SmileCare – El Cajon II

Dr. Najlaa Dawood took great care of my 93 year old mother. My mom is super happy and the service was fantastic. Doctor Dawood even called a week later to check on mom. So far so good. We had to take her in without an appointment and we only waited 40 minutes, not bad for not having an appointment. Thank you doctor Dawood, but the staff needs to be trained a little when answering calls.

Scam… I was told I had a wisdom tooth coming in and they wanted to charge me $ 700 to take it out even though I had insurance. I went to my primary dentist and it turned out to be the root of a tooth that smilecare took out in March. That are all about getting your money. Don’t go here!

THIS PLACE SUCKS!!! That’s all I can say! They overcharge their patients and make many mistakes. My Husband has had to go back NUMEROUS TIMES due to the cheap partial that was made for him. Been 3 months, and still does not have his replacement back!!! We will be changing Dentist companies once this is all done

Priscilla Rosales is the orthodontic supervisor who makes such a difference for this office of Smile Care. Her warm personality when you walk in the office is so welcoming. She always smiles and says hello and takes care of business in the most detailed fashion. It makes such a difference to have happy people who love serving others and it shows. They are stars in our world that shine brightly. Thank you Priscilla for being awesome!
Carla O.

Wish I can give them 0 stars. Beware!!! Take your business elsewhere trust me. We got scammed $ 1,400 on their braces treatment because of a bait and switch ad. Their manager Dustin who manages both El Cajon offices offered us an electronic tooth brush for the trouble. I called the corporate office and they were no help either. Please see how their average isn’t even two stars. Horrible service. Stay away

I’d give no starts if possible. I will be taking my business else where. They have overcharged me every time. I paid $ 731 for my step daughters cleaning and exams, and according to my EOB’s, I only owed a little over $ 200. This has happened 3 times now. I chalked the first up as an honest mistake, second I was a little annoyed, and now I’m just done. I’ve had a lot of work done here too. I didn’t have any problems with my wisdom teeth extractions. But I have had 2 crowns, one of which I have had for 6 months and it is still extremely sensitive to hot and cold, to the point that It almost makes me cry at times and the only thing they have to say about it is that «oh, well it takes some time». Then the dentist and dental assistant will go giggle about something in the back. More often than not, their professionalism is severely lacking. If this is how all Smile Care offices are run, it’s a wonder that they are still in business.

Prior to finding Smilecare in Rancho San Diego, I had horrible experiences with Dentistry. I have suffered in pain for 3 years, with impacted k9 teeth, reoccurring infection in a failed root canal done on my front right tooth, all on top of chronic migraine and severe TMJ. I’ve been unwilling to deal with dentists and discouraged by the cost of near $ 20,000.00 I was quoted by multiple practices to restore my smile.
Smile Care El Cajon II in Rancho San Diego completely restored my faith in dentistry after a single visit. The staff treats you just like family and provides the best care I have ever received. They were honest about my treatment options and didn’t push services on me that I really didn’t need, unlike consultations I have had outside of the Smile Care group. I’ve had 4 major procedures done in the past 2 months all out of one office, and absolutely no complaints about my care or treatment. The team sincerely cares for their patients, taking pride in the patient’s successful dental restoration and care.
My son was horrified of the dentist, now after a single visit he cannot wait to go back! I’ve saved over $ 8,000.00 in unnecessary treatment and the staff was able to offer financing despite my poor credit. Four major procedures later I cannot say enough about this office and the Smile Care team to emphasize what a truly wonderful and professional practice this is! Dr. Dawood has been my primary and she is amazing, but this office works as a team in every essence of the word. I am so grateful for all they have done and will be a loyal patient for years to come.

I wish I read the Unilocal reviews before I decided to sign up with smilecare. Do not go here, even if it is less than 5 minutes from your house and they accept your insurance, and you’re happy that the waiting room is empty and quiet… it’s empty and quiet for a reason!
I had the most aggressive cleaning I’ve ever had in my life and was in pain for 2 days. For a cleaning! While they were cleaning my teeth, which I’m supposed to get a free cleaning per year, they applied extra rinse. This ‘super cleaning’ and the extra rinse, cost me close over 200 dollars! It was supposed to be my free yearly cleaning through my insurance! The way that they billed me was to purposefully increase the amount my insurance didn’t cover. I’ve been trying to fight this thing for months. I even went in person to straighten things out. No such luck. I’m paying the remaining balance and transferring ASAP!

My Husband went here having severe pain in his upper two front teeth. He was in pain and very afraid of the dentist due to past experiences and I was afraid for our finances to say the least. Dr. Najla and every employees we encoutered there was kind and caring, not all about your money. Thank God we found this place! My Husband now has two of the best looking front teeth he has ever had in his adult life and he smiles more than I have ever seen him smile before! To me you can not put a price on what they have done to help my Husband! Simply the best dental care in San Diego! Thank you Dr. Najla!

Do not go to Smilecare. you will not save money in the long run. I had two root canals and a bridge and less that two years later I find out (from a different dentist) that I have abcesses and am losing those two teeth and the bridge. I will need dental implants now because of the work done by their endo specialst. I have a ton of other complaints but I will not go into them. suffice to say. GO TO A DENTIST THAT OWNS HIS OWN BUSINESS AND YOU WILL BE TREATED LIKE ROYALTY.

I don’t know what all the fuss is about. I had a great experience there, mostly because they are so efficient. I waited about seven minutes to go in and I got a filling and crown which was well done and very quick. I’ve been to other great places but the dentists always takes forever. Even more, their prices are reasonable and I was able to work out a simple payment plan. I have been to high end dental offices in Kearny Mesa like Stonecrest dental and they did an amazing job but it took FOREVER and they charged me thousands, literally. So that’s why I switched to Smilecare closer to home and I’m super happy now!

Don’t ever go! I had a cracked filling last year and made an emergency apt. First I had to wait 45 min, a half hour after my apt. And when I went in they did a ton of xrays. Then they set me down and an accountant/​finance person came in. They told me I needed like $ 2k in work done and a crown and not to worry cuz my insurace would cover all of it I just had to pay around $ 400. I, not kniwing better, agreed and got the work done. 1^st, they gave me way too much novicane. Half my head was numb. Then they toar up my month. My cheeks and toung were cut and hurt for days. The temp crown was flimsy and I was terrified to chew anything. Then about 2 or 3 days later a huge bruse was in my face, looked horrible. I didn’t want to go out in public. Went back for more fillings, again too much novicane. And they still hurt, a year later! The dentist said they needed to «settle» I thought he meant a month or two not a whole year. Finally, the last visit, got the crown on and I asked not to be over novicaned. He said he would have to put it on without any meds then. I agreed, I figured I’d just deal with a little pain and go home faster. It was the worst pain of my life (worse than labor). After all this I had to fight with the billing cuz they kept charging me for things I already paid for or didn’t bill my insurance and just sent it to me. Biggest headache ever. Finally, aftermy 2^nd visit, after my fillings, I got a cleaning and the hygenist assured me my new fillings looked great. She sounded like she was trying too hard. Why would you need to assure me the dentist did a good job? Weird. Lastly, I ended ip paying closer to $ 600 or $ 700 cuz I fought and fought and finally gave up. I cancled the 6mo gollow-​up apt. And hit so much crap from the receptionist. They still call once in a while, but I don’t answer any more. Don’t go, terrible work for WAY too much money!

I would never go to Smilecare again. I had a crown/​veneer put on my tooth in Aug of 2009. First of all, the color didn’t even match my other teeth. Secondly, it broke off in two pieces and they will not warranty their work. They said IF it was under warranty, I would have received a certificate. And IF it was under warranty, I would have had to go back and see them every 6 months to check it, which I was never told. I’ve been going to another dentist and have had all of my teeth checked every 6 months with no issues. They DO NOT WARRANTY their work. I’ve had nothing but problems from them, including their orthodontist. My daughter had her braces done by them and they get all your money up front and then are not accommodating with their appointments. The rudest staff I’ve ever met. Extremely unprofessional.

Just imagine the pain of dental care combined with the experience of buying a used car. As if trying to answer questions with someone’s hand in your mouth isn’t bad enough, they follow it up by sending someone from their financing department before you even get out of the chair.

Dont Ever go to this Dentist or ANY SMILE CARES they are a rip off and so unprofessional. I go to the one in Rancho San Diego and the office is dirty! the staff is rude they argue with thier customers and they MESS up ALL the time on the billing. Im still waiting for a refund from December 2011 when it was thier error. Every time I would go in they would tell me something wasnt covered from last time and I needed to pay it or I would get a call and say we made a billing error (AGAIN). Finally had to get my insurance company involved because they were trying to charge me over $ 700 for an oppps we made mistake again on your billing and my insurance company finally said your billing the wrong insurnace plan for this client. They are just ignorant there. Managers are just as bad as well as thier corporate office they dont return calls. My next CALL BBB.
Save your money dont go to Smile Care…

This is the WORST dental place I have ever been too. After waitin for more than 2 hours for a teeth cleaning they told me I needed a deep cleaning which is far from the truth. I get my teeth clean every 6 months and like the other person commented on the HMO plans get more money from deep cleaning then a regular cleaning. I was so upset after waiting for hours and then being talk into something that I did not need I totally walked out and told them they need to go out of business and stop treating people this way. DO NOT GO TO THIS DENIST THEY WILL COMPLETELY TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOU.

Wow looking at what other people put about this place makes me feel bad. i have been with Dr Geoffrey Kopecky for about seven years, during this time they have done nothing but treat me like family, he fixed my very bad smile now it is beautiful i love it. they did whiten my teeth right after a deep cleaning and it was The worse pain ever, but i did ask for it, and didn’t want to wait till later. it may be the new system they use, the old one wasn’t as bad. get the take home trays next time they take longer but better results.

This is absolutely the worst dental place you could ever go to. NEVER go there. They treat their patients horribly. I have seen the rude receptionist yell at various patients. They whiten our teeth right after a deep cleaning and we were in the worse pain of our life.
They charge a lot of money– say its covered and then bill you later because your insurance did not cover it. They had to fit my husband 3 times for a crown and tried to charge us for their mistake!!!
After we paid them we still received another bill. When we tried to get an itemized statement for flex they told us they couldn’t do it. NO customer service skills. The one lady at the front is HORRIBLE. I got into a yelling argument with her on the phone because she wouldn’t break down the charges for me. If I paid for something I want to know that I paid for and exactly how much everything cost. but no they couldn’t do that after the first time I left because they «changed systems».
I have never experienced such bad service and would never recommenced them to anyone.
Everyone I have talked to has also had a horrible experience.

Absolutely horrible! Stay away at all costs… This place will frustrate you with their billing and cause irreparable damage to your dental health if you let them. It’s all about how much money they can make off each patient, you are just a number here, not a human being.
First with the billing: I went against my better judgement after reading numerous reviews about how they double bill and make mistakes on patient’s billing. I went to this place thinking «how bad could it be?» and because it was close to home. Of the 3 or 4 times I went in, they never had my bill correct. I ended up paying around 500 for a deep cleaning that I was covered for, on the basis that the medications that went along with it would not be covered. I also had a chipped tooth filled. I paid ¾ of my bill the first visit and on the second visit they attempted to charge me the full amount rather than the last ¼th.It took them 15 minutes to figure out what they did wrong before I could leave the office. I learned from another dentist that HMO’s make their money by doing deep cleanings because regular cleanings are set at a much lower pay-​out. They even came to me while I was in the chair and started explaining another patient’s bill to me. I was so sick of this place I switched to a PPO and told them I’d never be back. It doesn’t end there, however. About a month after my last visit I received a bill for $ 30 stating «INS CO DENIED». They couldn’t tell me what the service was or why it was denied, all I got is lip service, «We’ve e-​mailed the billing department and are waiting on a response.» At one point I was told it was billed wrong and that is why it was denied. After two months since my last visit I received another bill for $ 30 with the same explanation. My insurance told me the service was «Antimicrobial Agent». It’s been two months since I was told that they were waiting on a response from billing and they still tell me that the status has not changed.
Enough about the billing, now on to the sub standard service: My wife was told she had a number of cavities and would need a crown. A crown essentially destroys a tooth until there is nothing but a stub left to mount the crown to. This is never a first choice option. My wife was smarter than me and refused to have any work done. She didn’t trust them and rightfully so. Our new dentist found the idea of a crown totally appalling and found that only half of what was suggested was actually needed. Not to mention, the bedside manner was horrible consisting of angry lectures about her refusing to get work done and constant stabbing of our gums. Sloppy work to say the least. The x-​ray technician was happy to painfully jab the plastic x-​ray pieces into our gums and was lacking of a personality.
Yesterday I received a call from their automated system reminding me of an upcoming appointment (That I never made). Who knows if I hadn’t called them to cancel the appointment I never made if they would have sent me a bill for a «Missed appointment.»
Do yourself a favor and don’t let yourself become another victim of this place.