Zahra Hakim DDS

I went to Dr Hakim for about four or five years. I really liked her staff and think they did a good job on cleanings and what not. Dr Hakim was always pushing for procedures and things that I was not sure I really needed. Now, after two crowns, two caps and a filling have all fallen out I am seeking another dentist. The oldest of the work Dr Hakim had done was about 8 or 9 years. I think that fillings and crowns and such should last longer than that.

This dental office has evolved to become my #1 trusted spot. Staff and Dr. Hakim take care of all of your particular, specific needs. They discuss all options and treatments with you, and let you decide without pushing you into doing something you are unsure about. Thank you all for giving me such a great experience every time I visit.

Have not been to this practice since 2005. But reading the one and 2 star reviews brought back memories of why I chose to never see Dr. Hakim again.
The sales pitch about teeth whitening, braces, etc. Absolutely true.
The unnecessary procedures. Yep. Thank you Dr. Hakim for putting a couple of extra fillings I did not need.
I decided to leave and NEVER come back when she suggested that a tooth with a very large filling had cracked and I would need a root canal. I got a second opinion at the UCSF faculty practice who assured me that the tooth was fine. Tooth is still fine 10 years later.
How unethical does that sound?

I went to this dentist about 4 years ago because of location alone. I made an appointment for a cleaning, only to find out at that appointment that the initial meeting is to establish care, and that I needed to make another appointment for a cleaning. That should have been the first warning sign not to come back, but I had already taken xrays and just wanted a cleaning.
Came back a year later for another cleaning. I hadn’t had a cavity since I was a little kid, but then was told I had 5 cavities (that formed within a year?!) that needed to be filled. I found it incredibly odd that after 20 years, I suddenly was so cavity prone, but I could visibly see a small spot (which in retrospect I think was just a stain), so agreed to come back to have 3 fillings, two within one tooth a had a filling as a child, and the other tooth with a small visible stain. After the anesthetic wore off, I could feel a sharp edge on one of the teeth she worked on, and after eating something later that day, I felt a crunch, and a small white composite piece came out of where she had just worked. I was concerned the filling came out, so had to come back in again for her to re-​numb up my mouth and re-​do the filling. The tooth ached for several months after the filling (and it had never hurt prior to the filling!!).
Since then, I switched dentists, and then moved so just found a new dentist, both of whom saw absolutely no cavities (remember, there were at least two other cavities she told me I needed to fill which I did not, that magically disappeared). The reason I am writing this review now is because on the last x-​rays I just had at another dentist, he saw an air pocket in the filling that Hakim had done, which could be prone to bacterial growth. The filling she did was so close to the nerve that my new dentist was worried that trying to re-​do the filling would cause nerve damage that might result in needing a root canal. So not only did she do work for non-​existent cavities, her filling caused sensitivity for several months and is so close to the nerve that I might eventually need a root canal. In addition to her diagnosis of non-​existent cavities, she also was extremely pushy and tried to up sell a million other procedures/​products.
Like the other reviews say, the hygienists were always lovely

I came to Dr. Hakim’s practice after moving to the area from the East Coast. I have never had serious problems with my teeth and typically don’t have cavities. So when on the two occasions I saw Dr. Hakim she recommended aggressive action on cavities, I grew worried. The last time I visited she told me I needed fillings on 3 teeth. She told me that one of the teeth already had a filling but there was bacteria growing underneath it, and for this reason she recommended porcelain fillings, because she believes they last longer. I got two different estimates from her staff person for the three fillings that were recommended: one estimate for all composite fillings ($ 112) and one estimate for the porcelain fillings ($ 1926!) (both estimates are just for my portion after insurance contribution, and I have good dental insurance).
Alarmed at the price tag of the porcelain fillings, and concerned about the many cavities that Dr. Hakim was spotting in my mouth, I went to another dentist for a second opinion. He literally told me that if these were his teeth, he would not touch them, and that the cavity she had spotted may very well be an air bubble below the filling. He didn’t see anything wrong with the other two teeth she had pointed out. He also recommended that I get my dental records from when I lived back East so that he could compare the recent xrays to ones taken right after that filling was done. Sounds pretty reasonable no? He also told me that he has not seen any scientific studies that show that there is any benefit to porcelain over composite when it comes to fillings.
Based on this experience, I have left Dr. Hakim’s practice and am now seeing the new dentist. I am more comfortable with a dentist with a more conservative approach who makes absolutely sure a filling is needed before recommending it. My understanding is that every time you go drilling around in there, you jeopardize the structure of the tooth, and for this reason certainly wish to avoid unnecessary fillings.

Please keep Yoshiko out of this. I can’t believe I am even writing a response to this as this case has been closed for years. Yoshiko was not the one that told me about the cavity, it was you, doctor. I really don’t appreciate your note basically telling me that I was confused about my situation. Even 3 year olds know what cavities are…
Anyhow, I don’t like how the situation was handled, I still had one more cleaning after I left this comment, but no improvements were made to the service. I am really happy this chapter has closed in my life and have found a better dentist who gives me cost-​effective solutions to my teeth and who doesn’t tell me to purchase things that I don’t need.

I have to say, I don’t understand all of the negative reviews.
I have been going to Dr. Hakim’s office for the last few years. Below are the reasons why I give it a 5 star review.
— Great staff: Everyone knows your name and treats you with the utmost respect. They are extremely knowledgeable and do great work.
— Quality of the work: They do great work. The hygienists are fantastic and are always thorough.
— The environment and equipment: Their office is very nice. They even have a crown creation machine in their office which means no temporary crowns of fillings.
— Other: There have been several items that they have done free of charge including, most recently, recasting and creating a new retainer for grinding (my last one broke). This is something they offered right away.
Bottom line, I highly recommend this office. I don’t always give 5 star reviews, but Doctor Hakim’s office greatly deserves it.

TL;DR The entire staff including Dr. Hakim is amazing, they do great work, I feel right at home and oddly enough (since it’s a dentist lol) love going in. The bad reviews must be for a different dentist that used to be in the building, Dr. Hakim is NOTHING like what is said about «her». If you’re looking for a dentist, I highly recommend Dr. Hakim. Check her Google+ Reviews, you’ll see what I’m talking about.
Just want to start off by saying the people who rated Dr. Hakim as anything below a 4 – 5 must have been seeing some other dentist. The experience I’ve had with Dr. Hakim is the exact opposite of the reviewers below (besides Calvin). When I first walked in I felt very comfortable, the staff there is just amazing, they feel like work buddies, we talk and joke around it’s great. There’s free water, mints, coffee, lip balm with SPF 4 (love that stuff! always get a new one when I’m out: D). Dr. Hakim is nice, pleasant, and professional, she at no point has ever pushed anything. In fact she will give me options as to what we can do and leave the choice up to me.
I recently had a lot of nerve pain in one of my molars, I went in and she said the tooth had a small fracture. She suggested that I use Sensodyne and that hopefully that will be enough to solve the pain. It sadly was not enough and she suggested I get a root canal. She said that hopefully the fracture is not deep and I do not need the root canal, and that the orthodontist will check after removing the filling. The orthodontist checked and I sadly ended up needing a root canal because their was a cavity under the filling that had eaten away at my tooth (causing the fracture). The orthodontist explained that the molecular bound on larger fillings is not 100% so there is a chance a cavity can occur.
^^^^^^ Long story short, Dr. Hakim tried other methods before recommending a procedure and even after recommending it, she was still looking for ways to avoid having the costly procedure from being necessary.
Little back story on my dentistry, I had a childhood dentist that I used always through my teens named Rudy Numarker (spelling of last name is probably wrong) and he was such an amazing dentist. Always happy to see him, made me feel right at home, like he was part of my family. He passed away years ago from cancer and was replaced by a woman who had bad bedside manner, and overall the performance of the dentistry fell so far that I had to leave. I ended up coming to Dr. Hakim and I feel like I did before with Rudy, the fact she gives me that feeling makes me so happy. I trust Dr. Hakim, and I know it’s odd but I enjoy going in because it’s always an enjoyable experience.
I just hope anyone reading this does not let the bad reviews that must be for the prior dentist in that building deny them such a great dentist!

I needed a second opinion on getting some dental treatment and was referred here by a friend who told me of her great experience.
The minute I walked into the office I felt welcomed and everyone there was extremely nice.
Dr. Hakim gave me more than one option on how to go about with my dental treatment. The office is super clean and modern with digital x-​rays.
Her assistant even offered to bring me magazines and water while I waited.
I feel safe to put my dental health in their hands.

I have mixed emotions about Dr. Hakim. I was going there regularly for years. Ultimately I left Dr. Hakim’s practice because I lost trust in her and her front staff. I felt pushed to have non-​urgent procedures done sooner instead of waiting for the next calendar year where insurance would pick it up.
The cleaning experience by the hygienists was positive

i endured a lot of fillings and orthodonic work as a kid, so i don’t like dentist much. but i bucked up the courage to finally get it all going again as an adult, i was delighted with my doc up in strawberrry village.
but then i moved to the palo alto area and had to find another dentist. google came up with some very close to my work and the reviews looked good so i tried dr hakim.
i am so glad i did. it’s been the best experience. we did the typical films on day 1 and made plans to take care of some issues. i followed up with their zoom whitening system and a cleaning. all very good experiences.
just this week i had part of an overly filled tooth (which she had previously recommended we crown sooner rather than later) fall partly apart. i was very concerned and showed up without an appt just to have her evaluation and set my mind at ease.
she fit me in for a look and a quick patch even though she had no openings. and then later that day i came back for the crown prep work. as painless as any procedure i’ve ever had.
always so pleasant. clean. and gives me the education so that i can decide on how much care and cosmetic i want to have. i’ve relied on Unilocal for a lot of my successes so wanted to add to her reviews here. very surprising to find unhappy people?
she is the best dentist i have ever had =)

I joined Unilocal for three reasons:
1. I get lots of useful info from great Unilocalers and I was starting to feel a bit like a parasite for not giving back.
2. A few of my friends are serious Unilocalers and the peer-​pressure was too much.
3. To have the chance to warn people about this dentist!
I recently decided that I wanted to get a decent amount of cosmetic dentistry (Invisalign whitening, caps, etc.). I wanted a dentist that would be experienced, but also informed about the latest cosmetic dentistry procedures. Zahara Hakim had somewhat recently graduated from a good dental school, so I figured that she fit that bill.
Unfortunately, several thousand (wasted) dollars later I am terribly disappointed with the service.
My first visit included the same gum health torture that the first reviewer mentioned. It was determined that I needed some laser procedure applied to all four of my mouth’s quadrants (I can’t remember if it was $ 150 or $ 200 a section for this procedure — not covered by my dental plan). I don’t follow the strictest of flossing regimes, so it seemed believable enough that I would need this work. However, I have overheard the same diagnosis given to at least one other patient on every one of my subsequent visits.
It is also worth noting that, during my first visit there was no cleaning. They poked at my gums, charged me for the consult and booked me for 4 more laser treatments. All that and I didn’t even get to head home with that «just from the dentist» clean feeling.
As I began to visit, a host of issues were discovered with my teeth and lots of money was spent. I knew that Dr. Hakim was milking me and finding issues that weren’t critical, but I thought that once these were fixed, it would be worth it to have her expertise for the cosmetic procedures (and as much as she pushed those services, I assumed that she must truly be an expert).
The last straw for me was when Dr. Hakim determined that a filling (that was causing me no discomfort) was a problem and I was told that I needed to replace it with a crown. When the crown was delivered she placed it in my mouth and at a quick glance I noticed that there was something black on the top of the crown. I pointed this out and she said, «Oh, that is just a space between the gum and the crown. It isn’t a problem.» I was confused that she wasn’t quickly pointing out that it didn’t fit and should be sent back. I asked for clarification and she said, «This is purely a cosmetic issue, the space between the gums and the crown presents no dental concern.» She also tried to calm me by saying that the gums may even grow back (hard to believe since my underperforming gums *needed* help from her lasers when I first started visiting her practice). I responded that it was visible when I smiled. She confirmed that this was «purely cosmetic» but, after some hesitation, said that she could send it back for a replacement if I thought that it was «really necessary.» I pointed out that we were putting together a dental plan that would end up costing me over $ 10K in cosmetic procedures and that, yes, getting this fixed was «really necessary.» After getting the replacement crown, I haven’t been back.
Now I am looking for a new dentist and I guess that I will probably need a root canal on that tooth (it is now temperature sensitive and it is uncomfortable to bite down on anything firm with it). So thanks for that, Dr. Hakim.
One thing worth noting, the dental hygienists were great. They were friendly and competent. Their service far outshone that of their employer.

They do an ok job at the basic dentistry but my qualm with them was the way they handle billing issues. They constantly charge for things and do not really tell you what is covered and what isn’t. Be careful with the frequency that they have you come back for cleanings — my insurance only cover evey 6 months and yet the staff at this office had me coming back every 4 months. I ended up paying for this myself through bizzare billing statements I got from their office. And they constantly try to sell you products and services you don’t need (I ended up with a mouth guard that I never use because I was told I grind my teeth — my current dentist assures me that I am fine). I would steer clear of this place.

I have gone to see Dr Hakim severl times and have always been treated fairly and good work as well!
Richard

i don’t like to leave 1 star reviews. it’s hard enough to survive in this world, and it’s even harder to own your own business. before i begin my rant, i want to preface it by saying that i’m not one of those people who hates dentists. i actually love my childhood dentist. maybe i was so spoiled by him that everyone else pales in comparison. here goes:
i don’t like feeling like my dentist is trying to sell me things. the first thing that happened to me when i entered this place was that they tried to sell me teeth whitening, and then a mouth guard. all for a staggering $ 700. she didn’t even look at my teeth. after the whole sales pitch, she then asked me to sign some paper stating that i had been presented with the costs and options of the aforementioned products. i didn’t like it. i felt like i was getting forced into something.
then, she looked in my mouth and said i was good to go. no cleaning, nothing. huh? who schedules two separate sessions for being sold something you don’t want, and then the actual cleaning? i insisted on getting the cleaning.
the one good thing about this — the hygienist. she was adorable. very nice. very polite. very gentle.
yippee. i’m still never going back.