SF Dental

Some people may think it’s crazy, ridiculous, absurd (insert synonym here) to travel from Portland to San Francisco to visit a dentist. To those naysayers, I say don’t judge my actions until you’ve experienced Dr. Kim and the team at SF Dental.
It’s true, I moved from the Bay Area to Portland yet I still visit SF Dental. I tried to find a local Portland dentist, but all of the word of mouth recommendations I received for friends’ dentists were, in a nutshell, meh. If my friends can’t give me an enthusiastic reference for someone who they trust with their oral health, then I’m not going to try their ‘meh, he/​she is ok’ dentist.
I usually tie my dental appointments with a Bay Area family/​friend visit. No folks, I’m not some sort of high roller who jets down to SF just to get my teeth cleaned. On a recent visit to the Bay Area, I fell down on my planning skills, and failed to make a dental appointment in advance of my trip. I called SF Dental the week I was in town, and they rearranged their schedules to accommodate me.
Dr. Kim is thorough, and talks you through what she is doing. She spends time answering questions and going over treatment options. In the past I’ve had dentists who relied on his/​her hygienists to do most of the work, then at the end of my appointment he/​she would come in with a smile, take a quick look inside my mouth and declare me good to go. If this is the type of dental experience you’re used to, I suggest you give something new a try. Dr. Kim is comprehensive, thoughtful and meticulous. If you expect answers and explanations from your primary care physician, why not look for the same from your dentist?
On my recent visit, I jokingly asked Dr. Kim if I get the award for the patient who travels the farthest. Apparently traveling 650 miles is nothing, because Dr. Kim replied with a laugh that she has a patient who visited her from Europe.

I chipped my tooth, and I called looking for an appointment to tend to it. They gave me an appointment for the next morning after making sure that I wasn’t too uncomfortable to wait. Audrey and Dr. Kim quickly and painlessly fixed me up, making sure the small filling felt smooth and natural to me. Great service, and I’m so thankful to have a team I can trust with both routine dental care and more unexpected issues.

These ladies deserve 6 stars. Best dental practice I have ever been to. Marilyn was really helpful in explaining insurance lingo, Audrey was calming yet fun – a real treat to deal with, and to top it off, Dr. Kim was very thorough, patient, and helpful. Can’t recommend Dr. Kim & co. enough.

As soon as you walk in the door Marilyn greets you at the front desk and takes care of all of your insurance needs with a helpful, happy smile, then Audrey takes you back and helps you get comfy and starts her process getting ready for Dr. Kim. Dr. Kim is the nicest, loveliest woman with the kindest heart. I couldn’t give more stars, if I could I would! Everybody needs to know about this fabulous dental office!!! I’m so happy I was able to discover all of them :-)

Dr. Stella Kim is an amazing dentist. My three year old has been to three different dentists with varying experiences, including one that was very traumatic. Dr. Kim went above and beyond to connect with my child, make sure she was comfortable and create a «dental home» for my daughter. My daughter sat through an entire cleaning and started x-​rays. It is a testament to Dr. Kim’s talent, bedside manner, and approach that this kid left the dentist wanting to floss and brush her teeth. She now brushes her teeth after every meal (including snacks) and flosses twice a day. Incredible. I highly recommend SF Dental.

First time going into a dental office in a minute. Nice cozy place when you walk in, staff is super friendly from Marylin front desk, Audrey dental assistant, to Dr. Kim DSD. Felt comfortable through out exam and by the time I was finished came out with better insight and cleaner teeth.

I’ve been going to SF Dental since I moved here 2 years ago, I was a patient of Dr. Kivel’s and now Dr. Kim. Dr. Kim is a great dentist and her staff is kind and professional. They know me, my services (cleaning and filling) have been efficient, personal and pain free! I’m happy with my choice, and I recommend it!

I love this place. SF Dental is close to my home, Dr. Stella Kim is professional, kind and personable. I’ve never met a better combination of all those things. The office is beautiful and the technology is very modern.
I watched a movie while I had a cap replaced. I hardly noticed I was at the dentist. Can’t wait for my next cleaning!

I’ve been with SF Dental since Dr. Kivel took over for Dr. Heffelfinger, so I“m not opposed to change and of course, I haven’t been disappointed! Dr. Kim and Audrey were wonderful. They numbed my gums enough that I didn’t feel a thing and the procedure went smoothly, to the point that I was so comfortable that I nearly fell asleep. It was definitely a good experience as far as getting a filling goes.

Dr. Kim is hands down the best dentist I have ever been to. The entire staff was incredibly friendly as well. The office was very clean. Dr. Kim’s attention to detail was great and she was thoughtful in what I needed to get done now and what I need to monitor in future visits which is awesome. I will be looking forward to my next visit :)

I am a longtime, loyal patient of Dr. Kivel and was definitely apprehensive when I received the letter that Dr. Kim would be taking over his practice.
I can honestly say that Dr. Kivel picked the perfect successor. Dr. Kim was warm and inviting and took away all apprehension within the first moments of meeting her.
Dr. Kim is a great addition to the SFDental team. I wouldn’t go anywhere else!

My experience with SF Dental and Dr Kivel was not great. I went in for a free consult as I wanted 4 of my six 20 year old porcelain fused to metal crowns replaced for non metal full ceramic. Dr Kivel was nice at face value and extremely handsome, he is aware of his first impression act as he had been working with Steven Dorfman (the Hollywood dentist to the stars in Beverly Hills) prior to opening his practice. He took photographs and discussed my issues. When he walked away his assistant who looked like she should be working in retail was shocked at how much I knew about the materials I wanted. Yes I knew more than her and she couldn’t even place the mouth piece in that keeps the teeth exposed. He was all about not making money on his clients so he «sleep at night» by throwing in a night guard etc as we would be making impressions anyway and told me the crowns would be 1500.00 each, so as I agreed to come and start the work he maneuvered me into getting an in office bleaching so that. get this, the lab would see a nice set of teeth when they built my crowns! I said ok but then the Asian fish market hygienist butted in at the desk and sold me on a cleaning and xrays special. I said ok and made my appointment. I Then called around pricing ceramic crowns and although all crowns can be any price if you have Delta Dental the PPO providers are only allowed to charge 1275.00 per crown even if your insurance has run out. I called the office and lost for words receptionist said she needed to get back to me about this. When she did call the next day she said that I may not want to come in as they were not going to honor the Delta price because they said my work was all cosmetic!!! Oh really? So the fact that I had my current crowns in for 20 years with possible decay underneath which Xrays cannot see thru metal and therefore wanted all ceramic in a flattering shape, was seen as a cosmetic service? I was appalled. When Dr Koopah’s office said that hey could only charge me a delta price for ceramic anyway. All in all no one has a mind or authority to discuss anything unless they run it by Dr Kivel who hides behind his office staff to do the dirty work so he can remain the sweet handsome front man. I said if you can do anything for me by charging me the Delta price let me know but the trailer trash receptionist said maybe I should look elsewhere. So they would rather get 1550 or nothing and get a new client? I never heard from them but 3 months later called for a bleaching price as they had advertised a 250.00 special, I was not told any price by another lost for words young girl but she did ask if I was considering getting other work done there and then asked my name. She said she would call the next day but no one has. If you feel like this is the dentist for you great but this is entirely a farce operation seeking clients with money. Filled with a young inexperienced scared of losing their jobs staff, a loud mouth Asian hygenist and a soap opera actor dentist. As for me I am going to Costa Rica this month where I am getting 7 all ceramic Emax crowns at 400.00 each including an implant crown on a zirconia abutment for 800.00 as I have the implant already, a zoom bleaching for 300.00 and a night guard for 150.00 which adds up to 4100.00! with a turn around time of 5 days. The dentist I researched is New York trained and caters to 90 percent US and Canadian clients, they do root canals and implants with a 6 month wait for the crowns. My air is 600.00, my hotel across the road in Escazu is 550.00 for 5 days with a discount from the dentist. I start the prep work Monday, bleaching Tuesday and cementing Friday. The equipment is state of the art from Germany and so are the ceramic materials, they do CadCam too. I cannot post my dentists info as Dr Kivels office may jeopardize my relationship with him but search costa rica san jose dentists on forums and you will see there are only 2 offices that are the best to deal with. Also an all cash payment gives you a 5 percent discount. They are also picking me up from the airport for free. The reason Costa Rica is cheaper is not lack of quality but low overhead, they have the same machines and materials from Germany (Ivoclar but they get charged a quarter of the price.

Their motto is exactly how they operate!
Basics: easy parking, lovely staff, flexibility with scheduling, a soothing office atmosphere.
Office Visits: my teeth need a lot of work, let alone that I’m deeply afraid of seeing a dentist :)
I have been looking for a doctor for a long time who would help me make an educated decision about what teeth and how they can be fixed. Apart from being extremely, extremely gentle, Dr. Kivel spent a lot of time figuring out how to improve my health. He was very patient answering my questions, and most of all he gave me options so we could decide on a plan of attack. Everywhere else I’ve been, the goal has been to sell services. With SF Dental the goal was to actually cure and improve, not just to offer cost-​saving solutions.
Truly an office with «classic values, and modern dentistry».

I recently worked with Aron Kivel and his great team at SF Dental and now have six dental implants that have changed my life. I had so many problems with my teeth in the past that I was afraid to bite into crusty bread for fear of losing a crown. Now, with my implants, I feel confident that I can eat anything and chew with any part of my mouth without anxiety. I’m delighted with the way they look when I smile and, most important, the way they feel in my mouth — like real teeth, but in my case, even better. Dr. Kivel made sure that the fit and the bite were perfect, and he guided me through the process from start to finish. I feel safer about my teeth and look forward to only going to the dentist’s office for regular cleaning from now on. Five stars for six implants!

Dr. Kivel is awesome, super friendly and helpful and a pretty interesting person all around. His staff is also very friendly and have gone out of their way multiple times to make my experience better. Pam, the hygienist, has to be one of the friendliest people I have ever met. After only visiting the office once I returned for a cleaning 6 months later and she seemed to remember everything we had talked about before. Great staff, great dentist, convenient location.