Lucio Kim Dentistry
Lucio Kim, DDS:
Practice Profile Page

I, for one do not enjoy dentists.  I haaate the whole dental experience.  So when I had a funny feeling in my gums, I got nervous.  But denial can go a long way, so I put it off and put it off…but it kept on getting worse AND I haven’t been to a dentist in forever + a day, soooo I ran to the comfort of strangers here on Yelp.  I found Dr Kim and liked what I saw and when I called, I was immediately put at ease b/c Dr Kim answered the phone himself! I was shocked b/c I was expecting a machine..it was the weekend, but he answers all the emergency calls personally…very cool. He was very comforting over the phone and even though he couldn’t see me that day (it was a sunday so I don’t blame him), he gave me some recommendations over the phone so that I wouldn’t be in so much pain until he could see me the next day.   Those helped alot so at least I would be able to function.  But it was above and beyond what I was expecting…and this was the trend for my experience here. Even the next day went OK . I was nervous as hell! But his calming demeanor and they way he actually talked with me and listened to my concerns and bad experiences from a crazy dentist back in the IE made me feel better.  Unfortunately, the gums needed some extensive cleaning procedure…but he PROMISED me I wouldn’t feel any pain and he delivered BIG time on his promise. It went fairly smoothly…although the sound of the cleaning thing still makes my hair stand on end…but he was efficient, caring, gentle and patient.   He even called to check up on me the next day….is that service or what?!
I promised him I would write a great review for him and since he came through on his promise, I joined Yelp to come through on mine to help spread the word. I still have a crap-load of dental work to do, but at least now I have a dentist I can trust and rely on.

Every dentist I’d ever had the misfortune of entrusting my cute little porcelains to had been some awful variation of Orin Scrivello, DDS (a la “Little Shop of Horrors”… and oh, the *horrors*!).  Like bad boyfriends, I swore them off, figuring that if I just stayed away, I could save myself the pain, the blood, the heartache (from the dentists, not the boyfriends).  Unfortunately, shunning dentists isn’t the best way to keep your pearly whites so pearly nor so white. When I broke a tooth, I had no idea whom to go to, and the thought of just picking a random dentist out of the Yellow Pages was terrifying.  No one I knew seemed to be able to recommend a dentist either.  As I was daring myself to try 1-800-DENTIST, one of my friends called me and said, “I just heard what happened – do you have a dentist?  You *have* to go to mine!  He’s the BEST!” And Dr. Kim is indeed the best.   From the moment you call his office, his receptionist, Bella, takes awesome care of you.  When you arrive, each and every member of the staff is incredibly kind and caring. Dr. Kim was fantastic with me, an extremely fearful patient.  I like knowing what’s happening and what to expect; he did a terrific job of explaining the various procedures to me before he did anything, and Dr. Kim made sure I wasn’t in any pain and was comfortable.  But if you’re the type who would rather not know anything, that’s okay too!   Dr. Kim was also wonderful about making sure I knew what my options were, if certain procedures were necessary now or if they could wait until later (like, when I have more money!) or if a procedure was completely optional.  I appreciate being informed and not pressured, unlike my former dentists who would just push *everything* on me. Dr. Kim makes my smile look like a million bucks, but his pricing is very reasonable and affordable.  I can’t recommend him enough.  I love my dentist—and now I’ve got the smile to prove it.

My husband and I have been searching for a dentist in Glendale and after doing some research, I’m so glad we have decided to come to Dr. Kim’s office. You can definitely tell that Dr. Kim is knowledgeable and knows exactly what he’s doing. Also, just went in for a cleaning and had such a great experience. My hygienist was super friendly and thorough with my cleaning. Normally would dread coming in to the dentist but my husband and I had great experience so far. Another plus is that they don’t make you wait if you have any appointment scheduled. As soon as you come in at your appointment time they are ready for you to get started! Will definitely continue to go here for our dental care 🙂

Been a patient of Dr. Kim for I think a solid 5 or 6 years now.  Love him.  And his office. And this is coming from someone who has historically disliked both dentists and anything related to anything dental.  In context: I’ve had probably two or three dentist plus another surgeon in my mouth as well (got a tooth knocked out) and I have pretty much disliked all of them.   Until I start seeing Dr. Kim The biggest thing that struck me is the first time I ever got a shot from him, I felt nothing. Not a thing.  Nadda. Nothing.  ( And I also detest needles by the way!). He’s explained his technique for giving shots to me and I still don’t get it.  But it works.  And that in itself  to me is a great indication of how he really takes a lot of care to make all his patients feel as comfortable as possible.   Very relaxed environment.  Very relaxed bedside (dental-chair-side?) manner.  Answers your questions.  Very approachable and you can feel like you can bring up anything and he will treat each and every question as important to be answered (The saying “There are no dumb questions”   really fits here). And his manner has permeated to his staff.  All his staff and assistants have the same great dental-chair-side manner.   Pleasant office.  Never been happier with a dentist.  And I no longer detest going to the dentist. (that’s a big step for me)  (And who knows, maybe down the road I’ll even look forward to it 😀 ..  well … we’ll see) A+++ 5 stars!

After losing my exceptional dentist of 20 years to cancer, I’ve had a difficult time finding a good dentist worth comparing. After my first visit with Dr. Kim last week, I think he’s the one. My first good impression was my interaction with Bella, receptionist, over the phone. She was very helpful in providing me information about my insurance coverage. She then mailed paperwork for me to fill out in advance before my first visit. What I liked is the Patient Agreement which states their commitment to excellence during the patient appointment, but in return they ask that the patient arrives on time and/or call 48 hours in advance if the patient needs to reschedule. I think this benefits everyone and sets high expectations both Dr. Kim and the patients. Once I arrived, I didn’t wait a minute before I was taken into one of the rooms. Shortly after the friendly hygienist (Maylin) took my x-rays, Dr. Kim came in and one of his first questions was, “What are your expectations of me?” He got me off guard, but I was quite impressed that he cares to know what I expect and he even took notes. He informed me that he likes to know what all his patients expect because everyone has different expectations. He was very thorough in discussing his analysis of my teeth and asking me if I had any questions. Another thing that I liked that he said was that he doesn’t recommend for patients to have work done that is not absolutely necessary. After my exam, he walked me to the front desk and gave me his business card. He told me that I could call him whenever I wanted and that he would call me right back. He also informed me that if I emailed him, he would reply by the end of the day. Bella then gave me a estimate for my future visit which was helpful to have in advance. She also called my insurance again to check how much insurance I had remaining. Having this information was very helpful in order to avoid any surprises in the future I then called Bella a couple days later and I left a message. Dr. Kim ended up calling me 5 minutes later. I was pleasantly surprised as it is rare for a Dr. to call without specifically asking for he/she to call back. He patiently answered my question, he literally spoke to me as though I am a friend. Later that day, I received a thank you letter for my first visit along with a Starbucks card! I definitely felt like my business was appreciated. I emailed him today after hours to say thank you for the letter and Starbucks card. I also emailed him to update him on a visit I had with an endodonist. I wasn’t expecting a response via email until tomorrow, but he ended up calling me to address my email. So far, he has demonstrated to be an excellent dentist who strives for perfection. Kudos to Dr. Kim!

I”m so impressed! Dr. Kim sets a new standard for incredible customer service. If all dentists were like him, people would be happy to go to the dentist! His staff is great too.
After I booked my first appointment, Dr. Kim called me himself to ask if I had any questions or concerns. I thought that was a nice personal touch but it turns out that he runs his entire practice with that level of thoughtfulness and courtesy. When I first went in for my consultation, everyone was fantastic. I didn’t have to wait at all before I was brought to a room. After x-rays, Dr. Kim came in to talk to me about my teeth. I hadn’t seen a dentist in over ten years so I was incredibly nervous about the whole situation. Dr. Kim immediately set me at ease. He didn’t make me feel bad for having not gone for so long and he didn’t chastise me about the condition of my teeth. He gave me a rundown of all the work I’d need to have done and when I explained that I have no insurance, he helped me come up with prioritized list so I wouldn’t have to do everything at once. His receptionist also gave me information on a payment plan for the more expensive work. One week later I received a thank you letter and a Starbucks gift card in the mail.
Today I went in for a deep cleaning of half my teeth. When I arrived Dr. Kim came out and talked to me about my fears, he’s so understanding. Once again, I didn’t wait any more than five minutes. The hygienist was very understanding about my anxiety and clearly explained everything she was doing. The procedure wasn’t nearly as scary as I thought, and I can see and feel a huge difference. It was a little pricy but, hey, it’s my own fault for not taking care of my teeth for so many years. Here’s the most awesome thing so far: tonight Dr. Kim called me from his home to ask me how I was feeling and make some suggestions regarding the soreness in my gums from the procedure. That’s going above and beyond to take care of your clients. I was amazed. I never thought going to the dentist could be so pleasant. Even though it isn’t cheap, you really do get what you pay for. I would recommend Dr. Kim to anyone, even if you don’t have insurance and especially if you are afraid of the dentist.

TL; DR: HIGHLY Recommended! . Dr. Kim’s office is always clean, his staff professional, and Dr. Kim and his staff completely blew me away with their service.  I’ve visited him three times already and each time I was never disappointed or felt like my questions were left unanswered.  He never made me wait for more than a couple minutes (LOVE THIS!).  At other dental offices, I’ve had to wait close to an hour after my appointment to be seen.  YIKES! I knew from the moment I spoke with Bella the receptionist that I made the right choice.  I explained my healthcare situation in a semi-panicky state to Bella while she listened patiently.  She also provided very thorough instructions about what I should do before my first visit to the office. Maybe a day later I received a letter with some documents and forms to fill out.  The form was simple to understand, but still thorough enough to gather information about my health history.  Without any hesitatation, I filled that sucker out and brought it with me on the day of my appointment.   During the appointment, Dr. Kim went over the forms I filled out and asked me if I had any questions for him.  He also asked me what I expected out of my dentist.  This was such a shocking, yet relieving question because it made me feel like I was there to be heard, not hurt, by my dentist.  I have an OK threshold for pain, but a low threshold for anxiety in unfamiliar/scary situations.  He eased my nervousness by showing me all the equipment and explained their function before he worked on my teeth.  I loved this so much.  He was very precise and didn’t hurt me one bit during the cleaning. What makes Dr. Kim even more wonderful is that he calls his patients to check up on them.  I ordered a custom-made product during the holidays. Recently, I went in for the fitting.  Dr. Kim spent the time to fit my product and adjust the shape to make sure it was THE perfect fit before letting me go.  A couple days after that last visit, he called me to make sure I wasn’t experiencing any discomfort.  I was pretty pleased with this follow-up call b/c it showed he cares about his patients.  I know he is a busy guy so things like these really speaks volume about his professionalism and character. Dr. Kim’s office is off the 134 freeway on Glenoaks.  There are almost two dozen parking spots in his lot so I never have trouble with parking.  There are plenty of street parking too since it’s in a quieter part of Glendale.  Oh, if you love the way Anthropologie smells, then you’ll love Dr. Kim’s office!  I think they buy their candles from Anthro!  🙂

The staff was pretty professional and I barely had to wait around to the dentist. In general Dr. Kim is a pretty good dentist. I think he’s used to getting very dental-phobic patients because he and his assistant would explain EVERYTHING they were doing, and constantly ask if I was OK. I grew up with a great dentist and have never been scared of them, so this seemed like a tad much to me. But I can appreciate how it would help someone be at ease. Dr. Kim was really responsive and knowledgeable about everything I asked. Just by glancing at my teeth and gums he know which ones were sensitive and bled and which ones I’ve never had trouble with, then he blew up my X-rays and put it on the screen (they have a personal computer for every chair btw, which is pretty cool) and showed me exactly why my gums bleed and where the “gum recession” was taking place. This was a cool thing no dentist had done for me before. Lastly, he gave me advice for better brushing and didn’t get too mad at me for never flossing, though he made the message clear of how important it is. When he didn’t find anything wrong with my teeth, he said I could and there was no copay! After dealing with slightly more pressure situations (car mechanics and vision people) I was very pleased he was completely honest about not needing to do more work, even if my insurance would have covered it. I didn’t give 5 stars because I didn’t think it was the best a dentist could possibly get. My hometown dentist was a little better, but there’s also nothing wrong with this place. As with other places I have reviewed, I fully plan on returning whenever I need a dentist. Edit: I DID give it five stars after receiving a Starbucks gift card in the mail a week after my appointment. They totally bought me off for $8 🙂 But seriously it was very thoughtful and shows that my business means a lot to them. Also, one tid-bit I forgot to mention is that if the office is closed, any calls go directly to Dr. Kim’s personal cell phone (that’s actually how I made the appointment in the first place). These two things do put them over the top for me.

Dr. Kim is a great dentist. I checked him out solely due to the rave reviews here on Yelp, after a bad experience with a Valley dentist who wanted to charge me $2500 to fill a bunch of cavities I’d obtained due to grinding. Dr. Kim agreed that I did have the cavities, but said all but 2 were too mild to warrant fillings. He could have recommended more fillings (although not $2500 worth) and I probably would have gone with it, but he takes a conservative approach which only calls for expensive, invasive procedures when truly necessary – even though he might make less money as a result. He also fitted me for a mouthguard, which has worked great and prevented my grinding from causing any more damage. Dr. Kim and his staff are very accommodating to my student schedule – never have to wait months to see the dentist. Oh yeah, and his bedside manner is as good as everyone says. One other thing: I live in Sherman Oaks, and Dr. Kim is at least 1/2 hour drive away from my apt, sometimes worse in morning traffic. Yet the drive is totally worth it for a dentist that I can trust. I hope to have Dr. Kim working on my teeth until old age, when they’re replaced superbionic whatchamacallits.