Torrance Dental Associates

I’ve been coming here a year plus and don’t think I’ll be coming back. It seems as though they are unorganized and always trying to charge for something more than what’s needed. The dentist and some of the staff are good but I’ll definitely be looking for a new dentist office ASAP! I should have never just picked, this one without being referred by someone thats been here first. My mistake!

Wow this was such an awesome experience! I hate dentist. All of them. But Dr. Pallares knows what he is doing and I don’t hate him at all. I think I actually love him!!!
The staff answered all of my questions, they were able to provide me with all of my procedure codes. (the last dentist I went to tried charging me $ 7,000 so I was very scared of getting scammed or over charged. I’m sure American Dental Associates noticed because I asked them 1,000,000,000 questions.)
The cleaning was painless and I feel more confident with my smile already! I fractured my back tooth which sucks balls, but they restored my faith in good hearted dentist!!!
The procedure will be done for a whooping $ 6,200 LESS THAN Digital Dentistry of Palos Verdes would have charged.
This is what a dentist appointment is supposed to feel like. I felt comfortable, the staff was friendly (ALL OF THEM), and the facility was nice and clean!!!
I love every moment of this visit and I’m actually excited to go back!

I went to this office 3 times for routine cleanings and exams. I chose it due to the proximity to my home but I really should have done my due diligence.
I had never had a cavity in my life until I came here. I was told I needed to have it taken care of and it would cost me about $ 90 or so (at the time). I specifically asked if I was going to need a novacaine shot and was told probably not by the insurrance lady who actually knew nothing about dentistry. The female dentist jabbed me so hard I cried. I was so upset also at her lack of care. I might as well have been sitting there like a sack of potatoes.
Every visit they tried to get me to do a bleaching tray or see some specialists, basically anything they can up sell to you they tried on me. Because of them I found it difficult to trust dentists until I finally found a great office lead by a reputable dentist on Lomita and Hawthorne. When my new dentist saw my teeth he said I didn’t have any cavities and couldn’t see what Torrance Dental Associates even did to me. Now I know how they pay for that «high tech» stuff. I would rather have someone who cares about their profession than a tv attached to the chair.

As a long time customer of Torrance Dental Associates, my whole family has a great experience every time. Dr Sako and his staff are knowledgeable, courteous and friendly. In my younger years I did not floss daily and my gums were in bad shape. With Dr Sako’s help, and my flossing daily, I am fighting to keep my teeth and gums healthy. Dr Sako has always offered treatments that will keep my teeth and gums in their optimal state. He explains why it needs to be done and what will happen if its not done. I credit him for saving my teeth as I do have most procedures done that he recommends. I had gum pockets as deep as 5, 6 and 7s, but now most are 2,3, 4 with occasional 6.
I recommend this dental office to anyone who wants to keep their teeth in best shape as they grow older. I trust him and his staff. Sure you don’t have to do all the treatments he recommends. But I do most of them. Sure I pay out of pocket sometimes. As you get older, it will cost a lot more money to keep your teeth than if you take care of them early. And you will be paying a lot out of pocket even more. Take my word for it. I am there.
My final words are floss daily and don’t be «penny-​wise, and pound foolish.»

I see why this place has bad reviews. They try to charge you ridiculous amounts of money. I went in for a first time visit and consultation. Staff was friendly and so was Dr. Sako. After Dr. Sako got done advising what I need while smiling in my face he sends in the billing lady. What I needed costs about $ 150 with my insurance, but they gave me a total of $ 950! Yep, thats right, they added $ 800 worth of things that of course was not covered by my insurance. I walked out, without spending a dime, and will never return.

I have had 2 root canals and my daughter has had her wisdom teeth pulled here.
I am very happy with this office, the girls and the doctors.
Excellent care and service. THUMBS UP! I just wished they were taking new patients for general dentistry…

Great experience overall… Been coming to this office for years and have never been disappointed.
Office has a great ambiance, friendly staff and offers great service.
Everyone is very attentive and always have a smile. They explain what you need in detail and are very convenient.
Office uses the latest technologies and they even send you text reminders when next appointment is approaching.
Have recommended them to many of my friends and they all are very pleased.

I was a patient at Torrance Dental Associates under oral surgeon Mark Yafai. I cannot speak on the quality of the service in the general dentistry half of the building.
The office staff members at Torrance Dental Associates were able to get extractions approved through my insurance for all my wisdom teeth in one day, something my general dentistry office (Robert Mondavi) repeatedly failed to do in a two month window.
The doctor who performed my surgery, Mark Yafai, was very frank about the risks involved with my surgery (potential paralysis in parts of my face due to one of the impacted teeth being directly on a nerve), but fortunately he was able to avoid any complications, and I still have full feeling in my face. After the surgery, he was very understanding of the pain I was in as part of my jaw had to be removed during the surgery.
I highly recommend Mark Yafai for oral surgery procedures, but once again, I know nothing about the general dentistry side of this group.

I posted this review on another site at
. I would suggest reading their reviews as well as they are verified patients so you can get an accurate perspective.
I’ve been coming to this location for years. The staff have good customer service skills and the office itself has everything they need for your appointment so you don’t really have to come back for another visit unless it’s a timing or treatment issue. The overall environment also appears to be calm and the treatment areas spotless, shiny and clean, and the instruments and trays are sterilized and wrapped up ready for the next patient.
Dr. Sako is an excellent dentist and was involved at my recent appointments from the beginning of the treatment to the end. Services and treatment can be very expensive but sometimes they have office /​treatment specials and depending on your level of your insurance, it should cover at least some of the bill. If you want to have excellent dental health, you just have to sacrifice and save in other less important areas in life.

Dr Sako is a very good dentist. He has replaced all of my fillings at my own request and he did them at a pace which was mostly covered by my insurance. I also needed a crown which so far has not caused any problem for the year and a half Ive had it. They do try to sell people stuff but it is a business. As long as you are aware and ask questions they do great work so why not. I have to say that I get the feeling that they do care for me as a patient and all of my procedures have gone smoothly which is big for me cause I used to have anxiety about the dentist due to the fact that as a child I went to a dentist who would always try to drill my teeth for as much insurance money as possible. I only gave four stars because one time my insurance didn’t cover 200 $ of the procedure but I still love the place I just verify that they have cleared everything with my insurance first. My dental insurance sucks! Additionally I just want to mention that I had 16 fillings replaced for a cost of 900 $ when other places had quoted me 4000 $.

I have had one tooth with a pocket in the gum for years and been told as long as i floss and it doesnt bother me to eat and drink, it it nothing to worry about. They check it when I go in.
I triedTorrance Dental Associates today and after a 30+ minute painful struggle with a new hygenist trying to figure out how to take xrays, I was told by a hygenist that I have a 5−3−5 pocket and need an injection. I have never heard of this so researched Arestin on the internet and see it is for gum disease. This medication is not covered by my insurance so i declined it and plan to get a second opinion.
Then Dr. Sako told me I need 8 fillings! I haven’t had a filling in 17 years. He said of the four exisisting I have, 2 need to be replaced and the other two should be replaced. Then he said 4 other teeth have minor cavities and gave me a long explanation about how some dentists will wait when cavities are small like this, so I might get 4 different opinions from 4 different dentists. My last dentist talked to me about the small calcification on one of these teeth. It has been there for years and it has never caused problems so he says leave it– suddenly this new dentist, Dr. Sako, says I have 4 and they all need to be filled.
This all seemed too fishy to me.
I have lived in 3 different countries and 5 different states and seen my share of dentists. This is the first one that seemed over eager to drill!
I called my insurance company and they said replacing existing fillings may be considered cosmetic and I shouldnt agree to anything without approval from insurance. The insurance customer service rep said she used to work in a dentist office and dentists are always trying to get patients to change their fillings to porcelin even though they dont last as long and can crack. She said they pitch that is «looks better» and then bill insurance for the replacement.
Im going for a second opinion.

I’m not sure why there a so many negative reviews either. I have been going to this dental office for over 5 years and have always had a good experience. The office is modern and clean, the staff is very friendly and the dentist has always done great work. The only reason why I did not give five stars is because… well…it’s still the dentist… and how awesome can that ever be :)

Not sure how this place got soo many negative reviews. I don’t doubt them but its strange. Yea they like to do X-​rays every six months. I Just tell them no. Next time. They say ok. Also insurance pays the X-​rays so it don’t matter. The radiation. Is minuscule
I usually walk out with nothin more than cleaning now. The reason is i floss everyday and use sonicare. The sonicare made a difference in removing plaque or tarter.
Use those and I promise you will need less cleaning.

I was totally happy with my experience at Torrance Dental Associates. The Doctor was very thorough and considerate. His staff were equally helpful and made –what would usually be a undesirable event– a great experience.

I had the opportunity to visit Torrance Dental Associates several weeks ago and had a really enjoyable experience. I am fairly new to the area and visited their office at the recommendation of a friend. I was going in for a routine cleaning and to discuss the possibility of having Torrance Dental Associates be my new dental service provider. Before going I visited their website, as I like to get an idea of what to expect and do my due diligence if there is information available. After taking a look I decided to go in and get my teeth cleaned. While there I met Delia, the office manager. She was very nice and totally patient with me. I had what I thought was a fair number of general getting to know you questions. She was quite warm and reassured me that questions were typical and that she was happy to help.
Unfortunately, I did not have my previous x-​rays and thus needed to get some done. It is always nice when you can save a buck, and I have been to dentists that did not give you an option to provide recent x-​rays. It is not atypical, from my experience, to get x-​rays on my visits to the dentist anyways. A lot can change in 6 months and spending a little bit of time and money on a another set of x-​rays could save me a lot of money on a much costlier procedure down the line. Moving right along I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Sako and was introduced to his dental assistant Araceli. They let me know that there were no issues found and that my teeth looked just fine. I ended up getting a cleaning and had a great experience. They let me know about available whitening treatment specials which I did not take advantage of on this particular visit, but intend to do so in the near future. I also inquired about Invisaline to correct some crowding and alignment issues that resulted from not sticking with retainers from a previous orthodontic experience in my childhood.
One of the things that really impressed me was the amount of information that I was given. Dr. Sako and staff were so helpful and knowledgeable. I feel fortunate that my friend gave me such a fantastic recommendation. I will most definitely be back and am going to pay it forward to the rest of my friends as it was paid forward to me when I was looking for a new dental provider. Way to go Torrance Dental Associates. Thank you!

I can honestly say that this was the WORST dental experience I have ever had. My insurance just changed and I was assigned to this office without any information whatsoever. I made an appointment to get my teeth cleaned and the adventure started with this appointment.
I made it to the office on time and signed in. I waited and my appointment time came and went. 15 minutes after my time, I was called to come into the office. I had my teeth x-​ray and exam from the dentist. Immediately, they started to push things I am sure I did not need. Once the final bill was mentioned, I would have to pay close to $ 2500 for all the ‘Dental work’ they wanted to do. They made another appointment for my teeth cleaning, the initial appointment was not for this in the eyes of the office. Very frustrating!
I came back for my teeth cleaned and they only did the right side of my mouth. They shot me up with novocaine and they cleaned that side of my teeth. They wanted me to come for in 2 weeks to get the other side cleaned and then they wanted me to come back after that appointment to get my teeth polished. Each appointment they tried to sell me additional services.
I highly recommend you look elsewhere for a good Dentist. I CAN recomment Dr. Russell Coser on Torrance Blvd., extremely professional, thorough and great staff.

Let me just say that, unfortunately, I am starting to agree with what everyone else has said in their reivews up until this point. no bueno.

I walked out.
The place is clean, modern, extremely well equipped – which they should be for the cost you’ll incur. The staff is pleasant enough. The lobby is deceptively small. Once you go through the door, you realize you are in a chop shop.
I went in for a missing and a loose filling. I left when they told me my share of cost would be $ 11k. That’s ELEVEN THOUSAND DOLLARS. Yes. My eyes about bugged out and my jaw dropped.
Turns out they want to replace all my old filling too. I just about had to beat them for what I absolutely had to have done at that exact moment (because according to them, everything had to be done). For my two fillings and a cleaning (with medicine), my share of cost would be $ 432. I wanted to leave. I actually wanted to run and bawl like a big baby, but thought I’d try to be an adult.
I have HMO. I picked HMO for the cheap out of pocket so something wasn’t jiving. I asked for a copy of the itemized list. They made me sign my name on a pad to say they gave me certain information. Let me tell you… I’m very uncomfortable signing nothing. You don’t see what you’re signing.
After leaving, I checked my insurance coverage. Turns out my insurance covers all the procedures with the maximum co-​pay of $ 10. When I called be the dental office, turns out they don’t use OR OFFER the type of filling that is covered. Only the most expensive options are offered.
Go leery and go prepared. BUYER BEWARE!!!

Terrible, they will over-​charge you and to top it off, provide you with terrible service.
I went there to see the endo specialist, Dr. Younes Safa. First off, the front desk is very rude. It is our right to ask questions, but they get upset and give attitude when I’m trying to understand what is going on. A personal pet peeve, is in a professional place of business, is it too much to ask for them to please speak English when patients are around.
The doctor was 1 hour late for the appointment. Never in my entire life have I had this happen, and to have the front desk cover with excuses just made it worst. I would have left but had to get it done.
They were in-​network but charged $ 50 for the office visit when my office copay was only $ 5 with insurance. They then charged $ 471 for a root canal retreatment. I paid them $ 1400 out of my pocket. I’m not sure how much they have the patients interests in mind, but these prices seemed excessive to me especially since I think not all 3 teeth needed to be retreated. To top it off the dentist did not want to put a temp filling in my teeth to completely fill the holes, I could feel the big holes with my tongue and had to ask for more, then he put too much and my bite was off hitting the filling so I could not completely close my mouth… oh, I should have gotten a second opinion, but it was the end of the year so had no options. I kinda overheard the same sales pitch to other patients.
They will take your money, so get second opinion if you decide to go here.

It is a horrible, unprofessional, inexperienced dentist and crew. I waited an extra hour after my appointment. Let say my appointment was at 12p, i waited till 1pm just to recall my name. The girl at reception gave me the paper to fill after 30min. And after 10 min she said just initial here. surgeon comes in ask my name and tells directly you teeth needs to come out (he has not look at X_​ray or my teeth, he didnt even ask me what is my pain level). i asked him «is there anything else we can do?“and he said lets do it right now. i asked him how much it will cost me and he left. Then head receptionist came in she was like explaining about the prices i called my insurance and they were charging me something it was never explained to me. it was F $ 200.00. and she had me pay before the service
I all mean to say it is pathetic place with such a lot of crooks, just need your money i am still having pain and blood is coming out of my Gums. i wish i never gone to that place. i am advising you do not go this place. if there is an option of giving em negative stars i will give em negative five stars