Kum S Hong, DDS

Dr Hong saved my teeth and had me smiling again. He takes great care of my family and his staff is the best. For your dental health needs see Dr Hong and staff

I have been coming here with my parents since I was 4. I am now 21 and still love this place. They always treat me with care and work well with my insurance. Always very gentle and try their best to give all the services they can.

As a patient of Dr Hong’s for over 20 years I award him with the best full service dentist in San Diego award! Dr Hong has treated myself all my children since they were born, my wife as well as my parents and most of our relatives. Dr Hong’s staff has always been courteous and professional. Dr Hong has done everything from regular cleaning and deep cleaning to root canals as well as wisdom teeth removals, bridges and implants. He is an extremely talented dentist/​oral surgeon and caring doctor. Congratulations Dr Hong on this awesome award and keep up the good work!

For some reason my review keeps on getting taken down. We were referred to this office by 1800-​DENTIST and when we arrived they did not tell us that they are not a PPO insurance and where out of network. I have full dental coverage but since they failed to inform is that it was not a PPO insurance we were forced to pay the whole bill. The receptionist is not friendly at all either, they will do whatever it takes to maximize profit, and by this I mean they gave us porcelain fillings instead of silver ones, which they never told us they were doing this procedure, as I know that my insurance does not cover cosmetic, then they filled the wrong tooth, and to top it off, they charged us an emergency fee when i had an appointment. A few weeks later we got another bill saying we had to pay more than what we originally did. Please do not go here and if you must, read every single paper they give you and be really clear in what you want. This office is not friendly at all when you’re trying to figure out what exactly it is that you’re paying for. They will do whatever it takes to maximise profit, be careful or else your going to end up getting ripped off like us.

I was referred to Dr. Hong’s dental office by 1−800-Dentist being my insurance is in-​network with his office. My first visit I came in with severe pain and come to find out I had a wisdom tooth that was infected. OUCH! The office gave me a run down of the pricing/​fees, covered mostly by my insurance and I paid a VERY SMALL Fee. I had my tooth pulled the SAME DAY. Dr. Hung and his staff were great and efficient. He took his time and I felt like valued patient. I would recommend this office to anyone. They are affordable even without insurance.

I went to Kum Hong’s dental office for the first time in 2013. I was referred to him by 1−800-DENTIST. Even though the 1−800-DENTIST operator asked me who my insurance carrier is, he referred me to Dr. Hong who, as I found out a bit later, is an out-​of-​network dentist for some reason. Therefore only 50% of the bill is covered, not 80% like an in-​network office.
The office is not in a multi-​floor office building but in what looks like a traditional-​looking house from the front. The receptionist/​office manager keeps the front door locked for some reason. I had to walk to the back where the parking lot is to get in. If you want to get in the front, you have to keep knocking.
When Dr. Hong’s receptionist at the front counter (an older woman) took my insurance card and information, she never mentioned that my insurance was out-​of-​network so I still had no idea. I would have appreciated knowing that ahead of time before filling out all the new patient paperwork. She needs to do a better job of informing new patients about this matter.
After the consultation/​exam, the office manager (Norma) did go over what percentage would be covered in writing while I was still in the dental chair. When I saw 50%, that’s when I realized I was in a out-​of-​network office. BIG PROBLEM LATER DISCOVERED: The office didn’t request a written «predetermination» from the insurance company before going ahead with the crown! Nonetheless, I agreed to go ahead and have the dental work done anyway because Dr. Hong seemed like he knew what he was talking about. He did a good job of explaining what needed to be done and the best type of procedure for my dental issue in his opinion.
The problem is the insurance came back deeming the crown as unnecessary. THAT MEANT $ 1250 OUT OF POCKET FOR A CROWN! They thought a filling would be good enough because not enough tooth structure was had been lost according to the xrays. SAME THING happened again a year later. A crown was recommended for yet another tooth but insurance came back and said their examination of xrays showed it to be unnecessary. Not enough tooth structure lost! I’m not sure who is right, the dentist or the insurance company’s evaluator. MORAL OF THE STORY: ALWAYS WAIT AND MAKE SURE THE DENTIST GETS AN INSURANCE PREDETERMINATION TO SEE IF THE PROCEDURE IS COVERED!
In any event, I was told I could get the work started the same day while I was still in the office. I got a temporary crown and came back a few weeks later for the real one. The crown was successful. The work was good and I’ve had no issues with nerve pain or any other complications. However, I might seek an in-​network dentist in the event of future expensive procedures.

My husband and I have been going to Dr. Hong for a few years now, and I feel completely comfortable with his office. The front desk staff is very nice and personable, and are good about communicating with you what portion you would pay up front if you have to have any work done, and getting approvals from our insurance company. Both my husband and I have had many things done here, from regular cleanings, to wisdom teeth extraction, to root canal, to cavity fills, and the experience with that has been pleasant. Well, as pleasant as having dental work could possibly be. The only reason I take one star off is because I wish they were more flexible on their business hours, being regular working shmo’s who have a Monday through Friday job where we don’t get off work until after 4:30pm, it becomes challenging to try and schedule appointments, I wish they at least openened a few hours on Saturday, or that they had later hours during the weekdays. Other than that, I would totally recommend Dr. Hong!

Watch out, guys, I am not sure if they do a good jobs on teeth or not, all they do for my mom were to pull out her two teeth without getting her full permission.
And the worst thing is that they told that is what you own in front, and you paid, but they might send you another huge bill again and threaten to send you to collection!
My mom were told to mandatory to pay her coinsurance upfront first, back home she get another double of the amount of what she paid in front, My poor old mom is not working, lots of hospital bills I am paying for her. Many hospital bills agree to work with us, but this office, Norma, She said, NOPE, NOPE, NOPE, we will send that to Collection if you are not paying this amount!
What a Attitude.
Thank god, That is not our families Dentist!!!

I recently had alot of work done here deep cleaning, extractions and cavity fillings to prepare for braces all done in one day (UGH) Very kind and friendly staff. Made me feel as comfortable as possible and were very through and talked me thru every procedure. I even got a follow up call from the dentist a few hours later to see how I was feeling and if I had any questions that I might have forgotten to ask prior to leaving the office. Where else can you go that the dentist actually takes the time to check on their patients post procedure. A dentist and staff that genuinely care about there patients. Gentle, affordable, knowledgeable and 20+ years in the industry. he does everything from basic to ortho. cosmetic to implants. I think I have found my dentist for life.