SD Smile — Attraction in San Diego

San Diego Smile Dentistry is the best dentistry that I have ever used and would never consider another! Since retirement from the military, I've searched for a dentistry that I would feel confident using both from a comfort level as well as budget level. On the budget level, when it comes to your health it pays to never go cheap however after being with Dr. Fred for over 2 years, his staff and services are exactly as advertised! I've seen reviews where a dentist advertise a price and charge either yourself or insurance a different price. NOT at San Diego Smile Dentistry, you always know what you are going to be charged before the procedure. I'm talking from experience here as I've had cleaning, fillings, crowns and teeth whitening performed with Dr. Fred. Easy appointment setups, great service from his staff and Dr. Fred is the easiest dentist to talk with. Sometimes when I have an appointment I feel like I'm just going to catch up on the news with a friend! Sometimes when you have an appointment months later, I get the friendly reminder email on the appointment that I forgot I had. It's kinda funny that I was not looking for the cheapest dentist but I've compared my costs for a procedure with friends of mine and was astounded that Dr. Fred changed less than other dentists. Needless to say, those friends changes to Dr. Fred and thanked me for the referral. On the comfort level I don't think there is enough space on this review to really articulate how good Dr. Fred is with making his patients comfortable. For somebody like me, pain is not an issue so I spend most of my appointments catching up on episodes on Netflix through the googles he provides. I feel like I'm in a movie theater, just with my mouth open. There has even been a time, where I didn't know Dr. Fred was done and I was watching a movie and they let me sit there till I was finished! However I do have relative that had not gone to a dentist in 8 years because of her phobia with dentists, shots and sounds. I explained the situation to Dr. Fred and his staff so when I convinced her to get her 5 x cavities fixed, they were prepared. After her consultation she felt like she wanted to give it a try. The day of her appointment even I was nervous how this was going to go. Well after Dr. Fred did 2-3 hours of procedures on her, I asked her how it was. She was astounded at how painless her entire experience was. It completely fixed her phobia at least with Dr. Fred. I do believe if she left San Diego, she would fly back here just because of Dr. Fred, he is that good with comfort levels! She even makes her yearly checkups and cleanings without anxiety! It's truly amazing how great Smile Dentistry is when it comes to dental services. I've referred Smile Dentistry to at least 5 people and their experience's have all been the same! Truly amazing and I'm talking about things such as Veneers, crowns, bridges and even using his referrals' for a root canal! If I find something that I really like, I usually use word of mouth to refer the experience but I'm so convinced that Smile Dentistry is the best out there I've decided to write this review. I promise you will not be disappointed, especially with all the horror stories out there about dentists and their practices. Dr. Fred and your staff, I give you Five stars or...

I wanted to like San Diego Smile Dentistry. Dr. Harandi is nice, they have free tea in the waiting room, and they have these cool glasses so you can watch netflix while your getting a filling.

Unfortunately, the also appear to be scammers.

Long story short: I had dual insurance coverage (Anthem and Delta Dental). Tom (the guy that does billing) went over my coverage with me and told me how there is no point in filing a claim with both companies as it would not save me any money, and recommended just filing with Delta Dental due to the required coordination of benefits (COB). OK, no problem.

After I looked at my coverage from Delta Dental, I immediately noticed that Tom overcharged my copay. No problem, I called him and he fixed it. Then I got the statement from Delta Dental, and I noticed that he had overcharged me for the services too! Instead of charging me 20% of the contracted rate, as required by the insurance companies, he charged me 20% of a rate which they subjectively made up. When all was said and done, they charged me about double what they were allowed to and if I had not carefully checked with my benefits statement I would have never known.

Then, I started getting statements from Anthem (remember: they weren't supposed to file a claim with Anthem). Upon opening these statements, I found that Tom had billed Anthem for an additional $1700 worth of work, and was paid out $849.80. About half the work that they submitted to Anthem was already paid in full by Delta Dental. THE OTHER HALF WAS WORK THEY DIDN'T EVEN DO!!

This family that runs this practice, in my opinion, lacks a sound ethical framework. They overcharged me, and they collected nearly $1000 from my insurance which they were not entitled to. Everyone pays for operations like this in the form of higher insurance premiums, while Fred and Tom line their pockets. I won't be returning, and I highly suggest that any considering San Diego Smile Dentistry thinks twice about what type of businesses they want to support.

Update:

Dr. Harandi and Tom have contacted me about my experience. They said it was a mistake (mixed me up with another patient). On about half of the claim that could be true (when they charged for work on two teeth that they didn't work on). On the other half of the claim I personally doubt their explanation because what they submitted matches the dates which I was in the office and matches the two teeth they did work on, although it was a severe embellishment of the work done.

After first offering me somewhat of a refund (which I ignored), they proceeded to submit a "corrected" claim to Anthem. They were very anxious to get this situation taken care of, and I can understand why. Unfortunately, even on the "corrected" claim which was submitted, they failed to mention that Delta Dental is the primary provider. I confirmed this by calling Anthem, and fortunately found a representative who appears determined to ensure that this office is not overpaid. If the "corrected" claims were approved as submitted, it would result in another over-payment which Dr. Harandi and Tom are not...

Let me start by saying I did extensive amount of research online and also went to multiple different consultations at different dental offices before deciding to move forwards with getting my dental veneers. Dr. Fred Harandi made me feel so at ease and didn't pressure me like a lot of other dentists did. He answered all of my questions honestly, and genuinely wanted me to make the best decision for myself based on what I wanted. Before even starting the process, he had the lab create a wax up smile model so that I could have a better image of how my teeth would look afterwards. With the wax up smile model, I was able to try the smile in my mouth temporary and decided what I like and what I wanted to change. Once I was happy with the wax up smile, I decided to go ahead with the dental procedure.

During the prep day, I was nervous and scared that it might be painful. Dr. Harandi and his assistant eased my thought by explaining the procedure to me. He assured me that I won’t feel anything as I would be numb during the procedure. They made me feel so comfortable and even gave me a blanket, along with headphones to watch a movie or listen to music; while he worked on my teeth. It was very a nice touch and at the end of my appointment, I left the office with temporary veneers which already looked better than my original smile.

At my next visit when the veneers came back from the dental lab, I was worried that they would look fake or not be the right color. Before cementing them, Dr. Harandi try them in my mouth so that I could see if I like them first. When he gave me the mirror to check, all my concerns about the appearance went away. The permanent veneers look even better than what I imagined it would turn out!! I am happy with the shape, the color and the appearance over all. My veneers ended up having just the right amount of translucency so that when the light reflects and passes through the teeth, it gives that natural stunning appearance. Having the right translucency will avoid the fake look “chiclet look”. I love that my veneers are white and bright but still look naturally stunning. Dr. Harandi also assure me that these are permanent, which meant the color won’t change overtime.

I have had my veneers for 2 months now and I couldn’t be happier. We started the procedure in the middle of Covid-19 and I want to say I felt safe and in good hands during each visit to the office. Since getting these veneers, I feel extremely confident and I can’t stop smiling. My veneers feel like my natural teeth and also my smile alignment is now straighter and without any gaps between the teeth. For anyone who is considering getting veneers I highly recommend San Diego Smile Dentistry. I’m so thankful to have found Dr. Harandi and his team, for the dedicated time he took during this whole experience and how he takes pride...