Davis Family Dentistry

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Location
2043 Anderson Road, Suite A
(corner of Anderson Road and West Covell Boulevard)
in the Covell Professional Center
Hours
8 am — 5 pm Mon — Fri
Lunch from 1 pm — 2 pm
Phone
(530) 750-3311

Dr. Jafar Afkham D.D.S. specializes in "preventive and restorative dentistry". His California Aggie ad mentions that discounts are available for UCD students and/or affiliates, plus. Most insurances are accepted.

To explore other dentists in the Davis area, please visit our Dentists page.

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Would you recommend this dentist? What's been your experience?

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Fairly friendly place, the dentist is one Dr. Jafar Afkham, D.D.F., and he doesn't seem too bad. I had my wisdom teeth taken out here as well as some cavities filled, and they scheduled me very quickly (1 day in advance), which was nice. —AndreyGoder

2005-12-16 13:59:28   I had a poor experience here. They made me take a bunch of x-rays I didn't need, didn't tell me how expensive they were (it went way over the max allotment for UC Davis grad students), and then diagnosed me with 4 cavities. I had never had a cavity before, so I went to another dentist, and he told me I had zero cavities. Also, the hygenists seemed incompetent and my cleaning was painful. I would not recommend this office. —LisaPfeiffer

2006-04-03 11:13:14   NO! My husband and I had the same experience as Lisa P above! First, they claimed they never received x-rays from our last dentist (I know they were sent!). So we had to have all new ones done and that sucked up all the insurance - I never had that many xrays taken at one time in my life! Then they told me I had three cavities and my husband five! Knowing this seemed untrue, I scheduled an appointment with another dentist. Dr. Afkham's secretary refuses to forward the xrays to our new dentist unless we pay $25.00 EACH! Those xrays cost hundreds of dollars on our insurance and used up all the available money left - meaning, even if we believed we needed fillings and would have gotten them - WE WOULD HAVE HAD TO PAY FOR ALL THE FILLINGS OUT OF OUR OWN POCKET! I went back once for a cleaning and sat in the chair for over an hour and then walked out and they never even called me to apologize or reschedule! —ElleScholwin

2007-02-18 23:35:21   I had a similar experience with the x rays, they wanted me to have them and I had already had my xrays for the year but they wanted me to pay for more. Also, I havent had a pleasant experience as far as wait time. I had an appt for a couple of fillings, that the receptionist said was 45 min to 1 hr and ended up sitting around waiting in the chair for an hour before they applied novacaine and another hour and a half for the actual procedure. It was 2.5 hrs later when I left and the receptionist told me to take a seat when I was getting ready to pay. I explained that I had to go back to work (it was already 4:45 pm and I had work left to get back to) but she said it would only be a minute. 6 minutes later, without any acknowledgement I finally got up and told her again I had to go. She then said they could send the bill to me. I'm changing dentists, extremely disappointed in their service. —MelanieLo

2007-05-03 10:23:34   Scheduled me fast. I went in knowing I had 1 cavity. They took x-rays (I hadn't had them in awhile). I waited nearly an hour while Dr. Afkham helped other patients. Dr. Afkham then came inside the room with me, spent less than 2 minutes looking at my xrays, spent barely another 2 minutes looking inside my mouth, then told me I had 6 cavities. I asked if he could show me the cavities on the x-ray film, and he replied "No. You wouldn't know what you were looking at anyway". Dr. Afkham wanted over $1200 worth of fillings, in addition to the $100+ they had just billed me for x-rays. I drove all the way to my old dentist a few days later in San Jose and of course they could only find the 1 cavity I was originally complaining about. Did Dr. Afkham lie about the # of cavities I had to make money? I'm not qualified to answer this, but it sure was suspicious. I'm never going back to them. —ecsrun (Note this user only has made this single comment)

2007-05-04 23:09:29   Dr. Afkham seemed nice enough and so our family went to him for over a year. during that time he filled multiple cavities he diagnosed on my kids and husband. Well the last time I saw him he said I had 6 cavities (which I have never even had one) well we switched dentists shortly after and the new dentist said that no I didn't have the 6 cavities. Now I wonder how many "real" cavities my kids had ? —HeatherFlood

2007-05-06 21:08:39   Dr. Afkham performed the first step of a root canal procedure on me, in which he removed one of the nerves from my molar. When I went to my regular dentist for the second step, she noted that he did not completely remove the nerve that he was working on, and she had to go back in and finish. She also said that this may explain the insane amount of pain I continued to feel after the procedure. I called Dr. Afkham a few hours after he worked on my tooth, actually my girlfriend called him, because I was nearly blacking out from pain. Only then did he prescribe me hydrocodone and amoxicillin ( antibiotic ). You would think that antibiotics don't have anything to do with pain...why didn't he prescribe them when i left the office? —boristheblade

2007-06-07 17:16:48   Dr Afkham has been my dentist for the last three years. He filled a couple of cavities on my 2nd visit; otherwise my visits have been the usual every six months for regular cleanings and checkups. He and his staff are friendly and I have been satisfied with their services. —MikeG

2007-06-08 00:55:05   Just as a note to people who are viewing the reviews... I was turned off from this dentist after reading the negative reviews here. After deciding to switch to another dentist, I was asked why by someone who worked there and so I truthfully mentioned this page. It just seems weird to me that all of the sudden after that, there are 3 positive comments made in the last week.

Honestly, I don't have enough experience with this place to make any judgments, so I'm not someone to comment whether it's a good or bad place. I just wanted to put it out there that you may not want to go by the 3 comments prior to this one because of the circumstances! They could very well be made by actual customers, or they could be made by staff... Who knows. —CAkita

2007-07-04 20:14:54   I’ve been practicing dentistry for over 20 years,and I’m a former faculty member,with hundreds hours of continuing education .My philosophy of dentistry is to be conservative about early detection and early treatment.We strive to give our patients the best care possible.Every thing we use for treating patients in my office is disposable or individually sterilized and bagged,to insure 110% sterilization.We use the most up to date materials and techniques to insure our patients getting the best treatment.For those people that they have any dough in there mind about my diagnosis,and if they are serious I’m willing to release there X-RAYS to a dental radiologist for a second opinion.Just to insure them that every thing was done appropriately.Some of these comments have no real name,so I really can not make any comments.They could be any body including my former staff members that I have terminated them?Those real patients for any reason can contact me directly.I’ll be glad to answer their any concerns. —drafkham

2007-07-06 10:18:21   IN RESPONCE TO COVERTPROFESOR , BY SUGGESTING{{ WAIT AND SEE APPROCH }}YOU WOULD ACTUALLY MAKE THE ANY HEALTH PROBLEM GET WORSE, AND DENTISTRY IS NOT EXCEPTION FROM THIS RULE...., WE GIVE ALL THE OPTIONS TO OUR PATIONTES AND LET THEM TO CHOOSE —drafkham

2007-07-06 10:24:48   in responce to HEATHER FLOOD , i have reviowed your and your kids chart if it is gonna feel you better i,m willing to release your xrays to be looked by an expert radiologist so you will make sure every things was done appropriatly, —drafkham

2007-07-09 00:51:01   Transferring records between providers is considered a "professional courtesy" and is not covered by law.

You can make a written request to either review or obtain a copy of your medical records pursuant to Health and Safety Code sections 123100 through 123149.5. As long as you requested your medical records in writing, to be sent directly to you (and not to anyone else, like your new doctor), the physician is required to send you a copy within specified time limits. If you are having difficulty getting your records, you can file a complaint with the Medical Board. —JohnWong

2007-07-09 13:33:08   Wow. This place pretty much exploded after I made the comment about the two suspicious reviews. Now I am MORE than glad that I chose to go with another dentist! One that doesn't seem to be so rude, angry, AND someone who can spell! Thank you DavisWiki for having such an awesome site. I would suggest J. Alex Tomaich, DDS MD, who is also on DavisWiki, as an alternative. —CAkita

2007-07-10 16:20:04   I had a bad experience here. I went in for an initial checkup where he spent 10 minutes probing around my mouth to tell me that my teeth are in good condition. That initial appt already took up around 130$ and with a budget from UCD SHIP insurance they will try to drain every penny out of you. Dr afgham scheduled me for a deep cleaning which totaled about 400$. I also had an uneven tooth back there so it was 50$ out of my pocket for him to smooth it out. I would highly NOT recommend him. He seems like he just wants to rip us off! Not going back for sure. —Issy

2007-07-18 20:55:19   My first visit to Dr. Afkham's was Feb. 2007. Confident that he seemed to be a competent dentist, I made appointments for two of my children. All went well including a replacement crown for me with a cash discount (insurance didn't cover crowns).

My college-aged son then went to Dr. Afkham this summer. Much to my son's surprise, he was told that he had 6 cavities! He hadn't had a cavity in years and he has a good diet and good dental hygiene and so he asked for a second opinion. We were given the x-rays and I had Dr. Wilcox look them over.

Dr. Wilcox corroborated Dr. Afkham's diagnosis. I approached Dr. Afkham to thank him for supporting my son's concerns and understanding his need to question the initial findings. He said no problem, and later, after filling the cavities, he asked if I might let others know about what transpired by relating the story on this site. So that's why I am adding my comments here. —jsiegler

2007-07-25 14:05:45   in responce to CAKITA;you seem very angery about some thing ,i dont know what? you keep coming back and adding comments.and you haven't been a patient in our office eighter .since you have not using your real name i cann,t tell who you are 'you might be one of our former employee,s that got fired .i dont know where you get the right to call others rude.this just shows your own rudness , you need to look at your self before making nonsens comments —drafkham

2007-07-25 18:26:51   in responce to person made a comment under issy name , my office accepting UCD SHIP dental insurance , compare to our usuall rate UCDSHIP insurance has about 40% reduced fee schedule. so this means you have paid 40% less than other pationts for your same treatment'and this is our courtesy to the UCD students.in davis there are about 35 dentist providing dental care.only very very few of them accepting UCD SHIP. dear issy next time you might want to try community clinic. they might be able to do it for free for you since they are state funded and can efford to provide free services. —drafkham

2007-07-28 14:29:26 I went to Dr. Afkham 2 years ago and was very impressed. He took lots of xrays (full mouth) and found things that didn't show in my previous bitewings. These findings were confirmed by another dentist. I am so glad he was thorough. He also did two large tooth colored fillings that looked and felt perfect. Dr. Afkham was gentle, patient, respectful, and explained everything. I absolutely appreciate that he pays attention to detail. The dentist who used to own this practice was lousy and Dr. Afkham is slowly making it great. Two of my friends who went there on my recommendation love his work. —dana1

2007-08-05 21:22:41   In response to drafkham, I assure you that I am in no way "angery." I made 3 posts, including this one, and all 3 were for good reasons. The first was to point out suspicious comments on this site, which the moderators here actually thanked me for. I clearly stated that I was never a patient at your office, and for VERY good reasons, too. The second was to refer patients looking for a credible and professional practice in the Davis area to one that I had a successful experience with. The third is, obviously, a response to your tirade. I also assure you that I have never and probably will never work for your office, so you need not worry about that. You need to look at the fact that I'm not the first person here to say that you were rude and realize that you're only damaging your own reputation by posting defensive comments on this page. The purpose of this website is for the public to be able to comment and critique businesses, owners, and practices, and I have never abused that privilege or crossed any line. —CAkita

2007-08-15 13:42:08   My Personal Experience with Dr Afkam was quite Terrible. I have worked in the dentistry world before and have dealt with quite a few dentist but he has to be the worst. His staff have no idea what they are doing and Dr. Afkam is all about money! I have worked for well respected dentist who's main objective is their patent's "health". Dr Afham could not care less unless he is benefiting himself. By observing him working i saw his assistants were walking around with dirty gloves, The operatory's were not cleaned sufficiently, He lost his temper to an employee right in front of me and made her cry. Its just these little things that make be believe the he is not a very good dentist at all. Not once did he show any concern for the poor receptionist who was crying but trying to do her job without showing it. It made me feel terrible. As for the other lady up front.. could you be any ruder??? When i went back to the office a month later the lady who was crying was gone and It looked like their were new people working their.. Now you go to a "good" dentist you will see that the staff are happy and have been there a while. To conclude this.. Save money and heartache and search for a "good" dentist that will take care of you.. Don't go to Davis Family Dentistry. —Jennifer3464

2007-09-10 09:19:07   I just want to preface this by saying I am currently a patient of Dr. Afkham's. While I cannot conclusively comment on false diagnosis' or money making "cavity" schemes, I would like to say the comments made by "drafkham" here seem very odd. In my experience with him he is a well-mannered and soft spoken man. He's older and carries himself in a mature manner not befitting the messages that have been left here. When reading comments on a wiki page that is admittedly unmonitored, think about the content and whether or not a professional dentist trying to build/maintain his reputation in the community would make such posts. Just a thought. Also, he corrected some major dental problems I had been having for years at about $500 less than my previous dentist. In addition, my previous dentist had told me I would need two root canals and Dr. Afkham only said I needed one which proved to be the case. The work was extensive, but he did it at a cost that was affordable for me. Also, the receptionist is not for everyone, but I only ever had an excessive wait time on my first appointment. Compared to my other options (wel-fare outfits that do the bare minimum), this is a well run office and a decent deal considering the university dental plan. There was one dental hygienist at my last visit that was a bit rough, but I think she was new. Finally, it's dental work. The only pain-free, "pleasant" dentist visit I had was when they knocked me out to pull out my wisdom teeth (different dentist years ago). Get real people, having your teeth and gums poked at hurts! Suck it up and floss. —Laura

2007-09-10 11:02:29   I just find it hard to believe based off my encounters with him. If he actually did post those comments it just goes to show how much you can know someone from the perspective of the dentist chair! Still, I stand by my other comments. And in reference to my comment about wiki's being unmonitored, I was simply stating that to my knowledge, there is no head/official moderator like with other forums. I think this can leave wiki's open to some questionable content, that's all. —Laura

2007-12-11 16:00:32   I have been a patient of Dr. Afkam's for over a year now and he is terrific. He is by far the most competent and professional dentist I have ever been to, and his staff have been universally helpful and professional. Sometimes one has to wait for good treatment. He has done a number of complex procedures on myself and others and all of them have been done very well, and at reasonable cost. It is absurd to see people criticizing him who had never gone there, and I certainly don't care if there are errors in his proofreading! It would be far more vauable if people confined their comments to facts pertinent to his work, or maybe there is some racist bias at work here? In spite of Davis' supposed liberal bias there are still plenty of people willing to criticize those who speak or act differently than the white-anglo norm here.... —GeraldDeCamp

2007-12-13 11:23:34   I wish I would have seen this site before making my appointment last week! The office staff was very nice, however my impression of the doctor is very poor. He was 1.5 hours late to my first appointment. He did not acknowledge his lateness, and certainly did not apologize for the unprofessional nature of his tardiness. He spent about 2 minutes with me. Adding insult to injury, his attitude expressed as if it was my fault that he was late. His behavior clearly indicates that he does not need new patients or good word of mouth in the community. I will never go back. —stephaniemakis

2008-04-18 13:53:55   I just went here because I needed to have my bottom permanent retainer removed because it broke. He was nice and quick and seemed to know what he was talking about. He was definitely pressuring me to get another retainer at his place, but I am still unsure if it is necessary. Nonetheless, I plan to continue going here. But nonetheless, he seemed very professional and the staff was friendly and informative. —BrandonBarrette

2008-08-14 16:57:12   I love Dr. Afkham and his staff. They are very nice and informative and take care of their patients. I had to go in for an extreme amount of dental work, which I do not doubt that I did indeed need, and the process went smoothly and quickly. They were honest and up front about how much my school and family insurance would pay and how much would have to come out of my pocket. And once we settled on what treatment would be necessary, I was sat down and had the treatment explained to me thoroughly. He was gentle and polite, and I must admit that I also adore Mary, the receptionist. —Brmcclain

2008-09-04 23:18:19   wow...this is unbelievable. I just went on this website to see the reviews people wrote about Dr. Afkham because i am looking for a job or an internship as a back office dental assistant. These reviews are utterly shocking and very disappointing. Even though I have never met Dr. Afkham and his staff, I highly doubt i will apply here. Many of these patients did get a second opinion from another doctor and they dont need a radiologist to justify the cavities if they went to another professional. Whats even more shocking is when patient "ecsrun" asked Dr. Afkham to show him the cavities on the xray and Dr.Afkham's response to it..is unprofessional and degrading. If the patient doesnt know what a cavity looks like on an xray, it is the doctor's duty to show and inform them. It doesnt hurt to learn more. People go to doctors for a reason and many of them put their trust in them because as we all know, doctors' (of any kind) number one priority is a patients' health. I am pretty sure everyone wants to maintain a healthy smile. :)

Because of all these reviews, I am going to ask the dentist I am interning for to show me Everything possible on an xrays. —jentruong

2008-09-05 00:16:41   Oh and also, if Dr. Afkham wont even take the time to explain the patient's diagnosis, especially upon request, how can an intern, someone who wants to pursue in dentistry in the future or his assistants ever learn? —jentruong

2008-09-16 17:48:07   I had a horrendous experience here earlier this week. I showed up for my new patient appointment on time, only to spent over 30 minutes sitting in the waiting room. I was then hustled into the Xray rooom, where I sat for another 10 minutes before the dental asst came into to take Xrays. She didn't even introduce herself; just slapped the Xray shield on me and started jabbing the film stuff into my mouth. Then back to more waiting. About 90 minutes after my appointment was supposed to have started, I finally met the dentist, who reviewed the Xrays and then looked in my mouth for maybe five minutes. He told me that I would have to return for another visit in order to have my teeth cleaned and a filling repaired. Every other dentist I have ever been to has included a cleaning as part of the initial evaluation. I will not be returning! —LCM

2008-09-22 15:51:43   I have to say I wasn't very happy as a patient here. I had crappy insurance coverage from my husband's employer, I knew that going in, however the first 3 times or so I went in for regular checkups/cleanings/xrays these things were all covered 100%. Of course, my fillings were not. Well, when I came back a few months later for a checkup, no one said anything to me about them not having the same relationship as before with my insurance company, but what do you know, a few weeks later a huge bill arrives in the mail for the yearly xrays my husband and I had done. When we called back, they gave us some spiel about no longer carrying our insurance or something to that effect. The proper thing to do would have been to notify us BEFORE the xrays were done. It felt shady to me, especially since dentistry is so ridiculously expensive and this is a college town. —AmLin

2009-01-05 11:16:00   Ok as Doctor wife I can tell every one his ugly behavior toward his patients should not consider to personal since he does this to every one including his immediate family. I'm his wife for 3 years and suffering from pain and need treatment ,but since he is very ethical doctor let even me be in pain. He start doing 0rtho clear which call invisilign 2 years ago and I went trough hell pain ,but at the end he left the treatment unfinished and now I'm suffering from going through the same pain. He doesn't give up on his money but he does on his son ,so being his patients I think is questionable . This is every one right including myself to know how I get treatment from my healthcare provider and how ethical he is . He is rude and mean to every one so please don't get him wrong if he does this to you since you are not the only one. I hope one day he realized his anger problem and gethelp for that before he ruin people life and his own son life. Good luck to all you . —farah

2009-02-07 02:13:05   I was recently very disappointed with the service I received from Dr. Afkham as a new patient going in for a regular check up. I had to switch dentists because my old one did not accept my new insurance and Dr. Afkham’s office was the only one in Davis that did. So I’ll give them that. However, aside from accepting my insurance (which is not very good I’ll admit) I was disappointed with every other aspect of my visit. I had a full set of X-rays taken (which, according to the second dentist I went to in Woodland were horrible quality) and a new patient exam. Dr. Afkham looked at the x-rays and my teeth for a total of about 1 minute and then exclaimed that I had a cavity and left. He didn’t bother to show me where it was or say anything at all about my teeth. When I went to the receptionist to schedule a follow up appointment for my filling and a cleaning she showed me the bill and I was astounded to see the total. The total was just short of $1,000 and the cleaning was not covered by my insurance at all, when I was expecting it to be covered in full. After looking more closely at the description of the fees, I realized that I had been signed up for deep root cleansing and needed 2 fillings when I had been told I only had 1 cavity. I had to ask for an explanation when none was given to me and the receptionist explained it — NOT Dr. Afkham. And this is when I officially new something incredibly sketchy was going on as I’m pretty certain the receptionist is not a qualified dentist. I asked if the deep root cleansing was absolutely necessary and if I couldn’t just get a regular cleaning instead and was basically told I needed it and couldn’t get a regular cleaning. I was signed up with Credit Care (a credit card to pay off my huge bill) on the spot…and the receptionist even threw in a few comments like “I could also use this card to get some work done like a chin lift.” So I obviously made an appointment with a dentist in Woodland to get a second opinion and they told me that I had 0 cavities and gave me a regular cleaning on the spot, covered in full my my insurance. There is something seriously wrong with the practices occurring at Dr. Afkham’s office and I would be incredibly wary as a new patient — or avoid this place completely if you can. —ChickensDon'tClap

2009-05-11 00:17:40   I went in for the first time about 2 weeks ago for a check up and wanted to get my teeth cleaned. I was the first one there. After filling out paper work and all which is time consuming and took about 30 minutes, I finally walk in the room and sit on the chair. I was the first one in there and was the last one to get looked at. He just saw my teeth for about 2 minutes saying I had to brush more often and floss. He took some xrays and needed to come back for a root canal that my old dentist didnt finish because I only had a temporary filling which is true. I didnt go back to my old doctor because I wasnt happy with him. So...turns out I needed to pay about 800 dollars out of pocket for a procedure my insurance didnt cover at the time becuase it only covered according to them 1 time every some what years. Now...does anyone know how good he is as far as work? I have a root canal in a few days and would like to know, but at the same time not really. I have read enough! I am going to find a dentist that has good reviews. Any suggestions? Thanks! —dx7axel

- If you don't mind doing a short drive to Woodland, Dr. Sonny Lim at Springlake Dental is great. I was a former patient of Dr. Afkham and now go to Springlake. -AmLin

2009-08-24 17:36:04   Sorry, I had a poor experience there. They scheduled more than one patient at the same time and the Dr. kept coming and going between multiple patients during my procedure. Obviously the anestesia would wear out while he was with other patients and he had to use more everytime it was my turn. He was nice the first visit, but spend much more time trying to sell me an aesthetic procedure rather than actually treating me when my original procedure date arrived. Never went back. —Maga

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