Sherman Way Dental Group

I have been going to Sherman Way Dental Group for many years and I am still impressed with their friendliness and professionalism. Dr Wahba is very good at keeping patients comfortable and he and his hygienists always make me feel like I am in good hands. I really believe that they genuinely care about their patients and their health.

Staff is always super nice… My husband and I get our dental work done here and have always been pleased. We brought our 6 yr old son for the first time here and he was always pleased. He told me that they were nice and it was not scary at all. They made him feel comfortable, always smiling and telling him how much of a good boy he was for always brushing his teeth and not having cavities! We will be back very soon!

I can’t figure out how no dentist in LA can ever compare to my small down Dentist growing up who never hurt me and never made me feel like a problem. I have had some MISERABLE experiences since leaving my small town with dentists. One dentist didn’t numb me right and I spent the whole procedure with tears streaming down my face and trembling in fear and pain, but he refused to stop working. I now I have extreme anxiety at the dentist.
The one thing I will say for this place is that Dr. Wahba is very nice. He helped calm me when I started to feel pain and started to panic.
However, every time I go to this place they want to charge me hundreds and hundreds of dollars. And if I say that I can’t afford them, they want to offer me a CREDIT program (which, btw charges 30% interest!) to try and get me to take care of all of the procedures at once. They seem to want to push me into doing everything all at the same time. I’m sorry… I just can’t afford it.
But here is the kicker… every time I go to a dentist in LA they want to force me into a «deep cleaning» which requires anesthesia and hundreds of dollars (instead of the free regular cleaning). I have fallen for this a few times. I can understand needing this once or twice in a lifetime or if you never brush or floss. But I brush several times a day AND floss. Do I have great genes when it comes to teeth? Probably not, but I still don’t think I need a DEEP CLEANING 3 times in 5 years. The last time I went and had a cleaning I was told I had GREAT HYGIENE!
As another reviewer stated, there is only one hygienist who shows up once a week. Every time I tried to schedule a cleaning they told me, «Well he’ll have to check your gums first». Code for «We’re going to find something wrong and charge you extra.»
Sure enough. and when I refused the deep cleaning and asked for just a regular cleaning (since I took the afternoon off for this appointment!!!) I was told «NO!». I was told that I couldn’t have just a regular cleaning and that it was pay the money for the deep one or nothing!
WHAT!!! Am I missing something or is the dentist no longer paid by me to provide ME a service?
I am shopping around for a new dentist immediately. I do not trust that my best interest is being considered and only that I have insurance to cover costly procedures to make them money.
Oh​.in addition I was referred to an Orthodontist in this group, Dr. Rudolph. Another scam artist who charged me $ 6000 and barely looked at my teeth. He made his assistants do all the work and always tries to push TMJ services and braces to every single patient that comes in. My teeth are currently not straight and trust me. it is not because I didn’t listen to his recommendations.
Boo!

Dr. Wahba is the best dentist I have ever had, hands down. He is gentle and very meticulous, which is what you want from your Dr. or dentist. I have seen him become short with his assistant for not doing things exaclty how he wants, but nothing over the top. I felt sorry for her, but more than that, I’d rather everything be done correctly, so at the end of the day, it didn’t really bother all too much. The only issue I’ve ever had is when I made an appointment and was the first patient and I had to wait 45 minutes. Again, he’s top notch!

Everyone in the office has been so helpful trying to figure out my insurance coverage (I have two insurances — one PPO and one HMO). They have really taken their time to smooth everything out and make it the lease expensive for me. As for Dr. Whaba, he is very good and really makes sure I am as comfortable as possible when being treated.

Based on previous Unilocal I expected a 5 star experience at the Sherman Way Dental Group. I’m tentatively putting down 1 stars as Unilocal’s criteria describes it as «Eek! Methinks not» but I will update this review when all is said and done.
I’ll start by saying that my dental insurance no longer covers the services from my long-​time preferred dentist but instead offers the Sherman Way Dental Group as one of their providers.
OK… change is good, right? In an effort to roll with it, I chose to go with Dr. Wahba based on the reviews here and seen elsewhere on the Internet. With such glowing « Unilocals» it seemed worth a try. Plus I liked the fact that his offices are super conveniently located.
An issue arose when I first tried to set up an appointment as I was told I was not in their office’s system. I have a «proof of insured» card from my insurance dated since July that said indeed I was in the system, so we (the receptionist and I) were both a bit puzzled.
It turned out to be a simple enough fix as I got my insurance to fax over the paperwork directly to Wahba’s offices. After that the receptionist found my file in their records and explained that she had written down my name wrong.
Fair enough… no problem. But as I found out in a later fumble the front office seems to be confused and that may be because their seems to be two receptionists: one for the morning and one for the afternoon so apparently they may be getting their communications crossed.
Dr. Wahba himself is pretty affable as described in other reviews. But I think a little bit overrated. Since it’s my first time working with him he wanted to see full x-​rays of my teeth. My former dentist had a full mouth series done earlier this summer. They included 18 intraoral films comprising 4 bite wing films and 14 periapical.
It’s worth noting that my insurance only covers a full mouth series of x-​rays once every 3 years and 4 bite wings once annually. I procured the x-​rays from my old dentist and provided them to Dr. Wahba upon my first visit.
Much to my dismay Wahba wanted to take another set of 4 bite wing x-​rays although I’m not really sure why since the ones he was given were only 15 weeks old. I mean, they’re practically still a kitten!
Anyway, I was uncomfortable with doing another set of x-​rays this year on two counts: re-​exposure to harmful radiation and the fact that my insurance wasn’t going to cover it for the second time in a year so it was going to be expensive. Needless to say I declined.
(FWIW, it’s wise for all patients to know the limitations or restrictions of their dental benefits plan. To control their own costs, some insurance plans limit reimbursement to a single type of radiographic survey. Take it from me: read your policy).
After declining another x-​ray, Wahba that rolled with it and said it was OK. Following a brief examination he said my teeth were looking good and that for the time being all I would require was a cleaning with his hygienist.
Excellent! When I booked this first examination with Wahba I also booked a follow-​up for a cleaning with a hygienist a few days later. However somehow that appointment got lost. My second appointment for a teeth cleaning is not in their records. Now it’s turning into a bit of an issue, as they don’t have appointments available for at least six weeks.
Six weeks? Really? I’m not impressed. My former dentist had several hygienists on staff every day, not just one that’s available every other Thursday. Seeing as the Sherman Way Dental Group has two receptionists and four dentists, I’m left to wonder why they don’t have more than one hygienist on staff? It would be better to accommodate patients for necessary cleanings rather than attempt to subject them to another round of unnecessary radiation. But then, perhaps that just me.
At any rate, one Unilocaler said they LOVED Dr. Wahba’s hygienist and that the teeth cleaning was the best part of their whole experience so as soon as I finally get in to see him/​her I’ll let ya know how it goes and may update my review accordingly. Hopefully my appointment will be sooner than later and hopefully it won’t get lost.

I’ve had major dental issues for as long as I can remember… I’ve been blessed with straight pretty «Hollywood smile» teeth, but they are very susceptible to cavities. :(sads.
So I have been around to several dentists, between moving around cities so many times and so many issues, I finally found my way to Dr. Wahba.
I kinda always go into dental appointments with a sense of dread and expecting the worst — in terms of news about my teeth and service. Dr. Wahba was exceptional in both respects. He delivered the news about the work I needed in a non «guilt trip» way, and was very responsive to all my questions.
When I finally went in to get my cavities worked on, he was timely (respected my time), and was very gentle. I didn’t feel any pain at all or even feel scared of him! Yay!
The appointment was appropriately long, and the staff is friendly and very helpful! I really like this place, and that is pretty major coming from me, since I can be pretty critical of dental places…(see other dental reviews I have written).
I didn’t feel at all that they were trying to take advantage of me or my dental insurance, and they really had my best interests in mind. I’m so grateful!
Thank you Dr. Wahba & staff!