Weinstat Marvin C DMD

 

111

63

Lisa J.

San Francisco, CA

From the sarcastic receptionist to the patronizing hygienist, I have had one too many bad experiences here to even think about going back. I too, had been told I needed a deep cleaning and got put on an every 3 month cleaning schedule and after reading the other reviews I am really looking forward to getting a second opinion. I was recently told by Dr. Weinstat that some people need to be on a 3 month schedule the rest of their life to be sure gum disease does not progress and if that happens for me they will take good care of me. Ha-ha! Think again.

The "doctor" obviously has a screw loose with that new dyed, fake, red/Grecian Formula, what I have left of my hair look! Too funny. I also am happy to never have to listen to incessant ramblings and questions about my personal life.  Just work on my teeth people, quiet is a great thing too!!! Offensive topics and uncomfortable lines of questioning were part of my last day with Dr. Weinstat. As I had to put up with this, my mouth is wide open, I'm laying back defenseless in the chair, not being able to tell them to shut the hell up. How can people be so stupid? Why don't they think before they speak?

I am just glad to be done with the weird Weinstat world of dentistry.

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9

87

Lara L.

San Francisco, CA

Dan, I hate to break it to ya, but I'm starting to think that everyone who walks in the door of this place needs extensive dental work.

I chose Dr. Weinstat fairly randomly a few years ago. I was new to the city, and choosing a dentist is always difficult to I did a search and found his name on my dental plan. I went in for a simple cleaning and x rays, and saw Dr. Baum. She said my mouth was in lovely shape, then Dr. Weinstat came in and found that my gums were in bad shape and recommended root scaling. Dr Baum said, I don't know if she needs all that, so she scheduled me for a simple deep cleaning, which I probably needed since I hadn't been to a dentist in about a year. I go in to Dr. Baum get my cleaning, she's nice wonderful and personable. I reschedule for a 4-month checkup.

I show up 4 months later, Dr Baum is no longer with Dr. Weinstat. And without even looking at my teeth, Dr Weinstat declares that I am immediately in need of some procedure called root scaling. I'm a little confused and say that Dr. Baum said that my gums looked a lot better. I was immediately met by a "Dr. Baum and I differed on the idea of preventative gum health". Ok...so i ask if this procedure will cost me and if my insurance will cover it. The very nice receptionist lady says it's covered and will cost only $50.

I say, ok, lets do it, if the dentist says I need it, I must. They do half my mouth, and schedule me the next week for another appointment. As I'm leaving the office, Dr Weinstat is talking to a man in the lobby saying "this young lady just had the procedure done that you're getting, and it didn't hurt, right?" I agree, and say yeah, it was fine.

At this point I'm feeling a little coerced. He didn't even look at my teeth before doing the cleaning and he had another of the same procedure scheduled immediately after mine? How convenient. So I asked my roommate whose father was a dentist in Berkeley if she could ask him about the procedure. She calls him up and he says "yeah, it's something that dentists do a lot of time unnecessarily. "

So, I go back, have the other half of my mouth done with yet a different dentist, and they try to schedule me for another appointment in 4 months...this would make 5 dentist trips for different types of cleanings in 8 months. So, I say I'll wait to schedule later.  

A couple months go by and I get a note from my insurance saying they weren't covering the procedure because my pocket depth wasn't sufficient...basically saying that the procedure wasn't necessary. And then I get a bill from Dr Weinstat's office for nearly $700. Well that doesn't fly with me so I called. The receptionist lady was very nice and arranged for me to only pay $100.

I won't go back to Dr. Weinstadt. He didn't do me any harm, but I felt rushed and tricked into an unnecessary procedure.

The two stars are for the nice receptionist who was understanding and helpful with my bill.

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Elite '08

11

114

Dan C.

New Orleans, LA

I hadn't been to a dentist in two years or something, but finally I figured, hey I have a dental plan, I guess I should use it. So I come into this place just for a checkup/cleaning, and it turns out I basically need to have my mouth renovated. You'll all think I have a nasty a$$ mouth, but anyway, I had borderline periodontitis, and so I needed deep cleanings, new fillings, a mouthguard, another cleaning/checkup and a little bit of cosmetic reconstruction.

This all took place over the course of about 5 months. So yeah, I got to know these folks pretty well. I hate going to the dentist as much as the next person, but Dr. Weinstat and Dr. Iwama, the other dentist there, took good care of me and I was pleased with the results. Like all doctors/dentists should, they actually explained the rationale for doing each procedure, and everything was done with a minimum amount of pain and discomfort. Naturally I had to pay a ton for all this, even with insurance, but I suppose that's my fault for not having regular cleanings. Anyway, they were nice about letting me pay everything off really slowly and everything. All very sweet people.

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7

121

I'm French M.

West Seattle, WA

UPDATE:
I also don't need quad scaling, like he said. When I moved back to Washington, I went and saw my very best friend, and I told her the whole story about my "terrible" gums. I trust this girl. My parents also see the same dentist. She looked at me, the person in charge of periodontics looked at me, and the dentist looked at me. "Wow, you have been miracously healed" he said with a smile, without directly saying ill of Dr. Weinstat. Very nice dentist, just told me to keep flossing because I have some sensitive spots from my fillings between my teeth.

Interesting. I am going to be back in SF for a few days and scheduled a visit with Dr. Weinstat. I will call and cancel now.

This dentist is totally amazing, and his staff, especially Maria, is so wonderful. I have terrible terrible teeth (they look nice, but they are pretty messed up). I knew this before going in, and I only had 2 months before my dental insurance expired. I had some obvious dental caries, and my gums bleed like crazy when (at that point twice a week) I flossed.
Dr. Weinstat took ALOT of time with me and helped me to determine what was causing me so many problems. Diet, habits, etc. He has very extensive knowledge of nutrition, and gave me more information than "you need to floss more" routine I have received from other dentists.
I am in the process of filling some cavities with him as we speak, and I have a fixed budget that he is helping me plan what is important to take care of NOW and what can wait. I will be moving soon, and I will have to go to another dentist, so I know that he honestly cares because he is planning my dental future, even if it is not at his practice.
I highly recommend Dr. Weinstat to anyone, especially those with gum issues and prefer a more whole-body approach to dentistry.

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