I will be posting all the honest reviews here.
“He seemed like he wanted to find reasons to charge me more or scare me. He told me I had a cavity but was unable to prove this through x-rays. He is not honest. ”
Verified Patient - 03/12/2014
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a year ago-
AVOID! I am new in town and went to him. He diagnosed me with five cavities that required expensive crows for each one that he said needed fixing right away. Totaling $1,300 to fix. I got a second opinion and the other dentist couldn't find any evidence of any of the 'cavities' Dr Lipkin said were there but found a different cavity which only required a small $20 filling to fix.
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rude!, 5/06/2010
I found this doctor to be rude, unprofessional in appearance and just shady in general. He clearly wanted to get me out of his office as quickly as possible. I thought I had made an apptmnt for a filling but he had already decided I would have to come back for more extensive work than that before even reviewing the xrays. Maybe his fees are honest, maybe they aren't but I will definitely be geeting a second opinion on both the diagnosis and the cost. He was so short with me and borderline disrespectful - I would never let him work on my teeth.
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Posted on: 3/5/2010
Avoid Lipkin Like The PlagueShare:
Had to switch insurance and this guy was on the HMO. Not only did he refuse to perform a basic cleaning, he said I needed work totaling $1,500.00 plus a "deep cleaning!" My previous dentist (who was my dentist for many years and my parents personal friend) agreed to see me for free. His comment? I didn't need the work, didn't have the cavities this crook said I did and a basic cleaning would be fine. Oh, and this is how many HMO dentists operate. They have to generate revenue somehow to compensate for the lower fees.
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3/7/2009
"MONEY HUNGRY"Share:
They are friendly, and eager to help you, but they want you to pay the outrageous prices they charge. They verified that I was covered by my Insurance for what I wanted done, but continued to try and find some way around to have me pay their usual high prices instead of my insurance co-payment. After finding out they could only charge me the co-payment, then they said Dr Lipkin would do it, but that I would probably not be happy with the way it looked. But before that, they said they only do top quality work. These people are only out to screw you for money. I would not recommend this Dentist to any one. I told them I decided to go with a different Dentist.
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over a year ago
I believe that Dr.Lipkin is ALL ABOUT THE MONEY.
I highly recommend a that you get a second opinion before you agree to any services he might tell you that you need. My wife was told that she had 4 cavities that he could fill for $$$. Second opinion was that she had no cavities. I suggest you do extra research on him before you agree to have him fix your dental problems.
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I just don't get it!!! This is supposed to be a spa like setting???? NOT.. aside from that they did a Half-A** job on the cleaning and told me I needed deep cleaning at around 550.00. Really??? I've never been told that before from any other dentist..I think that it was very sketchy and I am disappointed in 1-800-dentist What a Joke!!
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5/14/2014
DO NOT GO HERE. On my first visit they told me I had a crown that needed to be replaced and I needed two fillings. They wanted to schedule the crown appointment right away and when i told them i wanted to get a second opinion they tried to talk me out of it. The crown was less than five years old so I got a second and a third opinion and both said the crown was absolutely fine.
I waited about a year before I went back to another dentist and that one said my teeth were great so I guess I didn't need those fillings either. Total scan artists!
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8/27/2014
Be aware of this dentist. My dental insurance sent me to Dr Lipkin and he said I have two cavities i need to fix, and it will cost around $2000. I couldn't believe that because I 've been taking care of my teeth really well.
I went to another dentist to get a second opinion and Guess what! I don't have any cavities and I my teeth were in pretty good condition. This dentist is a con man. I am calling my insurance company to change my dentist for sure!
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10/7/2014
I have one thing to say about this store front dentist. Don't go there! I scheduled my first appointment last week for a checkup, x-ray, and cleaning. I was the only patient and I didn't see anyone walk in during the 45 minutes I was there. After viewing my xrays, Doctor Lipkin proceeded to tell me that I needed three crowns and a deep cleaning. To be fair, I do need two of my crows replaced, but do not need the third crown and I just had a deep cleaning less than a year ago. Lucia, the office manager told me that my insurance does not pay for crowns. I left after scheduling an appointment for a cleaning the following week. I returned for the cleaning and the office was closed with the blinds drawn. The office manager showed up 30 minutes after my scheduled appointment and said "I didn't remember what time I scheduled the appointment." The doctor was not in! They are obviously running a scam on insurance. AND BTW my insurance does pay for crowns, metal crowns not porcelain crowns. This should have been explained to me by the office manager. The place gives me the creeps. I called my insurance and changed my dentist. When I stopped by to get a copy of my x-ray, Lucia, the office manager gave me a printed copy. I asked her for the digital files and she said that the office doesn't provide digital files. She suggested that I email Dr. Lipkin and ask him for a copy. What kind of business is this? I'm out of here!!!!!!!!!!
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5/22/2014
Avoid this establishment if you can. This dentist is a con man. The attempted scam that was run on me was virtually the same as reported by other earlier reviewers. I never write reviews for Yelp however I felt compelled to do so after my experience with these crooks so that I might inform others.
The scam works something like this:
1) The dental assistant takes thorough x-rays of your teeth that you can see blown up on the TV screen, very nice.
2) Dr. Lipkin arrives, takes a quick look at the x-rays and almost immediately starts telling you bad news. He barely looks at your teeth. Your gums are bad. You have bone loss. You need a deep cleaning. You have about 4 or 5 cavities, one or two of which need to have a root canal and a crown. How much will it cost you ask. This is when he directs you to his office manager.
3) If Dr. Lipkin is the opener then his manager is the closer. Her personality is deceitful, not sincere and not genuine. I can tell when I'm being completely lied to. She quickly prepared a diagram and printout that explained all the procedures that I needed as well as the costs, as if she had done this many times in the past. The final total?, over $2000, all to be paid for out of pocket. She then uses scare tactics to try and close the deal, saying things like "it's for your health" and "you don't want to wait too long because you could lose the tooth" as well as "you should just do it, he's an excellent dentist"...etc. She has a well rehearsed sales pitch.
4) Afterwards, I went to another trusted dentist for a second opinion. It was true that I did have two cavities however they were nowhere nearly as bad as Dr. Lipkin made them out to be, certainly no root canal nor crown were necessary. The deep cleaning was an optional procedure, certainly not the urgent scenario that Dr. Lipkin made it out to be. In short, Dr. Lipkin took a small amount of truth and blew it up into a hugely expensive set of unnecessary and costly procedures.
5) I guess I've been lucky up until now because I've never had such an experience before with a dentist. All in all, these people are deplorable and disgusting. They prey upon people's ignorance and they use fear in order to scare folks into spending ungodly amounts for services they don't need. Avoid this place at all costs unless you know for sure you only need a basic cleaning or service. If you must go then beware of the up sell and always get a second opinion.
Bottom line, if you're a good dentist then patients will find you. There's no need to attempt to cheat people out of their hard earned money with scare tactics and unnecessary procedures.
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6/10/2011
1 check-in
Listed in Doctors, Dentists and Optometrists - Oh My!
My experience with this dentist. I booked an appointment, and came in.
From the exterior, the office is located in a strip mall and it's windows are shut with blinds. Sketchy as all get out.
BUT. Once you go inside, it's like you've entered a magical fairy tale land of dentistry. The interior decor is really well done - I felt immediately soothed, and comforted that I was at a legitimate business. I even seem to remember feeling a little high class - it was by far the fanciest interior of a dentist office I've ever been in.
On the other hand, that's not what matters, is it? What matters is the service they are providing. So let's get to it.....
The appointment.
I barely had time to get comfortable in my seat before the session was underway. First on the agenda? Xrays.
The hygienist didn't ask me if I had prior xrays that could be transferred to their office (I didn't....but still). They plopped me in the chair and just started snapping away. They took more xrays than I've EVER had taken in my entire life. Very thorough, I thought at the time. But now I'm thinking it was a little absurd.
After the xrays, the doc came in. Dr. Lipkin tilted me back, poked around at my teeth, and filled me in with the consensus. Four cavities, one that was NEARLY A ROOT CANAL- butdontworrywe'regonnagetitforyou - AND I had gingivitis and needed a deep cleaning of my teeth. Which is intense, pricey and apparently a two appointment ordeal.
Okay.
I've really not had much trouble with my teeth to this point, nothing felt sensitive, and I was a little apprehensive.
My apprehension turned to full-blown distrust when I spoke to the receptionist. The price for all of these services? Estimated to be upwards of $1,500.
I thanked them and left.
Two weeks later I booked an appointment with another dentist.
I wanted a second opinion.
At the next dentist (Dr. Farless, who I will be reviewing soon with a five star rating), I was told by the dentist that I did NOT have any cavities. My gums weren't in the best of shape, but nowhere near deep cleaning status. In fact, I just needed a couple regular cleanings because for SOME reason, all the dentists I've been to in the past year have been looking at my teeth but not cleaning them (WTF?).
Seriously, I think these people at Royal Dental Spa are scam artists to the "nth" degree. It's my personal opinion, but I don't feel that I had a thorough enough check up for the dentist to be able to really identify any problems, and after a second opinion, I learned my teeth are just fine! No cavities and certainly nothing nearing root canal status!
Also: if you leave this dental office and want to recover your xrays, they will charge you $35. Which is definitely legal (I looked into it).
I have to say, though, I was a bit surprised to only get 8 photos of my teeth when they took probably 3 times that many xrays.
When I came back to get my xrays, I saw an elderly couple filling out paperwork in the waiting room, and I literally almost told them to leave and never look back. I didn't think that was fair though, especially because I wanted to wait for a second opinion on my teeth before making any final judgement.
Prior to learning I am cavity and gingivitis free, I just had a lurking suspicion that I was being had. Once I got the confirmation that my teeth are good to go, I'm pretty much revolted that a dentist had the balls to tell me I had four cavities......and was going to perform treatments on me for a problem that didn't even exist.
Appalling. These people should be ashamed.
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12/31/2008
First to Review
I agree with the person below--these people are untrustworthy. My whole life I've never had problems with my teeth--in fact, my dentist from my home town always praised me--but Dr. Lipkin has found all sorts of problems with my teeth I've never even heard of before.
The billing is shady as well. I specifically said I only wanted one tooth worked on, and they worked on three instead, then charged me for it. When I said I didn't think this was fair, the receptionist told me she had no control of what the dentist did and neither did I. It blew my mind she presented this as a legitimate reason for charging me for something I said I didn't want.
I refused to pay for the two teeth I didn't want work on, and the receptionist finally agreed, then she figured out what I owed and somehow it went up--from $180 to $230. When I asked her why it was more instead of less, she claimed she made a mistake when adding up the total before. After trying to make sense of her math and her reasoning (I'm beginning to think she talks super-fast purposefully to confuse clients), I finally gave up and paid the $230 out of sheer exhaustion.
I won't be going back.
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4/10/2011
I wish I had read these reviews before coming in. Chose this dentist from my list of providers on HMO. Something shady is definitely happening here.
Felt like I went to a dishonest mechanic, not a medical DOCTOR.
I came in, laid down on the chair, got X-rayed, Dr. Lipkin looked at my mouth for less than one minute, scribbled something on my chart, turned around and told me that I needed 13 fillings, a root canal, and a crown. This is an inordinate amount of dental work for a healthy person in her early 20's. And obviously I take care of my teeth.
So next I stood at the receptionist's desk for about a minute and she just stared at me so I said I would figure out the costs and call back to schedule an appointment. I also asked if they do amalgam fillings and she said they don't offer metal fillings, because "no one ever asks for them anymore." (My dental plan covers amalgam for free but composite costs like $50 each.. yeah they were trying to take me for $650 in fillings alone)
Later that night I called to get a possible breakdown of procedures so that I could reconcile prices with my HMO. The receptionist now tells me that I "rushed" out of there so fast she couldn't give me a price breakdown and changed her story about the amalgam fillings, now stating that the dentist can't do them with amalgam because my cavities are so severe. (...um, yeah)
OK so now this is sounding more than shady. I call my insurance and have them change my primary dentist.
Four days later I get a letter in the mail from Dr. Lipkin's office showing that I only need 6 fillings. The root canal and crown and 7 of the fillings are magically GONE from my list of work needing to be done?!?!
So I am going in for a second opinion at another dental office. Even if I do need 13 fillings, a root canal, and a crown, I would rather not have them done by this office.
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12/28/2011
I read the reviews here about this place, but still used them as they were really close, and I find a lot of negative reviews on yelp to be unwarranted, malicious, or just the rantings of completely unreasonable people.
In this case I was wrong. First the the good.The Dentist himself did reasonably good work and was pleasant enough. But EVERYTHING else made me feel like I was dealing with a used car lot.
After my first consultation they had many dental recommendations. I thought since it had been a year since my last dentist (out of state), and since I again had insurance I decided to do them. I was given a printout that stated if I went through with all the procedures my out of pocket expense would be $500. I said that would be fine and scheduled the dates for my procedures that spanned a couple months. I kept my appointments.
At the end of my last visit, the receptionist/office manger/whatever sat at her desk a with calculator and says OK, your portion is $1500! For some reason, I don't know why, but I had dug out the original quote and had it with me. Not taking it out, I calmly said that $1500 seemed high, I asked her to explain. She pulled out her calculator talking about procedures and punching in numbers to prove it to me. I then pulled out the quote and showed her that I had the procedures as recommended, and on schedule as recommended and that the document said $500. She looked at me agast, and responded "OK, Ok, We can talk this though". At which point she added up her numbers again and it came up to--- Ta Da! $500. I paid the money, and then she wanted to schedule my next appointment. (Seriously!) I told her I'd call when I felt it was feasible.
I was going to forget about this move on and use some one else for my upcoming dentist visit. It was while looking for a new person I decided I needed to add my voice regarding this business. Deceit is bad for customer relations.
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4/28/2010
The dentist is a walking zombie that doesn't seem to care and I agree with the other reviewer they are untrustworthy and shady, they told me I needed all this stuff that no other dentist as told me I need and they printed me out a bill of over $2000+ worth of treatment I need, and that was my out of pocket INCLUDING my hmo insurance.
Won't be going back.
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2/6/2011
These guys are scammers! My experience was almost exactly the same as E. F. 's! I hadn't been to the dentist for a few years and had dental insurance for the first time in a while and found RDS in the book as an office that took Aetna insurance. I have always had really healthy teeth, and was going in with no aches or problems. After the examination, Dr. Lipkin (as described by E.F.) told me that all of my fillings needed to be replaced and that I need a "deep cleaning" because there are early stages of gingivitis. So for me to get my teeth cleaned it was going to cost something like (this was months ago) $125 per quadrant. The total for the work they were suggesting was over $1600!!
A week later, I called the receptionist (office manager) and told her that I was having second thoughts about coming in and doing the work and the deep cleaning. Her response was that she "could work with me" on the cost of the deep cleaning. Now it felt like I was dealing with a used car salesman, and I was done.
I found another dentist office down the street (Studio City Dental Group) with better reviews here (and affiliated with Aetna) and made an appointment for a second opinion. It immediately felt more like a "real" dentist's office. It was a whole floor of a professional building, as opposed to a store front in a strip mall with some dry wall thrown up. Anyway, I told them that I had just had x-rays taken at another office and I would like to avoid being zapped again. They said, "No problem. Just have RDS send the x-rays over." After the dentist examined my teeth, he said I have "beautiful teeth" and said that I should have a regular cleaning and that I had one (of my eight) filling that needed to be replaced. When I asked him about replacing all of my fillings, he said to "let sleeping dogs lie" and not replace them just for the sake of replacing them. THANK YOU!!
I called RDS and asked if I could pick up the x-rays because I was going to another dentist, and the office manager said it would be $30 dollars for them to release the x-rays. So I paid it, and was glad to be done with them!
So I ended up spending around $150 for the cleaning and to replace the filling with a clear/white filling at Studio City Dental Group.
When I told my wife about my rip off experience at Royal Dental Spa, she said, "What did you expect? You went to a place called Royal Dental Spa!!" I laughed I and thought about how that name did sound desirable when looking at all of the offices and that is why I chose it. But if what you want is a "dentist" , don't choose this place!!
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9/11/2011
Dr.Lipkin is ALL ABOUT THE MONEY.
I highly recommend a that you get a second opinion before you agree to any services he might tell you that you need. My wife was told that she had 4 cavities that he could fill for $$$. Second opinion was that she had no cavities. Unfortunately, before the incident with my wife, he convinced me that my 12 year old daughter had 2 serious cavities. He drilled, I paid, and 1 year later my daughter had to get a root canal in one of the teeth Lipkin had "fixed". Looking back, I doubt that my daughter had any cavities, and he drilled her for the money. That's about as low as you can go. I worry how much unnecessary work he's done to these people who praise him.
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10/22/2010
** Visited my dentist again last weekend. She offered to vouch for us/provide my husbands x-rays as PROOF that he didn't require a root canal/cap and only had 2 minor cavities in the front and nothing that went further than the 'dentin'.
My husband made an appt. because it has been about 2 yrs since his last cleaning and noticed what could be a cavity on the face of his eye tooth. After the x-rays, the "dentist" sashayed in wearing $300 True Religion jeans and an Ed Hardy t-shirt and started the con...
After the x-rays and a quick visual scan of his mouth, he said that he needed to have every single filling replaced and that he had a cavity so bad that it needed a crown or maybe a root canal. When my husband balked at this he got nervous and quickly assured him that "he" (emphasis on HE and not ANY other dentist) could save him from a root canal and just do a crown. He was shocked bc this was not the cavity he was in there for and felt no pain in the area that "the dentist" said was so terribly bad. When he asked to him to show him where the cavity was he handed him a giant handheld mirror and pointed to the general direction of his mouth... When he asked him to be a bit more specific bc my husband had no idea what he was talking about and couldn't see where he was pointing, he quickly tapped his rear molar and said "there". When he asked him to show him specifically where he told him the receptionist would show him on the x-ray....
The receptionist, clearly a family member and co-conspirator knew the drill...When my husband asked again about this supposed diseased tooth, she went into a rant about how, "You need to trust him... he's a dentist" and never produced the x-rays! When my husband inquired about the fillings that needed to be replaced (6 total) she said that they don't offer silver fillings and that the white fillings to replace his would cost $75 per tooth, $450 out-of-pocket-over insurance! Not only that but she also said his teeth and gums were in such disrepair he needed a very pricey deep cleaning and said they would refuse to do any work until he agreed to pay for it. My husband had once gotten a deep cleaning and was NOT convinced... further, since then he has quit smoking and been taking better care of his teeth. My husband found all that the receptionist had to say quite odd as the dentist just handed her his file without speaking to her and hadn't written anything but 4 words in his file. Clearly, this was the usual stick-up.
I have been going to the same dentist my entire life, whom my husband went to see this morning for a second opinion. She said it is obvious that the dentist from Royal Dental Spa was running a scam and that the "deep cleaning standoff" is the trademark of a dentist you cannot trust. My husband did require a cleaning and 2 fillings.
But that's it!
It's OBVIOUS that the dentist and receptionist, and other family members are the authors of the positive reviews Yelp has filtered to "keep the information as honest as possible" ! Find the 'filtered reviews' at the bottom of the page and read them, they're funny and so clearly untrue!!!!!
We will be filing complaints with our insurance, the AMA (American Dental Assoc.), The Better Business Bureau and the Bureau of Consumer Protection and every other agency/organization possible.
Don't trust these people unless you enjoy being lied to and have thousands of dollars to BLOW paying for his circa 2006 designer wardrobe!
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2/11/2011
I wish I had checked the yelp reviews before going to this dentist. Rip off for sure!
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1/9/2012
I made an appointment at this office because my husband and his work associates go there. We went from having a PPO Dental plan to an HMO dental plan...
I was a bit bothered by the fact that the dental office was in a strip mall, but ok..
I get the x-rays, the doctor comes in (dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, not professional looking at all) proceeds to the dental exam. I am then told, not by him, but by his office manager/front desk woman, that I have bone loss, my gums are in bad shape, need 2 partial crowns, and a deep cleaning in all 4 quadrants. The dentist did not explain this to me at all. He only asked if 2 of my teeth hurt (the ones that supposedly needed the crowns) and if I have ever had a deep cleaning.
Now up until this point in my dental history, I have only had 2 fillings and very healthy teeth/gums. These treatments they were proposing are not cheap, about a total of $1500-1600 range.
Of course I got a second opinion. The new dentist says I have excellent teeth, gums and one minor cavity...... and that he is appalled that royal dental spa would suggest these treatments on healthy teeth.... this place is an HMO insurance dental office, they will try to get the most $ out of you. Find someplace else......
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