Nut Tree Smiles Dentistry and Orthodontics

I tried calling for an appointment because I chipped my tooth. While I am not in any pain, I cannot have a weekday appointment because of my daughter’s school situation. She comes into work with (before and after school) because she goes to school in the city where I work, not where I live. They only allow treatments to be scheduled on the weekends. They will not schedule an appointment with a treatment if you have not been seen there before. Awesome. I love making more than one trip to the dentist for the same issue. Let’s not factor in my fear of dentists, because that’s only extra stress on the patient. Who cares about that, right? Then I’m told, I can select any facility, I don’t have to stay with them. Nice way to tell a new patient to «go away». I chose this facility because I don’t do dental clinics; only private practice. Why should I pay triple the insurance for the same service. Perhaps if they were patient oriented, accommodating people, based on their work schedule, wouldn’t be such a foreign concept to this company. First experience? FAIL!
UPDATE: I had to call back because they received a copy of this review and read I would be seeking dental assistance elsewhere (which it didn’t state). The supervisor I spoke with didn’t seem to care I was upset because her staff failed to return the call they said they would. The supervisor is contacting my insurance agency to complete a «good fit». Basically, she doesn’t think I should be seen there; and said as much. The weekend appointments are few and far between. Yeah! I can be seen at the end April for my chipped tooth because the one Saturday morning in March that was available; I’m not. Again, having a dental phobia, you’d think they could be a bit more accommodating and try to put a new patient at ease instead of basically telling them they would work with their insurance not to see them.
I took their advice and as of March 1^st, selected a new provider. Consider this my CANCELLATION OF MY APRIL APPOINTMENT! They better delete all my information as well. After such a poor experience, I cannot recommend this practice to clean my dog’s teeth. Perhaps the dentists are better than their front office staff, but I highly doubt it!

This place is still a joke and seriously needs more dentist, or to stop taking in new clients!!! New patients DO NOT FALL FOR THIS PLACE. yes it’s a nice new facility, friendly staff and they do decent work, that is when they can fit you in. I told them my pain level was a 10 and I couldn’t eat or drink, and they still told me they couldn’t see me for 3 weeks!!! Are you serious? And the way my dental insurance is set up I can only see them uless I switch offices. oh yeah And even in 3 weeks they can’t guarantee they have time to fix it, just look at it. At this point I’m done with this place! You’ve been warned!

I called in to become a new patient, I asked the reception if they are accepting new patients and she was like absolutely!!! I was like great and I would like to make an appt. Lady at the reception was like when would you like to come in, like she will make the appt, I was like what is your next available n she goes the dentist make their own appts. So she couldn’t make the appointment. It seemed like she didn’t know that. Anyway that was on monday and she told me she will have someone call me and here I am waiting on a Thursday nite. Nobody has called me. Bad customer service.

Very nice dentist office! I went in to have all 4 wisdom teeth removed. As a very nervous patient the staff and oral surgeon made me feel very comfortable. I went in for my appointment at 9:30 and was literally done by 10:15! I went under general anesthesia so I was out for the surgery but the surgery took literally like 15 min my mom said. Recovery time for me was like a day I have no pain at all and I’m almost back to normal and it hasn’t even been a week! Maybe it’s just me lol I don’t know. Overall my experience with this office is 5 stars the staff is friendly and the office is nice and clean with modern dentistry equipment!

Wow! I guess I’ll pass on this dental office. Business owners need to be held accountable and not take advantage of people. Take note that Good Customer Service goes a long way! Lastly, don’t rippppp people off! Karma’s a Beast!

This place is one of the best dental offices I have been to. The staff is very friendly and accommodating. They were able to see me right away when I needed emergent dental work.

Went in for a teeth cleaning last week and I have to say it was the most pleasant one I’ve had in years. Everyone was really nice and accommodating! And they were really nice about working with my schedule. Glad to find a nice dental place!

Nothing to complain about. Just had my two bottom wisdom teeth pulled. Everything went smoothly. Going back for a gum procedure. Like everything medically related, insurance helps.

If you enjoy making an appointment, and then be hounded with confirmation calls (that also threaten you to cancel if you dont call back to confirm), waiting every time well past your 6,000^th time confirmed appointment by at least 30 minutes, having hygentists who are «practicing» on your mouth or feeling like you’ve just visited the DMV when conversing with the reception staff… this is your place!
Reasons to go: You have nothing but time to kill and like waiting on them. You make appointments but have no intention of keeping them, so you need them to call you incessantly to make sure you meant to make the appointment and werent experiencing a blackout when you made the appointment to begin with. You enjoy the dental experience so much, you dont mind if someone practices on you, because «they’re new at this».

Let’s face it negative reviews affect us even among a sea of positive reviews. So the handful of negatives had me apprehensive. I finally made my initial appointment and had to reschedule due to a power outage they were going to charge me a $ 25 no show fee. Then I had to reschedule again this time because of work and apparently their answering service didn’t relay my message. Luckily my phone had a record call app and I went by to prove that I called. So I FINALLY made my appointment yesterday and I was very pleased with every aspect from the office staff, to the dental assistants, and the dentists. My only displeasure was losing 2 hours of my day for the visit. So the «no show» fee and the 2 hours is why I give 4 stars instead of 5.

I signed up for the $ 59 special for new patients. There’s some good and bad with this place so I gave them 3 stars
Good: Total visit with x-​rays, dentist consult, cleaning and additional fluoride gel was $ 84. They were also on time with the appointment and we’re able to give me a quote for other procedures I might consider having done. Staff was friendly. The actual dentist called me back and introduced me to her assistant. They also have a dental plan for a little over $ 100 that includes 2 x-​rays and exam for the year with discounts on other services.
Bad: I had to book about 2 months out for a cleaning. They sent a reminder email a month before which didn’t make sense to me. They called to remind me the week of. 3 calls within 1.5 hours. The last call stated that they would cancel if I did not confirm. I was working and could not pick up the phone therefore it seemed a little rude. I’m sure 1 – 2 calls 3 – 4 hours apart would have sufficed. MY APPOINTMENT TOOK 2 HOURS FROM THE TIME THE DR. BROUGHT ME BACK. THIS INCLUDED X-​RAYS A CONSULT AND A CLEANING. I THINK THE TIMING AND NOT KNOWING HOW LONG IT WOULD TAKE WAS THE BIGGEST DOWNFALL.

Ed Lew
08 14 2015
This place is your Night Mare,
Worst Dental Person, Usha Mantena,
I have had the worst dental advice and work done with Usha Mantena,. I really believe she needs to go back to school somewhere. her decision are really not in your interest and I found after about 1 year 6 months. was very bad bad. I paid here also $ 3700.
I went to another Dental Place and had all the work redone and d the work was completed in approximately 3 months and feeling looking so good now. I paid $ 3700. here also.
I would say stay away they seem to keep you coming back for there in experience to figure things out.

I had a great experience at this office. The office is clean. The staff is friendly & efficient. I was there for my initial visit & cleaning. The hygienist & dentist were very gentle.

Nut tree smiles has completely lost my business.
1. the doctors do not tell you anything and wait until 5 minutes before you have a wisdom tooth extraction to tell you the risks involved. If i didn’t call, they would have never told me that they wanted me to go under general anesthesia.
2. no one tells you (untill they cant stand your bitching anymore) that for a wisdom tooth extraction general is optional, and you have the option of doing local. If you want local they refer you to «vacaville oral surgery» because nut tree smiles wont do it under local.
3. doctors give you conflicting information, Dr. Mantena told me that I wouldn’t be going under general and that i would be in my «happy place». and that i would not be knocked out.
4. If you need a wisdom tooth extraction, nut tree smiles will not offer you a consultation to have the doctor who will be doing the procedure, tell you about the risks and benefits and go over your medical history with you. all they do is schedule you for the surgery and tell you to not eat before.
5. also! a surgeons assistant told me that because my tooth was so far in my bone that the risk of the tooth hitting a nurve was high (the docor who will be doing the surgery) told me that because my tooth wasnt developed as much, that the risk was low
6. to get all 4 wisdom teeth taken out it was supposed to be 1,000+ dollars (for general anesthesia)
what do i like about the place– the facility is new, clean, and pretty.
if you like feeling like a product on a conveyor belt, not being told about anything, than this is the place for you

I visited this Dental Office for the first time yesterday and was very pleased by my service. The staff I interacted with were all very professional and cordial. The front office person is very attentive and responsive to patient needs and is quick at answering questions. The Dental Assistant who assisted me (Julissa) really knows what she’s doing and is gentle while taking x-​rays. The dentist (Amy Yonemitsu) was very friendly and she quickly completed a basic cavity/​filling in under 20 minutes with no anesthesia (at my request) and I felt no pain.
The office was kept clean, well organized and I did not wait long for assistance.
Overall, I feel like I’ve found my new permanent dental office and I’ll happily visit again in 6 months for my next appointment.

Everyone at this office is very nice and very accommodating. I was able to get my teeth cleaned on a Saturday which worked great for my busy schedule. They’re open late hours too which is very progressive for a dental office. They also know the ins and outs of my insurance so it was easy to take advantage of my benefits. The office is very high tech from front to back which made me feel like I was getting the best care possible.
The cleaning I received from Nicole was the best I’ve ever had. She was gentle and calming and extremely thorough! She let me know what she was going to do and went over all the areas of my mouth several times using different cleaning techniques. Very impressed!

I have been going to NTS for a little over a year now and in the beginning it was good but now I surely looking to take my business elsewhere! The professionalism in this office stinks! I had 2 situations. The 1^st was when my 5 year old hit her mouth and lost her tooth but complained of being in pain. I was told we will send a message to her dentist and call you back. They did not call me back in fact I had to call them back and it was 2 weeks later before she was seen and that was AFTER I became persistent. Now I had a root canal and my temporary came out a week later. I called on a Monday to get advice and got the same line «we will send a message to you doctor and call you back» the next time I heard from them was that Wednesday when I called them! Who does that? Even if the doctor said tell her boo boo, at least call me back.

Let me tell you about my miserable experience and you can make up your own mind. I am new to the area and wasn’t established with a dentist. My son recommended Nut Tree Smiles. I woke up with a toothache and called NTS for an appointment to have a tooth extracted. It had given me trouble for years so I decided I definitely would have it pulled rather than to keep pouring more and more money into repairing it. NTS said they could not fit me in for two weeks. The days of fitting you in for an emergency are over I guess. I kept my appointment two weeks later. There was a large poster in front of the door stating new patients could have their xrays and cleaning for a special price of $ 59 so I asked for that. I was told I could not have that because I was an emergency case. I asked if waiting two weeks for an appointment was their definition of an emergency and they said yes. I would have to pay the ER price of $ 95. I should have turned around and walked out right then but I was desperate by this time.
When the dentist finally examined my tooth she said she would like to try and save it. I told her that I had already made up my mind to have it pulled and that’s what I was there to do. I explained I was living on a very slim retirement income and could not afford to risk trying to save it yet again and have it continue to fail because the tooth was severely cracked and a large chunk of it was missing. It was a rear molar which would not affect my appearance in any way. She said she would give me a price to repair it anyway, so I would have options even though I didn’t want options. She walked out and I never saw her again once she left the room. Another gal came in with the written quote which I still have. The total would be $ 3115 for a root canal and a crown. There would be an additional $ 400 charge if my tooth was calcified. I nearly choked. Even if I had the money I wouldn’t pay that much for a root canal and a crown. The last one I had done was $ 1250 two years ago. So I told the gal NO. Just get someone in here to pull this tooth today. She said, «We don’t pull teeth here. You will have to go to a dental surgeon for that. We can refer you to one and the charge will be $ 590. »
I couldn’t believe my ears. When I called to make my appointment with NTS I clearly stated that I wanted to have my tooth pulled. I was not told to call a dental surgeon. I was led to believe that they did do extractions because they didn’t say otherwise, which was why I kept the appointment. Now I was out $ 95 for this consult which I didn’t want or need and I still had to go somewhere else to have my tooth pulled. The gal who gave me the quote also gave me the name of their referral which I quickly tossed into the garbage because $ 590 for an extraction was beyond ridiculous. It was gouging just like the price for their root canal and cap. The quote was $ 200 for a consult, $ 95 for a limited examination and $ 290 to pull the tooth which comes to a total of $ 590.
Thankfully a friend recommended a surgeon she went to in Antioch so I made an appointment and he saw me within a couple of days. He was a delightful person with a great chairside manner and good credentials. He and his staff didn’t PLAY me like I felt the NTS staff had. He was straight forward with his assessment which was that the tooth was probably not savable due to the severe linear cracks into the gum line. He pulled it and charged me $ 220. It was such a pleasure to do business with a dentist who was ethical, fair and compassionate. I knew I would recommend him to anyone who asked me for a reference just as I knew I would never refer anyone to NTS, who in my opinion, was unethical, unfair and not the least bit compassionate. But you can make up your own mind about that.
I gave them 1 star because there is no option for zero stars which is what they deserved.
Whitney called after I filled out a survey sent by their office with my complaint. She wanted to hear my story first hand. She apologized for the miscommunication and offered to reimburse me the difference between the $ 95 I paid for the consult appointment and the $ 59 special offered to other first time patients. she didn’t say I would be able to get my teeth cleaned as a part of that special price though. At least they made an effort to make me feel better which I greatly appreciated. Its a step in the right direction.

I have been coming to Nut Tree Smiles since March 2014 i have brought my child with Autism to get his teeth checked and clean and Dr. Mantena is gentle and patient with him that i decided to make an appointment for my self and i have loved this placed ever since. Ive got cleaning for $ 59 (first time patients) fillings, Inlays and even got a free consultation for braces. I cant wait to get my braces in March 2015.
Thank You! Dr. Mantena your the best!
Highly recommended!

I thought I liked this place until today… I just spoke to Heather whom I thought was rude and not helpful after Iv’e already given this company over 1500 dollars cash payment since I have no actual dental insurance I call them today as I’m in a huge amount of pain and need my tooth taken care of right away I explain to them my company is a direct reimbursement plan and I don’t have the money to pay up front so I thought maybe after already giving them so much money they would be willing to help me but of course like any other money hungry company they refuse to work with what my company offers and will require payment in full. Thanks guys I’ll continue to suffer in pain and try to find a new dentist
Update… Whitney the office manager contacted me this morning to apologize and fix how I was treated. It’s very rare that a company will actually respond to a bad Unilocal review and correct the issue