and he takes pride in his work. In addition, he is the best dentists I have ever visited.
As far as pricing, the price for exams, x-​rays, night guards, and other routine procedures, Dr. Cirka is one of the best priced in the area. However, I think some people may overlook this due to the upfront payment the office requests.
I do agree with many reviewers that the insurance and payment information is a bit shady and this is why I have given 4 stars and not 5 stars. But, after having been to the office once, I understood what was going on. The insurance manager is cool, but you need to ask the appropriate questions.
1. Are you an in-​network or out-​of-​network Dentist?
2. Does my insurance carrier provide compensation for the services that I am being offered? Consult with your insurance carrier yourself. Call the insurance carrier, ask the appropriate questions and inform them what services you plan to have done. By doing this, they should be able to inform you as to what services are being provided at what cost. From that point, you can decide whether you want to have the service completed or not.
3. Are there payment options available? From the first time I visited with Dr. Cirka, I applied and was approved for financing via Care Credit. Initially, I didn’t want my credit run for ANOTHER credit card, but Care Credit has proven to be a great card for purchasing simple medical procedures and accessories (contact lenses, glasses+frames, night guard, teeth cleaning and x-​rays, etc.). Also, when you use Care Credit and purchase at least $ 100 at Dr. Cirka’s office, there is a 6 month 0% interest rate. So, you have 6 months to pay off your services.
4. How will I be compensated by my insurance? Again, CALL YOUR INSURANCE CARRIER. With Dr. Cirka’s office, they make you pay for services up front and then have your insurance reimburse you. This is cool for people who have flexible spending accounts or using Care Credit, but not so cool for people who need service done ASAP and don’t have the funding readily available. One piece of advice I would give? GET A COPY OF YOUR RECEIPT AND SERVICES COMPLETED SO THAT YOU MAY PRESENT THE CLAIM YOURSELF TO YOUR INSURANCE PROVIDER. Since Dr. Cirka sees so many people, it takes longer than usual for the office to present your claim to insurance (what I tell myself, lol). Do it yourself, and let your carrier know that there may be another claim coming directly from the office so they won’t delay your reimbursement.
All in all, I always go back. I mean, I am not ecstatic about my cleaning next week, but I don’t dread it at all! It is a very pleasant experience, well… as pleasant an experience as teeth cleaning may be. lol

Once more — the very best.
On Thursday afternoon, I was chewing on hard Beef Jerky and I heard a little cracking sound in my mouth. One of my molar sides had broken between the filling done in an old cavity. No pain but the sharp edges were shredding my tongue to pieces.
As soon as I could, I called Dr. Cirka’s office and they told me they could see me right away or on Monday, but since Dr. Cirka wasn’t available, it would be with Dr. Meier. My odontophobia cold sweats returned as only Dr. Cirka and the hygienist Jen have been inside my mouth since 2002, but the receptionist assured me I’d be taken care of as well.
I made an appointment for Monday and arrived with some trepidation. Yes, I have seen military action but the mere mention of a dentist makes me sweat. Once again, the receptionists are part of the process, making the patient feel at home and relaxed. Hard to find a more genuinely congenial and competent set. My anxiety started to melt.
I had my mind set on close to a thousand dollars of repair involving several visits, a crown, and the whole enchilada. Keila, the Dental Assistant, was more than pleasant as well as competent. She took a look at my situation, left for a few minutes, and both her and Dr. Meier came back to tell me they could get me out of there all fixed in less than an hour at a fraction of what I had thought of. And moreover, it would be done right then and there instead of several visits. One of the administrative assistants came over to brief me on the insurance coverage and get my authorization.
The entire process involved the removal of the filling and the manufacture of an amalgam-​free restoration of my molar. Dr. Meier administered the anesthetic and took the old filling out in less than ten minutes. Keila was absolutely superb in getting the molar restored with new mercury-​free composite. She even ran into some difficulty as the adjacent molar had an Air Force-​made amalgam filling that was built too close to the molar in question and had to grind that one a bit to allow for the new restoration.
The final result was an expertly done color-​matched molar restoration that looks as if the molar had never been worked on. Even then, I had a follow on telephone call from the office to make sure everything had gone smoothly.
Once again — and again. I can’t recommend these folks any higher. Tops.