Bella Smile
Bella Shen Garnett, DMD, MMSc:
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Braces

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Headgears

Interceptive orthodontics

My experience with Dr. Bella Shen Garnett and her staff at Laurel St. office was beyond amazing! I did a lot of research before starting the Invisalign treatment and choosing the right doctor. After reading about Dr. Bella’s credentials and experience, I knew she was the best and the right one for me. It was a great decision :). I started my treatment last year in April, about three months before my wedding in Europe. I didn’t expect to be done in that time, but I wanted the best possible results I could get. I decided to do a propel treatment, that speeds up the process about 50%. I feel like it worked even faster for me. I explained the whole situation, and Dr. Bella made a plan for me, which I followed religiously. I hoped for a much better smile for the wedding, but results were mind blowing. My teeth were about 90% straight! They looked almost completely straight actually. I had to take off the attachments, and the Dr. had put the wires in the back of my teeth, to preserve the progress. The plan was to continue treatment after I was back in SF. I had a great smile for my wedding 🙂 ! I was so happy and confident, and the pictures look great! After I got back, I continued my treatment for few more months. Now I am enjoying my amazing smile, and it feels like I always had it 🙂 . The investment was so worth it! I always knew I was in great hands. I am so grateful to Dr. Bella Shen Garnett and to her whole team at Laurel St. office. I met Dr. Mahood a few times, and she is wonderful as well. Everybody is very kind, knowledgeable, supportive and friendly. I would recommend Dr. Bella and her team to everybody. They worked around my crazy travel schedule, and were always positive and understanding. Thank you ladies and best wishes to you all!

I’m a few years out going to Dr Shen Garnett and I still recommend her to people. She was AMAZING! And after listening to my friend’s 4 year (and going) journey with an orthodontist who doesn’t seem to care at all, I’m even more grateful. The office is immaculate, the staff is so kind, Dr Shen Garnett is a joy, so professional, and will guide you through and make sure you know what steps are next. A++

Dr. Bella Shen-Garnett’s practice is extremely professional and efficient, at the same time friendly, compassionate and patient. Communications are excellent. I had a very challenging and complex open-bite. Just a matter of a few years ago this correction would have required surgery. Through 2 years, she completely changed my teeth and smile through Invisalign. She is persistent and a perfectionist. In this field, I believe that you cannot put yourself in better hands. Thank you Doctor!

I was referred to Dr. Garnett by a friend who was extremely happy with the results of her orthodontic treatment. I really didn’t think anyone could help me because my teeth were a mess (crowding) and I was only willing to use Invisalign and would not consider traditional braces. To my surprise Dr. Garnett told me she could fix my crowded and crooked teeth using the Invisalign trays. Another very reputable orthodontist had told me Invisalign was out of the question and he would have to pull one of my lower front teeth and use traditional braces. After a year and half my teeth are now perfectly straight. The process went exactly as Dr. Garnett had described to me at my first appointment. My experience with Dr. Garnett’s practice is one of the best of any service provider I have ever worked with. Dr. Garnett and her staff are extraordinarily competent, professional and friendly. Her office is equipped with the latest the technology which reflects her commitment to provide her patients with the best possible care. I would strongly recommend Dr. Garnett to anyone looking for orthodontic treatment Jeff P.

Every one is Super professional and super kind. They even let me watch tv while getting Invisalign! My teeth are super crooked but none needed to be pulled out which is awesome because a lot of places will tell you that you HAVE to pull out teeth. In reality, that’s just something many dentists will say to get their hands on your money. My mom has checked many places in order to choose where to get my braces. I’m glad she chose Bella Smile because despite how screwed up my teeth were before I came here, it’ll only take about a year and a half to straighten my teeth and on top of that, not having to pull out my teeth will ensure that my face won’t look shrunken in as I get older. These are some of the reasons why Bella Smile will guarantee satisfaction and it’s why I’m recommending Bella Smile to practically every one of my friends. Thanks Bella Smile! You guys are the best and keep up the good work!

I just had my braces put on Monday and I want to thank everyone at Dr. Bella’s Office for making the experience so easy! I have never been an easy patient at the dentist. I get so nervous and they were so patient, explained everything, I felt so taken care of. The office is so hightech, so clean and Dr. Bella goes above and beyond. I can say without a doubt she is totally passionate about what she does. That means everything to me, you can’t fake that kind of genuine concern. She’s open to all my questions and concerns, and made herself available to me in every way! I couldn’t be more happy.

Someone once told me, “you should always strive to be, a better version of yourself.” It may’ve been the perfectionist Virgo in me, because when I walked into work one Monday, my co workers exclaimed in surprise: “but, you don’t NEED Invisalign!” Cosmetically, maybe not. The decision to get Invisalign was to correct my bite and straighten my bottom teeth which you can’t really tell from first glance. I would’ve comparison shopped but with favorable reviews on yelp (and recommendations from hubby’s colleagues) I decided to go to Dr. Shen’s practice. During the consultation, you’ll be given the low down on what Invisalign is, x rays taken, pointers on how to take care of your teeth, go over payment plans, etc. The consultation is $450 (from 2017 price) which can be applied towards your plan should you choose to get yours done here. With gleaming credentials from Stanford and Harvard, you can be assured the best orthodontist in SF has got you covered. The initial weeks of wearing Invisalign will be uncomfortable (some side effects even include headaches) and if you have to wear rubber bands, you must wear it for the recommended 20-22 hours a day, even in your sleep. There were many times I’ve woken up to sore jaws those early weeks, but all in the name of perfection, right? :p My Invisalign course would’ve only lasted 1 year, but we had also gotten married the same year, so I had to get my attachments temporarily removed for the wedding, which pushed back my course for another 3 months. Nevertheless, the consistency of care that I’ve received from Dr. Shen and her assistants are top notch. They’re on time, professional and overall, really pleasant to deal with. You should like your orthodontist because you will see them a LOT. I just finished my last wire check with Dr. Shen and I’m honestly bummed that I won’t get to see her anytime soon. Maybe we’ll come by and visit once baby gets her full set of teeth 🙂 Thank you Dr. Shen! 😀

Dr Bella Shen Garnett is an exceptional orthodontist!  She took over my Invisalign case after it was started by a different orthodontist because it was taking too long and I was not happy with the originally prescribed treatment plan.   Dr Shen Garnett really took the time to listen to my thoughts and concerns about my case and address them in a manner that made me feel comfortable and produced great results. At the end of my treatment, I had a beautiful smile for which I have received countless compliments! Her pricing was more than fair and she took excellent care of me.  Additionally, she is a very ethical doctor who always wants to make sure the patient does not have to undergo any unnecessary procedures.  I highly recommend Dr. Shen Garnett!

I waited for a while before writing this review, because I wanted to go through the experience as a whole first. About two years ago, my dentist told me about my ‘interesting’ situation with my wisdom tooth. It’s impacted–that’s common, but it’s also biting/contacting with two teeth in the upper jaw. For regular people, they could just take out their wisdom teeth, and that’s it. In my case, if I took out the impacted tooth, I would have to take out both of the perfectly fine teeth from upper jaw too (otherwise they would super-erupt). I would really rather not lose that many tooth… I went to an oral surgeon who told me I could get the impacted tooth out, and then put an implant in. But that would be like a downpayment for a house (I’m exaggerating, obviously, but you get the idea). I also went to an orthodontist who pretty much said no to my case. He was worried he would mess up the teeth alignment from my braces in the past. Dramatic, right? I think they should make a Lifetime movie out of this situation. Long story short: I found Dr. Shen Garnett. Dr. Shen Garnett took a quick look at my X-rays and told me about this TAD solution. I had never heard of TAD from any of the other dentists/orthodontists/oral surgeons I went to. Dr. Shen Garnett is the real deal! She’s fast, she’s smart, and she’s decisive. It’s very comforting to work with doctors who are decisive, I think. A year later, Dr. Shen Garnett provided a fix for my situation; one that multiple other dental professionals had turned down. Dr. Shen Garnett is awesome. She’s also available even at night (via text messages, nonetheless. I appreciate that, as a millennial). Do not even get me started on the awesome people who work there. The special shoutout goes to Justine. Justine is super friendly and she’s always available with my many, many questions. There’s also just an air of friendliness with everyone who works here. My end-to-end experience was as good as it gets.

The rating is for the work received. They fixed what I allege some other dude messed up – can’t event call the other guy a doctor – it was a nightmare. When I first arrived at Dr. Shen-Garnett’s, it was a disaster. I pretty much had an open bite that wasn’t there before. I don’t want to talk too much about it as it was literally kind of traumatic. Anyways! Moving on… Dr. Shen-Garnett and the team here are wonderful people. They work hard at what they do and really try to be as accommodating as possible – I really appreciate all their work. When I first arrived at their office, I was traumatized and high strung from the former experience – they held out hope for me and the work I needed done. It isn’t cheap but you get what you pay for. You can’t skimp on stuff like this (eg health-ish stuff) – I learned this the hard way. Thanks Dr. Shen-Garnett and team! Highly recommended if you’re thinking about orthodontic work. If someone tells you Invisalign can’t fix your situation, get a consultation with Dr. Shen first. They’re free, least when I started (2012). She’s so talented! Most of the other orthodontists I went to said my case had to be corrected with braces or surgery – they couldn’t see what she had faith in and was willing to try. She is knowledgeable, talented, and good hearted. Talk to her. You won’t regret it.

Dr Bella Shen is perfect. She’s clearly professionally accomplished, academic credentials – & forward thinking in her practice. She’s also an understanding human, open, respectful — thereto help you get a better, more confident smile! Her scheduling & front staff are super flexible, friendly, gracious as well. I do prefer the Dr. for looking at my teeth. Some are a bit judgy on my ability to wear the trays 24/7, but she gets it and works you to getting on track! As a busy working professional, I appreciate her care towards clients & customers as a value for your investment and good business.

4/20/2016 — Dr. Shen did an incredible job with my Invisalign treatment! I am recommending her to all of my friends. I did a bunch of research on orthodontists in the bay area, and even received a consultation from another doctor before going to see her. Right away I could tell that she’s in a different league than the other orthodontist I visited (who came highly recommended). The details matter, and Dr. Shen has so much experience with this type of treatment that she outlined a plan that was far more comprehensive than the other doctor. My treatment took about a year (including refinements to perfect everything). I am incredibly satisfied with the results. My advice – don’t gamble with something as important as your smile. Go with the best. Go with Dr Shen.

Dr. Shen Garnett is great! I went to her for a second opinion in the middle of my Invisalign treatment with another orthodontist. She has amazing communication skills and is super knowledgeable. I love that she’s upfront with you about everything that could be wrong with your teeth tellsa you what your next steps should be without sugar coating it. I could see in just one appointment that she really cares about her patients. Honestly, I wish I had gone to her before choosing my orthodontist, but oh well. Highly recommend her 🙂

I started my Invisalign + Propel treatment with Dr. Bella Shen Garnett in August 2015. I was surprised that I made the decision to correct my teeth right after the consultation given how torn I was leading up to it. (My family didn’t want me do it when I was younger because they wanted things to be natural and for me not to change anything, but because of the crowding of my teeth with wisdom teeth coming out in college, my back teeth got even more crooked and I started biting my cheeks more often and also had more cavities because it was so hard to clean well, so I decided to do a consultation.) My first impression of Dr. Shen Garnett is that she definitely knows what she’s doing, which, i am aware, is an understatement – her credentials and awards tell you that much! But from my first-hand experience, she was quick, decisive, and yet warm and thoughtful during our first meeting. I didn’t think my issues could have been dealt with using invisalign (, and even now, my dentist is surprised that invisalign changed my teeth the way it did and thought I would have needed to take out more teeth to straighten the rest). Dr. Shen Garnett decided that I only needed to have my wisdom teeth extracted, “I wanted you to have keep as many teeth as possible.” – she picked the more difficult route to go about my treatment instead of the more aggressive way. Propel: Because I had to move away from the area in a year, to speed up the process and help my teeth move better, Dr. Shen recommended a small procedure “Propel” on the gum (done at her office, an hour-long appointment if I remember correctly), which made my teeth less “stubborn” for the duration of the treatment. Instead of switching to new trays every 2 weeks, I did 5 days (!). She and her assistants prepared me well so I knew exactly what was going to happen. The discomfort level (e.g. pain from getting local anesthesia and numbness later) of the procedure itself felt similar to a filling procedure at the dentist, definitely bearable. The next day after the procedure, I felt soreness from it, and my gum started shedding a layer of dead skin (which was expected). After 3 or 4 days, it became normal again. Other than that, I only remember some canker sores on my tongue from first wearing the trays for a week or so – which wasn’t that bad but I did have to stick to soft foods for a while. Speech-wise, it probably took me 2 weeks to get use to talking with thicker “teeth” with the trays in without a lisp. Fast forward to 4 months later, my coworkers could already notice how straight my teeth became. While making sure that I wear the trays enough hours (22) and wearing rubber bands took effort and discipline, it almost made me feel a sense of security to have my mouthful of equipment in place. And I became so much better about oral hygiene partly because my teeth became easier to clean and that I started to like them more and more. I also started to smile more with confidence. After the first round of treatment (6-month, which was VERY fast), my teeth were straightened already, and we did some fine tuning to get my bite fit better and to get rid of some small spaces between the teeth. Dr. Shen Garnett and team never made me feel like they were bored of my questions/requests but took each of them seriously, discussed and visualized treatment plans that were best for my situation. Dr. Kimberly Mahood also worked with me a couple of times (before she’s at the downtown SF location now). She is also very nice and professional. I loved the staff of the entire office! Even the festive decorations for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter added so much fun and warmth to each visit. Correcting my teeth at Bella Smile is definitely one of the best decisions I have ever made!

Words cannot express how grateful I am to Dr. Shen Garnett. I have finally been given the beautiful smile I have always wanted. But more than that, her and the staff are always courteous, helpful, nice, and a pleasure to work with. My sister and I made appointments to get an assessment over a year ago and we left the office knowing that we wouldn’t be happier with any other orthodontist. The reason to chose Dr. Shen Garnett are as follows: 1. State of the art clean facilities 2. Courteous and helpful staff 3. Personal attention at every appointment 4. Orthodontic expertise – Dr. Shen Garnett knows her stuff!

I went there to get my braces last week 09-07-2010 by Dr Shen Garnett. I have been to many dentist offices before and i will say that here was one of the most enjoyable experiences that i have had. Her offices are world class: modern, clean and comfortable. Dr. Shen is very knowledgeable,honest and professional. Also,Her staff are nice and professional too. This was my own experience: The whole process to had brace on my teeth took me about 105 minutes, But i guess Dr. Shen made good use of her time, because she was doing her job with two different patients at the same time,me and the other person….SO what i want to say is i spend more than 6K, but i only got less than half hour when i got my braces? I will update my records regularly and truly! 11-30-2010 I think this time was better than before… maybe i just need to tell them what i want as a patient… because sometimes they do not know what we need? my teeth move little bit by little bit everyday… i can see the gap…. that is what i expect… still has 21 months to go!!!

Dr. Shen Garnett is an outstanding orthodontist that I can’t recommend highly enough! She’s a thought leader in her field & has earned a sterling reputation by demanding excellence from herself & staff. With Garnett, you’ll receive best-in-class treatment and results that are well worth the investment. Her practice is also incredibly professional, organized & caring.

I am thrilled beyond belief with the results of the invisiline that my eight-year-old son has been wearing for 24 weeks. As a child, I had a headgear, a retainer that was cemented in and then braces for 10 years, and the pain and trauma that I still remember from all of that is very vivid. In fact, because I had braces for so long I had bad receding gums and I had to get a gum graft two years ago which was a complete nightmare. My teeth are nice- but with a lot of pain and ugliness from braces, and then followed by a pricy and horrendous gum graft— When I initially began exploring options for my son, at first I thought we would do braces, but then when I met with Bella Shen and saw the results that could be obtained from Invisalign, I thought why not try it—as it’s much less invasive, painful, and just seemed overall much easier to deal with. So far, the results are AMAZING. At 24 weeks we are over halfway through the treatment. My son has never had any pain, he has had no issues whatsoever with wearing the trays and taking it out for snacks or lunch at school, he has not lost any of his trays, he has never complained one time about wearing the trays. He had a severe overbite, over 10 mm, and that is completely gone. His teeth were very very misaligned, and that is also gone. It truly is amazing the results that I have seen with no impact to his overall happiness. I cannot recommend invisiline for children, nor this office, enough. I wish that I had gone here as a kid. Our results from 24 weeks at Bella Smile are seriously mind blowing. Also, I feel that Dr. Shen is extremely knowledgeable, and incredibly talented and gifted at what she does. I trust her 100% and the use of technology plus the invisiline trays at her office are really state of the art. There is no more of that white goo for the impressions of your teeth, it’s all done via scanner on your teeth and it is truly incredible. Their office is engaging for children, they run on time, and they are very easy to get a hold of. In fact one time Dr. Shen gave me her cell phone number to email some pictures of my son’s progress so she could let me know exactly how to proceed with the trays. I cannot say enough good things about this office. Lastly, when I originally started down this path we had some questions like, what if we lose the trays, will he be able to put them in after snacks….. but one thing I have found out is that you trade out and change each tray every week… So you if you have any problems or if you lose your tray, It’s really not a big deal. Also, kids only have to wear their trays for 15 hours for it to be effective so my son basically wears it all night, we send him to school in it and then sometimes he puts it back in at school and sometimes not, so we put it in when he gets back home—-and with this small effort the shift is happening so fast —truly it is unbelievable. I would NEVER opt for braces after having this INCREDIBLE, MIND BLOWING, AMAZING experience. It’s truly one of the best things to ever happen to me in my entire life, I am so thrilled to be able to give my child a different option than those horrible braces that I experienced. If you have a child and you are considering invisiline ( and if you are not, you should ) I would say 100% go for it, it is a million times better than braces in every and all aspects. Thank you so much Dr. Shen!

I’ve had an excellent experience with Dr. Shen Garnett and her team. It’s been a saga: about 1.75 years of treatment that included correctional lower jaw surgery about a year in. The great news is that my bite is now completely aligned and treatment is done. One of the reasons I was excited to work with Bella is that she was able/willing to do this treatment using Invisalign which was a relief. She did, the day before surgery, have to bond a wire on my top and bottom teeth which I wore for the first 3-4 weeks of recovery from surgery but other than that, I wore Invisalign braces and it was easy. Thank you, Bella and everyone at the Laurel St. office, for you consistent positivity, reassurance and support!

Dr. Bella is the best orthodontist in SF hands down! Her office is super clean and staff is always extremely accommodating and friendly. But one of the best things is that Dr. Bella sells the orthopulse which helped alleviate pain by 80-95%. I almost had no pain at all when first starting to put the invisalign in my mouth. The orthopulse also cut my time by more than 1/2. I was supposed to wear my invisalign for 1 and 1/2 to 2 years! I would have never got invisalign because I am impatient. But with the Orthopulse I only had to wear my invisalign for maybe 7 months or so. What a difference!! I highly recommend going to see Dr. Bella over anyone else in the city! And ask her about the orthopulse. I would have never got invisalign or had perfectly straight teeth if it weren’t for that option.

I am forever grateful for Dr. Bella Shen Garnett. I  wanted to straighten my teeth,  but wasn’t sure who to go to.  I was referred to by a friend and after the first consultation meeting, I began my 6 month Invisalign  treatment. I am so happy with my results and I feel more confident. Dr Bella Shen is the best Orthodontist in the Bay Area.

Best decision I ever made…besides of course marriage and kids. Dr Bella is awesome…Stanford and Harvard Grad…I’d say she knows her stuff and how to fix your teeth! I waited so long to get Invisalign and not sure why! My process was quick- 9 months and when I was done, Dr Bella suggested I do additional corrections (which was all included in my plan/cost) but I declined as I was so happy with my results! My teeth were a crazy mess walking in to my initial appointment, I had to get the bands and brackets (like I was a teenager) but damn it if it wasn’t all worth it! Thank you, so much Dr Bella I’ll see you in 6 months for my final check up.

I found Bella Smile on Yelp 6-7 years ago when a horizontal bar cemented behind my lower front teeth came undone. She had several great reviews then and she was close to my old neighborhood, so it was a no-brainer. She took out the bar and made me a retainer instead. She fitted my old retainer for my top teeth and gently chided me to wear them every night, which she noticed I wasn’t doing. The new retainer also corrected my bite, which was altered after wearing a night guard that my dentist made for me. It wasn’t cheap, since my insurance won’t cover cosmetic dentistry, but my smile was enhanced considerably. I know this, since they took before and after photos and the difference was remarkable. Even though I moved to the East Bay years ago, I’ve returned a few times for repairs and just went in today to have my old top retainer replaced. I’ve recommended Bella Smile to family members. They too are happy with their services. The office is clean and inviting, and the entire staff is professional and courteous to their patients. Thanks for everything!