Lora H. Costa, DDS & Dung Ngoc Hyunh, DDS.

My son, my husband and myself have been patient of Dr. Lora forever 10 years. Dr. Lora and her assistant Lita are amazing. Let me begin by saying I am a difficult dental patient. I have no pain tolerance, and not the best of teeth. The hygienists, assistants, and Dr. Lora always make sure I am comfortable and feel nothing. Their work is excellent. I have had fillings, deep cleanings, crowns and most recently veneers. The work is beautiful and always natural looking. I have never been over charged and there has never been a problem with my insurance. The office staff are very pleasant and helpful. Dr. Lora is always cheerful, positive, and very caring. She takes pride in her work and stays up to date in the latest dental procedures and products. This is a practice that delivers excellence in care.

I gave this place a chance, even after they charged me $ 75 for a consult. This should have been $ 5, as, per my plan, all preventive dental exams are $ 5. After some back and forth, because, as another reviewer noted, they say «thats the way we do it,» I was refunded the overcharged amount. Second and third appointments were okay. But, as I came in for a 3 month check-​up, they wasted my time. They called a to confirm my appointment, and, since I missed it, I called them back at the end of my workday to confirm. Since they hung up up the first time I called, I dialed once more and was sent to voicemail. I left them a voicemail confirming that I would in fact show up to my appointment the next day – leaving my name and number to call back. I go in to my appointment ON TIME, and, to my surprise, I am told that they weren’t expecting me and gave my appointment away to another patient. If I wanted to «stick around» I would have to wait 40 minutes. I would have, except that 1) I had clearly stated that I would show up to my appointment and 2) I had to request time off from work to attend my appointment. When I asked if I could reschedule at that moment, I was told to call in the next morning. I will definitely not be calling back to reschedule. Do they not check voicemails on a daily basis? This place is a waste of time, and, of the 4 times that I have been in there, the actual dentist was only there once. The office and equipment are outdated, and the quality of the services is so not worth your insurance and/​or money. AVOID IT IF YOU CAN!

I only went there once. That was enough. I wish I’d read Unilocal first but I didn’t. I was charged $ 75, came home and saw that I should have been charged $ 5. I wrote them. They sent me back a piece of paper showing that I signed a document agreeing to the fee. I guess I did. I was naïve. So they got my $ 70. Congratulations. And good bye.

UNETHICAL AND OVER CHARGES
I was charged $ 75.00 for a consult. She spent 5 minutes with me. I am not supposed to have a fee for consult. Asked why the insurance company isn’t billed first and was told, «That’s just the way we do it.» That is just how they over charge you and get away with it!
No regular cleaning done but was told I had to have a deep cleaning done, the total of $ 400.00. I was told I had such severe infection in my gums that I had to have this done over the normal cleaning. Again no billing of my 2 insurance companies, just pay as you leave.
She wants to pull two of my teeth. The charge is high and my co-​pay schedule says it shouldn’t be that much and I have two insurers so it should be less not more.
She never bothers to acknowledge me when she walks by. I am just a spider on the wall, totally invisible to her.

AWEFUL!
This dentist has serious billing issues. Avoid them if you don’t want to be over charged. They created a huge headache with my insurance. I also believe that she may have done a filling that I didn’t need. Originally she said that she would do a filling somewhere else in my mouth and then changed her mind. It just seems strange to me that a dentist would do this. I also believe that I’ve over paid for services and may have even paid for services that I did not receive. YOU’VE BEEN WARNED.

SCAMMED. They told me I had two cavities that wouldn’t be covered by my insurance. Paid $ 165 to get them «sealed» when I was first told I would get them filled. Two years later and my dentist now tells me that there is no sealent in my mouth. I don’t know how to get my money back. This place is horrible.

I just moved to the area and Costa was on my plan. I set an appointment for a cleaning as it has been 18 months or so since I have had a deep cleaning, which is covered by my insurance. I was concerned about possibly having one or two cavities, as well, and informed her that I was looking to have my wisdom teeth out next year, as they are impacted. I was charged a copay, which is normal, but received no cleaning, only two crags, quoted a $ 350 copay when my deep cleanings are included once a year for free, and then referred to a surgeon for my wisdom teeth before even getting a cleaning, deep cleaning, or cavity fillings. I felt that my concerns were not addressed, I paid for a visit and had no treatment, and was being quoted and charged incorrectly. After reading the other Unilocal reviews, I have to agree: overcharging, underservicing, and I am following up with my insurance company to suggest they send people to another dentist as a preferred provider.

Anything positive written about this place must be fake.
Problems with my daughters teeth… I asked Dr. Lora to clarify a term which I had never heard. Long story short; she was unable to describe a technical term for overbite. Instead of explaining it, she said, «I do not have time to explain technical terms to you.»
Really?
The dental assistant doesn’t speak English. I didn’t understand her when she was speaking to me, and I asked her to repeat/​clarify. She was visibly shocked. (She must get away with broken English) Barely understood her the 2^nd time. Clearly not in the business to serve and communicate.
Always eager to take xrays. Are they really performing all that they charge my insurance for???
Doesn’t seem so.
Front desk lady seems nice.
THIS DOCTOR REALLY STRESSED ME OUT. Lack of communication; lack of professionalism, lack of skill. Make a wise choice and stay away. Seriously.

I’ve been seeing Dr. Costa for over 4 years. I’ve enjoyed her and her staff, the treatments have always been as quick and painless as possible — more so than others I’ve seen, and I haven’t had any charges that my insurance didn’t cover. I would always prefer a female physician — I’ll take all the sensitivity for my comfort that I can get!

Pros: They’re on my dental plan. They’re conveniently located. The office is nice. They remember my latex allergy every time. The dental assistants are nice and do a good job.
Cons: They try to scam their patients for an extra $ 25 — I avoid it by asking them to bill the insurance company first, then bill me for whatever’s not covered. It’s true that Dr. Costa does not have the best bedside manner, but I don’t think it’s personal — and you only have to see her if there’s a problem.
For us, the pros still outweigh the cons.

I’ve never had a bad experience with a Dentist, until we met Lora Costa. At the time, my daughter was on Healthy Families, which does not have any Co-​Pays, except for prescriptions. Lora Costa charged us $ 50 for a cleaning. After, I called Healthy Families and they said there should have been no charge. When I called Lora Costa’s office, they just gave us the run around. It’s sad to know such a crook is working in my hometown.

This is a terrible place! DO NOT go here!

This place is a total scam. Every insurance company should pull her from the list. I spent WEEKS getting my 3 year old daughter ready for her first trip to the dentist — we read books, talked about it, etc because she was really scared. When I made the appointment, I told them it was her first trip and they assured me that they knew how to deal with kids and their first time dental fears.
They were so inadequate, my daughter could have not had any teeth in her mouth and they would not have noticed. The hygienist barked at her repeatedly «come on, now, you ok you ok» while my poor kid was scared to death to even open her mouth. Then the dentist came in, said «smile». My daughter did and the dentist said, «Ok, no cavities». Never even touched her teeth! I paid my $ 25 co pay and left. Robbed.
What a joke — worst place EVER.

I was just here to get a quote for the removal of all four of my wisdom teeth. She quoted me at $ 325. I then went to Dr. Terribilini’s office for a second opinion, after referring to Unilocal,and only paid $ 25 to get these teeth removed. I strongly recommend that anyone going considering Lora, to go somewhere else… Dr. Terribilini was great, and he is in the same building.

Daughter is 4 y. o, she charged us $ 25 co-​pay when we are not supposed to have a co-​pay for preventative care. Lora Costa found a cavity, and said it was going to be $ 50, we were so freaked out about the cavity that we jsut paid $ 50. Called insurance, and they said they shouldn’t have charged us anything. I can’t believe I got scammed! I WILL NEVER GO HERE AGAIN!

I wouldn’t trust them. They tried to charge me for services that two dentist said they would not have done and when we said we didn’t want it, they refused service. This was after being charged for $ 750.00 and at that time figured they were ripping us off. I reported them to the Complaint Board for Dentist and if you have had a bad experience I think you should report them as well.

DON’T GO HERE!
I wish I would’ve Unilocal’d this place before I chose it.
I got smacked with that $ 75 fee that everyone else is telling you about.
The worst part of it, is that I was told that I would be charged $ 75 for my next appointment and this appt was free. Then, when I am sitting in the chair they started talking about deep cleanings on my next visit (which I assumed was the $ 75 procedure) and that today they were going to do a normal cleaning. .I assumed this was included since I normally do not pay for cleanings. NO they did whatever cleaning they tack the $ 75 to.
I talked with my insurance and the lady said in the 8 years she has been in this job, she has never seen that dental procedure code on a bill. And gave me great advise on how to be cautious with future dentists. The «carries susceptibility test» is their way of pocketing extra $ 75 on top of your insurance because they figured out how to play the game.
So I hope that if someone reads BEFORE going, I can save them some money. I am really bummed cuz I am alone and new to the area. I feel totally taken advantage of. .I have never had to take care of my own insurance issues like this before. Great and horrible learning experience.
They later followed up to let me know that they received all my insurance info and that if I wanted to come back for the fillings, it would be $ 50 each. My insurance has told me I am responsible for 0% of the costs of my fillings — IF the dentist codes it correctly and honestly — they obviously are not.

I have an 5 year old. The Dentist came in, looked in her mouth and left. The assistant cleaned her mouth and then told me that the dentist found two cavities. My daughter asked if she could eat the rest of the stuff the assistant cleaned her mouth with and she said yes and insisted that it was okay because her nephew eat it all the time after his cleanings. I said no but my daughter had already ate some. She promptly threw up.
I did not get a good feeling from this office. How can you try to schedule to fix cavities when there weren’t any x-​rays done?
I usually take my kids to a pediatric dentist in Santa Rosa and I love them, but their new Insurance doesn’t cover them. I paid out of pocket after this appointment.
The receptionist is never there and doesn’t seem to know what is going on when she is there.

DO NOT GO HERE!
I called Dr. Costa’s office to schedule routine teeth cleaning. I was a new patient but I did not think this procedure would be a big deal.
When I arrived, 15min early, I could hear a child screaming in one of the exam rooms. I was the only person in the lobby, and the receptionist was not at her desk. I almost left because the screams were so gut whrenching, but I chalked it up to a kid who is afraid of the dentist. As it turns out the child was having a tooth pulled-​ouch! She left in tears.
10min after my appt was scheduled to begin the dental assistant took me to one of their exam rooms. After taking one x-​ray he was interrupted by the receptionist who told me I had to sign a form consenting to pay a $ 75 co-​pay. I told her my insurance does not have co-​pays. She then tried to tell me that I at least have to pay a $ 25 co-​pay and again tried to get me to sign the form for the lesser amount. I declined and instead called my insurance company to determine what exactly was going on.
My insurance company asked for all the billing codes for the procedures that Dr. Costa’s office wished to perform. After receiving this information my insurance company asked me if I had an oral or gum disease, NO! Apparently the «cleaning» Dr. Costa’s office was going to perform is called a deep clean debridement and according to my insurance company is usually only used on patients diagnosed with gum disease, and would cost a $ 25 co-​pay HOWEVER a «regular cleaning» would not cost me any co-​pay. Dr. Costa’s office also wanted to perform a Caries Assessment, which according to my insurance company is s specialized procedure which my insurance would not cover at all! My insurance company was dumbfounded as to why a new patient would be subjected to these treatments and instructed me to give them the correct billing codes for the procedures I WANTED aka regular cleaning, fluoride treatment, and x-​rays.
When I spoke to the receptionist and told her what I wanted she tried telling me this was SOP for all new patients. I explained I just wanted a basic cleaning and she made a remark about that only being a teeth «polish» and not a real cleaning. She then informed me that my appt time was up and I needed to re-​schedule if i wanted to get my «polish» done.
I called my insurance company back and changed dentists, I do not feel comfortable seeing a dentist who I feel is trying to bully and scam me!

DO NOT GO HERE! I took my 2.5 year old here for his first dental appointment. The hygienest was fine. Dr. Costa came to «examine» him and kept referring to him as «baby.» If you have a 2 year old you know they are not babies and do not like to referred to as such. She literally looked in my son’s mouth for less than 30 seconds and only at the top teeth. She exclaimed «No cavities» and started to walk out. I had some concerns which I asked about and she dismissed them without providing any explanation or even looking at what I was referring to.
I was not satisfied with the appointment by that point, but upon leaving I was charged a $ 25 «co-​pay.» When I explained that my insurance did not have co-​pays for preventative care, they said it was a new patient «caries exam» and my insurance required a $ 25 co-​pay. I paid it because they had already provided the «service» and called my insurance when I got home. The insurance agreed that I do not have co-​pays for preventative care and contacted to the office. The office said I agreed to pay it so there was nothing they could do. I called the office asking them to refund my «co-​pay» and they said it was not a co-​pay but an exam fee.
Total scam– horrible service.