Noriega Dental

Much wow. First and last time here. Brought me in and I waited about 15 – 30 mins before Dr. Nip came and he only took about 5 mins to check my teeth and then went ahead to say that I needed deep cleaning. What? My previous dentist was awesome! I have never needed deep cleaning at all. My mother was also offered deep cleaning on the spot and when asked for just regular cleaning she was told that they don’t perform regular cleaning and needed it to be deep cleaning.
I would not recommend this place to anyone else unless you want to go to see this one cute Chinese girl at the front desk that can speak Cantonese. Hahah!
Dr. Nip is cool though, but for him to decline appointments for regular cleaning and insist on both of us getting deep cleaning is a huge no. They’re supposed to work with their patients not the other way around.

My father had to switch to a new dentist because of changing health insurance, and saw Dr. Lip for the first time. My dad had previously been seeing a regular dentist before, and had cleanings twice a year. But Dr. Lip insisted that my dad’s teeth needed a deep cleaning that cost over $ 1000, and that his teeth were all cracked, even though my dad’s teeth were fine when he was seeing his old dentist.

Update: I went to another dentist, who told me I have no cavities and near perfect teeth and gums. Which is quite different from what the «doctor» at Noriega Dental said. According to Yip, I had multiple cavities that needed immediate drilling and filling. I can only imagine what expensive butchery the would have performed on me, if I had let them. This place should be shut down by the state.

I have been coming to Dr. Nip for a couple of years, real big improvement on my teeth. He’s a great dentist, I would recommend family and friends to join his team

For your health, sanity, and wallet, avoid this practice and Dr. Nip at all costs!!!
Dr. Nip should have his license pulled for using scare tactics to push unnecessary dental work on unsuspecting and/​or frightened patients.
After seeing him last year on an HMO plan, I was terrified to get a second opinion and afraid I’d never get my teeth cleaned without paying thousands of dollars for a «deep cleaning.»
Luckily, I tried again using Groupon. I just left a cleaning from Island Dental where I was informed that my gum pockets were all 2s and 3s and showed no sign of periodontal disease.

I had an initial visit at this dental office in Nov 2014 and will NEVER return.
The office is in dire need of improvement in the good customer service AND Integrity areas. The woman who runs the front office lacks the ability and experience to make new clients feel welcome, which have deterred me away from returning for a follow-​up appointment. Her tone of voice was rigid, unwelcoming, and quite crude in her salutations, which was taken as unprofessional.
Additionally, their integrity is questionable in their policy for appointment cancellation. An example of this is when I called to cancel the follow-​up appointment within the 24 hour time frame and was told I would be charged $ 40 as I did not give them a 48 hours cancellation notice. I re-​iterated to the woman over the phone that the appointment card states a 24 hour notice, not 48 hours. Then she changed her statement by telling me that my call to cancel the appointment was less than 24 hours and I would still be charged the $ 40. As a healthcare professional and business owner myself, I need to state that this dental office needs to make drastic changes in the customer service skills areas for recruitment of new clients and retention of current clients moving forward.
Nancy K.

I have been a patient of the Drs. Nip dental group for the last 12 years, first at the Van Ness Dental Group office, now at the Noriega Dental office. During that time I have been very pleased with the treatment. In fact, I’ve always felt that it was the best dental care I’ve ever received, and being a 60-​something, I’ve seen quite a few dentists for comparison.
Yes, deep cleaning is expensive. It’s also very beneficial in maintaining dental health and minimizing possible problems with other procedures. I don’t like going to the dentist any more than most people do, so when I haven’t gone for routine cleaning for several years, I expect that I’ll need deep cleaning. My bad, not theirs!
It’s difficult to assess fillings, but the two crowns they’ve installed are the best fitting of all my crowns. They took great care to be sure of a good fit. That’s more than I can say for some of my previous crowns done by other dentists.
My experience with this dental group has been one of excellent modern dentistry, I have no complaints.

Dr Nip is not a responsible dentist. He is careless！！！he just spent 5 min to clean my teeth. he still charged me $ 200 for that 5 min teeth cleaning even if i have insurance… dont go there if you dont wanna lose your money for some stupid reasons.

The only compliment I can give is that the office has a pleasant décor and the staff seems nice. Otherwise, I had the same experience as everyone else. They don’t do checkups or basic cleanings. They just scare everyone with horror stories of bad gums and insist that you have an expensive gum cleaning. Both my husband and I had it done and had to pay nearly a thousand dollars out of pocket. All our previous dentists did not diagnose us with gum problems. I should have been more skeptical and read Unilocal first!

As I was sitting onto my chair waiting for the dentist’s presence, I went on my phone to check this place’s review… believe me, I don’t always believe in everyone’s opinion… but JUST IN CASE if ANYTHING crazy, I did in fact used that wait time to check reviews
…and GUEST WHAT?!
Reviews are RIGHT!
This dental office doesn’t even listen to your own decisions and WILL NOt… I repeat, WILL NOT do something UNLESS they want you to do some pre-​treatment you DO NOT need at all. I’ve went through so many dentists these past 2 years before I got my insurance for teeth cleaning (PAID out of pocket) and none were like him. you have to freaking treat your gums before a filling?! seriously?! i don’t even have a personal option for what I pay for through with my insurance with this place! Even if I really need it, why didn’t the other 5 dentists I went through that were just as «professional» as he is tell me my gums had problems? dude, I floss my teeth every night just the way I was taught… Literally all the places he poked at were said had some sort of «problem». for sure, this dentist wants to MAX OUT your dental plan and pocket all your insurance money!
DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME!

I was assigned here from my insurance. I read the reviews, and thought what the hell it’s so damn close to my house, I’ll give it a shot.
Nope. Trust the majority of Unilocal.That’s what this site is designed for! To save you time, hassle, and headaches!
So I went in there, the place was neither clean nor dirty. Kinda in the middle.
Anyways, the reviews all point to one direction of him trying to scare you into getting a deep cleanse. Well it’s true, I didn’t want to believe it, but he urged that I take care of it or else my teeth would fall out. He then went on a rant about how he tries to take care of people that have no insurance and try to make himself an ideal citizen of the nation. Didn’t understand what that had to do with my teeth and why I really needed it other than the vague descriptions of tooth decay.
He wanted to charge me an additional $ 500 on top of what my insurance covered! What the hell? In the 26 years of living, I’ve never had a deep cleaning before, why now? I’ve had the same cleaning practices all my life, and all of a sudden I need one? I don’t think so.
So he gave me a fews minutes to think about it. The assistant came in an gave me a financial break down of how I could pay in two installments. I decided not to go for it because it’s total horse sh*t. I asked for a regular cleaning, and at that point they refused to do it.
So I left.
I went home and reported this office to my insurance company and told them how much was a cheap scum bag this guy was, and that I felt uncomfortable with an office that’s okay with these practices.
They then referred me to:
Joseph A. Nicolas
801 Portola Drive, Suite 204
San Francisco, CA 94 127
415−566−9700
That was a great office. Clean. Nice, and everything else! He even said there was not even a single need of me REQUIRING a deep cleanse! Go here, it’s great!!!

My poor mother. If I could get all her time and money back for her, I would.
She switched insurance providers and was referred to this ridiculous sorry pathetic excuse of a practice by them.
Shame on «Dr.» Nip for scamming people.
Yea, I said it. He scams people.
First, this office claims they have Cantonese bilingual assistance available.
LIE.
The Dr. Nip claimed my mother needed to have a deep cleaning. When my mother asked for a translator to discuss if this was really necessary, lo and behold! They don’t have a Cantonese bilingual employee!
He proceeded with the deep cleaning NOT telling my mother what the procedure is, if anesthetics would be used, how long the procedure would be, etc. And can I point out nobody told her how much this would cost? During the deep cleaning, he told her to close her eyes. Each time she tried to open her eyes to see what he was doing and what he was administering, he would tell her to close them.
The bill?
FIVE HUNDRED AND SIXTY DOLLARS EVEN AFTER INSURANCE.
$ 560.
What the feck?!
DR. SCAM!!!

If I could give it zero stars, I would in a heartbeat. My mom was referred to this place by her insurance company. I took her there on Wednesday, and hoping they would look over her broken tooth, and hopefully extract it and put on a bridge. I told the assistant my mom don’t speak english so she would have to interpret. He came in, look at her for two seconds. Then, the assistant came in, didn’t say much. I sat in the waiting room for about 45 minutes to tell us that he can’t do it. He would have to referred someone else to extract the tooth. I mean, seriously… how hard is it to extract a tooth. Isn’t this procedure learn in dental school 101. I left and never look back. I told my mom, no amount of insurance would make me want to go back to that shitty place again.

If there was a way to add negative stars I would. I totally agree with other Unilocal users. Their customer service is HORRIBLE. As Christine said, Dr. Nip told me my gum are about to fall out and asked me to paid $ 500 for deep cleansing. I requested for x-​ray and regular cleansing. He just checked my teeth less than 5 minutes, then he refused my requested without any reasons and told me that he couldn’t do anything for me unless I’m willing to do deep cleansing.
After that, I called my insurance, regular cleanings and x ray are covered. Then I called the dental office to schedule another appointment for the regular cleanings and x ray. Again, the doctor refused to do a regular cleaning for me unless I want to pay $ 500. I was like what’s wrong with this dentist.
That’s a horrible dentist I have even seen. Very bad manner. Overall, their mission statement is «IF YOU DOT’T WANT TO PAY, DON’T COME TO SEE ME!!!»
After two weeks, I went to see other dental office. I told the doctor about my experience at Noriega Dental. He said that it’s «not necessary» to do deep cleaning.

I had the same experiance as many others, my first appointment and they were like you have to have a deep cleaning and it cost $ 600, so for my wife and myself it was going to be $ 1,200. I asked why my ins would not cover it and they were like, they only cover regular cleanings, so I said, OK I only want the regular cleaning, and they said the doctor refused to do a regular cleaning. WTHECK! Needless to say, I immediately startling looking for a new dentist. So I guess, if you had and emergency, and every single other dentist in a 100 mile radius was unanavailable, and you absolutely could not wait, then maybe go and see this Dentist, but make sure you bring lots of $, otherwise you may have to pull you own tooth out!

I have been a client here for about two years, and was looking for their phone number, and up came the Unilocal reviews. I am not sure what the people with negative comments are talking about.
It is not the most posh dental office I have ever been to, but far from the worst. I have had a lot of dental work thanks for a motorcycle accident when I was younger, I can tell you about some bad dentists, Dr. Nip is not one of them.
I have never waited for more than ten minutes or so, same goes for both of my kids who go there. The cleaning and dental work is what we expected, and priced within the normal range. I am happy going there.

Thank goodness for Unilocalers.
My insurance company had them placed nearest to me I assigned myself before I had a chance to look at reviews.
While I was in the dental chair however, waiting for the dentist, I decided to read some reviews, as I always do. And sure enough, they pitched the same gum cleaning as everyone else says for $ 600 on top of my insurance.
They told me how my teeth were great, but my gums were too soft and I was at risk of all my teeth falling out. He told me the story of a couple in that morning and their teeth were falling out and how they had to get this done ASAP. If I hadn’t been on Unilocal just minutes before expecting this pitch, I might have went for it. 5 minute gum check and I was out the door.
I wasn’t sure when my last dental check up was when they asked, but looking back on my receipts, it was only 6 months ago, and my previous dentist never had a problem with my gums.
I understand we’re all strapped for cash, but this salesmanship isn’t the honest way to do business. My teeth will NOT fall out in a few years, nor any of the other Unilocalers. I’m appalled that they have been trying to sell this for so long.
Go somewhere else.

I found them via my insurance guide and after checking Unilocal — I decided to take the plunge and see how the place compared to my current dentist (Center For Aesthetic Dentistry) and I have to say: my experience with Noriega Dental was ok! I am not sure I will switch dentists based on my only two experiences with them, however I won’t rule them out for basic care!
I scheduled rather easily and was told to come in for an exam and then a cleaning (this was new to me and not something liked. I preferred to get this done all the same day, which just was not at option here!) and x-​rays (they do not use digital!).
The exam was painless and simple but I really liked his approach and this is what had me stoked to see him (Dr. Nip) on my next visit to discuss if needed any work that would have to be done (although I didn’t think I needed any) but I was a bit let down on my return visit as my appointment started late by 5min and I never got to see or speak to the Dr. Nip personally (I was told by the front desk that they were short staffed) as I saw a young lady who did my cleaning.
The cleaning was a bit awkward. Mostly because the water kept dripping down my neck (the sheet they lay under your chin isn’t attached to any chain so it just slides around — maybe something they can look into investing in!) or splashing me in the face… and it was cold! I was having a bit of sensitivity on some teeth and pretty much was told «we don’t have warm water at this location» so that clearly did not win me over. But the job was done proper in terms of my teeth being cleaned fully, so I can’t complain too much and after about 10min or so, I got use to it.
Once I was done with the cleaning, I was told A-​OK on my x-​rays so schedule something in 6mo. And that was that. It saved me about $ 525 but I am NOT sure I could trust them 100% just yet with doing major work on my mouth.

Terrible! I went in because my insurance assigned me there and I filled out the forms and didn’t put any of my credit card or checking/​SS#. I got in the chair about 45 minutes after arriving and Dr. Nip came in and took a look at my teeth, he said they were really nice and nothing is wrong with them but that I had some gum swelling and needed the deep gum cleaning. His assistant came in and told me and they would not do the cleaning unless I had that done first so I said NO and walked out. I read these Unilocal reviews the night before my appointment so I’m glad I had some knowledge becasue he pulled this on other patients as well. I wasted my time and I did not get paid from work because I am temping so I lost time and money all for nothing! DO NOT GO TO HIM, HE IS A FRUAD! IM MOST LIKELY REPORTING HIM!

Beware! They want to scam you for money!
Waiting room wait: 35min
Waiting in the chair for doctor to see you: 43min
When you first meet the dentist he seems nice and tells you a lot about his background (won’t shut up about himself), having several other offices, and how he just had a patient like all of his other patients with severe gum disease. He also brings you a box w/​rotten teeth to look at because some patient of his just lost all his teeth due to unhealthy gums. I think this was an attempt to scare me. It didn’t, I was just confused to why he was telling me all this before I even told him my name. He kept calling me Angela, when my name is Andrea. Every time I tried to correct him, he would just interrupt me and keep telling me about poor gum health or that he sees it a lot at all the offices he has.
Then he does a half attempt to an exam and tells you that your gums are unhealthy just like the guy who once owned the teeth in the box. He says I’ll need 4 procedures that are not covered by insurance. Funny, I didn’t give them my insurance information yet…
After being there for WAY too long, I finally yelled «I am here to address the problem with my crown.» I have an existing crown that is intact, but chipped and the result is severe irritation from food being stuck around the area. The chip leaves a little pocket for food to easily become lodged there. I wanted to know if I need a new crown or if it can be repaired. He never told me.
He refused to listen to what I wanted. I wanted to address the crown which does cause pain when I eat, but he just wouldn’t listen. He just kept telling me that my insurance won’t cover anything and that my deep cleaning will take 3−7months before I can address any other issue.
I tried to inquire about xrays and again the dentist and the receptionists say it won’t be covered by insurance. They also said xrays are not needed and that paying for the deep cleaning is the first step.
Called insurance, deep cleaning and regular cleanings are covered. Xrays-​covered. Repairing crown-​not covered. Now I have to find a dentist that will help me.
Don’t come here if you value your time, if you have insurance, and if you want a dentist that cares for your dental health. I’m looking for a dentist that will not try to scam me for money.