Gentle Dental

Dr. Payne and all of the staff were great! I really, really do not like going to the dentist, due to a horrible experience at a different place, but everyone at this office was exceptional and went out of their way to make sure this experience went as smoothly as possible: I would absolutely recommend them.

these people are idiots. They keep sending me bills that should be sent to my insurance. I have called them several times and they say they have fixed the problem, but then I get another bill.
not sure how it will end. maybe in court.

I’ve been going to Dr. Bala for over 10 years. Of all the dentists I know, and I know a few, he’s one of the top notch, competent and ethical dentists in the city of Seattle. I followed him from his old office in Pacific Medical Ctr (old Amazon building on top of Beacon Hill) to his current location now. Good dentists are hard to find.
His office assistant Tres is a gem to work with. He too has been with Dr. Bala over 10 years.
I thought I must have left a review for Dr. Bala’s office already, but I guess I have not. Well, better late than never. Dr. Bala is a rare find in a city full of dentists and dental specialists out to make a quick buck. I can’t say enough praise about him! Thank you Dr. Bala for being there for patients like me!!!

Just brought my 3 year old daughter in for a cleaning and although she let the assistant polish, floss, and do fluoride 6 months ago, she was anxious and nervous this time. Dr. Bala was wonderful, he let her hold the mouth mirror before taking a look, and she opened for him. There were tears when it was time to polish, but she still got support and empathy from the staff, and got her trip to the treasure chest and new toothbrush. I am confident that she will come around and appreciate how well the situation was handled as toddlers are often unpredictable.

Periodontist Dr. Aravind Buddla and Kelly were easy to work with, were very clear on what my pricing and procedure options were and made the gum graft I had done both fast and true to being. Gentle on the dental.
Dr. Aravind Buddla the best periodontist in the area!
I’ve been coming here to see Dr Bala the head Dr since 2009 and have been a client since. Dr Bala is both easy going, empathetic but also a top notch dentist. My teeth thank you!
These are skilled, affable professionals and I trust both mine And my families tooth and gum needs for years and years to come to Ballard Gentle Dental!
Office staff– Tres is always on top
Of scheduling and all customer/​patient needs. Gentle Dental is lucky to have him as office manager!

I had a different experience than the other people commenting here, but here goes:
I was very nervous going in to see Dr. Bala. I hadn’t been to the dentist in several years and I was pretty sure I had a few cavities. All the dental hygenists and assistants were very friendly.
Dr. Bala could tell I was nervous and walked me through everything before he did anything. He spent extra time explaining things to me and making sure I was comfortable. He did peridontics and fillings (3 appointments altogether) and every time I felt comfortable.
Not to mention the BEAUTIFUL view in the Ballard office. Not super conventient via the bus but it’s located on Burke — Gilman trail. It probably wouldn’t kill anyone to walk a mile on one of the most beautiful trails in Washington.
Thanks, Dr. Bala!

I love this office. The entire staff, from the assistants to the people at the front desk are always professional. Dr. Bala has been in the office for many years, and this guy knows what he’s doing! I’m always very comfortable when he’s treating me, and through the years, he’s done excellent work on my teeth. I would recommend him to anyone!
Lisa and Chris, the hygienists, are knowledgable and so friendly. I practically fall asleep in the chair when I get my teeth cleaned because they are so gentle.
The assistants and the front desk staff are always so welcoming. I always feel right at home under their care.
The view from the dental chair is the best you could ever ask for — it is so relaxing and simply beautiful, just like the entire experience.

Dr Bala should not be practicing dentistry. I have been in the process over the last year of spending thousands of dollars to a different dentist repairing the botched dental work he did on me. I’ve had to have a root canal pulled out and get a very painful and very expensive dental implant. When my new dentist did an xray on the root canal Dr. Bala did she said «You had this done at Gentle Dental? Yeah… I’ve had to repair a few of these from them.» !!! The horror. Seriously, the horror. After spending hours in the chair getting extensive painful dental work from Dr Bala I found out it basically all has to be redone. I haven’t been able to chew on the left side of my mouth since November of last year. That side is still in the process of the dental implant which is going to cost me a total of $ 5000. There is another tooth on that side that he did that is too high, and even though he filed it down twice is too painful to bite down on. I will have to get that fixed after I finish the process with this dental implant. And the icing in the cake is my top front tooth… which had to be capped. Dr Bala never went over my options as far as this tooth was concerned but considering it is right in front if my face I would’ve opted for the other more aesthetically pleasing options, but now I have what looks like a grey tooth because you can see the metal implant through the cap. Then to top it all off we were told we would be reimbursed for the root canal and never were. I have endured days and weeks of pain at the hands of this dentist. If you want to get butchered and spend thousands of dollars repairing the damage go to Gentle Dental. Frankly I probably should have sued these people but I was so busy dealing with the mess they made I couldn’t even think of that at the time. The fact that the three dentists I’ve had to see to get my dental implant done were all horrified at what they saw when they looked at my X-​rays and that they also knew this dentist was KNOWN for poor work and spoke about it matter of factly– «o yeah Gental Dental– I’ve seen this before»…speaks loudest. Don’t go here. You would have better luck at a free dental clinic or UW dental school.

I love these guys! I recommend them to anyone looking for a dentist. The front desk staff is always friendly and helpful and can tell you what you will have to pay before you elect to get anything done. They will never charge you excessive fees for services and procedures that you don’t need and/​or are not covered.
My appointments are usually right on schedule, which I appreciate. My time is important and it seems like they respect that :)
The work that Dr. Bala does is always flawless. I’ve never had a filling «pop out» or any issues with the root canal I got. My fillings are completed quickly and painlessly and I never have any issues with the bite after the numbness wears out.
I really appreciate going to a dentist that I trust and having them make it as «painless» of an experience as they can!

I didn’t realize that the first visit was just to get xrays and talk to the dentist. I hadn’t seen a dentist in several years and before that saw the same one my entire childhood. Maybe the first visit is always just a preliminary exam with just xrays then a follow-​up to actually do something. This seemed to be a sticking point for several people who visited here.
Their office is in a building with Anthony’s. It’s kind of weird and the hallway smells like the sea. Their actual office is clean and smells like most dental offices. I was relieved — I didn’t think smelling sea stuff while getting my teeth looked at would sit well with my stomach.
Generally the work here is really good. I had my first (5) fillings here. I don’t have a comparison on how they should go. They numbed me up pretty well and went to work. I think my only complaint is that each time I went (they did my mouth in halves) I’ve had a filling higher than it should be. That could be pretty normal. It’s hard to bite on that paper stuff when my jaw is numb.
Speaking of numb — the first time they did my fillings I was rather numb. Towards the end of the cleaning (because I did deep cleaning as well as the fillings in one visit) I could feel bits of discomfort. I’m not sure if that’s because I wasn’t completely numb of if it was wearing off. The 2^nd time parts of my mouth never fully numbed. Thankfully it was just where they were doing some uncomfortable cleaning and not where I was getting fillings done.
This location is a bit out of the way and isn’t very bus friendly. They have a wonderful view but you can only see it while sitting up (which is like the first 5 minutes of your visit).

My husband has been coming to Gentle Dental for years. So when I got on to his insurance after we got married I thought I would give them a shot.
So the not so good:
I was a bit disappointing was that they make you schedule two separate appointments, one for an initial exam then another for a cleaning. It was a bit of an inconvenience to make two separate trips but thank goodness I only have to go twice a year.
While I was waiting for the dentist to come in for the exam I was looking around and noticed that there was a drawer that was being held shut with duct tape. And there was a potted plant and around the bottom of the pot was a lot of dirt laying on the floor. I was shocked by this, every other dentist I’ve been to has been super clean. Not at Gentle Dental.
The good:
The front desk staff was friendly, I got in for my appointment on time. The hygienist and dentist were both very friendly and informative.
I appreciate the fact that they have extended hours during the week and are open on Saturday.
The views of the Puget Sound are amazing!
I haven’t deiced if I’ll be back again.

Many of the people who work here are kind, wonderful people. But I didn’t go here for nice people; I went here to have my teeth well taken care of.
That didn’t happen.
I just finished paying over $ 1,000 out-​of-​pocket repairing a ton of work that these guys botched. Just keeping my fingers crossed that there isn’t any more collateral damage.
Do NOT go here.

I have been a patient here for 4 – 5 years, but simply cannot go back.
First, I will start out with some good points. Everyone that has done my cleaning and x-​rays has been great. They are friendly, and if you were there recently, they tend to remember you. The male dentists (2 different, Bala and Smith) that I have seen for fillings are also good as was the female dentist/​surgeon that removed my wisdom teeth. She was great! This however does not make up for the rest.
First off, what happened to Holly at the front desk??? She was fantastic, helpful, informative, knew her insurance stuff. Some time in the last year or so she vanished. Since then, there is this other woman (Analee or Analease) that is pretty rude. I was grossly overcharged at a recent appointment (not the first time they did this) and she is giving me the runaround about a refund. I have new insurance they don’t accept and she is trying to convince me to pay the $ 600 out of pocket instead of switching dentists.
My undone work. Well, one is a replacement of something failing that they just did 2 years ago. I have had a few failed procedures by them.
Then, an unfilled cavity. Hmmm, I came in last year to have this cavity filled. If it is still undone, what did you do to my teeth last year and what did I pay for?
Also, since Holly left, I rarely get an answer during business hours. I leave a message that take days to get a call back, if at all.
Otherwise, parking is easy, waiting room is clean, magazines are minimal but perfectly adequate as I have never been called in more than 15 minutes past actual appointment time. Nice building, pretty view of the water from some treatment rooms.

I was apprehensive of finding a new dentist upon moving to Seattle, but Gentle Dental in Ballard was the right place to land. The staff, from reception up to the doctor, are courteous and informative. As mentioned in another review, Lisa is a fantastic hygienist. Book with her on Mon/​Tues if you can. If you get any of the location-​location-​location chairs, you get a sweet view of the Sound, the Olympic Mountains, and the clouds/​sky. Better yet, they take a bunch of different types of insurance plans. Give it a shot, and you won’t regret it.

Once again Unilocal has led me on the right path. I’ve avoided the dentist for years, knowing I need fillings. Glad I finally got over it and went, my experience here couldn’t have been better. I was a little sceptical walking in, it seemed more like the back entrance to Anthony’s. (which I guess it is really) And then I got in the chair to a stunning view of the water. I was very relaxed and everyone I have interacted with has been fantastic. Highly recommend.

Well here we go again, the red carpet treatment.
I just got done having a root canal done at The Gentle Dental at Mill Lake. I stopped by the Ballard Gentle Dental to make an appointment to have the temporary filling removed from my tooth and have the permanent filling put in.
Well once again it was my lucky day. Right there on the spot I was offered my favorite chair by the window and watched a racoon walking along the water for a few minutes.
I believe less than a half hour later I was all done and out the door. I thought I was going to have this temporary filling in for about a week or so waiting for an appointment but they squeezed me right in.
You guys rock!
Nova…

Flexible, competent, caring dentistry in a beautiful setting. it is a franchise but a very nice one. I recently went there for a broken tooth-​badly broken. The dentist and staff were nice and referred me to an oral surgeon.
What I liked about them is that they did xrays and a minor exam that was alll very reasonable and they gave me the films with no hassle.
They could have done the job but gave me the option and after discussing my case, we came to the mutual conclusion that I should go to the surgeon. Everybody needs business now and I appreciate how they left the decision to me.
The big thing marring their service is their front office person. In my humble opinion, she is so difficult to work with. After standing in line for some time it was apparent I was not the only one having multiple troubles with her or her willingness to work with insurance companies. She appeared unwilling to work with insurance companies. At one point she flung back the papers at one hapless soul and told him to work it out with his insurance company and pay her now.
These are trying times and the guy told her he had called before making the appointment. She was curt and dismissive. I believe in good customer service. I know I won’t get it at Ballard Gentle Dental so that is the end of them for me.

I happen to have a very different experience with gentle dental. I had a wisdom tooth removed over a month ago and continue to be having problems with infection. I have complained many times but my concerns have been continually dismissed. At this very moment I am looking for another dentist to dig out the tooth fragment Lina Kim most likely left in my mouth. She didn’t even bother to take another x-​ray to see if everything was okay even after I came back 2 weeks later with an infection!!! Looking back I start to wonder if I even needed to have this tooth out since it wasnt coming in, and it wasnt giving me trouble. I would not recommend this place even to my enemies.

I really, really hate going to the dentist. It’s due to some childhood trauma, and I don’t think that’s ever going to change. But I have been going to Ballard Gentle Dental for about the past 8 years and I am very, very happy with them.
The office staff is so helpful. They have worked hard for me over the years, relentlessly communicating with all my various dental insurance companies.
Lisa is the nicest, sweetest hygenist. If you schedule a cleaning, try to get an appointment with her. And both of the dentists there are nice and not at all scary.
So, in conclusion: going to the dentist is unavoidably yucky, but going to THIS dentist makes it bearable.