Chinatown Service Center (Community Health Center) - Monterey Park, California

social3ngin33rin

Small business.
Social distancing.
Cute receptionist girl, if you care.
Everything appeared clean.
The exam chair I was in had the view of a wall, oh well.
I think they accept government insurance, if that's important for you.

I felt more like I was seen as a cash cow than an actual patient.

The young guy only saw dollar signs in services he kept recommending and kept pushing for. He didn't feel honest and didn't build the patient trust that customers should expect from dental offices. He didn't introduce himself or anything; he showed up behind me and started recommending proceedures and aesthetic proceedures. When I asked about other stuff I knew only a specialist could do, he dodged the question and kept recommending the stuff he knew their office could do. Of course, I could blame the owner(s) for the lack
of training or putting their employee in a position to push for other stuff on customers/patients.

The X-ray method is painful and can be a little sloppy, exposing you to more x-rays from reshoots than other methods.

I wouldn't mind visiting again because of conveniance, but I wish I knew beforehand what to expect.

(I keep track of my honest reviews, don't bother trying to delete them)

Edit:
They have moved across the street a couple months ago to a very nice and new location, with new equipment!

Seems like an entirely new staff.
Had a great 1st visit.
I went for a deep teeth cleaning
The staff were nice and thoughtful.
Seems fairly big and can handle many patients at once.
I think this location supports both dental and physician practices.
I came a couple hours early; someone didn't show up so I took their spot.

I didn't need local injections for the first half of my deep cleaning; I'm still waiting to go in for the final half of the deep cleaning, I'm not sure who will do the work for that but I hope it's the same guy.
However, it looks like I have some tool markings on my enamel where there didn't need to be work done.

The dental hygienist and assistant lady were talking in Chinese about other stuff involving a computer. I wish they'd stayed focus on the task at hand...my mouth with a sonic metal scrapper against my teeth!!!! Don't distract my dental hygienist while he's working on my teeth, but you're free to distract him when he's working on your mouth, Ms. assistant. Even if it's work-related, don't distract him unless it's critical and involves me; you can talk/ask him about stuff later. There's over an hour between me and the next patient.

The last half of my deep cleaning was okay.
I can finally see the calculus buildup gone that I wasn't able to remove between 2 teeth!!! 🙂
Ty dentists and/or hygienists ^_^

roberto M.

I recently had a disappointing experience at the Chinatown Service Center. Dr. Derek Chung, who attended to me, seemed completely uninterested and gave off the impression that he didn't want to be there. His demeanor was indifferent, and he lacked the attentiveness you'd expect from a healthcare professional. On top of that, one of the nurses had poor communication skills in English, which made it difficult to understand important medical information. This is unacceptable, especially in a setting where clear communication is vital. I left feeling frustrated and uncared for—definitely not what I expected from a healthcare facility.

Sean G. R.

The Monterey Park branch of the CSC provides full medical, dental and psychological services to the local community...including acupuncture . Unlike the Chinatown location all services are in one building which is convenient. The waiting area is pretty clean though spartan. Reception and staff are friendly and checking in is simple using a self check in kiosk. There are a couple of restrooms both in the waiting area and another in the exam room area. Parking is fine with a couple entrances.

Diana W.

New private office with own parking lot is shared between their health and dental dept is nice!! We are both now with Dentist Kelly. She's amazing! Understands anyone with autoimmunity too! They takes different insurances including medi-cal healthnt/allied. Dental Receptionist is the best! Really helpful and empathetic.

2017
Both the bf and I followed Dentist Edward Lew, D.M.D to this Monterey Park - Chinatown Service Center Dentist Office. Most compassionate, and knowledgeable Dentist I know of in Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley (626) area. We drive from Los Feliz (25miles round trip) just to see him.

Been going to Edward Lew since 2011 at the Chinatown location, but last year insurance didn't take this office. Stuck trying out 3 other offices -- 2 other Cerrritos, and Agape Alhambra (horrible). Now they take HealthNet Liberty Dental Plan, and Aetna Plan.

I'm pretty experienced with cavities since a kid. I think I have over 13 cavities, which requires maintenance, repairs and change outs. So I've had my fair share of horrible dentist for cavities, shots, cleanings, check ups (can see the 1-3stars for those bad dentists in my reviews last year).....its almost similar to the auto mechanic industry. If you find a good trustworthy experienced one, KEEP THEM!!

He helped changed out all my cavities years ago (change every 10 years), usual check-ups, cleanings. He's gentle and patient, very in tune with his patients, explaining each step and making sure you're always okay. Cleanings are done really well here.

Located in large commercial medical building with a parking structure in the shade or roof top sun. Its an old office but it works. Its the dentist that matters. Lobby full of seats and a tv playing Mandarin shows. Office with other dentists.

Office staff is really nice. They're at lunch from 1230pm-1pm. They close at 5pm with last appointment at 4pm. Open Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday 8:30am-5pm. And I think he's now at the original Chinatown location only Saturdays?

SK M.

Best dentists period. They take medi-cal as well.

Stanley M.

Great dental service.

hellen X.

我必須投訴Shihui Huang, DAIM, 我是第一次看這個針灸醫生，之所以選她，只因為看名字似女性，我以為這樣會比較方便，可讓我太太失望的是在很短時間的理療過程中，不斷有旁人進出診室用廣東話與她閒聊，我对针灸有一些了解，所以當天我特地穿了方便理療的鬆緊帶長褲，但她們也沒有提醒我要退去外褲以便針灸，而是捲起褲腿勒緊皮膚卡住膝盖内侧，導致針灸严重受阻-以致次日针孔红肿！最令人無法忍受的是她們竟然當著半裸趴著針灸的病患以廣東話喋喋不休鄙視地說我皮膚差太肥等等，这般放肆簡直令人髮指，连最基本的医德都没有👎👎

Jessie

Dr. Derek Cheung is extremely unprofessional and lacks respect for patients. Last week, I called the clinic and scheduled a telephone consultation for December 8, 2023. During the call, I informed Dr. Derek Cheung that I needed a referral to a dermatologist because I wanted to remove a few filiform warts on my skin. Dr. Cheung told me that a referral to dermatology was not necessary, and he could help me remove them through freezing. Consequently, I scheduled an appointment for treatment at the clinic on December 13, 2023.
My appointment was set for 3:30 pm, but by 4 pm, I had not yet seen Dr. Cheung. With the nurse's urging, I finally met with him at about 4：30 pm. However, upon seeing me, Dr. Cheung immediately informed me that he could not treat me, and he refused to refer me to a dermatologist because he believed my insurance wouldn't cover dermatological treatment costs. After uttering these words, he quickly left, leaving me feeling helpless. I wasted two appointments' worth of time and money, only to meet Dr. Cheung for a minute, and my issue remained unresolved.
During the initial appointment, I had already explained my condition to Dr. Cheung. If he couldn't provide treatment, why didn't he inform me earlier during the phone consultation? Whether insurance covers the treatment is a decision for the insurance company to make, and it shouldn't serve as a reason for him to deny me a referral to dermatology. The resolution to this matter came when the nurse assisted me in finding another female doctor, who then referred me to dermatology. The female doctor and nurse were both helpful, but Dr. Derek Cheung is the most irresponsible doctor I have ever encountered.
Update on 12/26/2023! I just received the approval letter from the insurance company! Dr. Derek Cheung mentioned that the information about my insurance not covering the cost of my dermatological treatment is entirely incorrect. Dr. Derek Cheung's refusal to refer me to dermatology based on a misunderstanding of the insurance coverage is entirely incorrect, demonstrating both unprofessionalism and a lack of medical ethics.

张颂民医生极其不专业，缺乏对病人的尊重。 上周，我给诊所打电话，预约了2023年12月8日的电话咨询。在电话中，我告诉张颂民医生，我需要转诊给皮肤科医生，因为我想去除皮肤上的一些丝状疣。 张医生告诉我，不需要转诊到皮肤科，他可以帮我冷冻去除它们。 因此，我预约了 2023 年 12 月 13 日到诊所接受治疗。
我的预约时间是下午3点30分，但到了下午4点，我还没有见到张医生。 在护士的催促下，下午4：30左右我终于见到了他。 然而，张医生一见到我，就立即告诉我他无法治疗我，并且拒绝转介我去看皮肤科医生，因为他认为我的保险不会支付皮肤科治疗费用。 说完这句话，他就迅速离开了，让我感到很无奈。 我浪费了两次预约的时间和金钱，只见了张医生一分钟，而我的问题仍然没有解决。
在初次预约时，我已向张医生解释了我的病情。 如果他不能治疗，为什么在电话咨询时不早点告诉我呢？ 保险是否承保治疗是保险公司的决定，这不应该成为他拒绝我转诊皮肤科的理由。 最后护士帮我找到了另一位女医生，然后女医生把我转介给皮肤科，这件事才得到解决。 女医生和护士都很乐于助人，但张颂民医生是我遇到过的最不负责任的医生。
2023年12月26日更新！ 我刚刚收到保险公司的批准信！张颂民医生说我的保险不包括皮肤科治疗费用的信息是完全错误的。 张医生基于对保险范围的误解而拒绝将我转介至皮肤科，这是完全错误的，是既不专业又没有医德的行为。