Pacific Beach Dentist

Please dont come here.
I had the worst experience, the dentist isnt professional and super rude!

I wish I had checked the other reviews before I went. Although the place was affordable, the service was terrible. I paid for x-​rays and a teeth cleaning. I expected a thorough teeth cleaning, one that normally takes at least 30 mins. After 5 minutes they told me that was it! I asked to have them go over my x-​rays since I haven’t been to a dentist in 2 years and I have one filling. They told me it was not necessary and would not go over it with me. They then tried to schedule me again in 6 months? No thank you. Not only that but the rooms are creepy and the dental chair faces the wall. Overall I felt that the staff although nice was very unprofessional. Would not recommend and won’t be returning.

I wish there was a 0 star rating. WORST dental experience EVER. It was so bad that I don’t even want to take the time to type how ridiculous my two appointments were. Bottom line: I had nothing but x-​rays done and I was OUTTA there. He’s just looking to make as much money as possible whether your teeth need the services or not. Customer service is zero. Honestly, the dude’s a prick. I’d let me teeth rot before going here again.

Called to reschedule my appointment, I have a cold. So rude on the phone. I literally felt like I was being yelled at. Then I saw these reviews. No thanks

I had an infection in my upper jaw with the ache that it comes with. Went to this clinic to see a dentist. It seemed to me all they were after was my insurance. They didn’t ask me of my pain at all. All they wanted was my insurance. So they took a 5 minute painful ex ray and told me I needed surgery. When all I needed was my teeth pulled out. Than this dentist wanted to charge me out of pocket fees as well. I’m just wondering how much this dentist is gonna charge my insurance for a picture of my jaw that I could have done better. Gonna find out. They had no feelings about the reason why I was there in the first place. One star is even to much. Zaki Zakir.

So I went and had a checkup. 5 cavities. Went to a place five days later and they had spontaneously resolved! Also had a deep cleaning which involves pushing your gums back and guess what my teeth moved. As it turns out your gums hold your teeth in place. Years of braces ruined. Oh I was told that only grinding your teeth moves teeth. Seriously stay away.

One day was far too long to know this man. I went in for a cleaning/​check-​up. He looked at my teeth briefly and didn’t do a proper gum exam where they grade the mm depth of the pockets and record numbers. He insisted my gums were too bad that I needed to get a deep cleaning (scaling and root planning) and cleanings every 3 months, which would cost me a lot above my insurance. He refused to do a regular cleaning and put that off until the next visit or even fully explain the procedure to me. When I questioned him he got angry and stormed off. I have never had any cavities and have healthy teeth. I can’t believe a dentist can be this unprofessional. This man is a scam artist and crook. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME HERE. I was charged $ 5 just to be seen even though my insurance copay is 0. For this all I was given were some x-​rays and meeting the worst dentist in the world. I’m pretty sure if he hadn’t thought I was going to let him do the deep cleaning procedure I wouldn’t have even got the x-​rays. SCAM ARTIST and TERRIBLE PERSON.

Dr zarafat is a scam. My insurance covers cleaning but he charged me 75 dollars on top of it. If your struggling for 75 bucks. It tells me something. 18 dollars for fillings under blue shield. He quoted me at 140 for both. He’s a penny pincher and poor businessman. Oh and a 5 dollar charge for walking in the door. It’s pathetic to see someone cut corners and eke for dollars at a time. Don’t bother with him. Or his office. His dental tech was nice. Probably short changes her also.

If I could I would give him 0 stars! EXTREMELY unethical. I arrived with tooth pain I told him I couldn’t eat a thing. Not even yogurt. He told my I had a fracture and he will check how much it costs. I have Medi-​Cal so it should be free. He comes back and tells me the price for a «deep cleaning» is $ 160+, my fractured tooth is $ 300+, and something else that was around $ 200. I asked why? He said that my insurance covers a metal filling but he only uses white fillings. And that I needed a deep cleaning because of my gum infection but the insurance only covered a regular cleaning. He’s kidding right? Nope. He sent me on my way and told me to come back when I have the funds. Wow! What a dentist. How he still has a license to practice is beyond me. No REAL dentist would turn away a patient in pain. He is the epitome of money hungry and unethical. As long as he is still practicing stay away.

BEWARE,
The worst… despite having made my appt. and giving my ins info weeks prior they had no clue what my plan covered and wanted me to sign a form saying that I would pay whatever they charged that day. They informed me that they insist and charge for fluoride every time. no exceptions. I told them I would never agree to fluoride as it is in the drinking water already and is a poison. I will not entrust my health to anyone who will not honor my wishes as to what chemicals I put in my body. The dentist heard the exchange and signaled the receptionist to have me leave. They wanted to advise certain treatment before even seeing me!!, BEWARE of this business. plus the building smelled musty.UGH. The place appears to try to sell you services you do not need

I seriously just had the worst experience at the dentist. I had 3 cavities and the doctor took 20 minutes (he thought he was in a race), and he didn’t numb me before my shots so as he stuck the needle into both sides, he then began to shake my cheeks?!
Then during the procedure I closed my mouth and he basically yelled at me. He goes «I told you not to shut your mouth, now your making this more difficult!» WTF, I’m never going there again! And above all that, my head feels like it’s going to explode. Roughest Doctor by far.

Worst dental office experience EVER
Doctor didn’t even look at me and start trowing ridiculous number’s, saying your insurances tells him to charge that much
I came in for a free consultation, as it say on the flayer, and he charges me $ 128

Horrible!!! This dentist was rude to his hygenist, looked at my teeth for about 30 seconds and then told me I «needed» a preventative measure (not covered by insurance of course). Sleazy.

update… After visiting a new dentist, it was discovered that I got an infection down to my jawbone due to the dentist leaving the hole open. I was told it should’ve been closed within two weeks. He scheduled me to be seen 3 MONTHS after the root canal.
Thanks for the bone infection!

Just like everyone else, worst dental experience EVER.
This office was single handedly the creepiest and slimiest office I have ever walked into. It was completely empty. The only people on staff were the doctor and a receptionist. It was very eerie and quiet. Not a welcoming environment by any means.
I went in for a simple cleaning today. Dr. Z continuously STABBED my gums with his instrument and proceeded to tell me that I have gingivitis. This was after I had told him that I myself am in dental school. So I would obviously know if I had it. When someone has gingivitis, you barely poke them with a tooth brush or instrument and their teeth will bleed.
After spending literally 3 minutes «cleaning» my teeth. He used the suction to remove all the blood he had accumulated in my mouth and didn’t even rinse. When I got to my car I looked at my mouth and I literally had dried blood around EVERY tooth from him repeatedly stabbing my gums.
As I finished my appointment I went to the front desk and he told the receptionist the date I was coming back, for fillings, a deep cleaning and a polish… Without even talking to me about it. I never even agreed to making a second appointment and he just went ahead and decided for me when and why I would be coming back.
He then continued to tell me that he would give me a free rinse bottle for the «gingivitis» I apparently have. As soon as he walked away the girl tried to charge me for it!
Such a disgusting business. I would not recommend Dr. Z to anyone who actually cares about their teeth.

I just got a letter from my former insurance company asking me to respond to a claim made to my insurance after my policy had terminated. Apparently, Dream Smiles charged me for a cleaning AND a deep cleaning appointment that I never attended! I had made an appointment for December but did NOT go to it, as I now have a new job and a new dental insurance provider. But that didn’t stop them from charging me for care. I have a pending fraud claim against the company now and I could not be more upset.
My initial experience with the company was not so pleasant either. I had a terrible tooth ache and needed an emergency root canal and crown placement. Dr. Z became irritated with my questions about what my insurance would cover and actually raised his voice with me. He told me to go home until I understand how insurance works. The pain I was in led me to basically plead him to continue with the care. He did and I and was actually pretty satisfied with the way my crown looks, although I still have some questions about the amount of discomfort I still feel half a year later. I will obviously have his work looked at more closely by my new dentist.
I will be pursuing this fraud claim and ensuring it goes through. I can’t imagine the arrogance it takes to charge for care that was never provided.
If I could give 0 stars, I would.

I should have reviewed Unilocal before telling my insurance I would like to go with Dream Smile as my primary dentist, but then again they are right next to my house.
SO last week I go in to get a teeth cleaning and wire retention for the previous orthodontic work I had 7 years ago — well while discussing it, I was told that any orthodontic work wasn’t part of my DHMO plan quoting me way more than it should be — I gave Dr. Fray an opportunity by asking him if he was sure my plan didn’t cover it– he’s response yet again was no.
Luckily I had my paperwork and a previous dentist had told me the code that it fell under. Sure enough, one look and he said fine well go with that– I was covered. The cleaning didn’t happen as I would have liked, but I was told that it would get done the following week when I come back for the appliqué of the wire.
Today, I go in get my wire posed and their office has the audacity of trying to charge me yet again way more than what I owe on teeth cleaning. I gave them yet another opportunity to rectify what they said. I made it known that I had handed the dentist my paperwork to add to my file so this misquoting wouldn’t happen again with all the codes/​coverage. I advised the front office ladies that my plan covers it and at no cost, no copay — one of them begins to ruffle through my paperwork showing only the personal information that I had filled out– not once did she pull out the codes/​coverage sheets but instead she says «we know what your plan covers» and suddenly the price was dropped by $ 10.00 … HA DECLINE !!!
I WILL NEVER EVER GO BACK HERE, NOR WILL I RECOMMEND THEM TO ANYONE!
PS: Might I add that although their receptionist is very nice, she lacks the skills. It took her three phone calls and voice messages until she finally called me by the right name!

Extremely Unprofessional!!!
I visited this place once before and had an average experience. But since it is so difficult to find a decent dentist I thought I would give him another shot. For my second visit I was able to make my appointment on-​line, a great convenient feature. Plus the office offers 8 am appointments which is great to not miss too much work.
I received an email confirmation of my appointment the day before. The day of the appointment I show up at 7:55 and the door is locked with a closed sign on it. I figure they must be running a little late and will unlock it in a few minutes. At 8 am, his other 8 am appointment shows up and we knock on the door. No response. By 8:05 we try calling the office, it goes straight to voice mail. By 8:10 we try knocking again, holding our ears to the door to see if anyone is there, no response. By 8:15 we knock for the final time and then both leave.
I have never been stood up by a doctor/​dentist before. I can’t believe how unprofessional this office is. I wish I had read his reviews first because obviously this place isn’t known for their service.
Do yourself a favor and STAY AWAY.

I have finally be initiated into American adulthood: Dr. Z provided my first true experience with a sleazy practitioner.
He had barely even shaken my hand, before he was running into the other room to figure out how much my deep-​cleaning would cost. He also indicated i had multiple cavities (I have never even had one before in my life). He didn’t even clean my teeth, as he needed to put me on two rinses (one would cause staining) and have me come
back for a follow up. I looked up the cost of the rinses on my iphone before i was leaving. They tried to sell them for me for double what the cost.
I went to see another dentist recommended by a colleague the following week. I’m sure you can guess how this ended… No work needed to be done.

A clean place where you can get fast and painless service if the money is not an issue.
Know what your insurance covers. This place doesn’t work well with insurance company (e.g. they don’t bother to call your insurance) or they don’t offer you options that can save you money. They should know that MONEY is ALWAYS one of the concerns for their patients. On my first visit I was told I needed certain procedures including 6 fillings and a deep cleaning. I was told that the filling was originally $ 875 per tooth, but because of my HMO it was reduced to $ 187. Sounded good because I wasn’t fully aware of my coverage, and I thought they confirmed that with my insurance (later I called the insurance company and they said they were never called by this dentist). The filling procedure they do is D2651 (Inlay Composite) which may or may not be listed in your benefits. The deep cleaning is D4341 — your copay should be around $ 50 per quadrant, and D4381 — medication related to deep cleaning was $ 60 per quadrant. My benefits list Rasin-​based white filling which has the copay of $ 85 (the best filling in the benefits book). Just because the «Inlay Compsoite» was not listed specifically, I had to pay whatever the dentist charged — which was $ 187 per tooth. He does not offer any other «cheap» stuff that can cost you as low as $ 0 with your insurance. I am not rich, so I am simply switching to another dentist.
After canceling my second appointment, the doctor said he charged for D4381 in advance so he would refund me for that. He also offered some discount for the fillings, which is nice so I will give him that.
Oh, also, charging a patient while he is sitting on a dentist’s chair is kind of awkward. I don’t think that’s a common practice.