2nd & Vine Dental

This office is run so efficiently. They encourage all their patients to show up 10 – 15 minutes early for their appointment. Once, I was on my way there, and I got a call from the receptionist. She was wondering where I was. My appt was at 1. It was 12:57, and I was literally a few steps away from their front door. A little strict? Maybe. But the upshot is that everyone is seen ON TIME and no one has to wait for the dentist.
This is saying a lot, considering that most other people in the medical field have no qualms about making clients wait for 30 minutes, an hour, two hours — as if our time isn’t as valuable as theirs!
So I have always been impressed by how quickly I’m seen and how quickly my appointments go. That’s not to say that Dr. Lee and his staff aren’t thorough. They’re very attentive, and I’m confident that my teeth are in good care. Oh, and they got me to floss regularly!

So I needed a dentist and I was recommended to Second and Vine dental by my dentist in Boston. Dr. Higashi and his staff do a great job. Kathy the office manager is funny and makes me feel at ease. Amy and Latasha are two of the greatest hygienists I’ve ever had. I’m kind of a jokester and they all love to have a good time while providing 110% service. Dr. Mike is great and gets the job done and it never feels invasive. Also a really cool thing is if you check out their website before making your first appt they often have cool bonuses like whitening. SCORE. I’ll keep on heading to second and vine every 6 months. :)

I have been a pretty regular patience to 2^nd & Vine Dental at beginning of this year. I came in for full mouth check-​up, fillings and crowns. The overall performance of Dr. Higashi and his staff are moderately well, not bad. I am very pleased with how my crown looks like and overall visit.
What make me change my decision is their Office Manager, Kathy. She will give you a shallow overview of dental insurance, but will pressure you to make more appointments and payment, rather than setting you up with a good insurance. I’ve seen these types of business tactics too much by now. When I was coming in to do a check-​up, Kathy did not inform me of the details or billing procedure. Back then I did not have insurance. I paid a filling and check-​up OUT OF POCKET. Without my permission, Dr. Higashi made a to-​do-​list for my entire mouth WITHOUT helping me figure out a payment plan. These people won’t care if I can pay or not, if it means I would be indebted to them. They want to be sure they are making money, doesn’t matter if I can actually pay or not.
Getting a predetermined payment from an insurance company is given, but with Kathy you have to «whip» her to do it, BUT she will set you up for a $ 3000 procedure WITHOUT you having an insurance
The next thing that happen, after my 2^nd visit of crown application, Kathy called me during office hour. This is the conversation:
K: «You haven’t pay $ 750 for your crown.»
R: «…I have already paid for them during my last visit»
K: «You’ve paid? When was that?»
R: «…My last visit???»
K: «I can’t see it in my records…»
We hung up so I could check my bank account. With proof of $ 870 (crown+filling), I called her back:
R: «I checked my bank and I see that I have made a payment on…»
K: «Yes, you did made a payment on March 7^th, 2013. Have a good day» (tries to hang up)
R: (Trying to keep her on the phone) «So… what happen in your system? Why does it say I haven’t paid?»
K: «I have the paperwork in front of me. Have a good day.» (still trying to kick me off the phone, but realized she screwed up then say…) «How is your crown?»
R: «…It is fine. Why you couldn’t see the payment?»
Kathy’s answer were not worth remembering or written in this review, as she already screwed herself up and Dr. Higashi’s office that day. Later she sent an apology email, which reads like a template. I didn’t feel it at all.
Disorganized, rude, uncalled for, irresponsible, and the worst thing: she doesn’t listen to what you need. Aside from getting $$ to the door, her job is also to be the face of the company. Economy are tough, they should be more careful about not losing new clients. Even if Dr. Higashi and staff are stellar and awesome, Kathy will make the office unimpressive and insecure. Why do you have to hurt your own business? Some company just cannot see this.
There is no reason for me to go back here. I regret spending my well-​earned money to be treated poorly by their Office Manager, Kathy.
Thanks for reading.

I’ve been to a lot of dentists in my time, but Doc Higashi and staff are simply the best I’ve encountered.
Attentive and alert desk folks, skilled hygenists, the good Doc himself, affable and very experienced — all in a clean and tidy, yet personal office space. I’ve never been kept waiting and while I can’t say I look forward to going to the dentist, I can say I go to the best

I have been going to 2^nd & Vine Dental for couple years now. The staff are all nice they treat me as a family. Dr. Higashi is very professional he knows what he doing. I will keep going here for very long time.

I have had many different dentists in my years, but I have the most outstanding care and service I have received has been at Second & Vine Dental. Dr. Higashi and his staff provide high quality in dental care along with professional service to their patients. They use the most current technologies including laser cleaning. Personally, I have had many dental challenges and through the laser technology, dental care, and education my dental heath has improved immensely since becoming a patient at Second and Vine Dental. Everyone from the hygiene team to the front office staff gives each individual the very best in care and service. If you are looking for an outstanding dentist along with personal service I highly recommend Second and Vine Dental.

As soon as I walk in I was greeted immediately with a very friendly staff! I was taken care of right away! Dr. Higashi was very professional and definitely knew what he was doing. I wouldn’t trust anyone else with my teeth besides him. Check his place out! He’s amazing! (:

As someone who hates going to the dentist– I had my teeth worked on by British dentists in the 1970s and still haven’t gotten over the experience– I’ve been really pleased by by Dr. Higashi and his staff. He is a skill dentist and he and his staff understand that some people are stressed out by the experience.

I went to Dr. Higashi several years ago. I decided to start going to him only because he is really close to my home. I should have stayed with my original dentist.
Dr. Higashi struck me as uncaring and quite impressed with himself. Not only that I have never, ever met a doctor who upsells!
I am over forty years old and Dr. Higashi tried to suggest that I get braces! Of course not the kind you go to an orthodontist for. Rather the kind he can sell (naturally). I am blessed with teeth that are pretty straight. My sister needed braces but I did not. I’ve never in my life heard from a dentist that I need braces!
Then he also does things like photographs your teeth from the inside and magnifies them. Then he shows you the photos and tells you how much you need to have your teeth bleached! Taken out of context and with nothing to compare the photo to, it does make your teeth look awful. Higashi knows this.
I’m sure many people succumb to the «good» doctor’s tactics. I think that’s unethical and manipulative. Gotta give him points for imagination though.
My teeth aren’t gross but they aren’t bright white like every TV star has these days. I can tell when someone has had their teeth bleached and unless they had a real serious problem before getting bleached, I find it incredibly vain.
Also, I expected Dr. H to find the tooth that my previous dentist had identified as needing a crown soon. Instead he passed that tooth over and found a different tooth that needed one. Plus two more!
I think this guy if full of $#@+! Avoid Higashi unless you enjoy uneeded dental work, condesencion, inaccurate billing and insults to your looks and intelligence.
Your dental health is not Dr. Higashi’s top priority. Padding his own wallet is.
And also his A/​R department either really sucks or they intentionally make billing mistakes.

I am giving them a 4 because I have only been there a few times. I really enjoy them. I have had a wide range of dentists. They really explain everything that is going on in your mouth and where improvements can be made and where things look great. I personally appreciate this rather than them just saying you need a filling but not showing where or pictures. I also know they just hired new people in the front and for billing so maybe that fixes the problems for Lindsay and Barbara…

I feel bad writing this considering that I did like Dr. Higashi himself and don’t feel that my bad experience with his office was a result of him at all. But after the stress and confusion that I’ve been put through the past couple of weeks I don’t feel right not warning other potential patients. Long story short, I got two small cavities filled last year and although I have amazing dental insurance, ended up paying over $ 400 out of pocket (this was two simple cavities, no root canal, no crowns, nothing) they forgot to bill my insurance and so they had to «write it off» and then they got a hold of me almost a year later asking me to pay over $ 100 more without an explanation why. After many calls to my dental insurance we discovered they incorrectly billed me at my time of service (though they didn’t even tell me that was why) and now they wanted me to pay the difference. I am shocked that they think they can make a billing mistake and then get a hold of me almost a year later asking me to pay more for their mistake! Especially after I had already paid an astronomical amount. Apparently they have some «new» way to fill cavities and this might explain the price but I noticed NO difference at all. And since they don’t have nitrous oxide it was way more uncomfortable. Anyway, get a quote in writing before you have anything done here. I also don’t really trust a medical/​dental office that «forgets» to bill insurance for something. Again, I am not happy that I have to write this because I know it will reflect poorly on Dr. Higashi and I actually did really like him, but I just had to let people know. After writing a letter to Dr. Higashi he wrote me back saying that he will «write off» the $ 109 but that he felt we weren’t really a match and I should find another dentist. I’ve never been dumped by a dentist before but I’m glad the situation has been resolved.

My experience for this dental office is mixed.
I moved to Seattle couple years ago and 2^nd & Vine Dental is the closest dentist to my place. I like the hygienists and front office assistant but not so much with Dr. Higashi. (Seriously, I will give the rest of the office 4 stars)
My first visit there he told me my previous dentist is not a good one because he uses metal fillings on my bottom teeth and the quality of the repairs are bad. But when I ask him to point out which ones are bad that needs to be replaced, he answer all of them eventually and the sooner the better. Well, that’s just bull… of course they all need repairs ‘eventually’ but if there is nothing wrong with my fillings now why drill holes just so you can put in new white inlays/​onlays? and btw they cost tons more (my out of pocket expense will be 400.00 per inlay!)
Last week I was due to clean my teeth and they told me I have a cavity on one of my bottom teeth that needs to be repaired. I ask them to show me where that cavity is because I don’t even feel sensitivity around that area at all. They pointed at the back of my tooth and said the shadow you are looking at is the cavity. My response was — Really? That looks like just a stain… And I was right!!! That’s after they put me under and drill holes into it.
It turn out that my previous dentist already fixed the tooth and have fillings that matched my color so well that they can’t tell! So what they did? They end up removing the stain and fix the tooth next to the one they said have cavity. Their argument was — from xray it looks like a cavity but it was just fillings. And while they are at it, the tooth right next to the one they just open up has a little trouble too so they fix that one instead. WTF?! And you dare to tell me my previous dentist’s work is bad?
I like my hygienists there but I will not let Dr. Higashi touch my teeth again.