I so miss Dr. Oscar Valenzuela. I use to be his patient until I moved in 2003 to Georgia & then to Texas. Hello from a long lost patient. They had always been up front with bills. My insurance, & most insurances, only cover x amount of dollars each year for dental. This being said, I did part of my surgery toward the end of one billing year & the second half once the new year started. Always the patiences responsibility to know what their dental insurance to cover. The dentist really does not know but their office can help you figure it out if you need their help. Just was at the dentist today, so I'm really remember all Dr. Valenzuela had done for me & his office staff. Hope they can read this, & if Maura is still there, hello. Nancy Zahorski. read more

BECAREFUL WITH THIS DOCTOR! I found this place based on yelp reviews. I regret encourage my husband to go to this doctor. My husband confirm with them many time about how much he would pay and how insurance would covered. They told him everything ok. Then acouple months later sent us bill saying that insurance not covered n we have to pay. How fair is that? They just want business n screwe us later. Why should we pay? when the day we were there with insurance card the office told us it's ok. Why is it our responsibility after? We did ask and presented insurance card, if any problem should have mention about money issue right there n then! read more

So I last reviewed Dr. Valenzuela in Oct. 2011. It has been about 3 years since my first visit and I couldn't be happier. I got my braces off and was finally able to have the second gum graft surgery. (As said in my previous review, I damaged my gums by brushing waaaaay too hard!) I was really anxious this time, so Dr. Valenzuela offered to give an rx for Halcion (a sleeping pill) to take the night before and the morning of my surgery. I didn't sleep though the surgery, but I was very relaxed. Actually, I was a little out of it in a happy way, but I'm a lightweight, so that's to be expected. (Don't worry, they called the day prior to remind me to have a designated driver & asked again when I arrived for the appt.) I was in & out in about an hour, or so I was told. :) It's been about 5 weeks since the surgery and the graft site looks so much better. I'd like to put pix of before surgery, after surgery, and a healed pic, but I don't want to scare anyone with my creepy before gums. Lol! Back to that 5th star, Dr. Valenzuela didn't get in my first review. I took a star away because of the parking situation. So, the parking situation really hasn't improved, BUT, I've found a loophole. I didn't notice before, but there's a strip of 1 hour parking directly facing the front of the building. I easily parked here for my once yearly gum check-up and post-surgery appts, which only lasted about 20 mins of parking time each. For my cleanings, which last an hour, I will still have to hunt for a parking. I don't want to get ticketed or towed, if I have to sit in the waiting room a few extra minutes. That's my update! I have one more gum graft surgery next year, so maybe I'll be brave & post a few pics of that one. Until 2014, everyone! read more

Oscar E Valenzuela, DDS - Periodontists Near Me

Dr. Oscar E.Valenzuela and his team did a great job on my procedure (gum skin graft). I was referred to him by my dentist. The procedure went well, just as he described to me. If I based the review solely on the procedure, I'd give the highest marks. However, the billing didn't go as described. From the very beginning I made it clear that I wouldn't do the procedure if the procedure wasn't covered by the insurance. The Dr. assured me that the procedure would be covered. When I walked to reception, I was presented with an estimate showing how much was covered and how much I would have to pay. On this basis, I agreed to do the procedure. After a couple of months, it comes out that the Dental insurance won't cover the procedure. I'm wondering how can the coverage go from 60% to 0%. The billing office contacts the medical insurance which promptly pays to my deductible, meaning that I'm still out of pocket. The billing office tells me that I must pay the bill, given that the estimate says that I'm responsible for the bill. I refuse, based on the commitment that they made to me. The Dr then calls to tell me that I must pay. I make the same point about the commitment. The doctor told me that I'm one of those people who looks for a reason to get angry. To me, it's not unreasonable to be angry when deceived about the billing. It is for the deceptive billing that I give the lowest score. I noticed that there were other negative reviews on this site regarding the deceptive billing practice. I wish that I had searched the reviews first. read more

Dr. Valenzuela and his staff were professional. The office was clean and nice. Dr. Valenzuela explained everything before it happened and laid out options that fit my needs. I have no complaints. read more

I had surgery on my gums today by Dr. Valenzuela & he did an amazing job. I had my consultation 2 weeks ago & the surgery was just like he promised, painless, quick, & he was efficient. He's very nice & funny too. Makes you feel comfortable before & after the surgery. I like that he's available to you for any reason after surgery. I noticed other reviewes had problems w/ parking, I didn't have any problems, there was plenty of parking spaces in the back. Dr. Valenzuela was awesome!! read more

I have been visiting Dr Valenzuela's office every three months for the last 8 years. I love Dr Valenzuela and I adore his staff! He has an infectious sense of humor. For the last 8 years, Judy has been my dental hygienist and someone I consider a friend. I love her! The entire staff is welcoming and friendly and they're an integral part of my life. Every morning, I pick up my toothbrush (and the dental floss that I'm supposed to use but am too lazy to use which is the reason why I continue to have problems with my gums) and think about his office and the wonderful staff who remind me every three months how I should floss to keep my smile beautiful. I literally think about them EVERY DAY. I love this office so much I have considered not applying for jobs that are too far away from Cerritos because I do not want to go to another periodontist. I HIGHLY recommend Dr Valenzuela for all your periodontal needs. read more

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Oscar and his team are outstanding. Very gentle and thorough. Oscar was also very good in explaining all procedures and spoke to us at a level that anyone could understand. Thank you for taking such good care of me. read more

This Guy is a Crook, He is like A used Car Salesman, They were more interested in giving me a financing plan than trying to help me. I was told I needed Bone Grafts, Gum Grafts etc etc. I have A+ insurance. He told me my insurance was like a 2500 dollor coupon per year. Which is correct but that coupon means nothing if they try to shaft you with 5k of unnecessary work above that. Well My Instincts took over and I backed out! Good Thing. Unfortunately he would not pull teeth, because if a tooth is pulled they cannot make money off the tooth. I got my tooth pulled by another Dentist later on which I regret. But It is getting replaced next month by and Honest Detist with no money out of pocket! Then later on I Received very pretty embossed letters which were VERY threatening!!! BTW saying that if I did not do these procedures all my teeth were going to fall out! Well guess what, 6 years have passed, My teeth are still here! I found an honest dentist who I LOVE!! She is awesome!! Have since had 6 crowns, No money out of pocket, Getting an Implant to replace the tooth that I had to get replaced because of this crook. BTW no money out of pocket for that either. This guy is a crook BEWARE! Shop around If you are using this guy you are getting royally screwed. It didn't feel right the minute I walked in the office! read more

My Dentist highly recommended Dr. Valenzuela over a year ago after having issues w/my gums being infected and alot of bone loss too. After going to him he did a precedure to clean the infected area and watch it for awhile had to keep going back to have it checked. He thought he might of had to do surgery and do a bone graph. He took a xray today said everything looks good don't need to have that done and my bones were improved don't need to go back to him. Just need to have my teeth cleaned regular and only if i have anymore issues. Thank you Dr. Valezuela read more

Absolutely excellent! I got a low-grade fever and a deep lesion causing excruciating pain on my gum soon after getting braces, and my orthodontist told me to come in asap for an evaluation. He took X-rays and photos, and said that he didn't know what it was, and told me to go see Dr Valenzuela (his former dental professor at USC) immediately. We got an appointment for later that day, and I saw him soon after I filled out the paperwork, within 15 minutes of arriving. He took one look at the lesion, and knew instantly that it was a chemical burn. It burned through both layers of the gum, and even exposed a little bone. At first he thought it was an aspirin burn, but eventually figured out, after conferring with my orthodontist, that it was likely due to the etching solution. My orthodontist said that he's never seen this happen in all his years of practice, and neither did Dr Valenzuela nor my general dentist. He said to keep using the Orajel and Vicodin for pain relief, and it'll eventually heal over. We saw Dr Young Lee, and oral and maxillofacial surgeon, for a second opinion just to make sure. He was horrid. I was in excruciating pain, and he offered no pain relief, and said that it was just a large canker sore (canker sores do not require Vicodin for pain relief, and do not expose bone!), and warm saltwater rinses would take care of it. He also wasted our time in several ways and practically robbed us by charing $330 for only 20 minutes. He was very rude and unprofessional. The next day, I was in excruciating pain (needing two Vicodins and Benadryls each to be able to sleep), and I called the office to inform him of this. He was out of the office, but they said his partner, Dr Melnick, would call us back as soon as he gets done with another patient. And he did! And it was after hours! He was very sorry that I was in pain, was very sorry that Dr Lee treated us so poorly, said that it was in no way merely a canker sore. He said to call the office first thing in the morning to schedule an appointment with either him or Dr Valenzuela for him to put a dressing on the lesion to reduce the pain. He also said that if there's no space, we'll make space for you. So we came in, he re-evaluated the lesion, and put the dressing on. My pain went down greatly after that. We spent 40 minutes there, he joked with us, he told us a couple stories of patients he's had, answered my questions, re-assured us that it would likely heal in two-three weeks, and if it doesn't, he'll send me over to people he knows over at UCLA to get to the bottom of this. He also re-assured me that tis wouldn't need a graft, because it was indeed starting to heal, but that even if it did, a graft couldn't be done, because there's nothing for it to attach to. And this was the best part: he didn't charge us at all for the last visit, despite him spending an hour of his time, and providing a treatment. He was probably trying to partially alleviate our frustration from Dr Lee, because he sounded pretty upset about that. And the charge for our initial emergency consult was only $100, even less than my regular dentist. I'm still worried about getting osteomyelitis due to the exposed bone and my low fever I'm running right now, and the fact that the dressing treated the surface pain, but can't do anything for the deep pain, which is much more tolerable. I'll bring that up at my next appointment on Tuesday for the dressing to be changed. Pretty office, friendy staff, and knowledgable, compssionate, and confident doctors willing to go out of their way to treat someone suffering. Please use them for all your periodontal needs! read more

He is a liar. Makes promises then breaks his word. Did an unnecessary procedure and then bailed on treatment plan. Left me worse than I started. Refused to even discuss options or adjustment to treatment. I will be in pain for a long time. read more

I feel totally "duped" by Dr. Valenzuela. He charged me for a service I did not need and when my insurance company denied it, because they knew I didn't need it, he did not chose to bill me only for the service he actually provided, which my insurance company would have paid. He seemed like a nice man, but not honorable with his patients. No sense of "customer service." read more

Dr. Valenzuela was highly recommended to me by my dentist. The doctor and his team are friendly, caring, and gentle. The doctor has a great sense of humor, which helped make me feel comfortable, calm, and welcomed. The front office staff gets an A++ they are super efficient and kind. One thing to keep in mind for all the new patients, the parking situation can be difficult at first, its a big busy place with a 24hr fitness, that opened right next to them, finding parking took some time. However, after my first visit they informed me, that if you follow and drive around the building, there is another big parking lot in the back and a parking structure that your welcomed to use at no charge. The structure made it so convenient the second time around. We all know it not easy going to the dentist, especially a gum specialist, but it really wasn't as scary as I expected :) Thank you for taking such good care of me. read more

This guy is a crook, first thing he does is to see if you have good insurance, if you do, he tries to soak your insurance with totally unnecessary treatments like like gum grafts, bone grafts etc , etc, But then offers no guarantee that the procedures would work. The quote was 3500 dollars for an abscess tooth, my reply was to just pull the tooth, his reply was we do not pull a tooth we can save. Otherwise if we cannot make 3500 dollars off of you we do not want your business. I went to another Dentist and got my tooth pulled, Then a few months later I received threatening letters from office basically telling me in laymen's terms that all my teeth were going to fall out due to periodontal disease. Found a new Dentist since then who I love by the way. She says she wished I would have been with her befor Oscar tried to shaft me because I would not have a missing tooth, getting an implant next year, have already got 3 crowns, and guess what no money out of pocket. Do not believe everything these Dentists tell you, they make money by intimidating people, so glad I did not fall into his trap. Beware of this Dentist! read more

Dr. Valenzuela and his staff are fabulous. I am on quite the oral adventure at the moment all leading up to jaw surgery and two gum grafting procedures were the first step. Let me start by saying, aside from having my wisdom teeth out, I had never had any type of oral surgery. I have never even had a cavity. Needless to say from the moment I learned what I needed to have done, I was extremely nervous. The doctor and his whole staff helped with those nerves. I received a note in the mail from Dr. Valenzuela thanking me for coming in and assuring me all would be well. The day of the first procedure they all made me feel very comfortable. The aftermath of the procedure itself was uncomfortable but that was to be expected. Dr. Valenzuela even gave me his personal number to call over the weekend if anything went wrong. I would highly recommend this office to anyone looking for an excellent Periodontist. read more