Image Orthodontics

As a patient at Image Orthodontics AND a 3^rd year Dental student, I would consider myself to be experienced with regards to knowing what it is like to be a provider and what it is like to be a patient. Today was my second appointment with (sorry if I totally misspelled this) Yeva. Throughout our entire appointment she not only made sure I was comfortable, but also let me know exactly what she was going to be doing at each step of each procedure, all while evoking this feeling of complete relaxation and continuously creating an extremely trusting environment. I have been to the Dentist 100’s of times, and I work together with assistants almost every day at school — so I know what sorts of characteristics make up a great teammate, but Yeva exceeded those characteristics so much so, that I felt obligated to send out this acknowledgement email.
Never in my life had I ever encountered such a perfect experience in the dental chair. With her though, its been a two for two, absolutely perfect at each visit! I am so happy that Image Orthodontics is made up of so many talented and compassionate professionals and am truly honored to be part of the Image family.

I went to Image (Sacramento Street) for an initial free consultation. The doctor I saw was 15 minutes late, spent about 5 minutes speaking to me, seemed to have no time for my questions (I am an adult looking at getting braces, there are a lot of questions), and getting her to explain anything was unfortunately like, no pun intended, pulling teeth. No options were discussed, other than ‘you need braces’, despite me having serious dental problems, bruxism, etc.
I was told I was not a candidate for Invisalign (read: we don’t know how to use Invisalign?) and would need braces for 12 – 18 months. After seeking a second opinion from one of the best orthodontists in San Francisco (and highest rated on Unilocal), I was told Invisalign would work great for me and should only take 6 – 9 months.
I was also told by the coordinator that their prices are «80% below market prices». After seeking my second opinion, I was quoted almost half the price for Acceledent that Image quoted me.
The coordinator also booked my next appointment to have braces put on with a different doctor than who did my consultation, and did not inform me of this. If I can’t trust you to make an appointment, how can I trust you with my dental health?
The least of my concerns after all of that, but the receptionists were verging on rude and very unhelpful. Avoid at all costs unless you are looking for an unprofessional practice.

The doctor is cordial, the staff is nice but the service is awful.
I had chosen Image Orthodontics for my Invisalign treatment.
Their billing department tried to charge me the full amount of the treatment 4 times without taking into account the amount due from the insurance. As a result I wasted many hours of my time asking them for explanations and showing them that their math was wrong.
My final retainers, the ones I will have to wear for the rest of my life, are not the invisalign brand. They are not resistant and they break easily.
Finally I was guaranteed a cleaning at the end of my treatment and Image Orthodontics never delivered.
Image Orthodontics doesn’t seem to have the interest of the patient at heart nor its time.

Updating my review, called the office once again with my concerns and got my braces put on the same day

I am so grateful for Image Orthodontics Doctors and Staff they are awesome. Thank you so much i am very happy with my new smile and my daughter new smile you guys ROCK!!!

I would highly recommend Image Orthodontics! Wasn’t sure what to expect since it was my first time with braces, but thanks to Dr. Lee and all the staff, it was a great experience. They answered all my questions and concerns and were all a pleasure to work with. And, the Embarcadero office was clean and convenient for me.
If you are considering braces or Invisalign, check out the Embarcadero office of Image Ortho. You’ll be happy you did.

This is just one of 4 offices in the city that I’ve been to so far in working with Image Ortho to correct my teeth. I’m 28 years old and this is my first time every having braces. It’s a painful process and you want someone to be there with all the details, especially when you don’t have mom and dad handling all the sensitive information as a kid. So far, very impressed.
The offices are very clean, modern in décor and extremely professional. The process to get started is always a free consultation, followed by an in-​depth review of what to expect and financing. What is great about Image Ortho and sold me on committing to the process is that you can directly work with them through payments — no need to get GE Health credit cards, finance a loan from a bank or third party. They have an in-​house billing department and don’t require a credit check. I’d just come off of paying off all my debt and was relieved that I didn’t have to take on another loan, but can simply pay a monthly amount until the total figure is covered.
No matter where you go or how you try to spin it, braces are not cheap. Since my insurance does not cover any orthodontics past age 15 it was a critical decision. So, I went where the ability to pay and afford it is the most flexible.
For insight on my situation: extreme overbite with all 4 canines having major rotation, plus overcrowding in the front bottom teeth. I was not qualified for Invisalign given all these issues. My treatment is 1 year in regular braces (which are light years different from what they were back in the 80s) and 6 months wrap up with Sure Smile, technology they are exclusively licensed to offer to their clients. As they explained it, a nice layer of special gel and infrared light that maps your teeth’s every curve and then sent to a lab in Austin, TX so that a robot can bend the wires to precise match to your teeth. Follow that with a year of all-​day wearing of a retainer and then a set of clear retainers that I will be wearing on and off for the rest of my life. (Note, the reason most people are having to get braces twice in their life at my age is because back in the day they never told you you had to wear a retainer for life or your teeth will move).
Total cost: $ 6800 with all maintenance services included along the way. So far, so good. My only one criticism of Image Ortho so far is that it is impossible to get in for a broken bracket or if one of my bumpers (to throw off my overbite until there is enough room and my top teeth don’t hit the bottom braces = sucks) and get it fixed. Unless it’s an emergency, like I’m bleeding or a wire is loose, it can take 4 – 5 days to get in to one of the offices that is convenient for me to get to. Part of it is because the doctors rotate between offices 3x a week. But I’ll be honest that when I can’t get into the Embarcadero office, which is closest to my work and my commute home on MUNI, I get very frustrated. You’d think for how much they’re making off every customer and having already invested in their facilities/​technology that they’d have the ability to hire a few more licensed professionals and make it easier to get in. Aside from that, though, no complaints.

Image Orthodontics — thanks for responding to my posting! I value the fact that you made some internal changes to provide a better customer service!
Thanks for inviting me back but it is too late to get the services I needed. I found a great dentist that is doing a great job! I will not give a 5 star but 4 for responding and take a positive step! Thanks again and wish you the best!