Minority-friendly dentist in Portland, OR?

August 28, 2012 9:21 AM

Is there a good, honest, minority-friendly (esp. Asian) dentist on the west side of Portland, OR?

I grew up in an extremely white town, and everywhere we went, we were treated a bit differently--some times more obvious than others. (I'm of East Asian descent and rarely ever saw any blacks, so I can't even imagine how they were treated.) Anyway, I had a couple particularly bad experiences with medical personnel where race was, to me, an obvious factor (treatment at the front desk compared to other patients, or during a dental cleaning while hearing staff talk to other patients).

I'm hoping that a dental office with minority staff or lead dentist will alleviate my fear of mistreatment at least in that regard. Or maybe an Asian minority living in Portland can vouch for some other dentistry office. And do any dental offices have transparent pricing? Seriously. I have no dental insurance specifically, and have no idea how much dental X-rays/fillings should cost...

posted by anonymous to Health & Fitness (6 answers total)

I can't speak to dentists in Portland but I've usually had good luck just telling the people at the desk that I'm paying out of pocket and asking what the costs will be. I'm sorry you even had to ask this :(
posted by brilliantine at 9:36 AM on August 28, 2012

I can't make a specific recommendation but you might want to start by just going to Yelp or the Yellow pages and looking for dentists with Asian names. There are loads! Even in the very white town where I grew up (like, one Asian family in my elementary school, EVERYONE ELSE was white), my dentist was Asian. My current dentist is an older white guy but before that I had a series of minority (East Asian, Middle Eastern, and Hispanic) dentists.

And although not many dentists will post the prices of treatments on their website or hand you a menu of services, the front office should absolutely be able to tell you how much things will cost. Very few people have dental insurance, and most dental insurance sucks anyway. Dentists are totally used to dealing with people who have no insurance, much more so than doctors. And it doesn't hurt to shop around; if one office quotes you a price that is too high, try someplace else. Just be aware that they have to make their money somewhere, and places that offer you low prices for the first appointment may try to pressure you later.
posted by mskyle at 9:58 AM on August 28, 2012

I use Shoun Ishikawa, an old Japanese dentist at 2350 SW Multnomah Blvd, 503-246-2111. I've been very happy with him & his office. (I don't have dental insurance either.)
posted by spacewrench at 10:22 AM on August 28, 2012

My dentist is Asian and his office is just off the Sunset Transit Center MAX stop in Beaverton. I can't really say enough good things about him. Awesome dentist, super friendly staff, they give you presents sometimes, text message reminders about your appointment. Highly recommended. And his name is Dr. Go.
posted by Lutoslawski at 10:39 AM on August 28, 2012

i am also of east asian descent, grew up in a white town, and now living in portland. i honestly have never had any of the experiences you are speaking about in portland. ever. that said, i have been to green apple dental and thoroughly enjoyed the experience (outside, you know, the actual dental stuff). they actually also have a couple of asian doctors, depending on which office you go to.
posted by violetk at 11:16 AM on August 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

I second paying out of pocket--most dental insurance pays such a small percentage of the costs as to be useless, I've found. And I've always gotten a discount for cash, from just about every medical service I've ever used.
posted by Ideefixe at 11:46 AM on August 28, 2012