Mancheva Zanka, DDS

Zero stars would be my choice as well. I signed my whole family up with her because her office took my insurance. We have had many unsavory experiences. Starting with sending my post orthodontic son in to have some small teeth looked at. After braces he wanted to fix these two teeth that were quite small looking. She recommended very expensive veneers. Unfortunately we did not get a second opinion. The staff told us they would not file down these teeth, but they indeed did. Soon after, the veneers broke, because my son opened a bag of peanuts on an airplane, and used his teeth to do so. We went in and she fixed them, but they soon broke again, while eating a sandwich. The second time, she was very annoyed and rude to my son. We originally should have just bonded the teeth, but since they were filed down, two crowns were required instead. We took him elsewhere for these.
Fast forward to today. I went in for a routine cleaning, and she asked If I had done anything to my front teeth. I said yes I had a crown done about 8 months prior, by my dentist who is a long drive away now that we are in north county. I really like him and his whole office, and since it was cosmetic and I would pay out of pocket, I decided to go to him. She became visibly annoyed, then told me she would not treat me anymore and that it was illegal for her to do so. (absurd!) She then told me she would not fix the fillings that needed redoing, and cancelled my children’s upcoming appointments. I say good riddance. It is a move I should have made before. I will take my six family members and go to someone else!

ZERO stars to Village Dental/​Dr. Mancheva:
— For making me an «exam» appointment, when I clearly called and asked for a «cleaning» appointment.
— For insisting (incorrectly) that it is illegal to do a cleaning without first doing x-​rays. The thought that any medical board would create a law that forced pregnant women into unnecessary exposure to radiation is absurd. I have since confirmed with multiple dental offices that it is common practice to only subject pregnant women to x-​rays in emergency situations.
— For repeatedly insinuating that I was lying about the last time I went to the dentist, and asking me to prove it.
— For being unable to assess whether I needed a simple cavity fill or a root canal, and telling me you’d let me know once you drilled in — even after forcing me into an x-​ray.
— For not being able to perform root canals in office.
— For not requiring a note from my OB in order to perform any dental work beyond a cleaning — something every other office I’ve been to has done.
— For withholding my x-​rays when I asked for them so I could get a second opinion. I realize you haven’t entered the 21^st century and started taking digital x-​rays, but 48hrs should be enough time to produce a duplicate. Clearly you were more unwilling than unable.
— For wanting to charge $ 210 for a cavity fill WITH insurance coverage, when I was able to get it filled out of pocket at a PPO office for only $ 235.
THANK goodness I went for a second opinion at my old dentist (who I had only stopped seeing because I got HMO insurance). Without taking x-​rays, he was able to positively tell me all I needed was a cavity fill, definitely no root canal. He followed good dental practice by making me call my OB and get permission for him to perform the fill and only charged me $ 235 — barely more than Village Dental would have. I am shocked at what an awful experience I had with Dr. Mancheva.
For future readers, I recommend the following dentists:
For those with PPO insurance or paying out of pocket:
Dr. Jeff Knutzen:
For those with HMO insurance:
Dr. Assadian:

I just wanted to say what that I have such a BAD experience with Bright Smile. I was then referred to Mancheva Dental. The moment that I walked in the door I was felt so welcomed. Her staff is great & they listen to what horrible service I went through. Zanka was very gentle & took her time cleaning my teeth. I didn t feel like she just trying to rush to move on to next client. She made my feel very comfortable & relax in the dentist chair. I highly recommend her is all my friends.

What a wonderful dentist! Dr. Mancheva has been my dentist for the last two years since I moved from the Midwest. I was initially under the impression from another dentist that I needed multiple fillings. I didn’t agree with that diagnosis so I went to Dr. Mancheva and was delighted to know that I only needed one.
I am always impressed with the quality of work. I am always greeted with a smile when I enter the door and they are always on time. (I hate most doctor’s offices when I have a 10:00am appt and am not seen until 11:30.)
While my dental knowledge is limited, Dr. Mancheva is a kind-​hearted professional and I am adamantly confident in her abilities. She is always articulate when explaining any issues with my teeth in addition to suggestions for overall tooth hygiene.
I trust her and her staff and I would give them my strongest recommendation.

Horrible — avoid this dentist at all costs! I starting going to Dr Mancheva as my wife had been for years even before we met, so of course I trusted her with my dental health. She made up stories as to why I needed work done or «cavities» filled and I had some of the work done as I trusted her as a professional. So did my wife. Turns out we were just naïve and she will fabricate any justification to get unnecessary work done in your mouth. She had $ 1,500 + of tooth filling work planned out for me and when I took that to another reputable dentist in encinitas (Michael Klein — awesome btw!), I was told that this work was not necessary in the slightest and my teeth were healthy. She also told my wife that she needed root canals and crowns replaced and has dropped thousands of dollars over the years trusting Dr Mancheva as a professional, but it turns out that all of that work was unnecessary. She learned this when she finally went to an Endodontist that said Dr Mancheva is a scam artist and a witch. The first time I got work done with her, she told me my teeth look grinded down and look like a 40 year olds teeth (I was 28 at the time), and that was her justification to fill teeth and build them back up. She grinded them down even further and then filled them back up, my incisors hurt for 90 days straight, I couldnt even bite down fully due to excruciating pain from the work she performed. The teeth weren’t even hurting and had no cavities before she performed the work also. In quoting John S.‘s review from 10÷4÷2012 — «She seems like a professional dentist», but trust me, she is not. Do not trust her advice or work as you will end up in pain and hundreds or thousands of dollars siphoned out of your bank account in the process. Do yourself a favor and STEER CLEAR! Her receptionist, Gloria, is extremely friendly though and is probably the only reason she is still in business.

If I could give zero stars, I would. I have seen Dr Mancheva for the past 10 years. I initially went to her because she took my insurance, and I really didn’t know any better. I thought all dentists were the same, hey they look at the same xrays so wouldn’t they all do the same work? Not so! Dr Mancheva routinely would upsell — as in, I go in for a filling and come out with a crown — in my 20’s. I was naïve, trusted her and didn’t get a second opinion because I thought all dentists had their patients best health in mind. The same goes with a root canal she did — on the spot routine upsell.
In the beginning, Dr Mancheva had multiple hygienists, in recent years her staff has gone down to 1 front office and 1 hygienist. She has 3 chairs in her office. Gloria at the front is extremely nice — Dr Mancheva is clever to keep her on board — and puts a good front to the business. In the past few years I was able to get a next day appointment in pretty much any time slot and I was the only patient in the office then. It made me start to wonder.
From the beginning she has insisted I needed a night guard. A $ 400+ expense. I always had so much work to get done (so she said) that I couldn’t afford a night guard.
She recently gave me 2 crowns. After the first crown she referred me to get a root canal from a specialist — which ended up not being the tooth in pain I found out after the root canal — and then filled my new expensive crown with a dark porcelain that didn’t match the tooth. The 2^nd crown was way too big and she sent it back to the lab. The replacement crown was still too big but she insisted it was fine. It felt like I had a marble in my mouth. She sanded it down a lot, and then sanded it down some more.
I finally got my wits about me and went to another dentist. Night and day! In comparison I realized that Dr Mancheva’s office is a low tech office from the 80’s. My new dentist has a high tech office and procedures still cost the same. My new dentist says I don’t need a night guard. He referred me to specialist for the tooth pain — and I don’t need a root canal. The specialist just sanded down my crown and the pain went away. It makes me wonder how many unnecessary procedures, ie; money spent, she swindled me out of.
Please for the love of teeth, go somewhere else… unless your goal is to have no healthy teeth and you like to give your money away.

I’ve been going to Dr. Mancheva for several years. She’s polite, honest about what she sees, and does a great job of cleaning. Her office manager Gloria is very helpful and thorough in her communication and paperwork. Going to the dentist is never pleasant but they make it straight forward and as easy as possible.

She seems like a professional dentist.

Excellent caring dentist and very friendly and helpful staff! I am recommending her to all of my friends and family because I had such a great experience! I hadn’t been to a dentist in 7 years and expected bad news but thankfully I had found an honest dentist and she told me that I still had no cavities! I also loved their high tech plaque removing system that uses water at high pressure rather than a scraping tool. (no horrible scraping sounds) It is so gentle and doesn’t harm your tooth enamel and feels much better than the old fashion scraping!

The worst experience ever! Dr. Mancheva was so rough — she yanked my face towards her and told me what terrible shape my teeth were in. Mancheva recommended that I have all of my crowns replaced as well as put bonding on all other teeth. For thousands of dollars and terrible bedside manners, I would not recommend this dentist. I think she needed to purchase a new car or something which is why she tried to rip me off just like an auto shop!

I’m very satisfied with the services Dr. Mancheva provides.
During my visits I was impressed with her knowledge and professionalism. She put an extra effort saving my tooth.
I’m truly thankful and highly recommend her services.

After the horrific experience with SmileCare Dental, I am glad Dr. Mancheva is my dentist.
I agree she is an honest dentist, unlike SmileCare. The staff is friendly and warm. I have had a few cavities fixed here, and come here for regular cleanings. I have never had any problems, everything always goes smoothly. If she finds a cavity, she can fix it the same day. It all happens quite quickly. I would recommend her to anyone.

Very caring and honest dentist. She is very experienced also. She and her staff make you feel comfortable. She is genuinely interested in helping you maintain healthy teeth and not recommending unnecessary treatments to pad her pockets. My whole family of 6 go to her and we are pleased.