Heather Chalker · 1 out of 5 stars · 7 months ago
I would not recommend River Valley Dental. I initially came here last year because they accepted Denti-Cal, which my regular dentist does not. While the front office staff and most of the dentists were kind, my overall experience was frustrating, painful, and will now be costly for me. At my first visit (February 2024), Dr. Gherra said I needed three root canals (teeth 2, 3, 7) and two cavities filled. Two weeks later, Dr. Basrai filled the cavities and, thankfully, canceled the root canal on tooth 7 after re-evaluating—it didn’t need one. I appreciated her honesty. In April, I returned for the other two root canals. After being numbed, I was left waiting nearly an hour and had to ask for more anesthesia. Dr. Sekhon performed the procedure and was kind, but the equipment felt unusually rough—like a jackhammer. I’ve had root canals before and never experienced that sensation. A month later, I received permanent crowns. Tooth 3 was sensitive when biting down, and the crown fell off in September. Dr. Singh initially said there was decay and further treatment was needed. Two weeks later, Dr. Dhami (the one dentist I found rude) said it was just staining and reattached the crown. Since then, I’ve had a persistent bad taste in my mouth and sensitivity in all the crowned teeth. Despite multiple visits and complaints, no resolution was found. Dr. Singh said the issue could be due to a deep cavity on tooth 4 and placed a crown there as well. I still cannot chew on the right side due to ongoing pain and sensitivity when biting down. In February (2025), I had a check-up scheduled, but it was rescheduled three times. I told Dee (the office manager) that I was still having issues and needed to be seen. When I called to confirm the last appointment (near the end of March), they told me they no longer take Denti-Cal and had canceled it. Because Denti-Cal won’t replace crowns for five years, I now have to come up with $5,042 out-of-pocket to have my regular dentist fix all three crowns. He confirmed my bite is off and the crowns are too thin in the center (he was going to try and fix my bite but can’t due to the thinness of the crowns). If there are other underlying issues not appearing on the x-rays, he’ll have to remove the crowns to assess, but we can’t proceed until I have the funds to fix them. I also had difficulty obtaining my treatment plans. When I asked, I was told they couldn’t release them due to “the documentation on them.” Only after involving the Dental Board of California and mentioning HIPAA laws did they provide all 15 treatment plans (took a total of five months to receive them). They also billed my insurance for three x-rays that were never taken, which I reported to my insurance company. To make matters worse, the stress caused by this situation impacted my health, and I had to see a cardiologist for stress-related symptoms and undergo multiple tests. Overall, while most staff were genuinely kind, the billing issues, poor dental work, and lack of transparency have left me deeply dissatisfied and caused lasting physical, emotional, and financial stress. I hope this review helps others make an informed decision. I would also recommend you check their reviews out on yelp as well.
