Boston University Dental Health Center

It is almost impossible to get an appointment with a particular hygienist unless you book 4 months in advance. I love Peter. I usually make my next appointment when I leave. This time I had to reschedule and they had NOTHING for 4 months. Real dental offices always leave some space on the calendar for returning patients and reschedules. A 6 or 8 week wait could be understood, not 4 months.
It’s also almost impossible to get them on the phone without at least 10 minutes waiting on hold.
On the plus side, I love my hygenist and my dentist. Both are excellent. Just pray you don’t have to reschedule!

The front desk staff person I encountered was rude and incompetent. I told her over the phone that I had recently had X-​Rays. She informed me that I would need to have them done again at their center. Once I got there, I found out this was untrue. The whole appointment was therefore a waste. I will not be back.

I’ve come here for 2 cleanings and I honestly don’t think I’ll be back. I haven’t had any issues with my teeth in decades. During my first cleaning here, the dentist quickly checked my teeth and immediately told me that I had a very deep cavity in a tooth that already had a filling. I thought that seemed a little odd, but certainly plausible, so I had the old filling drilled out and a new one put in. They had to drill a lot more of my tooth out, though, because he said the cavity had been working its way in and only a very large filling could fix it. Well, literally the second he finished the filling, he launched into a used-​car-​style sales pitch about how I should make an appointment right away to have that filling (the one he JUST finished seconds ago) drilled out and replaced with a crown. Um, what the hell? He said that the filling would only last a couple months and he always sees patients with deep fillings who end up needing crowns. So hey, I might as well get ahead of it and just get the crown right away! Oh and, by the way, he added that I would also need a surgeon to remove a huge part of my gums so that they could get the crown on. And this would all cost about $ 1,200 out of pocket, after insurance has paid their share. I immediately regretted letting him do that deep filling and felt that I’d been had. But because my insurance plan only covers BU Dental, I still went back in 6 months for my next cleaning. I had decided to completely ignore the whole crown issue — I never made an appointment for it or anything — and the same dentist said my teeth looked great and I was all set. I’m just totally freaked out by this place, it’s like a lab where they are testing on humans instead of bunnies (poor bunnies). I’m planning on switching my insurance and paying more for a normal dentist who I can actually trust. If I need a crown, that’s fine, but this place seems very shady in the way they handle their patients.

The front desk is disorganized, can be rude to indifferent, and lacks a sense of simple courtesy. Good luck sending them records from previous care because they won’t pass them onto your dentist, and this leads to wasted visits and wasted time. The dentists may be well trained, but their follow up for patients is non-​existent and borders on irresponsible. For example, my husband had an accessed tooth was prescribed a round of antibiotics, and scheduled to have the tooth pulled four weeks in the future. That is a very long time to wait with an abscess in your mouth, and is substandard practice. In the meantime, he took his antibiotics, but he still felt poorly, his mouth smelled horrible to me and tasted terrible to him. He looked sick, was pale and clammy, and was exhausted. We called the office and they said he would be fine to wait. I am an NP and disagreed with this plan, so prescribed him another round of a different antibiotic with better coverage for the abcess. He started feeling better within 48 hours and the smell was finally going away. He finally gets his tooth pulled and they need to cut into his gum to pull out the fragments and leave him with several stitches. He is given minimal post-​op guidance, no prescription for pain medication, nor for any type of mouth rinse. And as predicted, he has terrible pain once the anesthesia wears off, but hey, who cares? BU Dental sure doesn’t. So if you like wasted visits, poor communication, terrible follow up, and no consideration for pain management, you should really go to BU Dental. Otherwise, steer clear.

I’ve been a patient at the BUDHC since 2008. I love this place– It’s basically the Gold standard for care and what’s in the patients best interest for their oral health. I’ve been to the Dentist before where they have pushed products on me and told me I needed to whiten my teeth. but not here.
My Doctors/​Dentists do change from time to time. because a lot of the Dentists are actually Faculty they may not be in the clinic every day. However, that’s okay with me! They are literally teaching the future Dentists of the world how to be a good dentist!
My Dental Hygienist who I do see regularly is Kenneisha. Kenneisha, is amazing. She’s always on time, she remembers little things in my life I told her and I get the true feeling of compassion and caring from her – I actually look forward to going to the dentist. The best part of the whole appointment is when I leave, I feel good about myself and my teeth feel clean as a whistle.
This is the epi-​center for quality dental care in my opinnion.

Alas ZERO isn’t possible. This is more because as a service organization they offer anything BUT that.
Best of luck trying to get anyone on the phone and BETTER yet apparently EVERYONE takes lunch at the same time and a nice recorded message says so.
I think it extremely important to have and allow time for employees but clearly the management has no clue about service and staggering times to ensure coverage. The point of a service organization is to provide service — NO CUSTOMER no BUSINESS — why bother coming to work…
Simple, not rocket science nor do you need any advance degree… WOWSERS!!!

After reading the reviews here, it seems I am not alone in my experience at BU Dental. I have come here three times now, but after today, I’m unsure if I will be back.
I’m a student at BU School of Public Health, so this seemed like an easy place to get care, and hopefully coordinate with my schedule of when I’d be on campus.
As other people have said, neither the doctors or students are super kind or gentle, and I have never had the same Dr. twice to look at my teeth after my cleaning, which is not something I am cool with as I appreciate a sense of continuity of care.
The 2^nd time I went, a student did my cleaning, then the doctor was trying to pressure her to do an unnecessary procedure on me that she did not feel like she could complete in the time allotted. It was very uncomfortable, and I found it very unprofessional of him to put that pressure on her. I ended up coming back for a «preventative» filling, which they had already put on my bill even though it was not completed.
today, I had an uneventful cleaning done in about a half hour, was not asked if I was comfortable, needed to rinse, etc. Then I saw a DIFFERENT dentist, who was very rude, and basically reprimanded me for a lifelong habit I have had (which had little to do with my teeth at all) before I finally just said, «yep, ok, thanks, Bye.»
they also have a terrible method of talking about the patient like they are not even in the room and using lots of «dental jargon,» to make you feel terrified and intimidated. HUGE medical pet peeve!
Also– something very unnerving– I have to do a pre-​medication before any dental procedure, due to previous heart complications, and it is protocol to ask if I have done my pre-​med, BEFORE beginning any invasive procedure, however, today after I was getting ready to get out of the chair after my cleaning, the hygenist asked «oh, I should’ve already asked, did you pre-​medicate?» Well… if I didn’t kind of late now isn’t it?
I quickly scheduled another appointment, and went on my way. I just have too many trust issues to come back and be their guinea pig. Sorry BU.

I’ve had several appointments with BU Dental over the past 6 months, including my annual cleaning and then follow-​up appointments with Dr. Alfio Hernandez.
My first appointment with Dr. Hernandez I flipped out, stopped the exam and had to be reassured that nothing was about to stab, pinch, or drill into my face. I had a minor panic attack but he took it in stride, got me calmed down and eventually we were able to finish the exam. Afterwards, I apologized for getting nervous, but he assured me it was fine and chatted with me a bit as he personally walked me out to the checkout desk.
I believe it was my third appointment when I had a second freak-​out and actually started crying from anxiety… it was nothing they did, I had building jitters and eventually got overwhelmed and wanted to bolt out of the chair. Dr. Hernandez calmed my crazy self down again, didn’t seem put off that I needed a break, and we continued after I was no longer a flight risk, even joking about it later. It is embarrassing to be a 30 year old woman crying about a filling, but anxiety is what it is and they handled it very professionally. If he’d been judgemental or gotten frustrated, I probably wouldn’t have come back. Compared to past appointments with other dentists, BU Dental was hands-​down my best experience. Towards the end, I was feeling much less anxiety in general. First time I’ve liked a dentist enough I wanted to remember their name for future appointments too.
Other things: 1) They were good about delivering bad news, 2) They were better at explaining my insurance and benefits, 3) They didn’t pressure me to pay the same day when I asked if we could wait until my next pay day, 4) The women at the front desk remembered me and were always welcoming even though I always had one more question, 5) Appointment making was straightforward, 6) I missed my appointment one day, came in late, they had an opening and put me in same-​day without shaming me, 7) They sent me appointment reminders on my phone, 8) Short time in the waiting room.
If there is a list for anxious patients, I’m on it but everyone there treated me well and I had a positive experience. I’m sure all the dentists at BU are great, but I’d highly recommend Dr. Hernandez.

I don’t like writing bad reviews but I know that it can be hard to find a good dentist and teeth are important to a lot of people so I think it’s worth letting people know what they’ll get at BU.
I was really unimpressed with their service and found a lot of the experiences of previous reviewers to be similar to mine. The woman who took my X-​rays was unfriendly and unable to understand a lot of my questions. The front desk clearly did not want to be working and couldn’t even manage a nice welcoming smile when I asked about insurance. The dentist told me I had a cavity and that to fill it would take 90 minutes because it would be performed by a dental student. She also told me to see a Periodontist, which I overheard her tell the previous first-​time patient she was with. I work a full-​time job and do not have the ability to leave work for an hour and a half for a procedure that normally takes twenty minutes and said that I just wanted the standard cleaning since my last dentist did mine in February. I was then informed that you cannot receive a cleaning until seeing a Periodontist, which I didn’t find to make much sense.
I eventually called my previous dentist since I had moved who said that I should go to a private practice as opposed to BU Dental Health Center. It was his knowledge that those centers are a lot more focused on teaching students and getting money as opposed to taking care of patients. It was a very frustrating experience all around but I am glad to know I was not the only one who went through it. I told the dentist and front desk that I really just wanted to get settled with a dentist for regular cleanings and check-​ups but they didn’t seem to listen.

This place rocks. I mean, let’s be honest: nobody WANTS to go to the dentist. But the BU Dental Center makes it as easy and painless as possible.
I decided to go here earlier this year for two reasons: they’re relatively close to my office and they take my insurance. This was a big step for me. I’ve inexplicably avoided going to the dentist for the last 16 years. I was really nervous about what condition my teeth would be in.
The dentist who examined my teeth was very comforting and understanding and not at all judgmental about my lack of recent dental care. She had me come back for an oral surgeon consult and a deep cleaning consult.
A couple of months later, I had two wisdom teeth removed (a remarkably simple and painless procedure) and a two-​part deep cleaning. The cleaning certainly wasn’t fun, but I was treated very well and the dentists and hygienists involved were highly skilled and professional, not to mention friendly and easygoing.
I have to give a shout-​out to Christinne, who performed my deep cleaning in addition to a subsequent cleaning three months later. She is extremely professional and very personable. She knew how nervous I was about these procedures and treated me accordingly. I would recommend her to anyone, especially if you’re skittish about going to the dentist.
(2015 UPDATE: CHRISTINNE DOESN’T WORK THERE ANYMORE! BOO! But you should still go there).

If I could give Boston University’s Dental Health Center no stars, I would…
I started going here earlier this year because my insurance covers them more than they would other dentists. In this case, you definitely get what you pay for.
As background, I’ve actually had really good dentist experiences previously. I am diligent about brushing and flossing, have only had one cavity, and have never had any major dental procedures other than getting my wisdom teeth removed. Then I moved and had to find a dentist in Boston.
On my first visit, the hygienist/​dentist had difficulties getting my X-​rays. They poked and prodded around my mouth so much that the roof of my mouth started bleeding and didn’t stop until the following day. I thought maybe I just had a cushy dentist experience before and this is how it really feels to see someone. I was also told I had two cavities that needed to be filled immediately. I went through with it, but doubts started to form in my mind about BU Dental.
Then my dentist recommended I see one of their periodontists since I was a new patient. I did, and the periodontist recommended that I spend $ 800 out of pocket for a deep cleaning. I didn’t want to dismiss them completely so I did some research and found that this procedure is typically recommended for people who either don’t take care of their teeth at all or are much older adults. I also got a second opinion from my old dentist (if only he was in Boston), and he didn’t think I needed it so I declined.
The last straw was when I went back for my scheduled routine cleaning. The hygienist came in and said that I needed to schedule my deep cleaning. I said that I’d already declined it and didn’t have the money. After some discussions with the dentist in the office, my hygienist informed me that they could not clean my teeth until I went through with the deep cleaning since that was the recommended treatment. I again explained that I would not be getting the deep cleaning and was told there was nothing more they could do. I took time off of work for an appointment and wasn’t even able to get my teeth cleaned. These do not seem like dentists/​hygienists who have the patients’ best interest in mind either. They just wanted to get more money out of me. It seems strange that if someone can’t afford an expensive procedure, he or she is just not treated. Ridiculous.
I will not be going back, and I’ve already made an appointment with a new dentist. Even though I’ll pay more out of pocket, I think it will be worth it.

I have been a patient at the BU Dental Health Center for many years and I have been quite pleased with the quality of care. Every hygenist I have seen has been pretty good and I absolutely love my dentist. I used to work for BU so I had free cleanings and exams here for many years. Even though I no longer work for BU, I still come here for my cleanings. There is a 10% discount for BU alumni if you pay cash/​credit (i.e., without insurance). The renovation they did here a few years ago is phenomenal. The place is downright luxurious compared to what it used to be like. There’s even a waterfall in the waiting room. My only problem has been that it is often difficult to get people on the phone. Since I live close by, I find it’s a lot easier to just go over and talk to someone rather than waiting on hold forever.

It’s a dental center so it’s rather difficult to write a good review.
I do miss the sinks of the old center. I don’t like this sink-​less stuff where you have to suck the gunk out of your mouth with a vacuum thing. I’d much rather swill and spit personally.
Apart from that, the BU Dental Health Center is a fun place to go. I’d recommend drinking sugary beverages just so you could spend more time here!

This beautifully designed, well-​equipped office works like a well-​oiled machine. Patients reap the benefits of a staff of dedicated, caring professionals from dentists to technicians to billing people. I have immense trust in my practitioners here, partly because this is a teaching institution and the work is on board with the latest advances. I would recommend this facility to anyone, in fact, I just did!