The front desk and all of the dental assistants are extremely nice, polite, and friendly and Dr.Vela does great work and is really good about explaining everything! read more

I've been seeing this dentist for 4 years. Erica the hygienist is awesome. I am terribly fearful with much gum pain and she works with me to get thru it. Dentist is decent. Bummed that they quit taking BCBS. I had gotten my BF in there but then they quit taking it. He is on my dental plan now that we married and can go back. This practice used to have reasonable prices for cash patients, but sadly that has ended. I guess they have to charge in a way that keeps them afloat in our current economical times. The care is great. read more

So I'm on the hunt for a new dentist. I've had this toothache from Beyond the grave and went to my dentist here this morning. He put a crown on it three years ago but it's bad now. I go in and there's a sign at the register that says masks are mandatory for the office and must be worn at all times by everyone while there. And if you don't have one they'll sell you one for $2 So I mask up and wait..... And start seeing personnel moving around with no masks. Then lunch delivery comes on with no mask Get back to the little room and the dental asst has no mask and what sounds like a cold Dr Vela comes in..... No mask Time for a change read more

They called ten minutes before my scheduled appointment and canceled on me. What a complete joke of a business, please do not go here.

REVOKE HIS LICENSE NOW ! HORRIFIC DENTIST!!!!!! OVER 30K LATER major issues with every single thing he touched having major ongoing critical issues! He avoids emails, calls and any type of questions angers him. He simply refuses to accept any responsibility for his shotty work! Too long of an explanation to get into here.. My mouth is a mess after forking out that amount in cash paid in FULL. The ADA Dental Board needs to investigate asap. If only I had read all the reviews earlier on I would have avoided him like the plaque! read more

I refused a $100 "mandatory" fluoride treatment when I arrived for my appointment. By the way, I was on time but the doctor and some of the staff arrived 15 minutes late from lunch making all of us in the lobby wait. They didn't seem to be in a hurry to take care of their patients either. Anyway, I asked the front desk clerk what happens now, she said, "I guess you find another dentist". So I did. read more

So far I am highly impressed. I called Dr. Vela because I was having excruciating tooth pain. He was recommended to me by a friend and I was able the get an appointment that same afternoon! His initial plan was to have me come back in a few days to have 2 of my infected/ decayed molars extracted. I did not know how I was going to endure the pain (even with pain killers and antibiotics) and was beyond thrilled when he gave me the option to have them extracted that same day . It was 4pm and the office closes at 5! That isnt something that I see very often. Dr Vela and all of the staff in the office were all very friendly, supportive, reassuring and professional. My visit to a dentist was long overdue due to my "fear" of dentists and low tolerance for tooth pain. I have previously been to 3 or 4 other dentists in Corpus Christi that did not impress me. Dr Vela scheduled me as a new patient on the same day that I called and had two teeth pulled less than an hour before the office was closing . Dr and staff did everything they could to lower my anxiety and eliminate my pain. It has only been a couple days and I am pain free. I think I have found my Dentist! I know that 10-15 years is much too long to wait between visits, but anxiety has a way of overpowering logic...especially when you haven't been able to find a Dentists you can trust that's patient and supportive. So far so good! :-) read more

Vela dental makes you feel as if you are there to simply generate revenue flow. Had to tell them twice that they were not billing me in accordance with my plan, and when I asked for a refund it took two attempts and several months to finally receive it. The thing that made me switch dentists was the statement I received from my insurance company listing a billing for x-rays they never performed. read more

Hands down one of the most compassionate dentist. However, overpriced. SOME of the office staff need more training on explaining prices, and working with insurance companies. read more

Quality dentistry at modest prices! From SF traveling through CC, got on the schedule in the same day, and was taking care professionally! Thank you! read more

Went to this dentist at recommendation of co-workers who got cleanings there, but no more. First red flag: when my company changed insurance providers, Vela refused to switch their billing and instead sent me all the bills. When I asked why they didn't bill my new provider- one of the main insurance companies in America and highly rated- they were rude and didn't tell me why. Eventually they did bill my new insurance company, but overcharged me and had to issue a refund. But it took MONTHS to even get the refund. To make matters much worse, a crown they did a year ago already failed. I only used them because of my bad experience with a poor dentist in san antonio. Well, Vela is even WORSE. They refused to honor their work done on the crown. Why? Because I started asking questions about why a crown was done on top of a filling. usually, a tooth is shaved down before a crown was put on. Vela did not do that, and would not answer my questions. The dentist, a young guy in his 30s, began yelling at me "Did you go to dental school? Did you go to dental school?" I'm not sure what dental school this terrible practitioner went to, but they taught him no customer service skills, and perhaps little dentistry either. So I am out $700, my insurance company is out $700, and I will be filing a complaint to get this awful practice removed from my insurance company's network. read more

BUYER BEWARE! It is business of Vela Dental to cut corners. They use sub par material manufacturers and take no responsibility once they get your money and you walk out the door. The staff was professional, knowledgeable and all smiles when they took my $20,000 over the course of 2 years. But when at the end of that second year, my front tooth cap chipped in half, and the first molar cap broke off in half, they took zero responsibility. Sure they would fix it. For another $3000. They would even give me a generous 5% discount. And it really wouldn't cost me that much because it turned out I had over paid $1000 that first year. They Held my $1k !! Never mentioning it on any of my many visits. Nor contacting me to come in for any reason after the initial work was finished. Even now, a month and multiple phone calls later they still have not returned my money. Oh and I have a chipped front tooth and huge gaping hole in my smile all because I went to Vela Dental instead of a reputable dental practice for care. If you need a cleaning, or a check up fine. I have no problem with the dentist or dental staff. BUT if have ANY SERIOUS, EXPENSIVE, WORK to be done, GO SOMEWHERE, ANYWHERE, ELSE!!! Because the Business of the Vela Dental chain is to make and take your money. Their practices are uncareing and unethical. They cut corners in materials then refuse to stand behind their work when the materials go bad. If I could give them less than one star I would. read more

Vela Dental - Less than a year later. Vela Dental refused to take any responsibility for their poor work! - General Dentistry Near Me - Corpus Christi, Texas

First visit was ok, but they damage my other tooth in the process. I over look that and 5 mth later call to make an appointment. Office people didn't have an updated record of what they already did and then I request antibiotics so I can make an appointment afterward. Again, no up to date record of what medication I took. Instead they blame the pharmacy for giving something else and said i had to wait till the next day or the following week until the main dentist comes in for vacation. Office staff never wanted to over and beyond what they had to do to help me get what I need and never called back the next day to figure it out like promise. I guess I'm just another number. Just upsetting and scary that they can't have my records straight, updated and helpful staff. read more

Dental Hygienist Monica is very professional, outgoing, and made me feel comfortable! I highly recommend Monica, for getting your teeth cleaned and healthy. She is non-biased and you can also tell she has a lot of experience! read more

Just had my first visit with Dr Vela. They exceeded my expectations and that's not easy. When I first checked in the admin staff said they were having problems verifying my coverage- why didn't they let me know? Idk. But, from there on I was pleasantly surprised and pleased with the staff and procedures. I told them I am very anxious about dental stuff - they heard me and altered procedures accordingly. Can't say I look forward to my next appointment but I'm not dreading it!! Thanks so much. read more

I had three root canals with three crowns done by Vela Dental. All three root canals have needed to be redone due to incomplete root canals. Thus far, one has needed a dental implant. I have suffered through severe tooth pain and required to pay extensively for procedures that were not done correctly. I am now in the process of having the procedures redone now, by another dentist. I would not recommend this practice. read more

I was having some pain due to an impacted wisdom tooth. I went to a dentist named Benjamin Vela In Corpus Christi, Texas. Worst mistake I've ever made!!! About a week later he extracted the tooth. I thought he was going to break my jaw due to the difficulty he had trying to get it out. The impacted wisdom tooth wasn't even completely through the gum. Before the procedure he never sat down with me and explained the risk of having a wisdom tooth pulled and possible nerve damage that may occur. I now suffer some numbness on left side of face, left side droops and the feeling in my chin drives me crazy!!!!!! I tried calling him the evening of procedure in a panic because of numbness not wearing off. Someone in his office, not him, finally called me back 2 days later. Benjamin Vela said that I had signed consent to do procedure, but he never explained the risks. His assistant just handed me a consent form a few minutes before procedure. I wasn't even given sufficient time to read consent before they were coming back in to room and prepping me for procedure so I felt rushed to sign it. . This dentists couldn't even take 5 minutes of his precious time to sit down and inform me of the risk of wisdom tooth removal and alternatives to having it pulled out. I had never even heard of nerve damage due to having wisdom teeth removed. I wish he had told me this and I would have told him to refer me to someone that could cut the tooth out. There are actually some dentists that told me that they wouldn't have pulled a wisdom tooth like that especially if it was impacted and not completely out of gum because they would have been afraid of the risk of nerve damage . He also prescribed codeine for pain and I was pregnant at the time. When I got prescription filled and asked to talk to pharmacist, the pharmacist said I shouldn't take it and when I asked why she said the codeine could harm my unborn baby and asked me if the dentist knew I was pregnant. He knew because my ob doctor had to fax over paperwork to him before he could do procedure. A few days after tooth extraction, I met him at office and he told me I signed consent and he didn't show any concern for what I was going through. He actually had the nerve to say he only met with me as a courtesy. I just told this man he damaged my nerve possibly forever and all he can do is act like I was wasting his time! He told me I would be fine. I would give anything to go back to that day and never go to this horrible dentist. His life went on as normal but I am reminded of this nerve damage every second of my life. My quality of life has been altered for the rest of my life. I am embarrased to even look at people right in the face for fear that they will notice that my face drops on left side. I also have a strange feeling in chin that drives me crazy. It feels like something is implanted there under the skin. An oral surgeon said that feeling is probably due to nerve not healing right or scar tissue. Either way it bothers me so much, I have contemplated suicide a few times and have anxiety attacks on a daily basis and suffer from depression. Before this happened I didn't even know what an anxiety attack felt like and I certainly didn't suffer from depression. I was a happy person. That's how bad it is now. I cry everyday over this. I wish I could just wake up one day and It would be back to the way it was before I saw this dentist. I regret the day I ever heard Benjamin Vela's name. I know accidents do happen and dentist are human too, but for a dentist like this to not even take the time to sit down and explain the risks to me is unethical in my opinion. Patients pay dentists an outrageous amount of money for their services so you would think that he could have at least given me that. I wouldn't wish for this to happen to my worst enemy. I wish I could see if it could be repaired but even if it could i'm sure it would be quite expensive. At this point I am just hoping for a miracle healing from God. read more