Gentle Dental -- Center City

09/05/2008 Posted by gcpc7581

I went to Gentle Dental back in 3/08 for a regular checkup/cleaning b/c it was close to where I lived. To my dismay I had a cavity (now in hindsight, "so they said i had a cavity"). The dentist that did the job looked like right out of residency...like a previous reviewer said, i should've jumped out of the seat and called my dentist whom i went to for 15 years and just pay out of network. So my molar was drilled and filled. Not wanting to pay the extra $50 for porcelain, i did the regular and it looks horrible when i open my mouth. Need to get it fixed somehow.... Anyways, now to the present. Moved to Maryland and found a credible and respectable dental practice. I called Gentle Dental to mail over my records and the receptionist starting spitting out all these ridiculous charges to mail over my records!!!!! $30-something here another $25 there...so the total was close to $60. I never heard of such thing! I transferred to different doctors throughout the years and no one has ever charged me anything to transfer my records! Ridiculous! I told her I will just drive up there myself and pick it up. I rather pay the oil companys for my gas than put my money towards Gentle Dental.

Cons: Long wait, rude front desk staff, overcharges, overall a bad dental practice

08/20/2008 Posted by MalpracticeSuit

I don't really have enough time to tell you everything that was wrong with this dental nightmare. Dr. Jay is very nice, but the work that I had done was questionable at best. I was told that I went from having one cavity ever in my life to having 11, and I have gone to dentists consistently. I was also told that I would need a very expensive deep cleaning, waited for four hours, and was made to watch videos about arrestin. I had the filings done, they were done very quickly (7 in one sitting!) and the dentist seemed rushed and distracted. I went for a second opinion to a dentist that I trusted about the cleaning, and to look at the fillings which were giving me pain. The second dentist told me that two of the fillings would have to be redone, I did not need arrestin, and that they had actually missed the only cavity that she could see on the x-ray. She did not want to touch my fillings because she thought they should be fixed for free, and she was afraid that touching them would result in a root canal. Within a week one of the teeth got so painful that when I did go to Dr. Jay to have it fixed he said that it had got infected and needed a root canal. The root canal cost a ridiculous amount of money, even with my insurance it was more than it would have been somewhere else off the plan. I had to go back to Dr Jay again the next day to fix that same filling from the root canal, and the whole mess is still not over with! In general though Dr. Jay is pleasant I agree with the other negative reviews. I have had to advocate really strongly for myself, do research, seek second opinions, and fight them for more proper care. At best the staff is over worked and rushed and I do not think that the practice treats it's patience with respect or care, and at worst tries to take advantage of poor folks and insurance companies by overcharging.

06/05/2008 Posted by 010203

gentle dental is the best; Dr. Jay is wonderful "get it done"type of Dr. The hygienist is the best: to the point, sincere, and cleans each and every tooth in your mouth. I would recommend this Dr. and hygienist to any one

Pros: service

Cons: no parking

05/15/2008 Posted by jcmd

I am a new patient of Dr. Liu's. Went there with because it's near my apartment and they take my insurance. I don't think I'm going to be going back. He's a nice man, and was fine on the day I had my basic check-up, cleaning, etc. But yesterday I went back to have some cracked/missing fillings replaced and some minor bonding re-done and it was probably the worse dentist experience I've ever had. He didn't numb my gums adequately before injecting the novacaine, so that really hurt (have had novacaine several times before, it never felt like this). He didn't file down the new fillings enough, so I now have rough spots on teeth, a sharp edge and my bite feels funny. He re-did bonding on two of my front teeth and while one looks good, the other (now that I've looked at it more closely) is not acceptable at all. hey are also rough and feel like he didn't smooth them at all. And last, without telling me what he was doing, he either sanded down or shaved off the enamel on one of my canine teeth to improve the appearance (I assume). There was nothing wrong with the tooth and I did not ask him to do it. I don't know if it was an accident or what but I'm really upset about it. The tooth now has a wierd edge going across it horizontally and is extremely sensitive to heat/cold. I thought it might feel better today and it's just as bad as yesterday. I am going to have to go to another dentist just to have all of this work corrected. Dr. Liu seemed obviously rushed and now I'm realizing I made a huge mistake going to him.

02/20/2008 Posted by gvgseg

I've gone to Gentle Dental for 3 appointments so far. I agree with what most people are saying. Dr. Liu himself is very friendly, took the time to answer a couple of my questions and greets me everytime i've come in. The receptionist is definitely far from friendly and condescending but that seems to be the case of many customer service people in Philadelphia. My one other semi-complaint with this office is that the hygienist is done with the cleaning so quickly (often within 15 minutes) that I wonder about the quality of the work. And they don't give you a free toothbrush either!!

Pros: Dr. Liu

Cons: rude receptionist, questionable service, no free toothbrush

02/11/2008 Posted by emmakat13

I was also scheduled for unnecessary dental work. I was told that all my teeth needed fillings, but I got a bad vibe so decided to get a second opinion. A number of the fillings recommended were unnecessary.

01/09/2008 Posted by thesandman2

Dr Jay Liu is a great guy and very good at what he does (I'm in the medical field myself and you can get a sense of who is smoke and mirrors and who is actually clinically proficient). Went through two other dentists in the area before settling on him since moving to the area. Highly recommend him. His rates are right on par with others- unfortunately dentists are expensive though. No way getting around that. As far as the person below saying that Dr Liu claimed there were 6 cavities when there were not? Get real man, that story could not be any more bogus. There is a hygienist right there next to him while he is examining you. I might fathom a dishonest dentist trying to rip you off for one cavity and getting that by the hygienist without her realizing it, but 6. How can this guy still be in business if he was that greedy/crooked? And are you saying that all his hygienists are in on this scam, because he has more than one. I can however echo the comments others have made about him have really friendly/pleasant staff except for his receptionist. Don't think she is trying to be obnoxious, but she definitely has a miserable personality (sort of that gruff blunt personality you seem to see a lot of Philly). Doesn't bother me since I don't have much contact with her.

10/28/2007 Posted by unknown13

Went to Gentle Dental for the first time and I was told by Dr Jay Liu that I had 6 cavities! I rarely have had cavities my entire life so I obviously thought something was terribly wrong. I was also told that I had gingivitis. It turns out this is a common practice by offices that don't get highly compensated by lower paying insurance companies. If they say you have gingivitis then they can bill more for a cleaning under a different code rather than a regular cleaning. I immediately got up out of the chair and called the office I had been going to for years (they are out of network but I didnt care and thought it was worth paying out of pocket at that point)...I got to see my regular dentist that afternoon and it turned out I had no cavities!! If I can save anyone from unnecessary dental work then I would feel vindicated. This office seems to take advantage of people just to bill more...its all about the dollar bill. Its extremely discouraging especially when you see his University of Penn plaque on the wall...That means absolutely nothing without integrity.

Cons: cannot be trusted

08/15/2007 Posted by all2him1

Dr. Jay was really nice, and did an okay job on my root canal. The staff in the back (assistants and nurses were kind), but the receptionist when I called to make an appt. was terrible. She asked me questions that didn't even concern making an appointment. I just want to make an appointment! Don't tell me I should've made an appointment 2 months ago. Anyway, I'm taking my money elsewhere.

Pros: Nice office

05/23/2007 Posted by jjphilly

I had a bridge replaced and a root canal done here. Both had to be redone elsewhere. I actually like Dr. Jay. He's a good guy to talk to but he's a poor manager of his staff and time and he will inject you with novocaine, go do four other procedures and then come back and screw up a root canal taking only 10 minutes to do it. This office is probably fine for cleanings and basic checkups but don't let them come near you with a drill.

Pros: Somewhat well mannered doctor

Cons: Nasty staff and everything is rushed no matter how much pain you're in