Mission Dental Care

I want to start with a special thanks to Sandra and Isabel for making all my appointments and changes with my appointment because I have a busy schedule and I also drive from Scripps Ranch to Oceanside to get my work done by a great Doctor Lopez. Has tech Monica was great and very helpful with a lot of knowledge. All her info she gave me with my bleaching of my teeth was great. I know alot of people say we can drive south for better prices but the quality of workmanship and professionalism of the staff is priceless. Thank you for my great smile.

A big thanks to the entire staff, Frank… Karina… !!! Dr Lopez is very gental and I always feel like I’m in good hands. Juan is very caring… Always asking how you are and shaking hands with everyone. I appreciate the help I have gotten here. I am very satisfied with the work that has been done and more to come!!! I have recommended this place to my friends and family.

I have been coming here for 8 years already. Dr. Rios runs an amazing practice. It took me years to find a dentist office that didn’t try to rip me off. Staff is professional and facilities impeccable.

If I could give this place NO stars, I would. Being new-​ish to the area, and having left a wonderful dentist I loved up north, I hesitantly called
to get a referral to someone local. I am currently seven months pregnant and had recently lost a filling, which was in need of being replaced. Having a dental background myself, I was apprehensive to go to someone I was unfamiliar with, but trusted that the referral was sound. Boy, was I mistaken! When I spoke to the office yesterday to make the appointment, which was set for 12:45 today, it was explained to me that I would need to get an authorization from my OB to have an X-​ray taken. I immediately called my doctor upon hanging up with the dentist office and spoke directly to the office mgr, to get said authorization. She took all the info I gave her and faxed it to them while I was on the phone with her. Fine, great… fast forward to 12:35 the following day. I show up at Mission Dental ten minutes before my scheduled appointment time. I walk in, and stand there for a minute waiting to be greeted or at least told to «sign in», only to be ignored as if I were completely invisible. I sat down for a few minutes waiting for the receptionist to finish up what she was doing (intermittently helping another patient), once she was done I approached and asked if I needed to check in. All she said to me was «yea, sign in there», motioning to a clipboard on the counter. From that point on, I sat for another 30 minutes, watching patient after patient walk in and be courteously addressed as they arrived. The only difference was, they were all spanish speaking and I was not. I didn’t realize when I set this appointment that that was a requirement to be acknowledged in that office?!? So finally, the receptionist calls me up to take my payment, as I don’t have dental insurance. She takes my card and charges it $ 39.00 and has me sit back down. Several minutes later I was called back, then told that I’d have to wait a few more minutes for the X-​ray unit to be available. I excused myself to use the restroom during this time, only to walk in and find an unflushed toiled… blech! I head back to the room, where a few minutes later another person walks in and tells me that they had not received the authorization from my OB for treatment. Mind you, this was already a good 40 minutes into my initial check-​in time. I told her that I had sat on the phone with the office manager at my OB’s office the day before while she went over with me in detail what was being sent to them for authorization. She insisted they had not received anything from them. I then stated that it would have been nice if this had all been explained to me before they took my credit card and charged an office visit to it, knowing that I would be unable to receive treatment that day. She said they could call his office, but I explained to her that they were out for lunch until 1:30 and I had already been waiting around for quite a while and soon needed to be a work. She commented «40 minutes isn’t that long, and your appointment wasn’t until 1:00, right?», to which I replied that the appointment was set for 12:45 when I had called the day before. She then said that was to fill out paperwork, which no one ever bothered to explain to me. Again, I said I wish someone had just done me the courtesy of letting me know they didn’t have the proper paperwork needed to treat me before charging me… she abruptly retorted «its not our fault your doctor’s office didn’t take care of it». I then got up from the chair and told her I didn’t need that kind of attitude, and that I had worked in the dental field and this was not acceptable. I requested a refund to my card, which was given and I promptly left. This is without a doubt the most inefficient dentist office I’ve ever had the misfortune of encountering, either as a patient or an assistant. Very unprofessional and rude, on every level. So if you call
for a referral and they try to send you to this operation… RUN! Run as fast as you can.

Very happy with this office. They are always nice, Dr Lopez is great. I have had minimal encounters with the other dentist in the office but I hear she’s great too. They don’t try to up-​sell things you don’t need, very reasonable prices, and very responsive if you call for anything. This is the first dental office I have been to and had good experiences.

I had an infection in my tooth, and found Mission Dental through 1800Dental. What an amazing office. Not only was everyone super friendly, they totally worked with me to help me with the payment as I do not currently have insurance. Ultimately it was found that I needed to see the specialist, which cost a bit more. However, the office called them and was able to get the other office to write off the extra charges so it would not cost me anymore. Also included with my visit was the exam and xrays. Dr. Lopez is thorough and very personable. I definitely recommend his office. As someone who gets extreme anxiety about going to the dentist, I can honestly say I look forward to visiting their office again.

Love Dr Rios, great with kids!!! Great Staff

Hands down for Dr. Lopez and all the staff! I have never had an experience like this with any dentist visit in my life! I recommend you to go. They are professional and friendly. The dentist handles you with attention and care. The way dentist does his work is simply amazing like no other I have gone to which made my visit very positive. Thank you so much!!:)

My wife took our children to Dr. Sandra Rios, who provided good care for the kids. She identified a cyst, and we had our daughter’s tooth removed. Her service was routine, with no hiccups.
The problem was with the billing staff. Oceanside is a large military community that utilizes Tricare dental, so I expect local medical providers to be familiar with Tricare’s benefits and coverage. Unfortunately, Mission Dental Care falls short. The first time my children were seen, they billed my dental insurance for services that were not coverage, such as «hygiene instruction.» They charged $ 20 simply for telling my children to brush and floss. We called the office, who rescinded the charges.
The second time we visited, the office said we would have a small copay, which my wife paid at the front. However, weeks after receiving the treatment, Mission Dental called us and said they made a mistake in overestimating how much Tricare would cover, asking us to come in to pay $ 14. I am incensed that the office not only made the mistake, but had the audacity to ask us to waste our time and gas to come back and pay extra.
I am not saying not to use Mission Dental, but to be weary of their staff, especially for military families.

Dr. Lopez and his staff are great! I can’t say enough about how nice and most importantly pain free my dental care has been and I am a big chicken!!!