Dental Art of South Bay: Dana Samet, DDS — Local services in Torrance

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Dr. Dana Samet Gave Me My Smile — and My Confidence — Back

I met Dr. Dana Samet at her Torrance office about five years ago, just before the pandemic hit. At that time, I didn’t even know what gum disease was — how it developed, what it looked like, or that I had it.

I’m a proud '60s baby, raised in a single-parent household by my mother, a special education teacher who gave everything she had. Back then, dental care wasn’t a priority — and truthfully, dental technology in the '70s and '80s wasn’t what it is today. The answer to every dental issue was, “Pull the tooth.” No second opinion. No real options.

By the time I was 23 and planning my wedding, I had already lost several top teeth. I was ashamed and embarrassed. Smiling didn’t hurt physically, but emotionally, it broke my spirit. A kind neighbor — a dentist — made me a partial denture just so I could have teeth for my wedding photos. Saying that out loud still stings.

Years later, while working and studying at USC in the late '90s, I finally got dental insurance and started seeing a great dentist, Dr. Rachel Saunders. He helped me understand the extent of my dental issues. But after three years, he left on medical leave and never came back. That loss — combined with years of dental trauma (wisdom teeth surgeries, infections, a fractured jaw) — left me terrified to sit in another dentist’s chair.

Before turning 65, I made a decision: I was going to reclaim my smile.

That decision brought me to Dr. Dana Samet.

From the moment I sat in her chair, I knew something was different. She didn’t just look at my teeth — she saw me. Without saying a word, I could feel her compassion. She gently examined my mouth and explained everything clearly, with empathy and without judgment.

Still, I was skeptical. I had been through too many dentists who overpromised and underdelivered. But Dr. Dana listened. She heard my story. She saw my pain — and she made me believe that healing was possible.

I drove over an hour each way just to see her. That’s how much I trusted her.

Her incredible team — Elizabeth, Tanya, Ariana, and Marchetta — treated me like family from day one. They respected my time, my crazy schedule, and my deep desire to finally heal and smile again.

The journey wasn’t easy. An old crown from years ago had failed, causing a deep infection, and the tooth had to be removed. Dr. Dana handled everything with expertise, care, and precision. She performed root canals, placed crowns, extracted teeth that couldn’t be saved, and eventually built three bridges. She also gave me a beautiful new upper partial. She rebuilt my mouth — and in doing so, rebuilt my confidence.

And then I learned something shocking — decay can form under crowns that are 15 to 20 years old, and it doesn’t always show up on X-rays. One painful episode proved that true, and another tooth had to be removed. My insurance didn’t cover everything, but thankfully I found out about CareCredit, which helped me finance the treatment. Was it expensive? Yes. Was it worth it? Absolutely. I would do it all over again.

Dr. Dana Samet is more than just a dentist. She’s a healer. A teacher. An artist. An implant specialist with years of advanced training — but more importantly, someone with a heart for people who feel broken, fearful, or ashamed. She doesn’t just restore teeth — she restores lives.

Today, I smile with pride, freely and fully. When I look in the mirror, I love the woman smiling back at me. And I thank Dr. Dana for that.

If you’re afraid to go to the dentist… If you’ve had dental trauma like I did… If you’ve neglected your teeth out of fear or frustration… Please. Stop waiting. Start healing. Your oral health impacts your heart, your lungs — your entire body. Don’t settle for extractions unless you absolutely have to. If your teeth can be saved, Dr. Dana will show you how.

Dr. Dana Samet is, without a doubt, the best thing that’s ever happened to my mouth, and I am forever grateful.

With deep...

This is going to be a long review. The short version: DO NOT USE DANA SAMET AS YOUR DENTIST. SHE IS DISHONEST AND UNETHICAL.

I went in to Dana Samet’s office on 3/18/2024, and it has been quite the experience. First off, she wanted to do $6,000+ of dental work, mostly for crowns. Unfortunately, Dana and Tanya Corrales took it upon themselves and decided to act as my insurance carrier. They refused to submit my bill to my insurance, and Tanya made up false reasons as to why my dental work couldn’t be submitted. (Just for a follow-up on that, when I had Delta review this, they found that Dana and Tanya’s claims were FALSE, and that the dental work was covered by my insurance. By this time, I’d cancelled my work with Dana because I refuse to work with unethical dentists.)

When I found that they wouldn’t submit my bill to insurance, I attempted to leave the office. However, Dana stopped me and emphasized how important and necessary this dental work was. I made the mistake of believing her, and I ended up with two temporary crowns. The next day (3/19/2024), I reviewed the charges with my insurance carrier, and I had several email exchanges with Tanya and Dana, and we agreed to a phone call the next day.

On 3/20/2024 I talked to Dana on the phone, and we both expressed discomfort with working with each other any further. Dana agreed to not finish implementing the crowns, cancelled the order for the crowns, and agreed to provide me with a refund for the crowns. Unfortunately, Dana’s sloppily worded release didn’t include any actual wording saying that I would actually get a refund, and I decided to put in a dispute with my bank. After a few months, the dispute was declined because Dana lied to my credit card company and showed “proof of services rendered.” That was news to me, as no services were rendered. I even have proof that a different dentist actually removed the temporary crowns and inserted the permanent crowns that Dana told my credit card company she did.

On the advice of my attorney, I attempted one more time to sign the release for the refund and get this over with. However, Dana’s updated release included an NDA and giving her power of attorney. I refused to sign and provided an updated, reasonable release that Dana and her team rejected. I will be submitting this to the California Dental Board to review why a refund for services not provided would also be attached to an NDA and giving the dentist power of attorney. I will also be contacting my insurance regarding how Dana could claim to have provided services that were actually provided by a different dentist. Sounds like a false claim to me. In my opinion, Dana is not only unethical, but also seems to be a criminal. I will not let this go, even if we have to go to court.

PLEASE DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND DON’T USE DANA SAMET AS...

She was my HMO in network provider for over 7 months. Never once did she submit a claim to my insurance. When requesting an itemized receipt just for one visit it took over three weeks of reminding them , just to receive a made up receipt. She asked how much can I pay now. I told them $580, so they created a fake receipt for that amount, for two teeth that I do not have in the back. My health spending account was frozen due to her inability to be honest. They called it fraud. I was told the code she should have used would only cost me $126 per tooth with my insurance. I’m in the middle of treatment with her , and still have not received a proper receipt. I have delta dental. She suggested I get 6 root canals. I went to another dentist they said I need two and a cleaning that she never suggested. She said she needed to drill a hole in a tooth to let infection drain vs antibiotics. I’ve been paying as if I didn’t have any insurance and now my entire account has been frozen due to fraud on her part. I regret ever walking in her doors. Only when you have a problem, then suddenly she’s too busy to deal with you. I got an implant post placed too close to the next tooth , so that implant cannot be used by another dentist. This has been the most deceitful experience I’ve had. When I called to complain , her office said she doesn’t submit claims , that she just gives a discounted price. Delta said that was considered fraud as she was charging incorrect ‘discounted’ rates. She was my HMO in network dental provider. I need her to fix this as I am now unable to even use my spending account. I have thousands of dollars...