Potrero Hill Dental

I had the best experience at my first teeth cleaning at Potrero Dental. From the moment I walked in, I was greeted by the front desk with a warm welcome. Both the doctor and dental hygienist were friendly yet professional, explaining everything they were about to do, the reasons behind it, and consistently checking in to make sure I was comfortable throughout the visit. They also spent a generous amount of time answering my questions and provided thorough, thoughtful explanations—I never felt rushed, which is rare in the healthcare field today. I’ve been trying to find a dentist I like and trust for the past six years after having to change insurance, with no success until now. I’m so happy to have found this place and would highly recommend it to anyone.

The team is generally good. The front desk was helpful, and the RDH/RDAs were kind. My concerns are primarily regarding clinical operations and ethical conduct with respect to ownership. Referral Ethics The ownership group referred me to Todor Orthodontics. In August, I raised concerns that Todor’s sales practices were inconsistent with the ownership group’s stated patient-centered philosophy. Dr. Ly initially engaged seriously. She acknowledged “a component of this that we cannot ignore,” agreed the approach sounded “too aggressive,” said she did not want patients “to have to go through that either,” and said referral partners should be “aligned in philosophy.” She told me my feedback would “100% impact my decision making moving forward.” A staff member in the room corroborated my concerns by describing her own negative Todor consultation. She said she “did feel the pressure of the cost,” was “taken aback,” that Todor “kept on bothering” her with follow-up emails, and that she was “agreeing with everything” I was saying. I also shared documented evidence that other patients reported the same pattern. The shift came by the time I presented Todor’s Release and Waiver, which conditions a refund on patients agreeing to gag-order clauses that contradict California law. Being on the receiving end of an attempt to apply that contract was stressful in its own right. The ownership group then stopped meaningfully engaging the substance and became evasive during this period. A later note described Todor’s business practices as “outside the clinical responsibility of this practice.” The same concerns Dr. Ly had called “very valid” and serious enough to “100% impact” referral decisions were reduced to something outside the practice’s scope. Periodontal Risk Management The ownership group cleared me for orthodontics, but a specialist later detected subgingival disease requiring SRP. Close-in-time measurements between the practice and the specialist were materially different. Dr. Ly later acknowledged the team had to “sit down and be like, hey guys, what’s happening here,” and described the discrepancy as “within the clinical limit of craziness.” Moving teeth while periodontal disease is active goes against the standard of care. Unfortunately, there are real quality-of-life implications to taking unnecessary risks with people’s periodontiums, especially when patients are greenlit for orthodontics despite active disease. In the final analysis, orthodontics has become one of the most regrettable decisions of my life, and I suffer from it daily. Prior to orthodontics, I did not have quality-of-life issues with respect to my oral health. I believe this was largely indicative of a misalignment between Todor’s goal of same-day starts and my goal of improving or preserving my quality of life. I was surprised to see Dr. Choi evade this topic and abdicate ethical responsibility by suddenly calling it out of scope. Reframing the Patient as the Issue The more concrete the evidence became, the less the ownership group appeared willing to engage the substance. The conversation shifted away from referral ethics, review restrictions, sales pressure, and continuity of care. It became about me “lacking trust.” That framing was unfair. I repeatedly told the ownership group that I liked the practice, the clinical team, and my RDH. I was critical of Todor specifically. In November, I said I had not known raising concerns about Todor could be “a risk in telling you about it” regarding my status as a patient. That fear was confirmed when the ownership group terminated my care after I raised new documented concerns regarding the gag order. The termination hurt in a specific way. I had been a patient for years. I brought my concerns forward in good faith, under stressful circumstances that included extended orthodontic delays and an attempt to apply a legally problematic contract to me.

This office and staff and doctors are all so wonderful. Highly recommend. Always so welcoming. Easy to make appointments. They always check to make sure I am comfortable during my cleanings. You even get a little goodie bag!

We’ve been going to this dentist for the past 10 years, and we couldn’t be happier. Our kids actually look forward to their visits! The team is extremely professional, very kid-friendly, and always provides top-notch service using the latest technology. Highly recommended!

Great experience coming here for a couple of visits. Would keep coming if I wasn’t moving. My dentist and all of my hygienists are kind, skilled, and caring. They use latest methods and technologies to help you get better at caring for your teeth. I learned a lot coming here.