Hieu Pham's Online Review Report Card

I was referred to Dr. Pham by my dentist for further evaluation of some potential concerns that she felt when reviewing my regularly scheduled X-Ray.  When I called Dr. Pham's office to make my appointment, they took my dental insurance information, and I assumed that they would give me advance notice if they  were going to perform any services that would result in a substantial  out-of-pocket payment.  When I visited his office for the actual  appointment, they instructed me to undergo a CT scan, with no notice to me that that scan would not be covered by my insurance.  Once the visit was over, only then did they tell me, as I was checking out, that the CT scan was not covered, so I would have to pay $250 out-of-pocket for it.  Afterwards, I called my medical insurance provider, and they told me that since the service was done by an out-of-network provider, and I did not have a prior approval or referral from my PCP for the service,  they cannot cover it.I have registered  grievances with both my medical insurance and dental insurance to see if they can do anything about it, but they both told me these are unlikely to succeed.I do feel that Dr. Pham was very professional and had a good bedside manner during the appointment.  He seemed to explain his analysis of the scan clearly and thoroughly.  The appointment was also conducted efficiently.  But in my view, it is good practice and professional courtesy to let the patient know in advance if they are going to incur substantial out-of-pocket costs.  In my case, based on what my medical insurance told me after the fact, it sounds like I may have been able to get this service covered if I had had an opportunity to get a referral from my doctor to an in-network provider, and I feel that I was deprived of that opportunity.  My communications with his office staff about my experience also did not go great - I had to call three times to get a response, and the person who responded simply kept saying, you accepted the service so you're responsible for paying for it.  At one point she said they do try to let patients know if they may incur substantial out-of-pocket costs in advance, but she would not respond to my point that I received no such notice in my specific case.

I have been pushing off the wisdom teeth surgery for a while now, whether it was for the holidays or for my insurance to reset, but I finally had the procedure done.Pre-Op: I had a 3D scan for my consultation to see if I had partially bony, fully bony, or soft tissue impact administered by the sweetest nurse (I think her name is Alex). Dr. Pham walked me through what kind of impact I had, then the office clerk gave me a transparent cost breakdown (no hidden fees). Cost: Soft tissue would be the easiest to remove, hence the cheapest, then partially, then fully. I had a hodgepodge of the three. Dr. Pham was really calm and helped me navigate my choices (general/local anesthetic). General anesthetic (going under) can be $1k more, so I opted with local anesthetic (being numbed by the gel and shots to the gums). Procedure: *If you are afraid of needles or have a lower pain tolerance, I recommend opting for the general anesthetic. The shots hurt even with the numbing gel. Staying awake for the operation wasn't so scary though. The operation can take up to 1 hour, which includes the numbing and anesthesia. They give you antibiotics and ibuprofen beforehand. You also gargle some water with hydrogen peroxide.Dr. Pham made me feel at ease, despite being awake, with positive words of affirmation. The nurse was also a big help to easing my anxiety. Post-Op: The nurse gave me a goodie bag with gauze, ibuprofen, antibiotics, and an instruction guide on post-op care. The guide includes contact information in case you have any pressing questions. You also schedule a post-op appointment for around a week later. I highly recommend this dental office because the staff is wonderful.

He is friendly and cordial enough. He diagnosed my big toe with ingrown nail. However, in his advising me and attempting to show me how to twist a piece of cotton and stick it under the toenail to treat the ingrown nail, he himself was NOT able to get the cotton to stay in place. As well, I too am unable to get the cotton to stay in place under my toenail. Prior to leaving, like a kindergartner, he had me repeat what he told me to do for my ingrown toenail and swollen ankle. I left the visit disappointed and without getting any treatment.

Just relies on oral hand-me-downs - like an Ice Age hunter rather than a 21st century doctor.

Not recommended.  They are lucky that I give them 1 star.   I wrote them a check for $1,550 for my daughter dental which turned out a waste of money and they did not cash it until a year later.  My bank charged me for insufficient fun.  What they should do is to give me a call as a courtesy to let me know that they are going to deposit a check not to call me later blamed me that I wrote them a bad check.

I had all of my 4 wisdom teeth extracted by Dr. Pham 5 weeks ago and the sites seem to heal completely without any complications.I was referred to Dr. Pham by my dentist, when my wisdom teeth started erupting which caused some discomfort. Dr Pham was able to see me the same week, when I called to make an appointment. The staff let me know at a time I made a reservation call that I will need 3D scans to be taken during my first visit. They told me the exact charge for the scans with my insurance. Dr. Pham seems to be a busy person and did not spend too much time with me during my consultation visit. However, he took a careful look at my scans, let me know of specifics of my case and potential risks related to the surgery. He also told me the pros and cons of local and general anesthesia. He answered all my questions and was able to squeeze me in for the following day, since I opted for local anesthesia and my case was not particularly complicated. I felt the consultation visit was short, but not due to the lack of attention from Dr. Pham, but him jumping straight to business and leaving out small talk, chatter and unnecessary coddling. It might make the visit feel rushed for other people, but I appreciated this approach as I was in pain and did not feel like chatting much. The staff explained me how to prepare for the surgery, gave me an exact breakdown of the charges for surgery and anesthesia, recommended me to come with my headphones and some music to block the drilling sounds and gave me valium for anxiety.On the following day I arrived for the surgery. The previous patient was taking longer than expected and my surgery started 20 minutes later. The procedure went well and without any surprises. I did not feel much. The music and headphones helped a great deal as it both distracted me from the surgery and isolated me from all the horrendous sounds. After the surgery, the nurse explained how to take care of the sites in the next few weeks and gave me printed instructions. Overall, it was a pretty good experience and I am very grateful to Dr. Pham and his staff, who did a great job.

Not sure if 5 stars is correct for oral surgery, just seems odd but I I'm motivated to write this review as much for Dr. Pham and the Staff as I am for others who are looking for help and are having trouble sifting through reviews and referral options. It's tough enough to have to deal with tooth extractions/implants but then to figure out who is best to help you. I was referred to Dr. Pham by my dentist but had also had other friend referrals so was debating who to go to and found that the reviews were not entirely helpful because they were really positive or really negative. Here's my two cents or thoughts as someone who ended up choosing Dr. Pham.  I suspect that when it comes to surgery that if people have a smooth experience their surgeon is the best ever, and if there are complications then they suck. I also suspect that complications are frequently out of the control of the surgeon so this would explain some of the reviews I've seen. I had pretty extensive work done and knock on wood no major complications. Dr. Pham is super supportive, available, and gives it to you straight. He's an MD and knows what he's doing. In other words if you are unfortunate to have any complications he's well trained to deal with them. One of my decisions to go with him was how trained/experienced he was and again I was fortunate not to have any major issues but I'm sure that his experience and training helped it be as smooth as possible. I don't write many reviews (this maybe my 2nd or 3rd) but I hope this connects with you as you read and is helpful because finding an oral surgeon is one of those tougher decisions in life and you don't want to get this wrong, at least that's where I was coming from and I could not be more pleased with my decision. BTW - all the reviews about costs outside of your insurance and scans and the like...my experience is that once you hit this level of work you are paying out of pocket either way these days so I'd not get to hung up on that. (It was one of things that originally added a negative for me when looking at Dr. Pham because he was out of network for my insurance.)

My husband was here for extractions and immediate implants. Dr. Pham was very thorough and gentle. No problem at all after surgery.

I got 4 wisdom tooth removals. Three wisdom tooth were difficult to get extracted because their positions were in deep of the bone and crooked. My teeth are very sensitive, even just for a teeth cleaning. However, Dr. Pham convinced me trust him because he already did thousand of patients like it. My case expected to take one hour for surgery, but Dr. Pham spent extra an hour to did my difficult case. He cut my wisdom tooth into small pieces to remove the wisdom tooth. After doing the research from internet, I figure out that this technique would cut just smaller portions of my gums so that it created a smaller wound. Thanks for Dr. Pham's experience, after a week of healing, I felt nearly back to normal.

I couldn't be any happier with the services received at this dental clinic and from Dr. Pham. Whenever any of my family members have something serious going on we always go to Dr. Pham.