Signature Smiles Dental Care

I don’t usually like to take my time to post reviews on businesses, unless if I am extremely satisfied or extremely dissatisfied. This time 5 stars should say it all. Attentive staff, great dentist and comfortable atmosphere makes me feel like I can easily overcome my fear of dentist office.

My Teeth & Gums have found a new home, and we’re so excited, we just kind hide it, we’re about to lose control and we think you’ll like it! :D

I’ve been seeing Dr. Buen at Signature Smiles for about three years, and I have been extremely happy! Dr. Buen is the BEST dentist I’ve had, and I’ve had a a few throughout my adulthood. She performed a root canal on me, and it was virtually painless. There’s no need to be scared of Novocain shots either… I don’t know how she does it, but she has such a gentle touch. She and her staff always make sure I am comfortable. On a recent visit I had a lengthy procedure… I got a little chilled from lying in the chair… I jokingly asked for a pillow and blanket and they were brought to me!
The office is clean and modern with state of the art equipment. There are flat screen TV’s on every chair and headphones for those who can’t bear the sound of having treatment on their mouth, LOL! You can view your x-​rays on those monitors too!
By the way, someone else mentioned not liking the «digital x-​ray machine,» I actually like it since I have a small mouth. Old film x-​rays would cut into my mouth.
I find this x-​ray machine is A LOT more comfortable!
The staff are very friendly. Whenever I go, there is always someone to greet me as soon as I walk in. I brought my 5yo. son on my last visit (4days ago), and they were wonderful with him. He did exceptionally well in the chair!
I feel confident and comfortable with the treatment I’ve received.
I highly recommend Dr. Buen and Signature Smiles!!!

I know dentist offices and, well, I wanted to like this one. They have great marketing and have a welcoming waiting area complete with a fireplace! What could be better than that? Well, a lot, as it turns out.
For one thing, there wasn’t anybody to welcome me for my first appointment. I came in and there was NOBODY to be seen. I sat down for several minutes before seeing anyone. Eh — eventually I saw a person and that person was friendly. In fact, I think I can easily say that everyone there was friendly.
I was surprised that the dentist (instead of a hygienist) did my cleaning. He was a nice little man and seemed to have a lot of nervous energy. He asked me routine questions about my oral health and discovered a recently chipped tooth (my other dentist said it wasn’t worth fixing) and that I’d been clenching my teeth recently (I was going through a stressful time).
He jumped on both of those as sales opportunities. He did a filling on the chip, an x-​ray, and then made what he called «the Rolls Royce» of night guards for which he charged me $ 100 beyond what insurance paid. I called my insurance about the night guard and discovered that he shouldn’t have given me «the Rolls Royce» — that it was actually for TMJ, something that he wasn’t qualified to diagnose. Long story short, I felt strongly that he did those extra things just to get extra revenue and not because they were necessary.
Signature Smiles was gracious about refunding my money for «the Rolls Royce» night guard and giving me the proper one that was actually covered by my insurance. After that experience I returned to my regular dentist, even though he was farther away.

I’m surprised at the mediocre reviews for Signature Smiles. Ever since moving to Oak Park three years ago I’ve been going to Signature Smiles and I have never had a negative experience here.
From the three dentists on staff (I’m particular to Doctor Iva) to the front desk staff, every one who works here has always gone out of their way to be friendly, accommodating, and kind to my sensitive teeth. They’ve never made a recommendation for my teeth that seemed sketchy. I trust their guidance and decisions completely.
As for the other reviewers complaints about insurance, Signature Smiles accepts a wide range of policies. Those reviewers probably just don’t have the best dental coverage. For those without dental insurance, they have payment plans.
To address the the length of appointments, it has been my experience that ANY first trip to a new dentist will take a while unless you’ve arranged to have your dental records sent beforehand. For a routine cleaning, you can get in and out in 50 minutes. I’ve never had to wait more than 10 minutes in the lobby. And furthermore don’t be late, people! They can’t do anything about your tardiness.
I especially love that they have individual plasma TVs attached to each dental chair with the full selection of cable channels. Food Network while getting my teeth cleaned — yes, please!
Signature Smiles is fabulous. Go here.

I’m between 2 and 3 stars… the positives about this place are convenient location and they take my insurance. However there are a lot of negatives: my first appointment took 2 hours (which I wasn’t told about before I came and was kind of a pain for work). It was because they did this «panoramic» xray view, which in retrospect seemed unnecessary and just a way for them to bill the insurance. Since when are normal xrays not good enough? And I say this not because I am simply suspicious, but I’m a doctor and I know how other doctors (or dentists) make money. Not me, of course!
The other thing that happened is that they recommended an «upgraded» dental exam, which I had to pay a significant copay for (about $ 200) for. But the dentist made it sound like my teeth would fall out if I didn’t get it.
So I just came back this week for another check-​up, and went to pay (this time $ 54 to keep up the previous cleaning), and I was told I have $ 150 credit on my account because my insurance paid more than they thought! What?! They basically held on to my money and would never have credited me unless I came back.
And one other thing… they have a «cancellation» fee if you don’t cancel within 48 hours that they don’t mention until you try to cancel. They did waive it for me out of courtesy though.
I am trying to decide whether I will come back or not. I asked for a different dentist for this follow up, and I liked her much more than the first one, but it still seems really sketchy.