Bonita Family Dental

I have a terrible aversion to dentists so this review should be heavily weighted!
Pros:
Kind, gentle doctors
Authentic listeners
Hygenist (I forget the name but she was Chinese American) was as gentle and sympathetic as possible
Thorough
Receptionists are upbeat, positive, and very helpful
Cons:
None yet!
Keep up the great work, Bonita Family Dental!

I have been coming to this dental office for about 3 years now. I have not had any issues with any of the staff or the doctors. They have always treated me kindly and were always courteous.
I had the best treatment by two awesome doctors. The doctor that did my root canal, I’m sorry but his name escapes me at the moment, but he was a young Asian doctor. Fantastic. Dr. Cunningham was great too, the reason l remembered his name is because he used my travel company to book his families surfing trip to Puerto Rico.
They took their time in explaining what needed to be done and how they were going to do their work. I also had an awesome dental hygienist, she was wonderful. Not sure what her name is either we only met once, but would love to have her do clean my teeth again she was an attractive
African American nurse.
The two things I did not appreciate was them trying to bill me for a free service. I had to advise them several times that the service they offered me was free because it was my first time ever having floride done. The other was them deciding for me what type of crown and filling l should have without consulting me on it. I did not know l had a choice until l contacted my insurance company and the rep told me the quote seemed extremely high for the work that was to be done. Thats when she told me about the differences in material used. They picked the highest price material and didn’t tell me about it. That is not good business with me and l certainly will be discussing it with them when l go back in for my next cleaning. Its bad enough that you have to sit with the financial personal after each appointment lol l told them it was like buying a car! Then they sell you the highest price material. Shame shame, give your patients a choice. Let them choose.

Dr. Hedge did an amazing job with my implant! She is very skilled and does precise work. I was very nervous but she made me laugh and relax. I was in and out of there on time to pick up kids from school. The staff is very friendly and helpful. I’ve been a patient for a long time. They are great with kids as well. Don’t get me wrong… not my favorite thing to do but they always make it a pleasant experience. Thanks Dr. Hedge and staff!

I have been coming here for about four years. The only reason I have put up with their bad business is because 1) they are close and 2) they had this awesome dental hygienist call Yolanda who I loved. I would have left sooner had I not fell in love with her-​she was the best! However, she is gone now :(Booowho for me…
They are unprofessional in the sense that they value their time but not yours. I have waited there plenty of visits waaaay past my appointment time waiting to be seen. What are appointments for anyway?! Beware– if you don’t keep your appointment they will charge you for their time! Checking out is the worst!
Most of their hygienist and Dr. B stink! Don’t know what they are doing. The last hygienist got me so wet you think I was sitting in the spray section at Sea World.
Looking for a bio-​dentist now who can safely remove my amalgam fillings, as Dr. B clearly has no idea what she is talking about.

Don’t trust Bonita family dental. Dr. Hegde was trying to save a tooth that after her diagnosis, two other dentists took one x ray and one visual, both said it was cracked underneath and can’t be saved. When I saw the original x ray with dr hegde, I requested to just pull it. Oh no! What will you chew with? very sarcastic as well. Said I have periodontal disease, need deep cleaning, four quadrants. And another procedure after. I have always had perfect teeth. Have all my original teeth. The only cavity I have was done by Bonita dental. Now I wonder if it was even necessary!. Not going back to Bonita dental, I don’t trust them
They are out to take advantage of people and their money. Should’ve read the other bad reviews before I chose them. Only went there because they are close. Am more than willing to travel farther to a dentist I feel I can trust.

I came here because it’s the place that my daughter went to for her fillings and the place assigned to me from my insurance. I will have to say I’m a big baby when it comes to coming to the dentist even for a cleaning as I have had a bad experience as a kid. Dr Hegde is a very experienced dentist and very confident in herself when it comes to her profession she definitely knows what she is doing and knows she can do it well which is great. However!!! Yes I did put exclamation points because they are expensive!!! I’ll admit I have a lot of work to be done but during the phase of the appointment where we discuss finances and how to pay for the work Dr Hegde sat in with me and the finance lady (don’t know her title) to explain why it is I needed this and that and I totally get it… I do need it but I felt pressured and cornered to tell them right then and there how I am going to come up with that kind of money! She even said «is there someone you can call right now to help you out?» I wanted my paperwork with all the numbers and what I needed done and just walk out to think about it… That kind of money is not something you can just make a quick decision in 5 mins. I like her skills and knowledge as a dentist but I don’t think she has a good approach when it comes to giving people time to make a decision involving anything over $ 4,000 of work!!! Let’s just say I switched my dental office because of this and I felt as if she had a very «hungry profit» objective. I just wasn’t feeling that.

I got an implant done by Dr. Hedge today. It was wonderful as it did not hurt at all. Nothing, not even the anesthesia shots. It was so different than what I expected. It was faster and I was impressed when my doctor showed me the X-​Ray once he finished. I can’t wait to the process to continue and have my new tooth. Dr. Hedge is professional and has showed me that she really knows what she is doing.

If you are going to go to this dentist, do not see the owner Dr Hegday (that’s how you pronounce it no idea how to spell it)
I will start of by saying the only reason we go back here is because this is the only place near us our insurance accepts…
Here is the LIST of reasons to stay away from this Dr.
1. She refused to put a lead vest on my wife when she was 6 months pregnant and doing X-​rays. We contacted our Dr at UCSD and she was appalled at this.
2. Even though she knew my wife was 6 months pregnant she injected her «accidentally» with novacaine. We contacted our Dr at UCSD and she was appalled at this.
3. She replaced my wife’s crown, for 5 months now my wife’s mouth has been extremely painful, she had told the Dr this 3 times and all she did was sell her fluoride and special toothpaste. Today my wife saw another Dr there (who by the way is great) and after spraying her mouth with cold water she noticed that her nerve is completely exposed and this is why she has been in excruciating pain for the last 5 months! To top it off Dr Hegday completely chose the wrong color of crown pointed out by the Dr chosen today… Needless to say due to insurance we will continue to go here however will NEVER see Dr Hegday again.

I am very pleased with my experiences at Bonita Valley Dentistry, especially with Dr. Hedge. Thank you for your time and care!

Had to have a filling replaced this morning. I was in and out in 45 minutes! Dr Buenaventura did an amazing job— did not feel a thing! If you’re unhappy with your current dentist or shopping around for one, look no further. Bonita Family Dental is awesome!!!

This place is a rip off. The dentist told me that I had to have a crown replaced which was not true. And on top of that they somehow finagled the charges so that I had to pay out of pocket for what is supposed to be covered by my insurance.

Okay, I admit it, I’m a big wimp when it comes to visiting the dentist, but Dr. Hegde has always been so professional and pain free that I don’t mind it so much. I recently had some work done in her office that included a couple of crowns. They explained upfront what the treatment plan would be and the cost, which was very reasonable. They got me right in with little to no waiting for my appointments and the entire staff is courteous and professional.
So if you’re looking for a dentist you should give Dr. Hegde a try.

I had avoided going to the dentist for years due to a few bad (painful) experiences.
I cracked a molar and had no choice but to make an appointment. Dr. Hegde saw me right away and replaced the cracked molar with a crown. (No pain). She scheduled a plan to get my dental health back in order. My hygienist was great, as was Dr. Hegdes dental assistant. One month later, after the crown, root scaling/​planing, and fillings, I am a happy patient. I came here because I was covered under my Safeguard Insurance plan, and it was close to my home. I will return because of the skilled, friendly, and painless treatment.

I have a family of four that has been going to Bonita Family dental for the last 8 yrs. I have never had a bad experience there. Everything from the basics to more complicated procedures they have proven to be excellent in practice, courteous always, informative, and fair. They go the extra mile to make it right. I would say my family has had 20 – 30 visits/​procedures there. The office is always clean.
We’ve had all their hygenisists-​excellent, every one
Dr Hege, and Dr. B who are both wonderful, better than most and very acommodating

Bonita Family Dental is the ONLY place to go when seeing a Dentist. The front and back office staff are top notch When the treatment plan was explained to me it was clear and concise. Any questions I had were answered with confidence and clarity. The quality work of Dr. Hegde gave was outstanding and her professionalism was very appreciated. Anyone who complains about this office must be having a bad day because I have been going for years and had nothing but great customer service. I thank ALL of the staff at Bonita Family Dental for being wonderful, just like FAMILY!!!

On Jan 10^th 2011 I had an appointment with Dr. Hegday for one of my last Invisilign appointments. The purpose of my appointment was to get retainers made and schedule an appointment for Zoom or teeth whitening treatment as promised in my invisalign package. A few days before my appointment my wisdom teeth chipped and I called and told the receptionist that my tooth had chipped and she told me to just come in the day of my appointment and the doctor would look at it.
At my appt Dr. Sandhya Hegde asked me what the purpose of my appointment was. I told her that I came in for my retainer and whitening trays or Zoom and then I told her about the wisdom tooth I was having problems with. She took a quick peep at my tooth and then told one of the nurses to take an x-​ray. After Dr Hegday got the copy of the xray, she told me that I needed a root canal and explained that we could not get a retainer made until the wisdom tooth was taken care of. She never gave me the option of simply removing the tooth which is what I did after I consulted with two other doctors that told me I didnt even need the tooth and it would save me money. I ended up just getting the tooth removed by another doctor.
The next day I called Dr Hegdays office to schedule an appointment for my retainer and teeth whitening. The receptionist answered and said I needed to get the wisdom tooth taken care of, and I explained that I had by another doctor she then put me on hold. When she returned she told me she could not set up an appointment until I paid my balance of $ 117.00 on my account for the xray of my broken tooth. I told her that there must be a mistake because I was never informed that I would be charged for anything, there was no estimate or treatment plan and I didn’t sign anything. She said she would look into it and call me back. I never got a call back from her.
On Friday, 02/​11/​2011, I called the office again to get my retainers and I was transferred to the office manager Renee.
When Renee got on the phone, I explained the situation to her she started yelling and talking over me right away saying that I had said that my tooth hurt and I expect things for free (I have spent over 10k in that office in the last two years). I then asked her for an example of when I has ever expected anything for free. She then proceeded to tell me that I hadn’t spent more than a few hundred dollars in their office where in fact I had spent thousands. My Invisalign treatment alone was about $ 4300.00 not to mention all the dental work I had done in the year prior.
I asked her why the doctor didn’t inform me that this would be an extra cost and she said the doctor doesn’t know whether I have insurance or not and that it wasn’t her job. I told her the doctor should know because my chart is in front of her and it states whether I have insurance or not in my chart.
Renee then told me that I could come in and finish my treatment but I would not have an option of what retainer I would get to choose. I was given two options for retainers after my invisilgn treatment was over. Dr Hegday asked me multiple times to choose from a holly retainer which I wanted or the ones that look like the invisilign trays. Now all of a sudden everything changed shesaid if I wanted the wired option I would have to pay $ 550.00. I wanted to speak to the doctor herself. At that point she became very rude and irratated and didn’t want to hear me out. She would not put the doctor on the phone and said she was very busy and that she would talk to her about it after 5pm that day and I never heard back. I hired a lawyer and I sent them a letter stating (I never have done this before but I felt compelled after how I was treated) and then of course I the «office Manager» Dr. Hegdays husband called me back immediately. After and hour of going back and forth he told me that he would not do anything for me and that his office manager is right. He was super irrational. I asked to be reimbursed for the remained of my treatment and he flat out said no. So now, after 2 years of invisign I need to find a new place, pay agin for something I already paid for. I got on Unilocal to write this and I saw a review that I think got filtered with almost an identical situation. I hope nobody else gets cheated by this office and their staff.

What a wonderful experience! I recently visited Bonita family dental after years of not going to the dentist. The whole staff was very friendly and helpful. My dentist, Dr. Alina, made me feel very comfortable and was very professional. I have HMO dental insurance so I am very happy that I lucked out and found Bonita Family Dental.

My whole family goes to this dentist and they have pretty good service. The children have had positive experiences. The fact that my husband’s dentist is good looking helps get him to his annual visits. They are also organized and proactive about providing billing information up front to avoid any surprises.