Gateway Dental Group and Orthodontics

So I brought my entire family (4.5, 3 and 10 week old, my wife and I), needless to say we had to juggle… Not only was the dental service exceptional, but their ability to help our unique situation was both comforting and massively helpful. The staff was flexible, eager to comfort and patient!
That coupled with the exceptional pricing and remarkable dental care makes Gateway Dental a perfect fit for families. Thank you Dr. Dains and staff.

I see a lot negative reviews. Most all these dental places are the same. I like this one. I had a good dentist for long time but he moved. Then I went college dental I’m done with them. So I came here. I have Dr Dains. Good guy and I like him.
I have a couple of rules for going to the dentist. #1 never have any work done the first day you go in. You need to get them to write everything up. Then go home and look it over. Call your ins company get prices. You know how much the will cover. The dentist prices are not in stone. Tell them what you can afford. They will always lower the price. #2 have one thing done at a time. So you can pay as you
Go. They make you feel you have to do it all right now. You don’t. And even when you agree on a price. The day you show up ask hey can you take 50 bucks off today. If they say no. They you well I need this other thing done and if I do that today with thing today could you take 50 bucks off then? Bet they will. Wheel and deal. #3 never have a crown make there the same day. They suck! When there made in the lab it’s two weeks but it’s the best. And they bring you in for custom shade appt. this is a guy from the lab and it will be perfect. #4 never never Sign for your crown until you are100% happy. Never. It’s a lot of money an it for life.
Stop crying about these places and take charge of you mouth and teeth. I like gateway dental.

First, I never right reviews unless I have a really bad or really good experience. I was at Gateway Dental yesterday and I just wanted to recognize one of the ladies there, Kenya. She went above and beyond to help me and I was so touched from the empathy she showed me. Most companies just care about money and not the patient, but she cared more about me as a person. The empathy and kindness she showed me yesterday not only gave me faith in Gateway Dental, but she also helped me restore my faith in humanity. This wonderful woman should be recognized for her care for her patients there. Thank you Kenya for all your help, you are a wonderful person and never stop being as sweet as your are. XOXOXO

My first time here was a wonderful experience including all staff. Dr. Dains was very caring and listened to all my concerns. He is a true professional which is what I was looking for in a doctor. I highly recommend Gateway Dental Group.

If I could leave zero stars I would. Kenya Milton, the operations manager at «Gateway Dental Group» in Carlsbad has had every opportunity to make things right, but she refused. They and their sister company «Camino Dental Group» in Encinitas (another winner) are referring customers to each other for financial gain, doing costly unnecessary work. After I got second opinions by reputable practices, it turns out I didn’t need the root canal and crown that they said I needed, but rather just replacing the bad filling Gateway Dental gave me (which was unnecessary to begin with because I only had a tiny chip on my molar that was bothering me (without pain), they carved out half of my molar to refill it with bonding to fix the tiny chip) I informed them multiple times about the terrible pain after that visit but every time they would tell me to give it more time to heal, I gave up calling them after a year. Kenya tells me that it is not their fault that I’ve been in pain for so long and not able to chew on the right side of my mouth because of what they did, but basically that they would fix it if I paid $ 1,200+ to Camino Dental for a root canal, and $ 800 to $ 1,200 to Gateway Dental for a crown. Turns out the endodontist at their sister company she referred me to at Camino Dental did not do the proper testing to determine the need for a root canal, and in fact a root canal was not necessary. After the good news from the second opinions I got, I gave Gateway Dental the opportunity to fix my tooth by just replacing the filling, but again, I had to pay them for the work. I ended up paying my current competent dentist $ 341 to replace the filling, and sure enough the pain has gone away. I tell these people at Gateway Dental they left me no choice but to let the world know of their shady ways, I was so upset with them, and they quickly call me back to tell me they would refund me the $ 150 they originally charged me for the work, but only if I sign a settlement and Release form agreeing to not take any disparaging conduct directed at them and to refrain from making any negative or derogatory statements on social media/​internet, and that I agree not to file any legal actions against them. What a joke… I expect nothing more from these people. Forget their measly refund, after all the money, time and effort I’ve gone through dealing with this, and the pain I’ve suffered, I’d rather the people be aware of places like this. Do not go to «Gateway Dental» in Carlsbad or «Camino Dental» in Encinitas, trust me, they are irresponsible and just in it for the money. Of course they’re nice when you talk to them, but their ethics will leave you unpleasantly surprised. Go find yourselves a competent dental office that cares about what they do and their clients.
Good luck!

My insurance dropped my regular, amazing dental practice so I decided to try out this group because it is very close to work /​home. It is a very nice, high-​tech, clean facility and the staff was very nice. My experience was similar to many of the other reviewers here — I was blown away by the dollar amount I was quoted for work that «needed» to be done.
In fact, I was so perplexed by it, that I went home and contacted my dental insurance provider, and confirmed that many «covered» options were available instead of the work that was quoted (it was between $ 1500 – 2000). I turned down the «laser cleaning» (an extra $ 100 out of pocket) but opted for the «antimicrobial rinse» (I was really starting to think I had tremendously terrible dental issues going on!).
I was also told to purchase an electric toothbrush and mouth guard, upwards of $ 500 total. I can’t imagine how many years I would have had to save money to afford all of these procedures… in fact I was starting to emotionally part ways with the teeth that surely wouldn’t survive without these procedures…
Needless to say, I was skeptical, but managed to leave the office without committing too much to further procedures. Dental work is extremely stressful for me, and this environment seemed less patient-​focused than others I have been to. I was very put off by the lack of doors (not a very private way to have your teeth worked on) and the influx of personnel during the process.

Dr. Dains took great care of both of my kids teeth! He is nice, knowledgable & trustworthy. I totally recommend this office & this dentist.

Their work is of excellent quality. The receptionsts and all the employees are very nice. However, they can get pretty expensive. There is always some extra work that need to done whenever you go in for something which makes you wonder.

My wife was in a lot of sudden dental pain. Neither of us had been to a dentist in quite a while, but we did have a good experience when we took my wife’s mother to Gateway Dental years earlier. We decided to go there, and it is the closest to our home. What a great choice that was. When my wife consulted with her dentist, the dentist focused on removing that pain first. It was all done in one visit and it gave my wife immediate relief. We have definitely found a dentist office to take care of our dental needs.

I have been a patient here for over 2 years now and so far they have been honest and the Doctors/​staff are great!

Don’t go there. They can’t be trusted as far as cost or service. I’m the idiot who said yes to 3 bone graphs for 3600 or 1200 each. My other dentist looked at the Same exrays and said 510 each with insurance and 900 without.
Insurance was a joke and just got me in there to get ripped off. Also don’t know if they found problems I did not need Just don’t go there.

Had a crown done here two years ago. I always thought it was done wrong and returned to the dental office 5x to have them fix it. They insisted everything was fine with the crown. I have been to a few dentist since and both commented on how poorly the crown was done and that I have a gap between the crown and my tooth. Here I am 2 years later paying another $ 1,000 for a crown that I already had fixed. The dentist said its probably a good thing the crown popped off because I would have ended up needing a root canal otherwise. This is your typical dental chain for HMO insurance. I would say it is definitely not quality.

People were nice enough… However I went in for the first time, having selected this place being closer to my work, and met with the dentist for 30 seconds. never to see her again. Next thing I know I have been here 4 hours… been charged $ 650 and been told I have over $ 2000 more work needed. I did like the lady that cleaned my teeth. very nice. But that was it. I will not be going back. I have found a new place since. Whether or not I need that work they said or not… I think I should see the actual dentist longer than a few seconds.

I was a little weary coming here after reading the Unilocal reviews, but I had already made the appointment so I decided to try it anyways. The whole new patient process was very easy, I filled out the patient history online and just had to sign it in person when I got to the office. The dentist gave me a private consultation at the beginning to make sure he knew my needs, and then I was taken back for x-​rays. They have the electronic x-​rays where you get to see the results on the computer right away, so I was happy that they are using new technology (one of the reasons I left my last place). The dentist then looked them over with me before I was moved into a room for cleaning (since I had no cavities, yay!). There the dentist did my cleaning and the hygienist did my polish and flossing. The entire process was quick (under 1 hour), effortless, and completely covered by my insurance. I’m glad I found an awesome dentist close to work, and I plan on sticking with them.

Before 8-​19-​2015, I had not been to the dentist in seven years. I am 25 and I left my hometown for college and never scheduled an appointment.
I chose this dentist because they are in my insurance and right across the street from work so it is convenient. I didn’t look at reviews before making my new customer appointment.
I had a wonderful experience here. I saw Dr. Beljonne (not sure on spelling) and Francis was assisting and Jaime was the hygienist. All great ladies who made it a point to conversate and make me feel comfortable. Francis did the X-​Rays and was very knowledgeable and quick. Seeing as how I hadn’t been to the dentist in seven years, I had three cavities. The Dr. was free at that particular time so I had them filled right then and there. It was my first fillings ever so I didn’t know what to expect. The Dr. was very gentle and made sure I was comfortable and could breath and swallow during the process. Francis (the assistant) knew what to do and when to do it… they made a great team. I was going to have regular cleaning done that day too, but after the fillings they recommended I come back for the cleaning (which is free with my insurance so it’s not a money thing). The three fillings cost me $ 50.00 copay which seems reasonable. I will be going back for the hygienist appointment and I guess I’ll see if they try and sell me more stuff then… I didn’t get that impression from my first visit though. The only thing the recommended that was extra was a deep clean with a laser gum repair something or other, since it had been so long since my last deep clean. I politely declined and that was the end of it.
All in all, I had a wonderful experience and I hope it stays that way!

I was very impressed. The team was professional. I was able to get a crown done the same day at a very reasonable price compared to other dentists in the area.

I love Dr Dains and the staff at Gateway! My entire family goes there now and we will be patients forever I’m pretty sure. I can’t say one bad thing about the entire office. Well deserved 5 star rating :)

Dentist and I discussed my son having a tongue thrust in his first appt. Now that I need him to document that is what he diagnosed, he says he did not diagnose my son having a tongue thrust because he did not write it down in his notes, and does not remember us discussing it at all. Although first he said he recommend the ortho check for the tongue thrust.
Just an outright lie.
If you do go to this dentist I just want others to know anything that is discussed about you or your child. You may have to ask this dentist to document it.

If I could give them zero stars then I would. These people are saleswomen and not dentists. They tell you you need work done that is not needed and also what your insurance does not cover. Terrible customer service. Get halfway done then go to another patient and make you wait for nothing. Save yourself a headache and just don’t do it.

Trying to make a difference
After my previous review, the office manager contacted me and asked what they could do to make it better. (Good to know that they are actually reading my reviews!) She listened when I explained that while the office policies promote efficiency, the execution creates indifference and an impersonal experience for their customers/​patients. She promised to coach the reception staff to follow policies that are more customer friendly.
I went back several weeks later for my own check-​up and cleaning. Everyone was very professional and polite, but one of the things that I found very distasteful still remained: instead of asking me when I’d like to schedule my next appointment, the receptionist just handed me a card and told me when it was. I politely replied that I would like to schedule an appointment when it was closer to that period and determine when it’s convenient for me.
Overall, the experience is not bad– the technology is new, the staff seems to be fairly motivated, and the new dentist seemed to give me information that is consistent with my last dentist. So for the time being, I will probably schedule my next exam here (unless my insurance changes again!)