Gentle Dental Cambridge - Cambridge, Massachusetts

claire B.

Dr. Goldberg, Periodontist, provided me with excellent care. He is always cheery, communicates well, and the best dentist at local anesthesia that I have ever met. The staff in the office are always friendly and helpful.

nehir E. K.

Doctors are usually great in Gental Dental. I have received great treatment for root/canal therapy in this clinic a month ago.
However, I am going to give one star to highlight some behavioral issues in this branch of Gental Dental. The financial office/secretary team is NOT sufficient at all. They are not clear about the payment method, and they are not clear about the insurance costs. Twice I have been informed insufficiently. In first case, I neglected it. But in the second case, it ended up being a waste of time in both sides.
In first appointment, they stressed me to make a CT scan in their clinic, as the dentists wouldn't be able to make a decision about my teeth without a CT. I spent 200$ straightaway to continue the treatment. Later I learned that I could have done the CT scan in another provider that is covered by my general health care. I would expect a better transparency, instead of exploiting your patients who are under a lot of pain.
In second visit, I admit that I was mistaken since I didn't bring my a physical debit card at the appointment with me. I asked them some flexibility since I was already there ready for my treatment and I was ready to make the first month of the payment with a credit card. Here, they perceive you not as a patient but as an ATM machine ready for a transaction. Again, because of lack of proper communication I have lost a whole morning with them. If a physical debit card was such a MUST have item (and if digital wallet is not sufficient for you), why don't you warn your patients, ups sorry your customers, during your confirmation call before the appointment

celiawhite11

This was my first time at Gentle Dental and I had an extremely poor experience.

The dentist came in in the middle of the teeth cleaning and seemed like he was rushing through the exam - I only spoke with him for maybe five minutes. He told me that I was grinding my teeth, my molars were flat, and that I'd need to have the fillings in my top and bottom teeth redone. This is fine, except I do not have a filling in my top teeth. I only have one, on the bottom. I immediately got a bad feeling in my gut. Furthermore, he was dismissive of the previous dental work I've had, telling me that the orthodontic work (braces when I was barely ten) that I had done was "too aggressive," and that my last dentist had "tried to be a hero" with my bottom filling to avoid a root canal. My previous dentist is someone I had been seeing since I was a child, has great reviews, and has always delivered excellent care to myself and my family. It was shocking to hear a new provider trash someone in this way.

When I was sent to the front desk to schedule the follow-up appointment, I was told by the receptionist that my insurance would not cover an occlusal night guard and quoted me a $1000 estimate for the dental work recommended. A payment plan was not offered to me. I later confirmed with my insurance that their quote is inaccurate and that all treatments and the night guard are covered.

I have no idea why I was told to get a filling redone that doesn't exist and why insurance was not checked before the quote was given to me. I really hope that they weren't trying to scam me but it felt like the whole experience was intended to rush me out of the exam room and intimidate me into agreement with a large bill. I have never had a negative experience at the dentist until this visit and I cannot in good conscience recommend this business.

The lone bright spot was that the hygienist that cleaned my teeth and took my x-rays was very friendly and kind.

antonio V.

Great staff! Courteous and helpful. Impeccably clean and tasteful decor. Dr Mancini was just amazingly professional, gentle and precise! I highly recommend this practice! Called me at home to check in and see how I was doing.

Carol H.

When I first moved here in 2021, I actually gave this place 5 stars due the quality of their dentists and hygienists. After 4 years, I can no longer stand the incompetence of their reception and have cancelled all of my appointments with them.

First issue started when I was informed while making a ortho payment that I had $600 of credit just sitting in my account due to insurance covering costs of fluoride over the years. They never once informed me until I asked why I did not have to pay anything for the current appointment. The amount of time and effort it took to receive this money back was ridiculous. First time I called to try to get this money back, I was told I had to call back on Wednesday because the receptionist “can’t look at the billing details” and another person has to be the one to access, and they only come in on Wednesdays. Then when I called on Wednesday I was told to call again next week because they weren’t there. After finally getting to the billing person, and after 3 weeks of waiting my check never arrived. I then had to go through this phone tag process again only to find out the guy who does the processing was on vacation the whole time, so nothing ever got processed.

Second issue was when I used my FSA debit to pay for the fluoride treatment around the end of 2024. My insurance was asking for an invoice showing the purchase of the fluoride. When I called I was informed that my dental insurance did cover it, and it would be refunded onto the card. Fast forward to 2025, and my insurance is saying they never received the refund to the card. I call back again, and I was told the refund was processed and insurance just needs to wait. After waiting another month, I called back with the insurance on the phone, and it turns out they “couldn’t refund it to the card” and “I should’ve gotten a check”. But because they never asked me about where to send the check, it was sent to my old apartment, even though I informed them of my new address months ago.

Finally, I thought everything would be fine now since I have a note in my file saying not to charge for fluoride until the dental insurance comes back. But no! When I got a cleaning in 2025, I was told by reception that “insurance” is saying I have to pay for fluoride since I’m over 26 now. So they charged my card again, but guess what? Insurance does cover it! So I now have to go though the exact same process again of constantly checking that they are actually doing their job in order to get my money back.

The final straw was going into my yearly check up with x-rays only to find out the dentist wasn’t even in the office that day. And the only option was to come back another day so he can walk in for 5 minutes and look at my x-ray.

You may like Gentle Dental now, but the longer you stay here the more you realize how incompetent they are with your insurance and money. I really will miss my dental hygienist, but she is unfortunately not worth the headache that is dealing with reception.

Edit: the automated response below speaks volumes

Lisa S.

Gentle Dental in Porter Square is wonderful! Dr. Li is the best dentist I have ever been to, and the staff is amazing, all of them! If you need friendly, compassionate, and superior dental care, I can not endorse them enough!

Kevin M.

Wonderful and friendly staff. Dr. Mancini takes the time to explain what he is doing and he is super honest when it comes to needing additional treatment. The team at the front desk are very nice and they are up front about the price of treatment ahead of time.

Paul F.

Dr. Lee should lose her license, shes not very professional and is a bit racist if you asked me or any of her colleagues . Be smart and avoid her at all costs. Gentle dental use to feel like a family dentist spot, she makes it feel like a fast food chain, very cold and has no empathy on her own bad dentisty .