Dr. Nehal Ali, DDS

Beautiful office, very modernized. Sweet staff, and very attentive to my needs. The doctor was very thorough and honest about my treatment.

If you don’t read past this first paragraph, know that this dentist cannot be trusted beyond a simple cleaning. If she tells you you need a “deep cleaning for deep pockets,” go ask a different dentist to verify like my husband did. They tried to scam him on his second visit and even pre-authorized it with his insurance, so there was no misunderstanding on anyone’s part. When I spoke with the manager she pretended she didn’t understand what I was saying. Maybe my online reviews will make it crystal clear. Firstly, I don’t write bad online reviews, so don’t think I’m one of those. However, this office tried to pull a common dentist scam on my husband which I amount to a crime because it not only involves wasting a patient’s time and money, but requires unnecessary antibiotics and is a fraudulent medical insurance claim. THE STORY: I called to schedule my very busy CEO husband his second cleaning. The receptionist informed me that he would need to book a deep cleaning for 4 deep pockets. I was surprised he hadn’t mentioned this issue to me after his last cleaning, with 4 months elapsing. He said they never mentioned any deep pockets last time. I called the dentist back. They said they could just do another exam to confirm. He got the exam. He came back and said the dentist confirmed the deep pockets. He also mentioned she was really rough during the exam, stabbing his gums in a really painful way and that it left holes in his gums that were visible (he assumes she was trying to use pain to convince him he needed this deep cleaning). The deep cleaning also requires a week of antibiotics which he didn’t want. He just didn’t trust her anymore (although to be fair, he says she’s very sweet). There was a preauth for this very pricey procedure on our insurance. So he went back to a different dentist he’s been to before and trusts, for a proper exam, and SPOILER ALERT: he has no deep pockets and they recommended a routine cleaning. I called Oceanside to see if they could at least refund the cost of the unnecessary exam he had to have - instead of the routine cleaning he wanted. The manager said she would call me back after speaking with the dentist and when I spoke to her again she played dumb about the whole thing: “How can we refund you for a deep cleaning he never even had?” That’s not what I asked for. I asked for the exam fee to be refunded. This still does not recoup his valuable hours he wasted at 2 exams. AND he still hasn’t even had a cleaning. It’s hard enough to get him to go to a dentist 3 times a year without added games… Coincidentally, a “holistic” dentist in another state tried to pull this same scam on me too. I’m a good read. I flew back to California to my former (honest) dentist to have him look. He confirmed that I didn’t need a deep cleaning or the 2 fillings they recommended (I have never had a single dental issue in my life). That “holistic” dentist was subsequently fired from the large practice because of routinely trying it (the office told me this). Oceanside messed with the wrong people. As a side note, always be wary of holistic dentists.