Upper West Side Dental

I love Dr. Shirley and his team. So nice and obviously doing good work for their patients.

Great. Receptionist is the nicest I’ve met. You can see the doctor going through your X-​Ray scan. Super nice. Hadn’t been to a dentist in 5 years so I was really scared.
Go here. It’s nice and easy.

I completely agree with the other positive reviews regarding UWS Dental. I hate going to the Dentist because I’ve had very bad experiences in the past. But my first appointment with Dr. Shirley was probably one of the best dental exams and cleanings I’ve ever had. Dr. Shirley and his Office Manager went out of their way to make sure I was comfortable throughout my visit. 24 hours after my cleaning I feel no pain or soreness in my gums, and my teeth look great! I would highly recommend UWS Dental.

I would highly recommend Upper West Side Dental and Dr. Shirley! I found his office through Zoc Doc, and decided to give it a try as it was walking distance from my house. I have been seeing Dr. Shirley for the past two years, and can’t say enough positive things about each of my experiences. It is incredibly easy to book an appointment, and the late office hours are really convenient for after work visits. The facility is incredibly clean, and Ana always greets you with a smile. Most medical staff in offices in NYC are incredibly unfriendly, unprofessional, and make you wait — UWS Dental is everything an office visit should be, completely night and day to other experiences I’ve had in the city. There is even the option to watch Hulu during your appointment. Dr. Shirley is very professional, takes the time to explain what he is doing, and answers any questions you might have. I’m so happy I found this office, and I will continue to be a loyal patient!

After some horrifying experiences at other Harlem area dentists, I was extremely happy to have found UWS dental. Dr. Shirley is incredibly personable and attentive and staff are extremely professional. And the office is CLEAN! not only clean, but state of the art. You can listen to a pandora station or watch a Hulu show of your choice during your visit. Highly, highly recommended.

I have no words to describe the relief I feel at having found a professional, clean, effective, kind, and patient dental practice after years of PTSD-​inducing providers. I just had my second-​ever filling. It was painless. And now I am pain-​free. The Shirleys are fabulous. My teeth, my husband’s teeth, and my daughter’s teeth thank them.

I googled this office … and initially was looking forward checking out a dental office near my neighborhood and also who takes my insurance.
My first ‘problem’ with them was … they never answer the phone and only have you sign up for a ‘possible’ appt. per the website. I would have rather called and spoken to the receptionist about the insurance situation first, in stead of writing, then being called back quickly to be then told to write back again with my insurance info in order for her to give me an appointment.
After writing back with my insurance info, I did get an answer pretty quickly (in writing), but the tone of the receptionist’s email, after I asked if my insurance was accepted, was rather derogatory: «As I had already stated to you in our previous phone conversation, we do take your insurance …» (first of all that conversation was very unclear, since she asked me to send an email back with my insurance information in order for her to find out if they take it or not… very confusing, therefore I was not sure if they took it or not). then she wrote in another email, after I expressed my confusion about how it all works and that I did not understand what she was trying to explain to me in writing: «You have a government insurance, this is how it works … if you have any other questions about your insurance, get in touch with them» … so I wrote back again explaining that it was my first month with this new insurance and I had no experience with it yet and that I felt she was being extremely impatient with me.
After that she wrote back again, saying that I am misunderstanding her and that if I have any questions I should call her (they never answer!!!). Then I got another message on my phone, this time from the dentist himself. It was Dr. S. saying that my appointment was cancelled for certain reasons… and if I’d like to know why, I should call him to find out the reason. Wow! So, in other words, he kicked me out, before I even met him or went to his praxis… he denied my appointment because of the bad email communication wich occurred with his receptionist, who definitely treated me like I was less, since I now had a government insurance. It was just weird say the least and I have to say that in all my years of going to a dentist or any doctor have I ever received or experienced such ‘rude’ treatment. Mind boggling. The dentist should’ve spoken to me first and ask why I felt not treated right. or what went wrong. But to call and leave a message that he denied my appointment is mind boggling. Is he even allowed to do this, legally?! Especially when taking on a potential ‘new’ client who is in the acting business… which tends to need plenty of teeth hygiene in order to look good on film or head shots. Just foolish!
Don’t go there people… they seem unprofessional ! Imagine what they’ll do to your teeth. Just stop working on them, if you don’t like their tone?! Incredible!

First of all, I am not required to respond to you. How dare you try to discredit me by saying I didn’t go to your office. I mentioned the school you went to and all the bells and whistles i.e. hulu & pandora. You know it was you. So that’s really pathetic and does not help your case. I wish you were this concerned when I was sitting in your chair.
I’m sorry you don’t like my original review but it was honest. And I tried to be fair by mentioning the positives. I am not one of those people who goes around writing bad reviews willy nilly. As a mater a fact this was my first poor review. I take this very seriously and I am absolutely positively sure it was YOUR office I visited. I am angered that you’ve put me in a position where I have to defend myself when you’re the one who gave me shi**y service.
I see you don’t try to defend the fact that you didn’t floss me or tell me to floss.
Whether or not you’re more interested in the bottom line that is how you made me feel! You were disinterested, and dismissive. You took a lot of x-​rays without bothering to have a conversation with your new patient. Your business manager/​wife gave me the results of said x-​rays. You gave me a 5 – 10 minute cleaning– the shortest cleaning I’ve ever had EVER. I find all these facts odd, unprofessional, disenchanting and worthy of a poor Unilocal review.
I’m not not the type of person to sit in the chair and question you or have an uncomfortable conversation about the lackluster job you’re doing on my teeth. I just leave and don’t come back, and maybe write a bad Unilocal review. That’s my prerogative. You can avoid this fate by doing a better job. You were NOT friendly and, as I said, you didn’t ask me any questions about my oral health/​history. Maybe if you had struck up any kind of conversation I might have asked about the x-​rays or asked you to floss me (should I really have to ask?!). You didn’t care to speak to me then and I don’t care to speak to you (or your wife) now.
Maybe you were having a bad day– It happens. I sincerely hope your other clients don’t have the same experience I did. However, this is my account of the service you gave me. If you don’t like my review I highly recommend you look to yourself and step your game up.
You treated me poorly and you can’t take it back. I didn’t call or respond to you or your wife’s numerous messages because there is nothing you can do for me (except stop trying to say I didn’t visit your office) because I will never EVER return.
Unilocal isn’t helping you because this is a forum for people who receive services. This is a community and you can’t strike down anyone and everyone who didn’t have a good time in your dentist chair. Good service providers get good reviews– its a pretty simple concept that you, unfortunately, don’t grasp.
One last thing, I waited months to write this review. What finally made me do it was my last dentist visit. The dentist was friendly and genuinely happy to have me as a client. She sat down and had a conversation with me before she did anything else. The cleaning took 45 minutes w/​o x-​rays because she scraped the plaque and tarter by hand and THEN went over it with that water tool you used. And for the grand finale, SHE FLOSSED ME. Having a wonderful dentist appointment just highlighted how shi**y you were and I felt compelled to finally write that review.
If you and your wife would please stop trying to contact me, discredit me, and «make this right» for me I would greatly appreciate it. I’ve moved on and I suggest you do the same. The time and effort you have spent on my review would be put to better use by paying more attention to the folks in your chair. Good day sir.

Wonderful wonderful. Everyone is so kind and professional. Dr. Shirley took a lot of time making sure I was comfortable and explained everything to me very carefully.

Clean, comfortable, modern office. Great communication, concern about patient comfort. Great for kids and adult alike. Extended hours for working folks. Best dentist we’ve found in New York City, and we’ve tried a bunch.

Wow! This place exceeded my expectations and more. I remember when they were building and I could not wait to make an appointment, I had about 8 cavities. Well, they are a great team and family owned. I needed so much done that other dentists told me it would be a huge process and take years. Dr. Shirley said all can be done within a year and a half. All equipment is new, they are very honest, and very sweet.