You and your wife have teeth alive, now haven't you?
January 23, 2012 4:51 PM   Subscribe

Refreshing an old question: dentists in Los Angeles (specifically West L.A./Santa Monica).

Hey all. Anthem HMO customer here, looking for a dentist west of the 405. I'm in for some pretty serious work, unfortunately, so give me your very best. Thanks!
posted by mykescipark to Health & Fitness (10 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Hubby and I are both super-scared about dentists, and we also have terrible teeth, and we ADORE Dr. Cynthia Cheung. Don't know if she takes your insurance, though.
posted by BlahLaLa at 5:08 PM on January 23, 2012


Aforementioned dental office is also my dentist(Dr. Joyce, though) and they are SO GOOD. I picked them off Yelp, and it worked fantastically. I too am anxiety ridden at the dentist, and have terrible teeth.

They are a bit pricey!
posted by sawdustbear at 5:13 PM on January 23, 2012


My vote is for Dr Marc Chemla who has his office on Sunset at the border of West Hollywood and Beverly Hills. Fantastic dentist, and nice guy, who can do super fancy stuff if you want it, but is honest and listens and doesn't upsell. Expensive without good insurance, but I would gladly save up to have him do my dental care. I'm going to miss him when we move and I can't believe I'm saying that about a dentist.
posted by crabintheocean at 5:26 PM on January 23, 2012


I had great luck with Lisa Kederian's office over the last few years - they do really good work, they're friendly and the office is remarkably pleasant. I chose the office because it was convenient from my apt, but I don't think I've ever seen a business rated higher on Yelp (currently at 4.95 w/40 reviews).

I had different insurance (Golden West HMO) though I think they accepted quite a few plans.
posted by ethand at 7:05 PM on January 23, 2012


I know you asked for a dentist west of 405, but I recommend Dr. Philip Yoo in Koreatown. I priced Dr. Willis in Santa Monica for a filling ($745) and Dr. Yoo was ($180). Kind, fast, efficient, communicative. Worth the drive. I found him on Yelp.
posted by effluvia at 7:16 PM on January 23, 2012


I go to Dr Figoten at 18th and Ocean Park (so well west of the 405). His Yelp reviews are very accurate: he and his partner Dr Chan are excellent but their support staff are pretty touch-and-go. At one point I got a huge bill from them and when I called to ask, you know, what it was for, the billing lady said she just sends out bills when she hasn't gotten reimbursed by insurance yet, and then patients call to ask what happened, and that's how she knows to bother the insurance company about reimbursement. I mean, it makes a twisted sort of sense? But was annoying from my perspective since I kind of plotzed when I got this huge invoice I wasn't expecting.

One thing that is way more awesome than it sounds is that they have this crazy apparatus where you put on a headset and you can watch a movie while they're working on your teeth. I know it sounds like an entirely unnecessary thing, but OMG, it makes dental work go by so much faster. I had to get some pretty involved fillings on my back molars and I can't imagine lying there with nothing to do but think about the fact that these dudes were drilling into my teeth for over an hour.
posted by troublesome at 8:24 PM on January 23, 2012


I was also coming in to say Cynthia Cheung!
posted by synchronia at 11:27 PM on January 23, 2012


Dr. John Adomian in Santa Monica is a standup professional with a great dedicated staff. He doesn't try to sell anything, is a quick and straightforward diagnoser and treats you like an adult despite whatever condition your teeth may be in. I got a few cavities filled when I was still covered, and the resin they used made them virtually indistinguishable. He also recommended a very good oral surgeon when I needed my wisdom teeth removed surgically and fitted me with my night guard. If he is in your plan I highly recommend him (and outside of your plan as well, if that's an option for you). His office is on Montana near Lincoln.
posted by therewolf at 1:12 AM on January 24, 2012


Dr Montgomery in Playa del Rey.
posted by Rash at 9:16 AM on January 24, 2012


Response by poster: Checking back in, y'all. My dental plan sucks beyond all suck, and none of your recommendations were covered under it, so I had to settle for the best-Yelped option under my provider. Yosi Payam Behroozan, DDS, is the guy, and I actually love him. He's young but knows his shit and talks to me on the level. He lets me know what the absolute necessities are, and doesn't encourage me to go beyond them unless there's x specific thing I'm trying to achieve ... in which case his response is conservatively tailored to that particular goal. I never thought I'd find such an awesome dentist under such crap restrictions, but yay me.
posted by mykescipark at 11:15 PM on August 26, 2012


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