Lu Dental Care - Family Dentistry and Implants — Attraction in Alhambra

My first visit to this office was for an infected tooth, which was very painful. Dr. Lu inspected the tooth & made a referral to an endodontist for a root canal. At no time did he offer to prescribe antibiotics or any other treatment to relieve the pain. I had to go to an urgent care center to get oral idocaine, oral antiseptic rinse, and a prescription for antibiotics, which almost immediately checked the pain. Ironically, because I have a heart condition, they then required me to take antibiotics before visits! So dentist logic: antibiotics necessary to decrease risk of bacterial endocarditis in a susceptible patient resulting from a dental procedure but not necessary when that same patient has an active bacterial infection in the mouth & is suffering pain from that infection. I should have been warned by that experience.

More recently, I was upsold a visit for "deep cleaning". But the office called me the day before that appointment, which had been scheduled many weeks before (i.e., less than 24 hours notice), to tell me that my prior insurance had expired and the appointment was cancelled. I called back with my new insurer information, which they refused to accept because it was out-of-network (even though the insurer does pay non-participating dentists) and then dumped me as a patient. I also had a dental emergency at the time, which I had hoped would be addressed at that appointment, but I was left scrambling to find another provider.

As an aside, in the interests of practicing effective, patient-centered communication: rather than calling a patient less than 24 hours before an appointment to tell them "Your insurance has expired and your appointment is cancelled", to call at least a week before, say, "We noticed your insurance has expired, please provide us with updated insurance information and your planned means of payment", and give the patient time to rectify the situation." But your practice, your call.

From these incidents & other interactions with the office (for example, Dr. Lu would make remarks to me about getting better insurance coverage, which I now interpret as self-serving), I was left with the strong impression that this practice cares more about getting paid than caring for their patients. Recommended if you're looking for someone specializing in...

First impressions mean a lot to me and this one was good. They were very aware and took all the COVID pre-cautions necessary to ensure my health and safety. The waiting room was rather small but the check in was smooth. Took me in right after finishing the paperwork and showed me to one of the cubicles. One of the dentists came in and reviewed my paperwork for more information. He didn’t introduce himself. Not sure about anyone else, but I’d like to know who is going to put their fingers in my mouth. It’s not a knock, but something to note. It seems like their equipment was well maintained and covered with plastic in most of the high touch areas to mitigate germ transmission! High tech Xray machine didn’t work correctly so they moved me next door. I only came in for a cleaning but the took Xrays too.

The cleaning was good. In previous cleanings, I was used to having my teeth cleaned by a hygienist using the manual tools and more recently in combination with a water-jet tool that cleans your teeth more efficiently. This time the dentist (not the hygienist) cleaned my teeth with the water-jet tool. Hmmm.. What is consistent amongst the last two dentists since changing from my original dentist, whom I’ve been going to for 30+ years, is that none of them probe my gums. Not sure what to think of that, but I’d like to know if there’s any issues.

What was discovered during my cleaning was that there were stains in the grooves on the surface of a couple teeth which could lead to a cavities. It was recommended that they be repaired.

My subsequent cleaning appointments went without a hitch. They even included checking plaque under a microscope!...

I can NOT recommend Lu Dental Care. Dr. Lu confirmed that he would shave my tooth a little so I could floss easily, but he ended up drilling a big cavity into my tooth for no reason. I expressed my concern that shaving my tooth might cause structural and sensitivity issues, but he assured me only a thin shave. There was nothing wrong with my tooth. He drilled my tooth hard, and I could smell the burn. He left me with an open cavity for a good 25 minutes waiting while he attended to another patient. I could feel the big cavity with my tongue while waiting. My heart sunk, knowing my good tooth is gone forever, and it was too late to do anything about it. This intentional error is irreversible. I brought it up to his brother (Victor at the front desk) about why Dr. Lu drilled a good tooth, Dr. Lu did not acknowledge or apologize when he saw me on the next and last visit for teeth cleaning. I would stay with him forever if not for this incident. It is amazing what greed can do to a person. I trusted him, but he took advantage of me. I will never recommend anyone to him again. I hope he realizes his mistake and understands that patients are not stupid. We know what's going on when you screw us. It is sad to see a seemingly caring and polite doctor doing such an unscrupulous act. I don't want to write a negative review, but I hope this review can...