this was an awesome visit. I really enjoy my time and the people who work here! highly recommend

Be aware that the office ladies, while very friendly initially, were not up front with me and may not be forthright with you about whether or not Columbia Dental is in Network with your insurance. Office lady #1, C, said "Your insurance went through! Here's your estimate for services we'll do today," and quoted me $655 out of pocket for a root canal and over $2K out of pocket for the crown. "...That's way higher than I expected," I said. "Yeah, dental insurance is awful," said C. "It will be like this everywhere you go." Shocked and dismayed, I called my insurance to confirm that those numbers were accurate. "Those guys aren't in network with us," the United Concordia rep told me. "That's the reason those numbers are so high." "WHAT!?" I said. The second of the Columbia Dental office ladies, T, came out to get an update on my decision (whether to pay out of pocket or get financing), and I said "You guys didn't tell me that you weren't in Network with United Concordia." "NO ONE is in network with them," she answered. "The UC rep just emailed me a list of providers who are," I replied. "Call them. Call them. I bet you they aren't," she challenged. I called them and immediately found two providers who were indeed in network with United Concordia. I went up to the desk and reported my findings. "Well, then, you're lucky," said T. "I feel that it's dishonest for you guys to not tell patients that you're out of network with their insurance," I said. "You said you accepted mine." "We ACCEPT yours," said C. "But we aren't in network with them." "Then you should have told me that," I said. Hours of my day were shifted around for this, my husband lost time at work to be home with our kids, and a great deal of emotional difficulty was experienced when seeing those numbers and being told that anywhere I go would the same story. Not cool at all, Columbia Dental. read more

I'm wondering if this is a fly-by-night office. It doesn't look permanent. Has an archaic feel. Dr. Vivian was very nice, though. read more

We go to another dentist but they have no oral surgeon. The surgeon they referred my 19 year old for wisdom teeth had no openings. I checked my dental insurance network and found Columbia dental. On Monday 3/17/25 made appoitment for the following day. They treated us with such kind and careness and an hour after arrival all 4 pulled. I'm now going to switch to Columbia dental for myself and my daughter wants to change too. read more

I made an appointment to have my wisdom teeth removed and they gave me an appointment on the same day, I was very happy because I had been waiting in line for days to make an appointment with the dentists and my tooth was hurting a lot, finally I found this Colombia Dental, they removed my 2 wisdom teeth and did it very quickly, they were very caring, friendly people read more

I went to Manchester main office he stuck my tongue with the noviciane like he was looking out the window or something! He didn't remove the whole tooth!! I waited 2 hrs in a disgusting room the sink probably hadn't been cleaned in a year!!! There was some gross stuff across the light they use !!! Also the bitch was rude and pushy that tried to sell me $60 k dollars for implants do not go there EVER!!! read more

Let me preface this by saying if I can save a single person from experiencing what I did - then I'm glad. Got all 4 wisdom teeth pulled on the classic Husky Torture Tuesday. All Husky patients get lumped on one rushed overcrowded Tuesday and get to see the same old butcher dentist - Dr Lashgari. After waiting in the lobby for well over an hour due to being backed up (fine) - mostly due to people coming back in pain from botched procedures earlier in the day (sorry to the veteran with the botched crown job) Brought back for an X-ray. I get seated in the back. Nobody hands me consent forms. No communication. Just left in the room. More time goes by, doctor rushes in: Does not ask my name, just asks what I'm getting done. Takes the tiniest dot of numbing and puts it on one cheek, then puts the q-tip on my other cheek for around 5-10 seconds when normally it's 5-10 minutes at any other practice Immediately starts stabbing my mouth with the numbing needed. I state I'm in pain. He apologizes and continues. I continue to state I'm in pain and he gets irritated Saying he's only given 3 when normally he gives 6. I tell him he didn't wait long enough with the base numbing gel. He storms out and goes to work on someone else. An assistant comes in after a considerable amount of time just looking for something else, I tell her the situation and she apologizes stating he's stingy with the medication. She gives me 2 swabs of numbing gel and is surprised the dr never came back in. Finally he comes back in and is pissed I have more numbing gel. Demands to know who gave me it and claims they have no idea what they are doing. Immediately stabs my mouth with more numbing needles and has me hold my own suction as I'm not good enough apparently to have an assistant help? Asks if I've signed consent forms - aside from lobby - no? He gets mad at the "incompetence" of the staff and has me sit up and just sign without reading - I'm literally half numbed up and holding suction while signing a paper I can't even read. Immediately he just starts ripping my teeth out. Apologizing that he's going fast but is in a rush. At one point a tooth snaps and he just looks at the ceiling scraping and digging around by feel. Given I was in the office for over 2 hours. The pulling took about 5 very rushed minutes. And it HURT. He rushed through instructions and sent me right up to the front desk. (No anesthesia ? no stitches ? Okay) The nicer receptionist left for the day, and I was left with a blonde lady. I can't speak due to having to bite on gauze. I mentioned a penicillin allergy on my paperwork from earlier - after waiting in pain at the desk she hands me scripts with my name and address WRONG for Amoxicillin WHAT??? My to go bag isn't even ready. She has to have me write my name and address again and get approval for a different antibiotic??? For pain I get 800mg of ibuprofen?? It didn't touch the pain. I start taking Tylenol with it and the next day I call stating I couldn't even sleep due to pain. Receptionist informs me that other doctors won't help his patients. And due to the DEMOGRAPHIC OF THE AREA the doctor won't prescribe anything other than Advil. This wasn't a cavity?? This was 4 healthy teeth ripped out of my face. They also have received numerous complaints against this doctor. SO BE WARNED. ~KARMA TAKE NOTE~ This isn't helping people. This is traumatizing and hurting people. I feel bad for the support staff. But the higher ups need to be aware. Seems they already are and won't act. read more

I used to be really nervous about going to the dentist. I think it was all the years of having braces, but I ended up super possessive of my teeth. After years of having gentle and understanding dentists in my hometown, I was really dragging my feet on making an appointment to get my teeth cleaned in a new city. As luck would have it, originally I had an appointment with a different dentist who called me the day before and cancelled. I hurriedly called my insurance company to see who else was around, and that's when I found Columbia Dental. They were able to get me in that very same day! Now that's what I call customer service! Located in a medical /industrial complex, this dental group is not much to look at. No big signs or frilly details, just hard working x-ray techs, dental hygienists and personable doctors. I filled out the new patient forms and went straight to xrays. The tech was friendly and fast, and handed me off to the hygienist to get cleaned. Weirdly, I was repeatedly told how beautiful and perfect my teeth were, and remarks on their shiny whiteness. I don't consider my teeth to be anything particularly extraordinary, so it makes me think they were either calming my nerves or new london just has a lot of nasty teeth. After the cleaning, the doctor came in to check my teeth and send me on my way. I have never had such an utterly painless dental appointment, with such friendly and warm staff. Prices are great too, and with same day appointments, they can't be beat! read more

I went to my first appointment at Columbia Dental New London at the beginning of October 2020 and everything went great. I saw Dr Paul Hanna and was told I needed an extraction - among other things. I was given a new appointment for tooth extraction - extremely urgent / infected molar with a fistula pus & pain- for December 5th. Let's mention that, since we are on Covid times, it is extremely rare to find an available dentist especially one who takes new patients. As my tooth extraction was urgent, I was told by the front desk to call as many times as I wanted in order to see if something would open up. And I did. On October 22nd, the Manchester office picks up the phone. It was on a Thursday evening at 4.30pm and apparently the New London office was close. The moment I called I was offered an appointment for that upcoming Saturday, October 24th. Which I kindly declined since a) I was on antibiotics to get rid of the pus b) I had to wait to book a ride since I wasn't driving due to a sprain on my right foot. So I declined 100% and was hoping for an appointment in the upcoming weeks. On Friday, I called again and the New London office picks up. I was asking if there were any openings for the following weeks and the person who picked up was telling me that I had an app the day later, Saturday 24th so they were unable to change it. I kindly said my app was for December 5th and wanted that changed if possible , for any possible cancellations coming up. The lady kept talking on top of me and stating and insisting my appointment was on the 24th and that I have NO appointment for December 5th. Since I had their business card with the appointment reminder in my hand I insisted on my end as well. Kindly suggesting to forward the proof I had on me via text or email. The lady got so rude and started yelling. I got so nervous that I requested to talk to a manager. The manager gets on the phone and she a) yells at me the same. b) treats me as if I was crazy telling me I do NOT have an app for Dec 5th that "I am confused" WHAT? c) she refused to listen to what I thought it possibly could have happened ( Manchester office deleting my original appointment by mistake) d) refused to help me knowing I was experiencing pain and truly needed to go back ASAP. Bottom line. Mistakes do happen. I understand this. But making a huge mistake such as deleting a patient urgent appointment during a pandemia and not be willing to fix it, plus treating you as if I had severe mental problems "since I was confused or you don't know what you talking about mam" is utterly wrong! I waited ever since to find a dentist. I called every place in the state and kept trying for a month and a half after that "incident". I called more than once to the Manchester office to tell them what happened and that all I needed at that point was a sincere apology from these people. The bad taste I had in my mouth after this issue is indescribable. They refuse to accept their mistake yet being self righteous and rude. I even got my insurance to call and asked why I was treated in such disrespectful manner, and they played nice to them, yet never called back to apologize to me. To top this whole "misunderstanding" off, I did receive a bill from Columbia New London stating a "NO SHOW" appointment on October 24th . A joke, truly. read more

Columbia Dental - The appointment "I never had". - General Dentistry Near Me - New London, Connecticut

This is easily the worst dental office in Connecticut. They waste your time, they are unapologetic, they don't have the proper staff, they don't have the proper equipment. Honestly they shouldn't even be in business. When I called to make my appointment I told them there was physical damage to my teeth. So a month later I come in for my appointment, they confirm that there is damage but they want me to make an appointment a month out to have it taken care of. One doctor in their office told me I had a crack in the tooth. the other told me there was no crack it was just a cavity. A simple filling. I don't know about you but to me thats a big red flag, when there is confusion among the staff...just walk out. that could be dangerous for the customer and their wallet. They were extremely quick and they were not thorough at all. Didn't check any other teeth, and wanted to schedule me an appointment to come back again for a cleaning... fix the damage! They don't have a hygienist on staff, they outsource to Waterbury or Manchester, But weren't planning on telling me that until I made an appointment to come back for the cleaning. I just happen to overhear them telling other customers that. You can tell they really just like wasting their customers time. Not to mention three years ago when I was in, room #6 had a broken light, and when they brought me in to room #6 this past time it was just more broken then it was the last time. Very sloppy. the waiting room looks like a war crime. Their dental equipment is broken and outdated. You can tell they don't care about the customer at all. You can tell they don't care about their business practices at all. I think they should be investigated by BBB. Charging your insurance and doing nothing in those visits is a scam. Sadly the only reason people still go there is because they're one of the few people that accept state insurance. But I think they're just taking advantage of people on state insurance. Like most in the healthcare field. Pathetic. read more

My husband and I just got stationed in Connecticut and we had to choose a PCP, dentist and etc. I needed to get my 6 month exam and my wisdom teeth removed. I had called a bunch of different dental offices and Columbia Dental had the soonest appointment available. Lucky me! I really got spoiled with the way they treated me here. Dr. Paul and his assistant, Lisbeth, took such amazing care of me. I had never had any type of surgery before and I was terrified. As soon as I sat in that chair my nerves had set in and I immediately started to cry. They had the utmost patience for me and sat down with me and asked me to blurt out any questions I had. My mind went blank and I started to panic but Dr. Paul just started answering questions that most patients have while in his chair. He made sure I was completely relaxed and let my husband come back to the room to hold my hand. Instant relief. Lisbeth and Dr. Paul went out of their way multiple times to make sure I was comfortable and informed me of everything they were doing to keep me in the loop. I know laughing gas does wonders for your nerves and pain level, but I truly believe the experience I had was so incredible due to these two amazing humans taking such great care of me! I didn't feel a single poke. Dr. Paul and Lisbeth were super careful and knowledgeable about the entire surgery and made me feel so confident that I made the correct decision in coming to this office. I will never go to another dentist while we are stationed here and I will always 100% recommend this office! The environment is very positive and uplifting! My dentist and his assistant were extremely personable. There is absolutely nothing I would have wanted differently. Thank you so much to Dr. Paul, Lisbeth, and the entire Columbia Dental staff for making this such a smooth experience for me. See you in 6 months! read more

Joined Columbia dental of new london Ct few months ago ... first time back since Covid 19 ... I really dread going to the dentist ...when I arrived the receptionist was very warm and welcoming and made me feel not so nervous . My hygienist was the sweetest caring person ...most of all the front office staff was very knowledgeable in their jobs and honestly treated me so well ... I've been to different dental offices in the past ... this place is by far the best!!! Thank you so much Columbia Dental !!! read more

I have never had such a amazing dentist, my husband was stationed here in Groton and I had to have my four wisdom teeth removed and a regular dentist, they did it today and did such a amazing job! I didn't feel a thing! Also they are the cheapest place I could find !!! And also CARED way more than the place who quoted me 2000$ more than what they did. The staff also is amazing I love them!!! So blessed to have found this place. I'll never step foot anywhere else as long as I'm close to this place. I'd drive 3 hours to get to this place if I had too! I wish I had review like I'm writing now to read so I could've found it sooner !!! This place is AWESOME and affordable ! read more

I first visited Columbia Dental a year-and-a-half ago after not having been to the dentist in 3 years. I had my teeth cleaned which turned out to be a great experience. The dental hygienist Elaine Finnegan was very kind, courteous and professional did a awesome job. I also had a cavity that day, the doctor there was very gentle and professional and did a wonderful job no problem since. Recently I had my teeth cleaned again with the same hygienist with the same results above and beyond my expectations. A month ago I chipped a tooth the staff there make an appointment for the next day and the doctor fixed it and she's very kind, courteous and gentle. All the staff there very polite very helpful and treated me with the upmost respect. I would recommend Columbia Dental too anyone !!! read more

This office is by far the most helpful, kind and gentle. I've been going for 2 years now and my daughter is now going there for braces. They were so knowledgeable and informative when it came to the whole process. From getting the approval to what floss she should be using, I have been treated with great respect and kindness. The office staff always has a smile and will work with you through anything. The hygienists are really fantastic!!!! They are tender but firm and you walk out of there with a gleaming smile! I'm so glad to have found them and will never fear my dentist again!!! read more

First visit with Lainey and Ismail Okasha, DMD Collectively impersonal yet speedy. Thus far, I'm impressed by appointments scheduled within a few days. It was the fastest and quietest cleaning I can ever remember, which I don't mind as responding to small talk with dental instruments in your mouth is a challenge. Exam was brief and direct, and I'm eager to evaluate Dr Okasha's work and the office further. read more

I go in 28 weeks pregnant was originally told on the phone was fine could come in no big deal. Then I need a note from my OBGYN my gums are infected from a previous dentist messing up my teeth he looks in my mouth I figure Im all set. Then Im basically being yelled at by the dentist because Im being "argumentative" when I was simply stating I didnt want to have to wait for over 48 hours to get an antibiotic for an infection the office knew I had when I came in on antibiotics from an ER visit because I am in so much pain I cant eat sleep or drink anything. Then Im being told he needs to look in my mouth again to document teeth I had pulled which because I am not considered a new patient because I went to a Columbia Dental in Manchester CT and they had extracted those teeth because of again a dentist messing up my mouth. I didnt understand why he needed to document and then after he was done telling me why he goes "you know what Im done" and walks out which had he not started yelling at me I would have sat in the chair and let him do what he needed to. But instead Im being "argumentative" because I have questions and concerns that arent being handled properly. I was then told it wasnt healthy for the office for me to come in here like that. Try this on for size Im in pain I have MAJOR anxiety about the dentist, Im vulnerable, Im 28 weeks pregnant terrified that Im going to hurt my baby by getting x rays and work done but I dont have a choice. yet Im "argumentative" because I have questions and dont fully trust the person I just met 2 minutes ago? Yeah you couldnt pay me to go back there. read more

My first time in years of going to the dentist that it was painless for a root canal of an infected tooth. Painless. I was dreading the first shot in the cheek but it was fine after the numbing lotion had time to do its magic. The two dentists I met were both very kind, knowledgeable, funny and considerate. From the front desk crew, to the insurance/billing, to the x-ray and dental techs, a wonderful staff. I had called around to several other dentists in the area to get a dentist on my insurance plan trying to avoid the New London area as it doesn't have the best reputation. All of the other dental offices took my info then offered appointments a few weeks out. Columbia offered next morning. I was hesitant and worried what I would be faced with and was pleasantly suprised. Easy parking, nice building, nice office. I will be returning in a week for a follow up and will also be making appointments for regular care for myself and my daughter. I was very impressed with Columbia Dental and so pleased with their service. Downsides-high prices but typical for dentistry these days even with insurance and unfortunately, the most uncomforable waiting room chairs. LOL! I thought I was going to fall right through one. Minor, but you should be aware lest you get stuck and are late for your appointment. Bottom line, if you need a dentist in the New London or surrounding areas-you no longer need to fear the dentist (or New London). Give them a try for sure. First great dental experience. Ever. They rock!! read more

I had a tooth infection and Dr. Silver informed me the tooth needed to be pulled. After clearing the infection I returned so nervous that he prescribed something to help relieve the tension and rescheduled my appointment for today. Dr. Christoper Silver is such a caring and compassionate dentist! I had a previous bad experience and going to see Dr. Silver at your New London office was the best dentist visit I've experienced in years! He is so professional yet extremely careful to keep the patient comfortable at all times! He was the best dentist I've ever gone to thus far! Thanks again Dr. Silver. The tooth extraction was so much better than I could have ever expected! He actually took the time to fix another problem tooth while waiting for the novocaine to take effect and the whole procedure was over within 15 minutes! Never felt the needles or procedure. Highly recommended you see him too. read more

Don't bother find a real dental office with sincere dentist. That tell the truth and won't rip you off.

I came to Columbia dental for a second opinion because my other dentist had me going to an ear, nose and throat Dr to check my sinuses then wanted me to go see a root canal specialist. They took x-rays of the side I was having pain on and showed no cavaties. The dentist came in and the dental assistant told him what was going on, and in less than 5 minutes he knew what was wrong. Needless to say I switched to them right then and there! read more

Love going to Columbia Dental. The staff is all friendly and nice. I not only go for regular cleanings, but I also see the orthodontist and am currently in the process of having braces. The orthodontist is very nice, always answers any questions I have and explains to me where I am in my process and what is going on with my teeth. The general dentists are all nice as well. I have seen almost all the dentist in the office and they are all friendly and willing to assist me whenever necessary. Very happy that I found this office! read more