Ditmars Dental Concepts

Dr. Maria was probably one of the better dentists I’ve ever had. I checked recently to see if she was still there because I refuse to go to the other guy and the receptionist told me she was not and wouldn’t give me any more information. Does anyone know where Dr. Maria is practicing now?

what a scary experience. dr paul is a butcher. one of the most brutal cleanings i have had in my life. and he gashed my tongue, along w the cleaning being very brief. the entire time he was talking to his office manager about ordering equipment. he was distracted. this was my first visit w him. after this brief but brutal cleaning he proceeded to tell me i needed to come back for deeper cleaning. on top of a crown needed to be replaced. and several of my fillings needed to be refilled. this was very strange as i religiously see a dentist every six months. on top of that he made me wait 30 minutes for my appt. i was a bit dazed and confused. so Unilocaled him and come to read that not only does everyone have the same story but they are all saying DO NOT GO. i second that. he is was a horror show.

I don’t actually write a ton of Unilocal reviews, but felt bad because Dr. Maria is wonderful and deserves an awesome review to stand out from the rest of these.
I actually went to Dr. Maria for the 9 years I lived in NYC and loved, loved, loved having her as my dentist. In that time I only had twice yearly cleanings and 2 fillings, so I’m shocked by the reviews below saying they push unnecessary services on you, although those do seem to be mostly directed away from Dr. Maria, who is truly great.
After a few years I decided to do Invisalign and her price was way better than I was quoted in Manhattan – so much so that I made treks from the UWS for the molds and trays. Towards the very end of the treatment I moved to LA and she was incredibly accommodating in helping me get my final trays and retainers and mailed them free of charge. She even included whitening gel.
Seriously, go see Dr. Maria if you live in the area or need a reasonable Invisalign quote.

I wish I could rate –5 … long story short, do your search, find another dentist.
This guy is one of the most unethically and morally corrupted human beings. I’m trying to say that in the nicest classiest way possible. It’s scary and dangerous to have such greedy people in our society, responsible of other peoples’ lives and health.
Anyways, I might be wrong, but you could check other reviews an ratings across the web.
Bottom line, This guy will try to milk as much money from you or your insurance as possible. Don’t let the sweet talk fool you. He will always do work on your mouth that you don’t really need. Also, ask for your dental records after each visit, and make sure you understand what is going to be done to your mouth before you let him dig in you mouth. Or else, you will end up with dental work that you really didn’t need and your teeth will be destroyed; stuff like cavity fillings, and some weird charges you will find in your dental records.
I feel sorry for those seniors citizens who go to this place. That’s mainly the people who go there; older people who I think don’t check the internet… and they use their medicaid or medicare to cover their costs. Mr. Doc will try to squeeze as much as possible without you knowing it.
There are currently some law suits pending against Dr. Paul for malpractice and insurance fraud. I’d suggest finding another place.
There is another dentist there called Maria. I don’t know her, and never had her. So I have nothing to say about her. Better google Astoria Dental Concepts and find out for yourself.

I’ve been going here for the past 3 years, but I won’t be going back. There’s something about this place that just gives me an uneasy vibe. The only reason I’ve continued to go back so many times is that it’s so conveniently located near the Ditmars Blvd. stop so I can rush here after work.
I somehow managed to go 28 years without a single cavity, and of course on my second visit here, I had two. I asked to see the X-​Ray, but I’m not a dentist, so I had to take it on faith that there was really something there. I always feel that I’m on the defensive in here, that it’s not enough for me to get my teeth cleaned — the dentists are always trying to upsell me on something — scaling, veneers, whitening, etc.
There’s also a major problem with overscheduling and overbooking. Typically, for a 6 o’clock appointment I’ll be seen around 7:10. So, I wait 70 minutes and get about 70 seconds with the dentist before the hygienist comes in. That seems about right. It’s time to move on. Ditmars Dental Concepts: I’m breaking up with you.

Dr. Maria is wonderful. Dr. Paul is awful!
Dr. Paul in a few words,
Unprofessional, insensitive, full of ego, & always rushing.
God forbid you ask him a question he will get annoyed & defensive.
He actually threw a tantrum when I asked him a question about my cavity. Its my mouth and I wanted to understand why a small cavity was being drilled before filled. When he was short with me, I pointed out that I just wanted to know for peace of mind. In a defensive nasty tone he told me he had been doing this for 15yrs. I called him out on his unprofessional behavior, he then raised his voice, stormed out & said «LET DR. MARIA WORK ON YOU!!»

I am so disappointed I have to write a review. If you want to keep your teeth and your money stay away from Dr Paul. I had my first cleaning and was told I needed to return for a deep cleaning… the deep cleaning took less time than the first cleaning. there was little if any scraping and I left feeling less than satisfied with the job. I kept believing they were the professionals. I had no pain or issues going in. suddenly I had 4 cavities… which turned into two root cannals and the third very close to the nerve. Also told I have infection in the bone… maybe better to remove the tooth for implant… WHAT? He showed me the x-rays…what the hell am I looking at? Everything. he filled… bonded. or repaired fell out. within weeks. His assistant, very nice but not well trained. the hygenist… much less than expected. I absolutely believe he sets up his patients for continued work. In my opinion his goal is to set you up for continued deterioration.
I recently went to another dentist for a consultation regarding the two teeth I let Dr Paul work on… the first,.one needs to be redone. and most likely need to be root cannaled and capped beacuse he took to much of the tooth away… the second which was a completed root cannal, with suppossed infection in bone. I need to see a specialist to un-​do the work he did. only one root was completely cleaned. the other two roots need to be complted and the post needs be unscrewed. if possible to take out. They dont see infection in bone and are unsure why paul said that… unless there is something going on inside the tooth itself ?. It may not be salvageable once they get in there… ughhhhh i want to cry. I floss and brush between my teeth daily…
I hope this review helps someone… stay away.
I dont want any stars given to this Dr.

I called to make an appointment with Mr Paul Symeonides. I told the woman on the other line that I had a pain in my tooth and need to make an appointment to take care of this soon. She asked if I needed a cleaning and I said no I really need to fix the tooth pain first since it is really hurting me. She schedules me and appointment for the tooth pain and then pushes the tooth cleaning and check up again. I politely said no but I should of realized this was the first bad sign.
The blessed day comes and I arrive at the office 15 minutes earlier than my appointment time to fill out my forms. After waiting for about 40 minutes the receptionist calls me over and informs me that the doctor will be leaving and can’t see you. I was so stunned at this point. I left work early and I consult which means I lost money to do this. Wow what a way to make a great first impression on someone. A professional would of came up to me himself and apologized in person. The irony was that I filled out a novel to see him and one of the forms I had to sign stated that if I was to cancel 24 hours in advance I would be charged 25 dollars. I jokingly asked the receptionist if I was to receive 25 dollars for my troubles. The answer was a no. I looked around and there was a few people that came in after me so I suppose they would be getting the same treatment as well.
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. While I was waiting I could hear him talking to the patients in the other room. He spoke to them as if they were dying of some kind of rare form of tooth cancer. As he came in and out of the room he looked miserable. This poor old man went to the front desk and the receptionist gave him a bill for about $ 1250 to do a root canal. He walked out of there with a glazed look on his face.
When I got home I looked him up and I started to see that he has some very poor reviews. I guess it was a blessing in disguise that I didn’t see him after all. Now I am writing this first review I have ever posted to make sure that no one goes through what I went through. Hope this helps.
Positives: The two receptionists were polite and courteous.

I have been going to my family dentist for 25 years now. I just moved to astoria and wanted to find a new dentist. Because of new insurance I went for a cleaning and checkup here only 2 months after my last check up from my old family dentist (that check-​up said everything was looking good). So I headed to Ditmars Dental Concepts for a cleaning and to check the place out. They proceeded to do a nice cleaning but then told me I needed work that I didn’t, including a root canal and 2 cavities. They also tried to sell me invisalign, which was not remotely needed since I had braces and my teeth are straight. The main problem I had was them telling me I needed a root canal on a perfectly fine tooth — Be very wary and double check dentistry and make sure you don’t get work done that is unnecessary..

I’ve been coming to this office for a year now and can honestly say that I am very comfortable with the doctors and the staff. Yes, there’s a wait sometimes that can last up to an hour, but Dr. Maria is worth the wait. She is gentle and patient. I’m skeptical when it comes to dentists and getting work done since I’ve had bad experiences in the past, but she is great. She did tell me I should change my old fillings since they were starting to wear down on my first visit but everything else was fine. I didn’t want to touch them since they seemed fine and weren’t bothering me. My tooth started bothering me last week and when I went to see her, she explained that the filling that had been placed had worn down and had actually popped out of my tooth. She filled it and it felt fine. The tooth felt weird and bothered me yesterday so I went to see her. She explained that it’s hard to bite down right when your mouth is numb so that’s why it felt weird. It was a little high. She fixed it and it feels 100 times better.
I don’t know what other people here are talking about. I’ve never gone to a doctor’s office and not waited, specially when they are GREAT. An office with an empy waiting room makes me nervous. If no one wants to go there, it’s probably not a very good doctor.

TERRIBLE!!! I’m not sure where to start. I pick this dentist as my primary dentist because of the close proximity to my home. Before I step one foot in the office the receptionist is arguing with me. I explained to her that I went on line and had Aetna assign Ditmars Dental as my PCD but the receptionist demands I harass Aetna until I show up on her roster. Without much explanation about the process I ask her for the phone # to Aetna which she provides but the number she gives is wrong. I complete my own research and finally speak with Aetna. They assure me I have been on their roster for months. I just called today and I was happily surprised that the witchy receptionist didn’t pick up. As I begin to explain the months of agony I have experienced just to get an appointment a man is rushing me off the phone because it is 1:40pm and the receptionist is out to lunch. He says «what do you want me to do, she has to take lunch» I ask «are you the receptionist or the doctor» he says I’m the doctor”. I told him I am disappointed in the lack of professionalism in your office and will be changing dentists. He simply hung up. Trust me avoid this place like the plague, it’s obvious these people don’t care. *And Mr. Doctor how about getting enough competent staff to cover lunch breaks?
I should have listened to the HONEST Unilocalers!

I’ve been to this place on several occasions, but my last time there will indeed be my last time.
I had a pretty bad cavity in my tooth and Dr. Paul was my dentist for this operation. He told me it was pretty severe and that I may need a crown. He filled my cavity, giving me an ENORMOUS filling. When I bit down, it was the first thing I felt. I left the office in tears, I was so uncomfortable.
The tooth directly underneath it started to become very painful, now that my bite had been altered due to the interference of said filling. I called the dentist’s office telling them this, and they told me I would need a root canal for that tooth. What?! That tooth didn’t have any issues, I told her the filling was too large and putting pressure on the tooth underneath it. I asked to speak with the dentist, but the receptionist wouldn’t let me. She would, however, be able to get ahold of him and he used her as the messenger to tell me that to file down the filling, it would cost $ 60 (I had lost my health insurance at this point.)
What? You gave me a faulty filling, you are going to fix it. She assured me he would «call me back,» but he never did.
I waited a week and tried them again. Once again, Dr. Paul is not available, and would presumably «call me back.» He, of course, did not.
In attempt to sleep one night the pain was so intense I spent the whole night in tears. I called them the next morning to tell them that I needed an emergency appointment to get this filling fixed. Their response? «Dr. Paul will call you back.»
That was it, I then took myself to Callen Lorde. The dentist there said no root canal was necessary and that the filling was just too big, as I had presumed. It was filed down for chump change, and I’ve been pain free ever since. Thanks for nothing, Dr. Paul and Ditmars Dental Concepts.
Edit: For what it is worth, I have never had a bad interaction with Dr. Maria, and do not what this review to reflect her as a dentist, but I will not be seeing her as long as I have to go through this business to do so.

I agree with the negative reviews. There are always comically long waits at this place — 45 minutes or more. I also got the same tactic that another commenter noted, where the dentists greatly exaggerated problems that other dentists said were minor.

DO NOT GO HERE!
The first time I came here, I had the worst experience with Dr. Paul. The rudest man you’ll ever meet in your life. He really should not be in this business. I waited over 30 mins and when I sat down, he asked me a few questions and took, seriously, 2 minutes to clean my teeth, bottom and top. I am not even exaggerating. And that was it. I don’t think I even remember him flossing. I waited almost half an hour to get in and I got out of the chair in 5 minutes. If I can report his work habit, I would but I just have no idea where to even start that.
Then I figured I shouldn’t write a bad review yet. Maybe I’ll go back for the second time and ask for Dr. Maria. I called and specifically asked for Dr. Maria. When I got to my appointment, I waited another 30 mins. When I went into the office, Dr. Paul came in instead. I said «No. I specifically asked for Dr. Maria.» And he basically said too bad if you want to see a dentist, then you have to see me. I didn’t want to see him and he was very forceful telling me I had no choice, and of course he was rude and yelled at me like it was my fault. I walked out (almost in tears because I was fustrated at this man) and told the receptionist that I want to see Dr. Maria. I then waioted another 30 mins. Dr. Maria was much nicer and spent more time cleaning but I didn’t feel it was thorough enough.
Not a good place for anyone. If you want good service and real doctors who care about your teeth, don’t come here! They really do not deserve to stay open.

I love, love, love Dr. Maria and Dr. Paul.
I’m shocked by these other reviews on here, which really seem quite exaggerated, I’ve been going here since 2007 and am always 100% pleased. Dr. Maria is only the 2^nd dentist in my life that i’ve returned to. I never have more than a 10 minute wait and usually there is no wait at all, and I don’t feel that they do unnecessary work at all, all I ever get is cleanings every 6 months, once I had a cavity, and once I needed a referral to an oral surgeon because my wisdom tooth was coming in. Both Dr. Maria and Dr. Paul are extremely friendly, as is there staff, and both graduated form NYU, an excellent dental school. They always remember me, ask about my job, etc. I know many people in the neighborhood who go here, and have never heard of any problems before. Everyone loves them…

Stay away from this place.
I had a terrible experience with them this past summer. I went in for a checkup and left with a recommendation for a new crown on one of my teeth, a procedure I’m not entirely sure I needed. The whole ordeal took several visits, and each time I waited a minimum of one hour before being seen. On one occasion, I waited for an hour and a half to be seen. Its one thing to have something come up, but this place is consistently off the mark on its timing. Dr. Paul is rude and never gives you enough time in the chair. They are always in a rush to get the patients in and out. At one point, he fitted me for a temporary cap that fell out prematurely because he failed to take enough time with me to let it properly set.
This place is totally not worth the trouble, don’t go here unless you absolutely have to!

If I could give this place negative stars, I would.
This place is a complete sham. (Think shady car mechanic.)
From the start, as I was waiting in the waiting room, I noticed that every single patient who finished their appointment went to the counter to schedule another appointment for the next week or two weeks out. I thought that was rather odd. Every single person had to come back right away. None of the «see you in 6 months» stuff.
Next, I was called into the room with the chair, and the dentist — Dr. Paul Symeonides — began looking at my teeth and poking at my fillings (don’t get me wrong, this is completely normal). Then he began «tisk tisk“ing me saying that my teeth were in horrible shape. Granted, I do have a ton of dental work in my mouth from my defiant youth — lots of sugary candy, poor dental hygiene. However, I’ve learned from my mistakes and take pretty darn good care of my teeth.
I asked if I needed fillings and he said «I’ll show you». He pulled down a flat screen TV from above and began showing me pics of my teeth. He said that my fillings were eroding to the point that I need multiple crowns. I’m not sure what exactly I was supposed to be seeing in these pics. Clearly, they were pics of my teeth, but he neglected to show me this erosion he was referring to.
He again told me that my teeth were in horrible shape and backed that up by pointing out that I’ve had lots of work done. Using the old attack-​your-​self-​esteem-​in-​order-​to-​induce-​compliance tactic.
What he didn’t know (or bother to ask) was that I’ve received regular dental care and haven’t had a cavity or any other problems in almost 10 years. I think he saw all the previous work and saw dollar signs. He recommended that I leave, upgrade my dental insurance, and return.
Since I had trouble believing that all my fillings were magically eroding at the same time, AND I wasn’t noticing any changes, I told him that I was going to get a second opinion.
I went home and couldn’t find anything — I mean anything — on the internet about filling erosion. Granted, the internet is no substitute for a doctorate, but surely I would have found something on the subject.
Next, I scheduled an appointment with another dentist in the area. That appointment was today. Now, I didn’t say one word about my previous appointment with Dr. Paul Symeonides or his diagnosis — I did not want to introduce bias into their evaluation.
Magically, the eroding fillings problem must have corrected itself because I had no problems. All I needed was a good teeth cleaning. This dentist asked me all about my dental history and habits. He acknowledged the work I’ve had done, but said that my teeth should hold up about another hundred years. He further said that my teeth look great and to keep doing what I’m doing. HA! Guess where I’ll be returning for my next check up in 6 months? NOT Ditmars Dental Concepts, that’s for sure.
I’m reporting this scheister to the Better Business Bureau — believe that. This guy should be stripped of his license.
Clearly, ethics aren’t exactly encompassed within Dr. Paul Symeonides’ repertoire.