Sumalee Sangsurasak, DDS

They are pretty kid friendly there and the two times that we’ve be in we haven’t had to wait very long. But they are not insurance friendly: they haven’t submitted claims for payment and have not been helpful in my submitting my own claims. I changed to Dr. Carpenter who has a great manner with kids and adults and whose front office is great about submitting claims to our insurance.

I was recommended to Dr. Sumalee by a coworker whose 2 daughters have been going to her for years. My son has clocked in 2 visits with her and both were great experiences… well as great as any regular teeth cleaning can be. My 4yr son is pretty bad about any strange office visits but Dr. Sumalee’s office and staff are very kid friendly. From the toys in the lobby (some eclectic but my son is fascinated with the old school typewriter) to the fun wall décor and monitors on the ceiling, my son was distracted enough to not be scared. Plus the dentist and her staff are so friendly, patient and thorough throughout the whole appt. answering any questions we had and talking through each step of the procedures. the extra bonus for my son is the toy he gets to pick out at the end. It’s a small thing but for a kid it’s pretty cool.

She’s great, front office staff could be a bit nicer. However, to make anyone wait for 28 minutes is just wrong. Perhaps the next time we go, we will upgrade from 3 stars to 4. You wouldn’t wait 15 minutes let alone 28, so why should your PAYING clientele have to wait? Not cool, not ok, our time is just as precious as yours. Also, make sure you check your EOB’S from your insurance and compare it to their invoices. Caught something that wasn’t hefty price at all, but makes me wonder how many times they do this. They also said that if my insurance didn’t cover it, then I’m responsible which is not correct, if you have a relationship with the insurance companies you are bound by that agreement and pricing.

My kids have been seeing Dr. Sumalee for several years, and we all love her! She is thorough and kind, and never talks you into a procedure your child doesn’t need. My children simply adore her.
One of my children has very bad enamel and ended up with a root canal at age 5, and she had such a good experience that she wanted to know if she would get to go back again soon! Dr. Sumalee had her so distracted with the movies, toys, and little games that she never knew anything scary was happening. She told my daughter to hold still because she was painting a little picture on her tooth (while she was drilling) and my daughter love it. Yes, she loved it.
Dr. Sumalee always explains everything in great detail and she is always pleasant and polite. She always remembers the kids and makes them feel special.
To the parent who complained that her child wanted an extra toy and didn’t get it– seriously!!! What kind of parent lets her child pick 2 toys after they have been offered one? The $ 200 you spent was a professional dental fee, not a carnival prize package. And who leaves a bad review that affects a dentist’s reputation over her spoiled child being put in her place?

I would like to highly highly discourage anyone from contacting this office for your child because you will experience so much disappointment. Here is what happened to me today, I called the office for the first time to make an appointment for my son because his pediatrician recommended Dr. Sumalee. My son’s pediatrician said this dentist is her long time friend. Fist, the phone rang and rang. Then someone finally answered, said «Dr. Sumalee’s office, this is Pat.» Silent. So I said «hi I would like to make an appointment for my nine months old son, new patient.» Silent. So I continued. «Do you need my insurance information?» Silent. At this point I’m thinking, wow seriously? This is the first impression of this office, this person is supposed to bring in business? Finally she said, «you’ll have to pay $ 148 for the first time patient exam and x-​rays, no matter what» I told her that would not be an issue. Still she hasn’t told me whether or not I can make an appointment. She went on to get my son’s name and a contact number. Then she rudely told me that I’m talking too fast. So I finally had it and I asked her if that is how she treats new patient, and there’s no apology from her but «well you were talking too fast and I couldn’t get the information.» I decided right then to end the call. First of all, you rude miserable receptionist, what’s your name Pat? learn to do your job, it’s basic customer service. Dr. Sumalee, if you are reading this and you are a smart business woman then you will fire Pat immediately because I’m guessing this isn’t the first complaint you’ve heard about this person. To sum up my experience… this office is rude, cold, unwelcoming, and bad business.

We’ve been taking our son to Dr. Sumalee since his first teeth appeared — about 4 years. She has always been patient and kind and provided excellent dental care. She also takes time to thoroughly answer questions.
Yesterday, he had two teeth extracted, which was much tougher on me than him. She made it a quick and painless procedure and after a couple of hours downtime, he was playing with friends by the afternoon like any regular day.
If you have kids, Dr. S. should be your dentist (I wish she did adults)!

DO NOT TAKE YOUR CHILD HERE. After our experience with that entire office, I am filing a complaint with the ADA.
My 9 year old son saw her last Friday for a severe toothache. After X-​rays and an hour wait, a hygienist started to clean his teeth. When I stopped him to explain that we weren’t here for that, it was clear that no one had read his files and we had been there for an hour without seeing the doctor. When Dr Sumalee finally appeared, she attributed his pain to a cankersore on his gums but did acknowledge that he had a cavity in the baby tooth. She never cleaned or investigated the cavity. She never offered any remedy or pain medication.
By the following Wed. night, my son was complaining the pain was worse. I called on Thurs. and twice on Friday. No one returned the call until Monday. There was no referral phone no. for emergencies. Our emergency was treated by my own doctor who came in while his office was closed and spent 2 ½ hours Saturday morning to extract the tooth that had an abscess!
Meanwhile, Sumalee’s office will not release his files and when I called to fax a written authorization, they wouldn’t give me the fax number, saying I was rude.
For any parent that has been through a 2 ½ hour dental procedure with their child howling, I showed considerable restraint. The staff is routinely rude but worse of all is the negligence of Sumalee.
I have called the doctor that referred her and after reviewing the files, they have removed her from their referral list.

I have been taking my child to this dentist for the past 5 – 6 years. Dr. Sumalee i feel is fair but the receptionists are quite arrogant. I don’t know what it is exactly but they don’t sound very acommodating on the phone and when you see them during the visit they just seem cold and distant. For instance, Each child after their visit is given one toothbrush and a prize to chose from. One day my child saw a plastic watch (it’s not even a watch, it’s one of those cheap plastic trinkets). My child asked for the watch and a ring (a cheap and plastic kind). The receptionist said… «No, you’re only allowed one toy!» Mind you, these aren’t even considered toys — they’re cheap plastic trinkets! I find it petty that this woman can’t give my child this cheap plastic ring (which probably cost 5 cents) after i paid $ 200 for the dental visit. Tell me that isn’t petty?
Oh and one more thing, the same receptionist will constantly call you with reminders and send you postcards about your next check-​up. I think it’s time i start looking for a new pediatric dentist.

We have taken our daughter here for years but this last visit for a sore tooth was just that — our last visit.
My husband always felt like Dr was abrasive however this last time she was on the verge of being rude. We were made to feel like bad parents, she showed pictures of teeth that were worse than what our daughter had and it has totally freaked out our daughter. Instead of helping the tooth, she told us to keep it clean until it falls out – doesn’t want to waste our money filling a tooth that will fall out in «A YEAR OR TWO»…
Her office staff gave us a last minute app’t and then Dr made us feel that it was a bad time. Not our problem but unfortunately it became ours — she took it out on us and our daughter. If you want to feel degraded and your child to be freaked out, then by all means visit this dentist.
*she takes no insurance so you end up paying for the full charge after your insurance pays its portion

We’ve been going to Dr. Sumalee for 5 years and she has her good and bad days. Sometimes she’s patient and other times she’s rushing us out of there. Her hygienists are a hit and miss. Her prices are outrageous. A pea-​size amount of fluoride, which made my son throw up, was $ 36. Really? An office visit that her receptionist recommended when I called about my son’s tooth coming in crooked was $ 56 for a 3 minute visit. That should have been a courtesy visit, or $ 25 at most. Although she seems to provide decent care and the décor is distracting for the kids, they are business first and care a far second.

We have been going to Dr. Sumalee for 8 years now and I can’t say enough good things about her. She is a NO NONSENCE kind of dds. She is firm yet very caring. If you are an overly sensitive kind of mom that has a teary and sensitive child you may not get the white gloved treatment your looking for. But… If you want to hear the firm truth about dental care and get great advise for your children plus a rock star cleaning for your kids this is the place. Best of all the office is FABULOUS! Very clean, modern and fun. My girls are super patient so they get a really lengthy visit. Dr. Sumalee knows children and knows how long they can handle a visit and guages their visit for their ability. We pay out of pocket an extra 50.00 per child per cleaning over our insurance coverage and ITS TOTALLY WORTH IT! Other dds would be free but I don’t mind given that its been such a great experience having dental care with Dr. Sumalee. You won’t be dissapointed!

We have been going to Dr. Sangsurasak (who we affectionately referred to as Dr. Sumalee) for the past five years and really like working with her. I am embarrassed to admit that my son had baby bottle mouth, tooth decay resulting from falling asleep with a bottle in his mouth, and required dental work and caps when he was around two. We visited several pediatric dentists before we decided to work with Dr. Sumalee. She discussed with us different treatment alternatives and gave us her view as to why certain procedures (recommended by some other dentists we spoke to) may not be necessary.
We have been back to Dr. Sumalee regularly for my son’s cleanings and checkups during the past five years. Her office is dino themed and very kid-​friendly. The little patients will lay on the chairs watching cartoons on the LCD screens mounted on the ceiling while getting their teeth cleaned. Even though the office is quite busy, we feel that we can always asked her questions and Dr. Sumalee always takes her time to answer them to our satisfaction.
She does not accept dental insurance so be prepared to pay in full at the time of visit. But her office will help us to file claims with the insurance so we will be partially reimbursed. It is quite a bit more expensive then going to someone in network. Of course I would preferred that she is in network and takes insurance. But for us, the extra cost is worth it. We trust that Dr. Sumalee does not recommend unnecessary procedures (or will talk us out of unnecessary procedures) and has my son’s best interest at heart. She is great with my son and I am grateful that he has not been traumatized for life due to the procedures in connection with the baby bottle mouth.
Some doctors, while great doctors, don’t always remember their patients well. Not Dr. Sumalee. Although we only go in from time to time to cleaning and checkup these days, Dr. Sumalee remembers my son and us well and I found her to be quite personable (and was surprised to see the «uptight» comments). Her office is busy and her setup is very efficient. We always try to prepare a list of our questions in advance to make sure our concerns are fully address. She gives us the no frill report but is always available to discuss any questions or concerns we have.

We brought my youngest in to see Dr. Sangsurasak after getting a referral from a family friend. Her office was very nice, kid-​oriented, but she was kind of uptight, and quite frankly, did not seem to have the patience that kids need. Maybe we just caught her on a bad day.

Dr. Sumalee is a wonderful pediatric dentist. We have been taking our kids to her for 10 years and she has always been patient and gentle. Her practice has gotten quite busy over the years and there are now other technicians who do the cleanings. Both my kids have had sealants and extractions done by Dr. S and they were painless. Be prepared — she is expensive and does not accept all dental plans, but she is a great dentist.

Dr. Sangsurasak was fantastic. I have a highly sensitive, easily frightened 2 ½ year old who hates anyone in a white coat. Each staff member dealt sensitively and compassionately with my daughter. Dr. Sangsurasak managed to get her full cooperation for a scaling, polishing and full exam. I found her demeanor soothing and reassuring and she immediately gained my daughter’s trust. I couldn’t have been happier. You can call ahead and request a specific movie too. My daughter was so proud of herself.

I took my 3 ½ year old for a clean up. It was her first visit (yes, we were a bit behind on the first visit) and the dental hygienist LAURA was fantastic! My daughter was a bit frightened and wanted to cry, but her approach was the best! My daughter ended up with shiny clean teeth. Then Dr. Sumalee came in and check her teeth out. Gave us a full report and we were out of there. For my experience it was worth the $ 148 for the first visit and cleaning. I wanted an office that felt kid friendly and that’s what we got! Great décor and again Laura was the best.

Wow. I feel like I’ve been duped.
I would not say that Dr. Sumalee is necessarily good with children. My children have seen a handful of pediatricians and they are all better with children than this dentist. She sounded uptight and impatient with my 3 year old son though she did try to bribe him with all sorts of cheap prizes. After just a couple of minutes, she began to threaten him by saying that another doctor was going to come in with a shot if he didn’t cooperate. Uhhh… what?!
The décor of the place is nice — I give them credit for that. Lots of animals and toys.
They have small LCD screens on the ceilings but the reception is terrible and if one child is watching a certain movie, another child can’t watch the same movie in another room. Many of the movies they were showing weren’t appropriate for a 3 year old to watch either.
For $ 148, we paid for a very brief 3-​minute checkup — and that’s with my son cooperating with his mouth open! She said he had no cavities, but I’m not sure whether or not to trust her… she barely looked!
Do yourself a HUGE favor and find another dentist who will be thorough, and very likely might be more kid-​friendly than this dentist.

We had a perfect first time dental visit for my 3 year old daughter. She’s fearful of doctors and cried for a bit but the staff was super patient and understood what it took to calm her. She left with a big smile on her face, and will have no problem next visit. Dr Sumalee and her staff are wonderful and knows how to deal with toddlers. If mine can make it through a visit here with a smile, that means any kid can!