UCSF Dental Center

For three weeks I have tried to schedule an appointment with the Medical Dental Dept. No one answers the phone, I leave messages, someone calls back and leaves a message telling me to call number that I have been calling. Serious problem with access. I’ve begun calling other departments in the Dental program hoping that I can find someone who can assist me.

Horrible experience!!!
They are taking advantage of people who are in pain!!!
just for money!!!
didn’t do anything for me and asked me to pay. amp!!!

If our future dentists are coming out of this this school, we might have need for concern. I have a friend who is having work done there. It was supposed to take three visits for her needs and it’s she’s been seen six times for one tooth and the other tooth hasn’t been addressed yet. She went in on an emergency visit on Tuesday for a crown that came off and tonight, Friday, it came off again at dinner. $ 75 for a treatment that lasted three days. At the conclusion of all visits that have already been paid for I will update my review. It’s going to be a good one. At one point during a procedure on my friend another student said that method isn’t used any more except in third world countries. Thank the spirits that I only needed a cleaning and my student was wonderful.

The following are excerpts from a letter I wrote to the Deans at both UCSF School of Dentistry (Parnassus) and the UCSF Dental Clinic (Buchanan).
This incident took place at the Buchannan Dental Clinic in November 2014, when I tried to get a teeth cleaning. And I never heard back from either school, or clinic. I had a really hard time trying to reach the people in this school to have them hear my story. A year later, the statute of limitation has ended, and now I would like to share my story with the community on Unilocal.Ultimately I was kicked out of the clinic because I did not want to share extremely personal information about my medical history.
I had an appalling experience during my last visit to UCSF dental clinic. A man who was later identified to me as Dr. Nakahara attempted to review sensitive medical information, before creating an atmosphere of trust, respect, and care. He never bothered to introduce himself, say hello, nor shake my hand. He basically appeared with a rolled up sticker name badge on his chest, and started launching questions at me before I was aware of his presence. Not knowing who he was, I felt very uncomfortable since I had already disclosed medical information to the student. Wouldn’t you wonder what was going on? So I simply asked why.
When I looked up I saw a small man standing in the corner. He did not introduce his questions. He did not discuss medical necessity. A red flag appeared when he stumbled and fumbled before producing words, asked non-​specific questions about my medical history. His unprofessional manner left me feeling as if he was prying rather than gathering information that was of medical necessity.
When I addressed the issue of medical necessity, he did not take the time to explain or comfort me regarding why or how the information was pertinent to a dental cleaning. A DENTAL CLEANING! Instead he backed up his claim by stating procedural necessity for a «transparent relationship between doctor and patient». This did not answer my question, and left me more concerned.
When I realized we were having difficulty communicating, I requested I speak with another supervisor. His response was «I am the director». Once again stymied and without clarity, I did not know how to proceed. Unfortunately neither did he, as he later stated «I am unsure how to proceed and will have to consult the dean.» (It’s a DENTAL CLEANING)
Seeking to be helpful, the student, Dr. X stated that the information he was requesting was in my file. Still feeling uncomfortable by his approach, and wanting him to just leave me alone, I requested that he read my file to gain the information. This did not satisfy Dr. Nakahara, and he stopped my appointment without explaining what additional information he needed and why it was of medical necessity. (For a TEETH CLEANING)
I was shocked by the abrupt ending of my appointment. How could it be possible that the Director, Dr. Nakahara would end my appointment without engaging me in dialogue about my concerns regarding my personal medical information?

I was dismayed that Dr. Nakahara never investigated my concerns but rather suggested that: «if you have a problem with this, you can write me a letter» and «good luck finding a dentist that doesn’t want to discuss your medical information.»
At no point did he clearly explain to me that the information on my file was insufficient. Dr. Nakahara never acknowledged my right to privacy. His actions exemplified that he was more focused on procedure than care. His tone and bed side manner did not help me feel safe, or cared for nor comfortable in sharing my medical information.
To this day, I am not clear as to why I am no longer a patient at UCSF dental clinic.
Sadly, if you want good dental care I would avoid Dr. Nakahara and the people who stand behind him. He is a left-​brained, psychological baby who hides behind his title. It is a shame that UCSF has affirmed his decisions by allowing a temper tantrum like Dr. Nakahara to charade as a Dr. let a lone a Director. I feel bad for anyone who has to interact with this person.

Very happy. I had a bad wisdom tooth that had to come out. I never felt a thing. I’m a happy customer and will be back for my normal dental care.
I like schools for this sort of thing.

Dr. Ramez Shaker, is Great! All of my life, the American dentist have never give me enough anesthesia, Dr. Shaker’s does and his bedside manner’s are so good!

From 2007 to 2011, I received quality affordable dental care from the Buchanan dentists. Note, these students were dentists in their own countries and some are extraordinarily good. I’ve had dentists from Singapore, South Korea and India. Yes, it typically takes longer for procedures to be performed. But if you’re receiving $ 4,000+ in needed dental work for less than $ 2,000, it may be worth your time. They also give a substantial discount for cash payments. Having lost my dental insurance again, I’m headed back to Buchanan.

Either people are expecting far too much from a dentist’s office, or I’ve only had terrible dentists before now, because I really liked this place. While it does take a long time to perform the intake and exams, what do you expect from a dental school? The doctors are new and need to have their work checked; otherwise they won’t learn how to do the procedures correctly. If you want your procedure done really fast, go to an established dentist that you know can work fast. Don’t go to a dental school and expect to get done right away.
Dr. Sharma was fabulous, and I’m bummed that she’s ending her time at the clinic and moving on, because I really liked her. Dentists get a bad rap because everyone hates going to the dentist, and I guess I’m weird because I liked her. I felt very confident with her work because she had it checked often.
The work took a long time, but it was very thorough and I’d rather have a careful new doctor take extra time to make sure it’s done right to avoid complications in the future. I went in for an exam, X-​rays, and a cleaning after six years of no visits due to lack of insurance (which I still don’t have), and came out with fabulously clean teeth. The poor woman spent a LOT of time cleaning deposits from my teeth, and after my visit I abandoned all thoughts of whitening, because I don’t need it after her cleaning. I had old composite fillings that needed to be replaced, so I scheduled another appointment to get those done two weeks later, and she did all three in under two hours, even with a complication with one of the old fillings.
The best thing was when I opened my mouth to floss that night (I do take very good care of my teeth, despite what may sound like neglect in the paragraph above), I couldn’t tell which teeth had fillings. If she hadn’t told me which teeth she had fixed, I would never have been able to tell. If you compare a filling from a previous dentist to the new one, the new one just looks like a tooth and not a filling. She chose a shade that matches my tooth perfectly and then carved it down to look like an actual tooth and not a filling. I’m thrilled with her work.
Yes, it hurt, and yes, it was expensive ($ 660 altogether), but dentist visits are a necessary evil, and it cost far less than going to a traditional dentist without insurance.
(Again, I know it sounds like I don’t take care of my teeth; I really do, I swear! There’s just no substitute for visiting the dentist.)
I would highly recommend the dental clinic for people who are on a budget or don’t have insurance. Some things will hurt, but you can’t really avoid that when undergoing any medical procedure. I’m sorry some people had bad experiences, but I loved my dentist.

If you want to try out student dentistry to save a little money, go to the Parnassus clinic. Or some other school in the Bay Area. Not Buchanan.
I don’t have dental insurance, but I do have a dental discount plan. The Buchanan center did not accept it, so I had to pay full price on everything. No additional help was offered.
I was not told they insisted on a full set of X-​rays while making my appointment. This was sprung on me on-​site for an extra $ 90. I chose to pay it because I had some tooth pain I wanted them to look at.
90 minutes, a set of X-​rays and an examination later, I was told about six problems I needed fixed right away. None were the actual issue for which I went in. I asked about that, and those attending me said… they weren’t sure. «It could be one of three teeth.»
So what did they recommend? Fixing all three at once – just to be sure!
All on my dime of course. In fact they wanted me to schedule over $ 4,000 worth of dental work before I left the clinic! I don’t know about you, but I don’t have 4 grand just lying around.
They didn’t seem to understand that. Both the student attending me and the dentist assisting her kept saying I needed to do the work now, and pushed me to make the appointment. My repeated questions regarding the single tooth’s pain were brushed aside. It was never addressed or resolved. It still hurts.
Essentially, the clinic took my money and wasted 2 hours of time. I was already aware of most of the issues they «found.» It appears the staff here is used to people who have no dental awareness and will pay whatever a dentist says they should. Someone who knows a few things and watches their money is strange to them.
So if you’re gullible and have money to burn, sure, go here. Otherwise, head someplace else.
P. S. — And when I requested a copy of the X-​rays for which I paid $ 90, guess what? They wanted another $ 20 to send me copies. Yes, they double-​charge you on something as basic as dental X-​rays. I have to wonder what other ‘extra’ costs are in their payment structure…

During my appointment we didn’t really do much. She told me that there’s something wrong with one of my teeth, that its infected. Then we began to take x-​rays. That’s ALL we did. Then I booked another appointment that’s supposed to be the following week for a «specialist» that deals with this stuff but they called a couple hours after, telling me that they have to cancel and that the nearest appointment would be in three weeks. I’m like are you serious? I have to wait 3 weeks just for a consultation then another few weeks to actually do the surgery to fix it? I’ve already waited 3 weeks for the initial appointment and now another 3 weeks for a consultation.
Overall, the customer service was really good but I have a few complaints. Planning appointments are such a hassle if you have to get something done ASAP. They canceled my appointments two times already postponing it for a couple weeks. You also have to pay FIRST before they can do anything.

Good service. Very patient caring dental residents/​future dentists. My only gripe is that I can’t make an online appointment.