I had a mild toothache I wanted checked for cavities, followed by a routine teeth cleaning. I didn't see good reviews for this place, but I thought that since I spoke Chinese, and it was cheaper than IDC Dental, it would be worth it to come for a simple tooth cleaning.

I arrived in the Dongzhimen area fifteen minutes before my appointment. I didn't know where exactly to find their office, so I called their number for directions. Neither the "English" service number nor their regular office number picked up, after numerous calls I had a stroke of luck and managed to find the building by myself.

I arrived a few minutes late for my appointment, but another patient was in so I waited. After a half an hour of waiting, the dentist arrives to tell me that the patient she's looking at has some complications and will take a while. She asks if I can wait another half an hour.

They could have told me this when I arrived at the office half an hour ago, giving me the chance to leave earlier if I wanted to. Or even better, called me on my cell number before my scheduled appointment, tell me the dentist is running late and if I wanted to reschedule. But now that I waited for a half an hour already, I felt stuck. If I rescheduled for another appointment, I will still have to spend an hour total on the trip to and from the clinic. So I told her I'd wait.

I waited exactly 35 minutes before I walked out of their clinic without a word.

After I had gotten home, I get a call from their office. They asked me where I was, and that the previous patient was finished and I could have my appointment. It was already 12:12pm, I scheduled for an appointment at 10:30am. I told her I was at home, and no I will not be rescheduling any appointments with them.

A part of me wanted to tell the receptionist she should start looking for another job.

I'm sure their dental care is fine, but as a business they also need to provide solid customer service (aka, patient care). That I felt my time was being wasted and they didn't seem to care much at all convinced me to never come back again. Next time I'm seeing IDC Dental. I know their prices are higher, but the quality service I hear others raving about there sounds worth it.

Just went to Joinway Dental Clinic. They do have English and Chinese services and compared to what other western dentists have quoted, their prices are not bad. 160RMB for cleaning, 120 for polishing, etc.

However, I will most likely not return. In my experience, most dentists do a decent job. The difference between the average dentist and a great one is trust built through communication. After a couple of visits, Joinway Dental failed to gain my trust. While the dentist practiced decent hygiene and spoke English, the assistants failed to change gloves after handling non-sterile items and the communication between patient and dentist was not great. i.e. One shouldn't ask a patient who can't speak to answer a "A" or "B" question. OR One shouldn't brush aside a patient's concern repeatedly, making the patient feel like he/she is not being listened to.

Still, if you're in a hurry, want English service, and don't know where to turn, Joinway Dental seems to be ready to take new patients.