Mike Li DDS

Dr. Li is a pro at his profession. He performed an extensive and thorough teeth cleaning on my first visit along with all details regarding x-​ray findings and initial overview. Still got love for my recent dentist but unfortunately due to insurance changes, needed to find someone close to my home and work with my schedule as well. Dr. Li has a lot of compassion for his patients and totally shows in his personality, overall nice guy and very easy to talk with… by the way, Love how he listens to what my concerns are before advising his professional opinion. Can’t find too many healthcare professionals that shows they care!

How should I even begin. I have been to Dr. Li’s office for almost 5 years now. Dr. Li takes care of my three children and we have MediCal or DentiCal insurance. 5 years ago my oldest son needed a root canal but none of the DentiCal dentist were willing to do root canal without the fee. Then I called Dr. Li’s office, and he took some x ray and told us to wait for DentiCal to approve the root canal. He then finished my son’s root canal. Ever since then all my kids go to him for regular check up. I have been to other dentists office who take Denti-​cal and I had to waited 5 hours to get seem by the dentist. Dr. Li’s office the longest I waited was 5 minutes. He is one of the few dentists in the city who takes DentiCal patient. Without Dr’s root canal we probably have pay around $ 1000 dollars for the root canal. I really appreciate his work.

Honestly, I’m not really surprised by the reviews. I think Dr. Li is more like an introvert in a very human-​interactive environment, if that makes sense. Some people/​patients don’t really know how to communicate with folks like that but let me tell you, I went to school for physics and even engineering at some point and I have tons of experience. LOL It can kind of take some time to butter them up but that’s okay.
Anyway, not having lived in SF for so long, I needed to find a dentist and I followed my brother and decided to come here. I did think it was awfully quiet with no receptionist but at least music was playing. Lol! I mean, you could always bring someone to accompany you. So, I started chatting with him about how I’m 100% sure I won’t have cavities since I’ve never had any (thanks to the dinosaur teeth commercial when I was young) and he wasn’t so certain about that just yet. We did this x-​ray imaging thing so he can check to see if there were any cavities.
Afterwards, we chatted and he did the usual cleaning procedure. He wasn’t abrasive or extremely talkative like my previous dentist which was a nice change. Dr. Li is a younger dentist and went to amazing schools.
At the end, we found that I had zero cavities (told ya!) but he gave me several tips on maintenance. Nice guy, I’ll still go to him even if I live far!

this post is in all caps because the service was very bad. i show up for appointment and there is no one at reception desk. next, the dentist comes out tells me to fill out paperwork. oh, my appointment is at 2:30. i don’t get in the chair until 3:00. no apologies for delay just a response of «lets go now to xray». anyway, he rushed through appointment told me i needed somewhere around $ 10,000 worth of work. he seemed stressed and confused. needless to say i went to my old dentist and he cleared things out for me. not nearly as drastic as this guy. anyway, be warned. booooooo booooooo

My first time visiting Dr. Li dental office, and I will definitely come back again if my teeth have further problem and just for cleaning.
Dr​.Li is a very nice person who really care about his patient and he really want to deliver the message to his patient about what is going on with my teeth. He will also tells you how you could improve it and answer every of my question in a detail way.
He is also very efficient and patient !!!
Come visit his dental office if you are concern about your teeth !

Dr. Li is always very nice to my daughter and I. He has always been very patient with her and she has been seeing him since she was one year old. She just went yesterday and had a great time getting her teeth cleaned. He was very gentle and explained everything to her.

Don’t bother going here!
I set up an appointment for a routine cleaning because I moved to the area and he is around the block. I like to support neighborhood businesses. I showed up for my 11:00 appointment a few minutes early to fill out paperwork. I know some dentists, so when I saw he has no receptionist or hygienist, I began to feel curious about how he functions. I waited 20 minutes past my appointment time while he worked on things in the back.
When I finally poked my head around the console, I jokingly asked if his office had abandoned him or if he’s a solo practice. He seemed to think that was funny, smiled. I tried to be understanding. When I confronted him, asking when he would be ready to see me, he said it would be another 15 – 20 minutes. Rude!
I couldn’t wait that long because I had to get my kid. That’s why I wanted an 11:00. I scheduled another appointment for 9:00 so that I would be the first customer.
When I arrived for that appointment a few minutes early, I found his door locked! I rang the bell and knocked politely. His music was on and he was doubtless in the back, prepping and couldn’t hear. I banged loudly on the door.
He came and unlocked the deadbolt, but didn’t open the door! Ruuuuude. I entered and asked him why the door was locked. He was defensive, told me he wasn’t expecting any customers until 9:20. WTF? Did he forget the appointment? When I told him our appointment was at 9:00, he argued with me. That was the last straw for me.
DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME!
I never experienced his dental work, but I have little or no confidence in him. The fish tank looks like it hasn’t been cleaned in ages.
I’ve seen dental work done in China and honestly I think that’s how he chooses to manage his office.
ZERO STARS FROM ME.

I didn’t see anything to indicate a red flag as far as hygiene was concerned and the fact that he didn’t have a receptionist or dental hygienist did not impact the service. I thought the practice was clean, spacious and pleasant. Dr. Li never keeps me waiting and there is always parking.
However, I think he could use some help with developing better patient relations. When someone is working in your face for an hour, you want to relax and feel you are in good hands. Dr. Li doesn’t bother with small talk and I think he needs to treat patients more respectfully. I happen to have good teeth and have had very few cavities, but he ends each appointment with an admonishment about what is happening to my teeth (age-​related stuff that I can’t really control!) He needs to be able to communicate in a way that is informative and authoritative — without sounding like he is blaming the patient.
He is efficient, but a friendlier, nonjudgmental approach would have made me give him a higher ranking.

I haven’t been to a dentist in a long time because of no dental coverage. Since the Affordable Health Care and Patient Protection Act I qualified for Medi-​Cal and therefore Denti-​Cal. Dr. Li accepts Denti-​Cal. While it is true he does not have a receptionist but that didn’t seem to be a bother because if the phone rings he goes and answers it. New patient paperwork was ready on the counter.
Dr. Li is young, personable, and laughed at my jokes. He was gentle and patient while doing the x-​rays. Our family has very small mouths so taking dental x-​rays is always a chore. What was impressive is as soon as he took the x-​ray it show up immediately on his laptop! He printed them out for me.
He was kind when he gave me the evaluation, answering all my questions and the questions of my older sister who came with me.
He explained that what I need to have done was not covered with Denti-​Cal: three teeth are involved and it would require removal of a crown, evaluating whether the tooth needs extraction, perhaps a bridge or implant, plus deep root cleaning. He suggested I contact the University of Pacific Arthur Dugoni School of Dentistry. «If there are students there who need practice in doing the things that you need to have done it will be less expensive than having a dentist do it in a private practice.»
I didn’t stay for the cleaning because, frankly, I was really bummed with the evaluation and had to process what he told me. He was understanding about that.
His office and the office bathroom was clean, bright, had music playing, and as I said he was personable and honest. Once I get the painful three teeth dealt with I would certainly consider visiting Dr. Li again since he is close to my home.

Okay it was weird that he was there by himself but I just assumed he didn’t feel like he needed an assistant for a cleaning. I’m used to the dentist’s office being very clean with everything wrapped in plastic. This place was not. He even got fluoride all over my lips and it was such a strong mint flavor that it stung my lips. I was not a fan. I went in for a cleaning and he was pretty rough. I will not be coming back …