I'm a returning customer. I would highly recommend Dr. Chen because he is very experienced and knowledgeable. His admin staff seems to be ok, but yes, I agree with others that they are not all warm. Also, it takes alot of effort trying to reach certain staff. I remember visiting this office many years ago and the insurance/billing lady was very nice and extremely knowledgeable. She helped me greatly with insurance billing questions and sat down with us to go over all the payment options that was the most beneficial for us. She definitely went above and beyond. Now, things are different. Theres one communication over the email with the treatment plan estimate and that's it!! I must've called and emailed a handful of times trying to talk to the staff. Once you get to talk to the right staff, you get a professional answer but nothing beyond that. I certainly expected more based on my past experience. Overall, if you can get over the admins, this place is great. read more

I am extremely afraid of dentists. Recently, I had gum infections that caused one of my dental crowns to fall off, and my neighbor recommended the Danimere Dentistry-Dr. James Chen. He listened patiently and understood my concerns. During the dental work, Dr. Chen explained what he was working every step of the way. With his professional and technical expertise, Dr. Chen put my dental fear at ease. The office has clean airflow with good lighting, and the front office staff, Stacy and Ruby, are friendly and helpful. My husband switched from his dentist for 30+ years to Dr. James Chen and appreciated his thorough dental work on my husband. Many thanks to Dr. Chen and the entire staff. read more

Took my 12 year old daughter for a consultation.. I walked her in and was told I had to wait in the car and they would take X-rays & Pictures of her teeth and the Doctor would email me everything along with a quote. I know it's COVID but still found it strange that I couldn't wait in the empty waiting room with my mask on. Anyhow, when my daughter came out about 20 minutes later she had a sad look on her face and got in the car. She said the dental assistant was mean & very rude to her!! My daughter also said: The Doctor seemed nice but he was quiet and just said "Hi" to her. That rude assistant shouldn't be working there if she doesn't like her job or kids for that matter! I was so disappointed and immediately made up my mind that we would not be giving our business to Dr. Chen due to him having a rude unprofessional dental assistant in his office. This is unfortunate because I was referred to Dr. Chen and heard great things about him. I bet, if I was waiting in that office she would've treated my daughter that way. read more

Doctor Chen and the entire staff are very professional and welcoming. I have been coming here for many years and have only had great experiences. When my teeth started moving again after my first time with braces, everyone worked with me to ensure I had a straight and nice smile again! Thank you for making me feel confident in my smile again! read more

I won't recommend this place,It is a joke my daughter bracket felt off every two weeks

The receptionist is rude and needed to be more responsible. When we were late, they charged us lots of money just for 1 minute of their time just because we are late by 20 minutes. read more

I don't know why some people say the people aren't nice. Dr. Chen and his assistants took care of me for 3 years and i never had a bad experience. I recently went back to check my retainers because my dog chewed them. The chew wasn't too severe, but I still wanted to make sure my retainers still work. Dr. Chen was very honest, and said they are still fine, he adjusted them for me; and there was no need to replace or repair. DIDNT CHARGE ME ANYTHING. While he could have easily said that I did need to fix them/replace them and charge me for it. ($75 for repair and $350 for a new pair) With this you should know he is a very responsible, honest, and kind person. read more

I've been taking my kids here for a while. Pre-Covid, when they had a different manager the staff was very nice and friendly. I Even had personal conversations with one of the staff members. The manager quit, or left, not sure what happened. Now they have new staff. They are not happy and friendly. My son has complained about the girl working on his teeth. He said she is rough and mean. The owner is very quite and not inviting. I'm very disappointed in this place now. read more

Had my braces for about four years in total.. weird that I didn't even mind having them on after awhile. Was always a very pleasant visit to the ortho with Dr Chen and his amazing staff. Everyone was careful and my family and I were treated very well. My braces was suppose to come off in two years time but the pandemic spreader to America and I couldn't get them off when I was suppose to. I mean I surely wouldn't want to get braces "again" but I actually enjoyed my experience due to Dr Chen and his team. Thank you. read more

The staff is very rude and negligent. Dr. Chen himself is very nice and I appreciate his help, but I find it difficult to deal with his employees' impolite attitude. The receptionist especially is extremely ill-mannered. I would choose another place if I could. read more

The receptionist at the front desk is very rude! The doctor is very patient and nice.

I had used Invisalign for about 1.5 years and bracelets for 0.5 year. Dr. Chen, Anita, and their fellow associates took care of me and I'm very satisfied! I would recommend anyone who's in the area go to them and get a quote, if the price fits, they are definitely the professionals who will give you a good smile in the future! read more

Sophia, my 14-year-old daughter, had 90 percent of her teeth misaligned, irregular, and seriously affecting her face shape when she was nine years old. Dr. Chen has been treating her for nearly six years. Her  braces were taken out today. Her  teeth are not only beautifully arranged, but also symmetrical. Dr. Chen teach students at UCSF, uses advanced  theories and methodologies, and creates specific treatment plans for each individual, taking into account not just the growth of teeth and gums but also the contour of the face. Almost all of Dr. Chen's patients were referred to him by friends over the course of the six years. Because of its forward-thinking treatment plan, attentive , individualized service, and psychological counseling, I definitely recommend  Dr. Chen. read more

Dr Chen was nice enough to take on my 16-year-old son's case of 2 impacted canines with the complication of resorption, after we had sought out the world's leading expert on impacted teeth in Jerusalem, Dr Adrian Becker. My son needed the 'power chains' changed every 10-14 days to keep the traction on the canines. After 13 weeks, on the last day of school, Dr Chen suddenly emailed that he saw himself as 'transitional' and said he wouldn't care for my son's treatment any longer. My son and our family are now in an emergency situation. For six days, I have had to use old elastic bands and use tweezers, sewing scissors, a crochet hook, and fishing line to attach the elastics to maintain traction until we find a competent orthodontist. We have to do it daily, it takes 20-30 minutes. It is essential that the traction on the teeth is constant not to jeopardize the surgery my son had in Jerusalem. Since the elastic may break when my son eats or yaws, he can't be away from me, and our family can't travel until the situation is solved. It is very hard to find anyone accepting a local transfer, especially someone who has a complicated case where UCSF has failed, and where the outcome is still uncertain for the upper canine. Some appointments are two months in the future. We are chocked that an orthodontist is capable of acting in this irresponsible manner. The transfer forms between orthodontists stress that it is of 'paramount importance' that you refer patients to an orthodontist who can successfully complete the treatment. In my son's case, it is even more poignant because of the necessity of constant traction. You can find the full story of my son's 'orthodontic odyssey' on impactedcanine.weebly.com under 'Sam's case'. I will be updating my review as it continuous. We are very stressed out being in this situation! It feels pathetic to be reduced to DIY ortho! read more

James J. Chen, DDS - DIY ortho. My son needs to have the elastics changed every day, to keep traction. We are in a desperate situation! - Orthodontists Near Me - San Mateo, California

Dr. Chen's and his staff are the best. I have taken all three of my children here. My two boys had traditional braces and now my daughter just started her treatment with invisaling as her case was not as severe. Dr. Chen helped me prioritize which child to start first and was very informative about treatment options. read more

My daughter went in with an overbite and 18 months later she has one of the most beautiful smiles I have ever seen. Dr. Chen and his staff are fantastic. They are generous with their time. They work with their clientele (mostly adolescents and teens) with respect and a lot of kindness. Dr. Chen's work is that of a master. I can't imagine why anyone would not choose Dr. Chen and his team to work on their or their family member's teeth. read more

They get 2 stars because they are on the cheaper side. That said, one of the assistants is so rude and every time I went in, I waited 25+ min even though my appointment has been booked way in advance. I've had a very negative experience here. On top of that, they didn't give me a retainer after my braces had been removed so now I have a little but of spacing between my teeth and need to get a filling so food doesn't get caught. read more

I'm writing this review for my wife Angie Y Dr Chen did a fantastic job on her teeth. She never had a smile like this before. Thanks to him, she always get compliments about her $1M smile. She really appreciated his patience, meticulousness, bedside manner, he has the heart of a doctor and took time to answer all her questions. Although it was a painful 3 yr experience, the results were fantastic. She's so happy Thank you, Dr Chen read more

We are really happy with Dr. Chen, who is the orthodontist for both my sons. My older one (12) just got braces put in this week. My younger son has a much more complex situation (has to have his upper palate stretched, has had an expanding retainer in place for last 6 months, will need to wear a night mask to stretch his palate forward for the next step of the process, then will need braces on top of all that) with the care established to avoid adult oral surgery to remove excess jaw bone so that his upper and lower jaw and bite can even start to match as an adult.... is a true test of Dr. James Chen's skill. Although I really like Dr. Chen, and trust his competence, I'm in love with his financial manager, a woman who is great with the patients - owns and reinforces all the messages of kid tooth care/behavioral buy in (critical in my younger son's case) and is clear and competent with respect to the conversations about payment options, etc. Now that we're in the "braces" side of the practice with my older son's dental care, I can attest to the fact that the dental technicians know their stuff and communicate clearly with patients. read more

Wow what a great place. I did my whole treatment here and they are just amazing. The doctor, the staff. A+ all around.

Saw Dr Chen today for a consultation. Felt he was very professional and knowledgeable and his staff was super helpful in making sure I didn't have to wait too long (I called in advance to see what wait time was). I like Dr Chen because he feels like an honest, humble technical expert, not like a pushy sales person. read more

I drive from San Francisco all the way to San Mateo to see Dr. Chen. His staff is friendly, competent and professional. Dr. Chen is a excellent orthodontist and I highly recommend him. His prices are reasonable too! And Dr. Chen is friendly and very gentle with my teeth, which makes the 1 hour drive over worthwhile! :D A++ read more

Dr. Chen is a good doctor, but the Staff in the office is really hard to deal with. They are very rude and very impatient when schedule the visits. They treatment the patients' need as the secondary as the primary focus on money. I feel the office is run kind of cheap. The review in Yelp is a low score couple of months ago and I saw some patients felt the same way (cheap, rude etc.). Recently, somehow the score all of a sudden went up. I suspect something is going on artificially to rise the score here. I sincerely hope the office improve the quality of the service of staff, especially the one who schedule the appointment. read more

This is where I recommend all parents to take their kids for their orthodontics work. Great staff. Very friendly and Dr. Chen is awesome. Great with kids and always encouraging. read more

Dr. Chen and his staff are wonderful, helpful, and kind people. After getting my braces and retainer here, my teeth are beautiful thanks to Dr. Chen and his amazing staff! read more

Dr. Chen is great!! he did my braces and I am very happy with the outcome. His staff is wonderful, very friendly and nice. I wouldn't change a thing about them. I always felt welcomed and comfortable. Cute office too! 2 thumbs up =) read more

I went to UCSF because of their prices and plans. I was skeptical because I did not know how the service would be and I have to say that we were blessed to find Dr. Chen. My daughter had a severe under bite and Dr. Chen had a special night clinic for just that and it unexpectedly was dropped by UCSF but Dr. Chen made it a point to continue care and honor the prices we were originally quoted. I had consultations with other orthodontists and they all told me we would need to maybe break her jaw, get braces, get a headgear but Dr. Chen gave her a simple retainer and this was only 3 months ago and she already is doing better. He is very personable, great to my daughter and just an all around good person. I am now bringing my son in as well. I would recommend him to family, friends or anybody that needed orthodontic help! read more