Green Dentistry

this dentist is evil. she is not a true holistic dentist she practices both kinds and will push whatever is necessary on you to make a profit .
she committed fraud against my insurance and tried to force me to sign a $ 12,000 loan when I didn’t need that much work. The psycho literally followed me into the bathroom to try to make me sign the loan.
her work is overpriced and mediocre. don’t let her take advantage of you if you’re looking for a holistic dentist go somewhere else

My experiences with Dr. Patel and her staff just keep getting better and better. They are so friendly, responsive and most of all great with my teeth! Most people dread going to the dentist, but Green Dentistry makes the experience quick, easy and painless.

Dr. Patel is the BEST dentist ever. I now have a new friend and a great dentist.

One of the best dentist visits I’ve ever had. The office was like walking into a spa — calm, modern and nicely designed. I love how they give you chap stick to keep and aromatherapy before they begin they begin the session. I even had a beautiful view of the city during my appointment. Dr. Patel was also such a pleasure to meet. Such a great place — highly, highly recommended!

This office is a complete scam. Not only do they use scare tactics, but you also cannot get a straight answer from them on anything!
Dr. Patel told me I was going to need multiple dental procedures immediately. Including tooth extractions. When my husband walked into the meeting with her the first thing she asked him was what he did for a living, which struck me as odd. We made an appointment for service and walked out with our bill (3pages long). Dr. Patel also handed me a bag as I left with an electric toothbrush in it that I didn’t even consent to buy and it was on my bill for $ 150! I left feeling tricked into buying it and was in a bit of shell shock after meeting with Dr. Patel and learning I needed such extensive work. I decided to let that slide. As the treatment time neared we couldn’t find our price estimate and called the office to confirm pricing and couldn’t get a straight answer in what the first phase would cost. They finally emailed us a new bill. Well… we ended up finding the original bill as crossed checked it. They added an additional $ 1000. To the second bill for the EXACT same services!!! We when we called them out on it Dr. Patel just talked in circles and insisted I come in immediately because I was in a dangerous situation because of my teeth. Needless to say, we canceled our treatment plan with this office and moved over to Advanced Dentistry. They are actually holistic and ethical

My dentist for over seven years. Prior to Dr. Patel, I had seen many dentists in the Bay Area. I never felt any personal connection and always felt that I was being given bad advice. I have never felt that way with Dr. Patel and her staff. We have gone through some difficult procedures together and I have always felt I was given the best dental advice.

I’m writing the review with a heavy heart. I’ve been a client here for 4 years and believe that Dr Patel and her staff are nice people. But the last 3 visits led me to think their practice is less than ethical. I admit I was a bit naïve and should had sought out new dentist then. And it is something I’m doing now but am in a jam as I’m at the beginning of a treatment suggested by Dr Patel. Overall, EXPENSIVE fees for services that you can’t accurately assess necessity or criticality unless you actively seek 2^nd or 3^rd opinions.
The dental office itself is nice with an emphasis of ‘green’ and LEED certified. You get to wear Bose head set, glasses that plays movies, massage table, warm neck wrap; very comforting, but not necessary, unless you faint at the sight and sound of drilling. Most of us just want to get in, get the right work diagnosed or performed and get out. The use of these technologies are absorbed in your dental visit fees.
The pattern I started noticing is they use scare tactic and label it as ‘preventive care’ to up sell services. I was first brought to attention of a hair line fracture in a tooth with a recommendation of a service. But this would be a philosophical debate between dentists.
Dr Patel also recommended Invisalign to correct my ‘clenching’ and ‘grinding’ but without specificity of the severity of my case or if there are ‘options’. I’ve mostly straight teeth but Dr Patel was very concerned and said my bite pattern’s off due to the grinding and required Invisalign to save my teeth. She’d ‘hate to do implants on me in my 40s, i’d lose my natural teeth as a result, plus they’re expensive’.
I’m also naïve to have agreed, I never really knew the difference between orthodontists and general dentistry so I failed on due diligence. Given the circumstance, I gave in to the pressured sales technique at Green Dentistry.
Where I thought is unethical is how the Invisalign was sold to me:
1. Failure to explain the complexity of my case. I don’t have crazy overcrowding or over/​underbite, just some spacing and 1 tooth that’s crowding.
2. Failure to educate me the different programs within Invisalign (10 trays, 5 – 7 months, which is Invisalign Express, not the standard Invisalign) and the cost structure.
3. Failure to discuss with me on proposed treatment plan before we started it. I had to ask her staff to show me the 3-​D video to understand what and how we’re correcting my teeth when picking up my first tray. And I’m still unclear about my plan. She didn’t even walk through this with me, her staff did. I’d imagine we should had looked at the treatment plan and agree on it before taking my money. But she collected the money and didn’t even bother to go through the projection. She just casually said, ‘I want to get you done in 7 months max’.
4. Failure to discuss potential options to reduce ‘clenching’ and ‘grinding’. She simply said I’m beyond night guard and need Invisalign. As a general dentistry practitioner, I thought it’s normal to be referred to an orthodontist, but not my case.
5. Assessing high fees for Invisalign Express (IE) and sold it to me as regular Invisalign.
Client’s best interests might not be top priority for this office and I would caution people to evaluate their options. For general filling, x-​rays, I think they’re competent. For additional works/​services, take it with a grain of salt and get other opinions. These are my lessons learnt.

Dr. Patel and the Green Dentistry Staff are the best in the Bay Area. Not only do you receive a great vibe when you walk in the door, but you leave feeling like they truely care about you. They have a beautiful office, state of the art technology, and put the the finishing touch on the dental experience by giving you a warm neck wrap, stylish glasses, and the fresh scent of a little lavender/​Chamomile essential oils. I recommend this practice to all of my friends and family, and anyone else looking for a dental office that goes above and beyond. Thanks Dr. P and the Green Dentistry Team!

This place has changed hygienists more than any other dentist I’ve ever been to. Don’t know what’s up with that, but didn’t like the last one I had at all! I’m not usually all that sensitive or one to hate/​fear going to the dentist, but the last visit totally turned me off to this place. Never had a cleaning hurt that bad! Dr. Patel had always been super nice & fairly thorough, they used to measure my gum recession & everything, but the past 2 or 3 visits all they did was a quick cleaning & coerced me into getting more x-​rays ($$$). Dr. Patel’s nice attitude changed after I told her I had gone to another cosmetic dentist to do 2 veneers for me since my last visit (I wanted to make sure the same lab was used to ensure they matched my other crown in the front of my mouth I had Dr. Rabanus do about 5 yrs ago). She seemed irritated (prob just cuz she wasn’t the one to collect the $$$$ for that) & started ripping in his work!!! Which btw-​is flawless. Not going back

Since you can’t avoid the dentist, you might as well choose the best one and Dr. Patel and her team are the best! Upon arrival, they ask how you’re doing, offer water and a lavender heated shoulder pad. If there’s a wait, you can also enjoy their massage table! I’ve only done this once and I wished the wait was slightly longer. Ha!
Dr. Patel is very thorough and listens to your needs and addresses them discussing every detail. She is very caring and has provided me with great solutions!
Additionally, the office is very cozy with great views above Union Square. Can’t beat the location! :)

I have loved all of my in person experiences with Dr. Patel and her staff, however sometimes their response time is longer then ideal… So be patient :) She also worked closely with me to find resolution and repair the work she had done on multiple teeth that continued to have issues. She stands by her work.

It’s been a few months since I first posted my review and I’ve received many responses from people interested in filing a lawsuit against Dr. Patel. This is good news! If you are interested, please message me on Unilocal.You will definitely not be alone. Any actions towards the lawsuit will start happening after November 2014. I am currently traveling through South America and always on the move so I won’t be able to make any headway until I am back in the States.
Now, onto my detailed review.
I went to Dr. Patel because I wanted to use my dental insurance before I lost it. My primary dentist’s schedule was full and I asked around to see if my coworkers had any suggestions. Many of the people in my company recommended her because she was so «cool» and had state of the art medical equipment. I set up an appointment.
She performed an X-​ray of my mouth and sat me down and told me that I needed all this dental work done. Most importantly, I needed to get a crown ASAP. I told her that my primary dentist told me that a crown was not necessary yet. She insisted that I needed it and went on to tell me about how bad oral health can lead to brain damage and death. I agreed to the crown. Then she tried to push me to get some kind gum rejuvenating oral surgery because my gum line was too low. I refused that procedure even though she kept pushing for it. I told her that I could not pay for the crown upfront. She told me not to worry, that she knew a company that could open up a credit line for me so that I could pay for it. Finally, she agreed to let me pay in installments. Even after insurance, my crown cost over $ 1,000 dollars out of pocket. I walked away that day, confused, feeling uncomfortable with how hard she pushed me, skeptical of her practice because of the whole credit line thing, and with a new toothbrush that cost me $ 100. Man, I regret being so gullible and now this is one of those «life lesson» moments.
I told myself, whatever, as long as she does this crown right, I’ll be good. Before starting her procedure, she sent me to an endodontist to check if I needed a root canal before getting a crown. Dr. Ravi Koka said that I did not need it. This is KEY. I did NOT need a root canal. After the consult she put in the crown and left bonding agent on my gums that another dentist removed.
Crowns are supposed to last about 8 years if they are done well. Her crown lasted less than a year. I went in to get her to check out the crown that she had put in. When I got to her med-​spa, she sat me down and put a warm cloth over my shoulder and just wanted to «chat». She asked me how I was doing and what I’ve been up to, like she genuinely cared. All I cared about was fixing the pain that stemmed from her crown, not in platitudes.
We finally sat down, I opened my mouth to show her the crown and the first thing she said was, «Ewww! I don’t like the crown I put in for you. I got to fix that». She admitted to her own bad work. Wonderful. I breathed in deep and told myself again, as long as she does it well and that people make mistakes. She tried to blame me by telling me that I was a grinder. That was news to me. My sister was a grinder all her life so every dentist check up, I ask my dentist if I have issues with grinding and the answer was always No. Somehow, when her crown failed, it was because I was suddenly a grinder.
Before fixing her mistake, she sent me back to the endodontist to check if I needed a root canal and I did. Because of the damage done to my tooth from the crown, I needed to get a root canal. At this point, all I wanted to do was end the nightmare and move on with my life. I got the root canal and set up an appointment with Dr. Patel to get my second crown placed.
After the second crown, she happily exclaimed «Yay! I got that one done in less than half an hour». I didn’t know that she was trying to break a record using my oral health. After, I still felt pain and went back to see her. She giggled and said «Of course you are in pain. I left bonding agent on your gums.» AGAIN! The quality of her less than 30 minute work was evident less than 4 months later when the crown just popped off.
This was the breaking point and she knew it. She gave me a call and said she would refund my money so I could get help elsewhere. I told her that I had an empty space (where the crown used to be) in my mouth and she said I should be fine. She cared very little what happened to my mouth at this point. This happened just a week before I was to embark on a backpacking trip through South America. I had no time to get help in the States. I had to find a dentist in Paraguay.
The work of a dentist in a third world country by far exceeded hers. No pain, my crown looks like a real tooth and 5 times cheaper. Amazing.
Dr. Patel should be ashamed but it looks like she keeps pushing people into a procedure she clearly does not have the skills for. Hopefully the upcoming complaints and lawsuit will awaken her conscience.

It’s been about a year from my last review and I still give Dr. Patel high marks. She remembers all of the details about my mouth and about the things we discussed before. She even remembered that I went on vacation a few months after I saw her last. and that was over 9 months ago!
She is very personable and really cares about me and not just to work on my teeth and then hand me off to the next person or get me out the door.
Once again she spent some time looking at my teeth and explained that I have been grinding my teeth a bit and might want to look at a mouth guard or even other treatment options. It has always been a great discussion with the underlying task to have me keep my teeth healthy for as long as possible.
She has a great chair side manner and always feel happy when I arrive and even when I leave her office.
Again. if you care about your teeth and want the best care then this is the place to go. If you want to cut corners and just get the minimum done to save a few bucks, then look elsewhere.
Dr. Patel will be upfront with you about it. so be up front with her about your needs too, you won’t be disappointed.

I love Dr Patel and her staff! If you want a wham, bam, thank you ma’am experience you probably should find another dentist. Dr. Patel and her staff make you feel like a friend, not a patient. They are kind and thoughtful and really take your needs into account. I greatly appreciate the time and care they took with me. Additionally, Dr Patel had to do 3 fillings for me. She did 3 in one sitting faster and more gently than any other filling I’ve had before! I experienced NO after effects or pain, which was a first for me! (Let’s also note, one was the BIGGEST cavity I’ve ever had.

This dental office provides exactly what I need. It offers good service in a not-​so-​stressful environment. Dr. Patel gives you good attention, and her staff is very welcoming. Also, I don’t think she engages in the up-​sell that I’ve experienced in the past with previous dentists. She’ll recommend what you need.

I had a really great experience with Green Dentistry. Dr Patel and her staff are really friendly, and going to the dentist has never been a more pleasurable experience. I’ve been there twice now, and both times everything was explained in detail, and there was a genuine effort to make sure that I was comfortable. It was an exceptional experience. They’ve been very kind and fair, and I am glad I’ve finally found a dentist I’m comfortable with.
The lavender aromatherapy shoulder pads and movie I got to watch while getting dental work done was also definitely a bonus! Got dental work and a spa day all in one
:)

Dr Patel rocks! She takes good care of me and my sensitivity about my dentist visits. She gets it! Thank YOU for taking good care of me and working with me through something that I am afraid of. Best caring amazing Dentist in the world! Not all dentist are thoughtful or sensitive about being afraid of visiting the dentist. So thank you for taking good care of me.

I Can’t say enough about Dr. Patel! She is kind, gentle and more importantly fair. Everyone in this office has been incredibly friendly, outgoing and overall genuine. Dental work is never fun but these folks know how to make it so pleasant that you almost forget you are there for that dreaded cavity!
She knows what she is doing and her staff is exceptional. Highly recommended!

My memories of going to a dentist range from getting nasty pink goop shoved in my mouth when I was 7, to some dentist telling me I had gum cancer, to nearly getting run over outside another dentist’s office, to wondering if a hygienist was trying to clean my teeth or gouge a hole in it.
Then I came to Green Dentistry and it’s been AMAZING. Dental nightmares no more!
I love the scented neck wrap, the pillow, the appointment reminders, the view, the calming music but most of all I love Dr. Patel and her staff! They’re always pleasant and remember the randomest details I’ve mentioned here and there. Dr. Patel is very knowledgeable, honest and cares about my individual needs, rather than just getting me in and out the door. A huge plus is that it’s a quick walk from work, so I can come on my lunch hour, and they’re always very accommodating.
I never thought I’d say this, but I’m looking forward to my next visit!

An update to my review. If before I sounded bitter then now I am even more bitter and I haven’t been to the Green Dentist in several years.
Dr Patel runs an evil, evil, evil practice. They gave my personal information out including my phone number to a third-​party entity with an unpublished phone number who called me and offered me cash to take this review down. I was offered $ 400 to remove this negative review. I refused because I stand for principles that will not allow a scammer and bad doctor treat unknowing patients. I contacted a few other people who had negative reviews on here and they all confirmed exactly the same thing. She has been giving our information out and offering money to take the reviews down. Makes me wonder how many people just accepted the cash and took them down.
BTW, recently I went to the dentist — Paul Ryan-​Lake — in the Castro who reviewed my teeth again (2^nd opinion) and I had only two small things wrong with my teeth which cost me $ 125 to fix, not $ 20,000.
I will be contacting the Better Business Bureau and Unilocal to report her bad business practices. Honestly, I have lupus and had I gone through with her treatments I could have become very ill if anything had gone wrong. She was literally playing with my life.
DO NOT GO VISIT THIS SHAM OF A DENTIST.
You have been warned. Again.