My 5 yr old likes going to the dentist, which sounds crazy, but the experience at Aloha Dentistry is built around making teeth cleanings fun and stress-free. Dr. Ruehe is great with kids (even a little silly) and helps build positive habits and good dental hygiene. I read some of the reviews about paying upfront. Luckily the office now bills the insurance first, as opposed to insurance sending you a reimbursement later. My son loves to pick out a toy from the basket at the end of his appointment. 5 starts! read more

We have had a great experience here and I would 10/10 recommend. We have been going here for 10 years and they have never disappointed me.

Very friendly and efficient at the West Berkeley location. My children had a positive experience as far as getting work done. However, it didn't feel like it was made clear that we would pay out of pocket upfront, and then they will bill insurance...and it was EXPENSIVE! I felt like we were upsold as well. It has been two months and we still have not been reimbursed by our insurance/Aloha. After several back and forth phone calls, it turns out Aloha made a billing error with insurance, and we should've received the money a while ago. There was never an apology. If we had not kept calling, I think the $1200. we paid upfront would never have been reimbursed. read more

My 5 year old daughter LOVES the dentist! Why? She never had a bad experience and she's been going to Aloha Pediatric Dentistry since she had her first tooth. Dr. Amita Ruehe is so wonderful with her and the clinical team is also great. Shout out to Ms. Lupe and Mr. Omar! Yes, they are on the pricier side. But even if our insurance wouldn't pay for them, I would probably take the kid here. read more

On our return visit, Aloha asked us only to pay the expected patient portion up front, which was a much better experience for us. However, they did confuse which teeth they had done fillings on when they billed insurance, which is a bit concerning. read more

We needed an emergency visit during a holiday week and Aloha was so wonderful and accommodating!! Giant thanks to everyone on the AMAZING team for your help! read more

Let me preface: I hate ranting about local businesses. I truly do, but I feel I have to share this experience with my fellow Yelp families. We booked a first time appointment for our son a few months before and they confirmed they took our dental insurance. We arrived, our son had his appointment and then they billed us $500 and let us know that they no longer take our insurance. Excuse me? They say that someone must have told us. No. No one told us. We would have canceled our appointment. We're 40 year old professionals that have health insurance. Do you think we would go to a dentist willingly that doesn't accept our insurance? This is not how you do business and we won't be returning and based on this unethical business practice, I can't imagine recommending it to anyone, whether you have the insurance they take or not. And scrolling down at some older reviews, looks like others have been scammed by this shady practice, as well. P.S. They don't take Delta Dental. So, now you know. Wish we were told that before our 10 minute appointment. read more

We've been going to Aloha for several years now for our daughter's dental care, and they are so great. The assistants and dentists at Aloha are always so patient and understanding, and never pressure or rush us. At the Colby St. office, Emmy is a particularly wonderful assistant--she knows right away what will be tough for our kiddo and is completely unperturbed by our kiddo's thrashing or other protests (our daughter is autistic and highly sensitive to unfamiliar or particular sounds and sensations, and can react strongly when people are poking and prodding her). Emmy remains warm and cheerful and sweet to our whole family throughout the appointment. She's a gem! It's also helpful that the schedulers know to find appointment times when the office will be relatively quiet. As a mom of an autistic kid, it's always such a relief when you don't have to explain yourself over and over again. read more

TL; DR: ok dentists, horrible administrators, bad billing practices. I thought Aloha did an ok job as dentists. Did a rush job with the kids, charged a ton, but I assumed that's how these things went. I hadn't been back to them for a while because they were just ok; in the meantime, I got occasional emails asking me to update my address. No info, just that. I assumed it was because they wanted to send appointment reminders or marketing, so I didn't respond. Two years later they finally mention in the email that I have a balance owing on my account, along with $50 in late fees. No clue why they couldn't just email me the invoice or tell me I had a balance owing sooner. Now I can't even submit to my FSA. There are much better pediatric dentistry practices in town, and certainly ones with more competent billing practices. . read more

Five stars. They are so experienced and so friendly, my boys got treatment there without any complaints. Perfect kids dental! read more

This place is wonderful. We are living temporarily in the Bay Area for a few months. My insurance is terrible and only covers Western Dental in the East Bay Area, which has pretty much the worst reviews of everything on the internet in terms of dentists, so I had given up and decided I could not take my daughter there. I called Aloha on a Friday morning, practically in tears after calling so many people and being told that there next available was in several weeks, when my daughter, unfortunately, needed to see a dentist immediately. They were able to book me an appointment the next morning, even though it was a weekend. I explained my insurance situation, and they were great. My daughter needs quite a bit of work, and I explained that our insurance covers a dentist we love down in LA, so they worked with me to figure out what needs to be done right away (and by right away, they were able to get us an appointment to begin the work in 2 days), and they advised about what could wait until we can get her down to LA. They sent me the X-rays right away, so that I could get them to my dentist in LA and make an appointment there for the other work. Dr. Ruhie was amazing. She sat down with my daughter and I to get to know us and our situation before starting anything. The office is really comfortable and decorated nice, and it is completely open. I have heard horror stories about dentists taking children alone and not letting parents go with them, but not here. Everything is super "open door," and they let me be right with my daughter for all of it. They made her feel super safe and welcomed. They decorated a lunch bag for her with all of the stuff they gave her, tooth brush, tooth paste, toy, etc. My daughter came in somewhat traumatized by her last experience, particularly because the X-rays last time were so awful, and she said that the X-rays this time were not uncomfortable at all. This place really is special. read more

We are new to the group. Having paid only one visit, it is not the time to write a review yet. However, this review is about their responses to the weekend call. It was so impressive. I think it is important to share it here. I always hear about how dentist rarely respond to weekend calls. I can understand there is rarely true emergency to a dentist in community. My son was in severe toothache since Friday, bad timing. A phone call to his pediatrician on call over the weekend in a well-known organization regarding pain management was much less than helpful. By Sunday afternoon, his suffering made us pick up the phone and made the first call ever to a dentist on call. We got a very quick call back from Dr. Nakazato. He was just wonderful. He took his time, patiently listened. He asked relevant questions and gave us appropriate advises. He made us feel he knows us well and he is taking care of my son. Monday morning, we got a phone call back from Dr. Katsura's office. His assistant Susie was professional and very sympathetic. She told us that Dr. Katsura will work us in to his fully booked schedule to check on him. It was a great relief to our concerns. As parents, it is very comforting to know that our kid's dentists do care! We are very grateful to you, Aloha Pediatric Dentist group. . read more

I would have given this dentistry five stars about a year ago. My issue with them isn't the care but rather their latest insurance practices and communication. They used to be an in-network Delta Dental provider, and now they aren't. While they did tell me about this transition, what they weren't upfront about was what it really meant. They said that the big difference was that we would now have to pay ourselves upfront and then get reimbursed by Delta Dental later. What they were NOT upfront about was that it also meant that Delta Dental would only cover a fraction of the cost of the visit, even for a routine cleaning, something that is theoretically covered through my PPO plan. When I spoke to the Aloha receptionist after learning from Delta that I wouldn't be fully reimbursed, turns out they're well aware that routine cleanings will no longer be covered by most Delta Dental plans given the new relationship and their fees - they just chose to leave that fact out in all their communication about the transition. We will be moving elsewhere. read more

Best dentist for my son. He loved seeing Dr Miyahara his whole life but sadly he is now 18. We will miss seeing all of you. Highly recommend A++++ read more

Dr. Amita is wonderful! My 4.5 yr old has been seeing her since the start and loves her. She makes the entire dentist appointment a "fun" and entertaining experience for my child as a result my child LOVEs going to the dentist. Highly recommend. read more

Horrible experience here today. My daughter was supposed to have her first dental appointment, which we scheduled two months in advance. I received a text this morning asking me to arrive 15 min early, I followed their instructions. We waited for 30 min. Watched as 4 patients, whom arrived after us go in. Finally toddler and I had had enough. If you are considering this practice as a new patient, I'd advise against it. read more

These guys were rock stars with my hyper shy, doctor phobic daughter. She went From full on melt down to finishing a complete cleaning. Five stars isn't enough stars. read more

My children have been patients of this office for over ten years. For most of that time, they have seen Dr. Carole Miyahara, one of the loveliest women you could ever hope to meet with a wonderful manner with both children and their parents. (The dental hygienists are all amazing as well.) However, on our past few visits we have seen Dr. Megan who is relatively new to the group. What a disappointment! The first time my children saw her, after examining my daughter, she waved me over to show me something and launched into an explanation of why my daughter needed an x-ray. This, without even bothering to introduce herself and or greet me. I could take a gruff bedside manner if that was the only problem. But she has terrible difficulty in communicating and is quite confrontational when questioned. My daughter, who wears braces, was scheduled for x-rays by her orthodontist. When Dr. Megan recommended dental x-rays as well, I was understandably concerned. After back-and-forth with her and the orthodontist, I agreed to the x-rays. Only to bring my daughter in, have a different dentist look at her, and tell me that no x-rays were needed and the cavity could be filled without them. Then my son was scheduled to have two cavities filled (his first ever cavities). Dr. Megan filled one, and said we needed to come back to have the second one done at a later date because the tooth was not fully erupted. When we came back, we discovered that a third tooth was listed to have a filling, and I was supposed to sign a consent form that listed this tooth, even though no one had bothered to tell me about this tooth or give me any kind of explanation (even on the phone the day before, they had mentioned one filling that needed to be done at the appointment). I'm going to stick with the office for now, because they have a number of other wonderful dentists. I hope that these communication difficulties can be solved and are not a sign of unmanaged growth. read more

Best Pediatric Dentist in the Bay Area! My 4yr old loves the dentist and is excited to floss and brush. Couldn't have found a better dentist for my child. I am so happy! read more

Dude, am I really the first person on review Dr. Katsura? Well ok! Dr. Katsura has taken excellent care of my kids' teeth for 10+ years now. He is the sweetest person, which makes him a great pediatric dentist. His staff are really gentle and kind, nothing like the scary folks in my childhood dental office. His office is decorated in a Hawaiian theme, and he himself always wears a Hawaiian shirt to work. It's a completely kid-centric atmosphere. The Sega game in the corner of the exam room doesn't hurt either! He's got two other offices in addition to this one - one near Solano Ave. and one in Orinda. Never a problem getting an appointment. Highly recommended! read more

Think "miracle worker." Dr. Katsura is AMAZING. Watching him in action is truly mind blowing. My daughter had three sets of fillings done with Dr. K before her third birthday (not to mention several temporary fillings while he waiting for her to be old enough to get permanent fillings) and she she has ZERO fear or issues with going to the dentist (and my daughter is super sensitive). She actually likes going. Huh? I can't imagine LIKING someone who gives me shots and drills holes in my teeth. He has an amazing way with kids. He is sweet and calming. But, most of all he is super confident and just proceeds as if there is no question whatsoever that the kid will be fine and cooperate. We came to Dr. Katsura after seeing another dentist who said she wouldn't fill my other kid's tooth without knocking him out or strapping him to a papoose board (Dr. Mendoza-Sobel). Dr. K filled it with no problem using just a little nitrous. Also, all the assistants are super sweet. Yes, Jen. M, nothing like my childhood dentist, who scarred me for life. read more

Horrible experience! When I booked the appointment, I gave them all the insurance information. But after my daughter's checkup, I was surprised that I had to pay all the cost upfront, nearly $500 for a simple check up! They told me they only do direct billing for one certain insurance. When I was there, there was only one dentist in the office and three patients waiting. We saw one parent was very frustrated with that dentist, and all other patients had to wait for a really long time. One star is only for the nice assistant. read more

What an incredible team of staff! We took our almost 3yr old for a check up...the staff was warm and patient. I honestly had no idea how they'd get my kid to open his mouth? But they did it...managed to get him to say yes to cleaning his teeth. At the end of the appointment, my kid actually screamed "dentist is fun!" Enough said, eh? read more

Dentist is great, administrative staff not so much. I was told they take my insurance but insurance only covered $100 of the $300 they charged for a child's checkup. Administrator was rude when I called to find out if he bill was correct and told me their prices were not negotiable and that they don't publish them. So here it is: $300 for a child's visual checkup and some fluoride paste, not even x-rays and they don't tell you in advance that insurance won't cover it. read more

We had an amazing visit with at Aloha! Dr. Ruehe and Hannah put my toddler at ease during her wellness check, keeping her smiling and happy while they performed an examination, cleaning and flouride application. Dr. Ruehe is absolutely INCREDIBLE with young patients! These positive experiences are priceless as they build a foundation for a lifetime of dental health. Covid-19 protocol was thoroughly followed by the team. Thank you, Aloha, for being professional, friendly, frontline health workers and heroes! We are definitely sticking with Aloha!! read more

My first Yelp review, really feel like I need to write something about this place. We read reviews about this dentist being expensive before we brought our son there. To be safe, we make sure to ask if our 3-year old was covered before getting an appointment. My wife specifically asked if he was covered. "Sure, we'll check. Do you want to make an appointment in the meantime?" "No, let's first check if he's covered, then we can make the appointment." Later that day, they told her he was indeed covered, and we made an appointment. After the appointment, my wife's comment was this "Lucky insurance is paying for this, I would never pay for this". Couple months later, we get a bill. An oversight somewhere meant that my son had not been added to our insurance. Clearly, they never checked if he was covered. I contacted them to ask if they could do anything. They suggested I pay the entire bill an make another appointment. Gee thanks, but no thanks. read more

My experiences with Aloha 1. They overcharge by about 20% for services 2. They love to recommend sealants at $100 a tooth that must cost them $5 in materials. 3. I took my son to their Telegraph office and walked in 4 minutes late for an appointment. Their receptionist said "I'm sorry your late and we'll have to reschedule." This was after I took my son out of school, drove 35 minutes to their office and there was only 1 other patient waiting. What??? 4. They make you pay in full at the time of your appointment and _then_ bill your insurance. I believe they do this because they overcharge and know that most dental plans will only pay a portion of the claim. read more

I made an appointment for my daughter at the telegraph location everything was fine until I heard the front receptionist gossiping with her coworkers and even said many curse words in her conversation. This was very unprofessional since she is the first person who greets you at the door. Also considering this is a children's dentistry and my daughter heard every word! My daughter even repeated one of the curse words later that day. Definitely not going back and it's a shame because the Dr. Ameneh was really nice to my daughter. read more

Nakako Uritani and Andee are awesome! This was my 3 year old's fourth visit at the dentist. The first three times - he refused to open his mouth. This fourth time - Dr. Uritani noticed that he loved froggies. Dr. Uritani and Andee then offered him a "play visit" of froggies galore across the exam room, on the chair and pretended to play with him. Jayden was so happy that he forgot he was at the dentist! He opened his mouth and allowed Dr. Uritani to examine his teeth and use green "froggy floss". Jayden left happy and with a successful visit. The next day, we got a picture of Jayden at the dentist's office smiling with "my first dentist visit " (techniclaly this was his fourth but his first successful one) and a handwritten letter from Andee. They are the best, and Nakako Uritani has a very good and approachable demeanor with kids! read more

Both my kids have had wonderful experiences being raised with the services of Dr. Arnold Nakasato and his team, which has them with no fear of the dentist. But this week they this team took the cake in my eyes! I brought in a new little friend that was in desperate need of treatment (she's 4.5) and they brought her in and helped her through the whole process with such kindness and fun. She hasn't had access to care like we have and was "nervous" and "happy" to go. Each step was a game. Teresa even sang to her during the cleaning and treatments. The filling was even described to her as a work of unicorn art on her tooth. They know their kids and could tell what would work with her. I highly recommend the team with Aloha Pediatric to take care of your kids teeth! read more

Aloha is so impacted that they book appointments way too far out in advance. They are also SUPER expensive. We used them for a 2nd opinion on a bunch of work that needed to be done. We also had 3rd and 4th opinions. They billed between 50% and 100% MORE expensive than the other doctors. One of my son's cavities was deep, and in a permanent tooth. They had no sense of urgency about it and booked him for doing work 6.5 weeks later. The dentist we went with, who explained things better, made it clear that performing THAT filling, the very same day would be prudent. Aloha staff was kind and friendly. Dr. Wolmper who saw us for the opinion, was not going to be the one performing the work anyway, so we felt like we'd be starting over, all over again. We just said "no" to Aloha. read more

Dr. Ameneh Khosrovani is amazing with my 3 year old! I can't believe how wonderful an experience it is here. They make the whole process fun. My daughter is always excited to go and warms up to the staff super quickly. Plus they give me advice on how to talk to my daughter to get her to let me floss her teeth. I'm so glad I found this practice. read more

Not sure about the dentists but the reception and admin staff are very unprofessional and rude. My son was referred to this place by another dentist with all x-rays and documents ready. but reception scheduled another cleaning and check-up and x-ray regardless of the 1 day old x-ray result. A simple treatment can only be done after another check-up and the time span from scheduling the appointment to the actual treatment is over 3 months. I crossed out this place from my health care list and found a better place. read more

While all the doctors in this group are great, Dr. Megan Golinveaux is goes above and beyond great dental care. She is friendly, smart, thoughtful, calm, responsive, thorough and provides sensible treatment plans. And I wish adult dentists were as skilled as she is at administering anesthesia. My kids have no idea they get shots for fillings. While I was already very happy with the care she provides my 3 kids, I was very impressed with how she handled a recent issue. Our orthodontist referred my daughter to a periodontist who suggested dental surgery. This didn't feel right to me. I couldn't get a proper response from the orthodontist about whether surgery made sense, so I called Dr. Megan. She called me back, conferred with her colleagues at Aloha, called the periodontist and got the orthodontist involved in deciding whether this was the surgery was appropriate for my daughter. This was all on her own time and in the end, we decided against the surgery. I was so thankful that she is our dentist! She was the only dentist who bothered to listen and think about whether gum surgery was appropriate for an 8-year old. She's a great dentist and an all around wonderful person. read more

Not many Pediatric dentists have pateints coming back after they leave for college. That alone should convince you that Carole is a rather remarkable dentist, if not for you then for your children. read more

Dr khosravani and Jenna just performed what is nothing short of a miracle on my 6 year old autistic daughter. They were super patient, gentle and understanding of her fears. She had her very first exam and cleaning without meds with not a single tear. She actually told me she had FUN!!! read more

Top notch, very caring, sensitive to parent wonderings and anxieties about various dental procedures. Its a wonderful place that knows how to make kids feel comfortable in what could otherwise be stressful experiences. highly recommend read more

My 14 1/2 year old son has been going to Dr. Katsura since he was about 3 years old and we have nothing but rave reviews for Dr. Katsura and the entire staff at Aloha! Very professional, excellent and thorough dental care, very clean and organized, always on time for the appointment, unofficial child psychology experts, state of the art equipment, kind, gentle, and responsive to off-hour emergencies/urgencies. They aren't cheap, but they never recommend unnecessary procedures. We absolutely highly recommend this practice! read more

I can't say enough great things about our experience with this dentist. They are kind and professional and great with kids. My child is on the Autism Spectrum and they go out of their way to have a quiet office and accommodate him. My other child came for her first dental appt and they did a great job making her feel special and comfortable. They don't take a lot of insurance plans but we're very clear about that on their website and when you fill out the paperwork. read more

I can only echo the positive sentiments expressed regarding Dr. Katsura and the Aloha Dental office staff in Berkeley; they are amazing! My experience was almost an exact replica of LP's: We came to Dr. Katsura after seeing another dentist in Piedmont, who had insisted that my 3.5-year old daughter would need to be put under a general anesthesia in order to repair/fill her teeth. I reached out to Dr. Katsura for a second opinion, and he performed the work beautifully at a fraction of the cost, with a little nitrous and a local (not general) anesthesia. Dr. Katsura scheduled manageably-spaced appointments to address as many fillings as he could at a time within my daughter's patience threshold, in addition to initially stabilizing her situation with temporary fillings until she was old enough to sit through the permanent ones. Prior to the Aloha Dental visits, she had been incredibly resistant to brushing, but warmed up instantly to the Dr. and the hygienists in this office. After several visits, her willingness to brush and floss changed dramatically, and now she is brushing like a pro. Quoting LP: "[Dr. Katsura] has an amazing way with kids. He is sweet and calming. But, most of all, he is super confident and just proceeds as if there is no question whatsoever that the kid will be fine and cooperate." read more