Chen T Lawrence, DDS

Good dentist who seems to hire his front desk staff from the Hon Fest parade no questions asked. The absolute worst. Gave them two tries and they screwed up both.

Dr. Chen is the best! I highly recommend him as a dentist. I was really nervous about seeing him because 1) going to the dentist makes me nervous in general and 2) I thought I had a couple of cavities. Dr. Chen was really nice and easy-​going, and after he confirmed that I had cavities, told me exactly what the next steps were going to be. He also gave me a very thorough teeth cleaning! I’m glad I finally found a good dentist.

I have had a few experiences with this establishment, mostly with Dr. Shannon, but some with Dr. Chen as well. What most other reviewers have said is true: the staff is helpful, and Dr. Chen is in general very friendly. I have had a few procedures done here with no problems.
However, my visit to Dr. Chen this past spring set off what would be the worst dental experience of my life.
A little background: I had a check up at a different dentist on my regular dental schedule. This dentist serves all my family in the area (not in Baltimore). After I got back to Baltimore, I noticed some stain built-​up, so I went to this establishment to get a cleaning. During my cleaning (which was rougher than the last time I had a cleaning there), the hygienist noticed some possible decay, then notified Dr. Chen, who then came over and took a look, and confirmed some «small» decay on my back molar near previous filling. He suggested that I get it filled, since they are «small and quick» anyway. I should mention at this point that just 2 months before this my family dentist did not detect any decay. (I confirmed this with that dentist later, and she also said that there’s no way for the teeth to decay that quickly that would warrant new fillings by the time I went back to Baltimore.)
I followed Dr. Chen’s advice, and had them filled by Dr. Shannon, who had an open appointment available in the following week. What was to be two «small and quick» fillings turned out to be the some of the most painful and stressful dental procedures I’ve ever had. It turned out that she dug out the old fillings and then place two very deep fillings on my molars. One of which had a lot of complications afterwards. At the time of writing, I’m probably looking at a root canal + crown, totaling about $ 1k. (She also didn’t take any x-​ray or pictures of the decay, so there is no way for me to know how much decay there actually was now.)
I understand sometimes such procedures are necessary, and sometimes these complications do occur. However, none of that was explained to me BEFORE the procedures were done, and after the procedures my mouth was so numb I could barely ask Dr. Shannon any questions (she was also just in such a rush at the end I barely had any time to explain). I walked in expecting quick fillings, and walked out having terrible pain with deep fillings and cuts around the gum. Had the risks and the extents of the fillings been explained to me, I probably would’ve sought second opinions before having the procedures done. Clearly, the decay wasn’t extensive, otherwise my regular dentist would have noticed and told me. I feel that the practice is in general rather aggressive in putting in fillings and suggesting other dental procedures.
It was just such poor handling of the whole ordeal on their part. I usually don’t like to leave negative reviews, but the whole ordeal has plagued me so much for the past several months that I just had to put it out there. My previous visits to the establishments were generally positive, which is why I still gave them 2 stars. If you’d like to visit this establishment, I would suggest you stick with one dentist, and just force them to explain absolutely everything every time they suggest a procedure.

Dr. Chen may be OK, I don’t know. Dr. Ford was OK, but she left. My issue is with the staff who book appointments, and handle charges. The phone calls to remind me of upcoming appts. drove me crazy, the 15 phone calls about a (2 month) balance due pissed me off. The number of calls from the front desk staff were amazing, but never one to ask how my last visit was. The negativity from the staff at the front counter felt like they didn’t want me there. I missed a few appointments and not unexpectedly, they charged me for them. This I get. But to be pissy about it was just rude. I talked to Dr. Chen about this, but I don’t think the staff cared about me feeling better about my issues. They put on a temporary crown and it came off twice, before the f/​up appt. for final crown. And they messed up the crown (s) replacement process. It all felt complicated and regimented. Hurry up to get in, and hurry up to get out. Oh, and pay us right now for it too. There was plenty of attitude in my opinion. My last time there, they denied me a possible appointment time, and while I was still standing there, she took an appointment from the caller for the time she just told me was not available. Not sure what I did to piss them off so much, it’s just a dentist office, not a trip to the moon.

I tell all of my friends to go to Lawrence Chen! He will take away your dentist fear. As the other reviewer said, the staff explain everything really well. Dr. Chen has such a calming manner about him, and the dental hygienist gave me the best cleaning I’ve ever had. I shouldn’t tell you all this because now it will be harder to get an appointment, but I know how scary it is to look for a dentist and Dr. Chen is awesome.

great friendly staff, and they didn’t bitch at me for not going to the dentist for like 9 yrs =P they were very helpful and always smiling. They explain everything slow and in detail, since normal joes like me don’t know much about how bad/​good our teeth is.
Their schedule is always packed, so don’t be surprised to wait for a couple months for an appointment.