Richard Mandelaris, DMD

Richard Mandelaris, DMD is a pediatric dentist who also heads a professional group pediatric practice with five other dentists: Robert F. Kelleher, DDS, Doris Lin, DDS, Robin Saunders, DDS, Christopher Lim, DDS, and Eunice Im, DDS.

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

Medical Professionals are limited by HIPAA as to what information they can make public about their patients, including who their patients are. As such it is very hard for Doctors, Dentists, and Psychiatrists to respond to negative comments on the wiki. Please keep this in mind while reading any comments.

2007-01-12 21:14:05   I have called this dentist and left a message to schedule an appointment but I never got a call back. I'd say that's poor service. —HaroldL

2007-05-24 08:16:30   Yes! I am a first time mom of a two year old who fell at preschool and lost a front tooth. The director of the school called Dr. Mandelaris who saw us immediately, even though we weren't current patients. Dr. Mandelaris was amazing, both with my son and with me. Eventhough he had squeezed us into his busy day, he did not act once as if he needed to move on and patiently and thoroughly answered all of our questions and concerns until we were okay. As a result, we will continue seeing Dr. Mandelaris for regular dental check ups. —MichelleG

2007-05-24 22:20:44   I have to agree with MichelleG. My three kids have been seeing Dr. Mandelaris for a number of years, and frankly I can't imagine a more sensitive and patient-centered dentist. He has done a great job taking care of my children's teeth, and he always makes a point to greet us when we encounter him on the streets of Davis. In my experience, he also treats his staff with respect and good humor. He's a great dentist. —DrandyJones

2008-06-16 10:07:04   This is a great dental practice. Everything is designed to give the kids the best, most relaxing, and fun experience possible. They also have personnel and dental assistants who are fluent in Spanish, which will be very welcome for some parents. —CynthiaCCC

2008-06-30 21:49:08   My 2 year old son was diagnosed with multiple cavities at his 2nd check-up here. The dental practice recommended full narcosis surgery to do the fillings with possibly root canals and crowns without taking x-rays. A second opinion from a different dentist verified that my son does indeed have cavities and recommended similar treatment. My wife and I went back to Dr. Mandelaris to ask some further questions about the treatment. Dr. Mandelaris did not really listen to the questions we asked and quickly became offended. After less than five minutes he asked us to leave and refused to treat our son. His refusal to discuss treatment shows was unprofessional, arrogant, and showed lack of respect for us, the concerned parents. If you wish to be able to discuss treatment with your child’s dentist, you should go to someone else. —DavisParent26

2008-07-21 23:31:14   I went here when I was a kid. I never liked going to the dentist (I still don't) but it certainly wasn't the fault of the practice itself. As I remember, Dr. Mandelaris and the hygienists were always nice, and I always liked getting a goodie bag after getting a cleaning... You get to watch movies while getting your teeth cleaned or getting a filling! Sweetness! The waiting room is pretty cool- at least when I went there, there were two arcade-style video games you could play for free. Since this was my only real exposure to video games, I subsequently always associate Pac-Man and old school Mario with that weird dental office smell and a twinge of anxiety. But considering that I don't seem to have any bad memories of the place, and I still go to the dentist with regular frequency, they must be doing something right. —MaryLieth

2008-08-20 16:50:33   Great place. I took my son there for the first time this morning, and he actually enjoyed himself at the dentist's office! The staff were great and made him feel at ease; he enjoyed being able to watch a movie while he had his teeth cleaned. Dr. Mandelaris took the time to talk with him and make him feel comfortable before checking his teeth. After noticing that he had an overbite, the doctor asked the orthodontist—who just happened to be in the office that day—to have a look. I didn't need to make another appointment since the orthodontist came right over. In short, everyone was professional and thorough, took the time to answer any questions I had, and best of all...my son is no longer scared of going to the dentist! —AMcAdow

2008-08-27 09:19:33   No way, no how would I ever, ever recommend Mandelaris or his team. Oh they are nice, the office is fun but it's a total racket (my opinion). Ask around town and you will hear all kinds of stories of very extensive, expensive treatments. My sons' appointment was actually canceled without telling me because I got a second opinion. You are not allowed to question treatment plans? Also with my daughter, Mandelaris' team said she had four cavities. I got a second opinion, who said there were two. I asked to only have those two filled and the receptionist actually argued with me and said they won't just fill the two teeth. Crazy!!! Needless to say, they did me a favor when they kicked our family out of their practice. We might take a vacation with the thousands of dollars we are saving! —ccmom

2009-10-16 05:41:45   I agree with ccmom. They are great at filling cavities, but they are also great at filling teeth that are perfectly healthy. I don't want to say more, but you should be aware that you may want to get a second opinion if these dentists say your child needs 20 fillings. You don't want to subject your kid to unnecessary procedures... —adverselypossessed

2010-02-25 11:08:48   No way .. this dentist is predjudice aginst people who have certain types of insurance(healthy families) and can only be seen in the mornings and not on saturdays if you have experienced this please let me know this is clearly a violation of the law but he doesn't care he is an old grouchy man who does have a short temper in his old age he no longer has the patience to deal with children either some of the other doctors are patient sometimes but most of them dont have kids and are only general dentists so just be sure to ask if they are a pediatric dds or not because most of them aren't and don't let them talk you into going to the surgery center .. typically your child doesn't need it and it can be done in the office that's why they are trained to work in a pediatric office to "work" with kids if not they shouldn't be there —concernedmom

Irrespective of the veracity of your patently passionate grip, you should realize that the lack of periods and capitals demarcating actual sentences in your post, let alone commas, dashes or semicolons (but curiously sporting several mysterious double periods) renders it ambiguous, weird and unsettling, detracts from successful communication and suggests, for lack of a gentler term, and you might as well hear it outright, flagrant wingnuttery—I'm just saying, if you want people to take you seriously, write better. My opinion. —MichaelPlotkin

2010-04-08 13:49:49   I have seen a lot of comments regarding unnecessary procedures at this office. It is important to understand that treatment plans for pediatric teeth (especially children with early childhood caries) tend to be aggressive. That is to say; even if there is slight decay on a pediatric tooth usually a filling is recommended. The reason for this is because decay can travel much faster in pediatric teeth. Additionally, if a child needs to be sedated and hospitalized for their dental treatment, it is often preferable to treat a tooth that may not need a filling now, just to avoid the need for sedation and other treatment in the future. —DagonJones

2010-05-05 01:27:01   Well Micheal Plotkin I didn't realize that a simple posting would bother you so much if I left out periods, commas, and whatnot you must be an English major NUTCASE to go around the davis wiki site editing and figuring out effective "successful communication" Do you have too much time on your hands?? and talk about weird and unsettling who uses that word anymore "flagrant wingnuttery" ?????? even if you think its a lack of a genlter term I left my opinion and my experiences so that people will be aware of what they are walking into. That is what this site is about right?? not periods and commas AND DagonJones you must be a very good friend of Dr. Mandelaris' to state that "if a child needs to be sedated for their dental treatment, it is oftem preferable to treat a tooth THAT MAY NOT NEED A FILLING now just to avoid the need for sedation ... in the future" that sounds like unnecessary treatment to me. And I have heard of some children at his office getting decay to "arrest" with a flouride varnish in office for "slight" decay so why the need for aggresive treatment?? I wonder if it's a matter of production for that day?? who knows. —concernedmom

• I'm inclined to believe Dr. Jones for a variety of reasons, not least of which being that he's been on the wiki for a while giving freely of his expertise to those who have questions. In contrast, you've created a one-off, anonymous account specifically to attack this one business. By refusing to stand behind your words, and further by refusing to make any other contributions to the wiki, you undermine your own credibility. Do you have any sort of medical degree? Because you seem to think that you know better than not one, but two people who are dental professionals. Please consider closing down your account, opening it under your real name, and making a few constructive edits. This will go a long way towards establishing credibility, and then people will be more inclined to listen to you when you have a legitimate complaint about a business. —JoePomidor
• My attempt is to show that there are different treatment philosophies in dentistry. I prefer conservative care when it is likely to be successful. It is important for people to understand some of the philosophies behind pediatric treatment plans that are more aggressive. My goal is to educate people about the options so they can have a discussion about their choices. If parents prefer the most conservative approach possible, they should express this to their dentist and ask which of the areas of decay could benefit from remineralization instead of a filling. Shallow decay can be arrested, see here middle paragraph for a description of how shallow decay can be remineralized. But remember that this process is less likely to be successful in pediatric teeth due to the difference in enamel thickness and structure. —DagonJones

2010-05-05 16:15:23   Just for the record in response to the "Concerned Mom": 1) Mandelaris does have children and probably grandchildren by now. My mom used to work for the family. 2)Who wants to work on a Saturday?! Not many dentists due unless its out of the kindness of their heart to come in for an emergency. 3)If he is a "grouchy old man",more power to him for working only in the mornings. And have you considered that all your "concern" may have had something to do with making him grouchy? Don't mean to be rude, just saying that you can catch more flies with honey... —jsbmeb * One more thing- is ccmom also concernedmom? —jsbmeb

2010-08-02 13:38:54   Great dentist — but VERY expensive! Charged me $240 for a 20 minute 6-month checkup/exam. Ouch. —TillSey

2010-08-31 11:06:23   It's been two years since I first took my child to Dr. Mandelaris' office, so I thought I'd weigh in with a more experienced opinion. Overall, we've received excellent care there—staff and doctors are always thorough in their exams and explanations, and encourage me to ask questions at any time. My child used to be deathly afraid of getting x-rays and having his teeth cleaned; since going to Dr. Mandelaris' office, he has absolutely no fear. The dental assistants chat with him and put him completely at ease, and the doctors who have examined him are friendly and relaxed. I've noticed some comments here about unnecessary procedures—my experience was that at his first exam, the doctor noticed my son's overbite and said that they'd need to keep an eye on it (he had the orthodontist, who just happened to be in the office that day, check as well), to monitor how his teeth grew in—in case he needed braces. Over the next two years, they checked his incoming teeth and jaw carefully, but we never needed to get braces. I appreciated the detailed, thorough approach towards my child's dental health that we got in this office, and the fact that the doctors didn't just treat existing problems, but also thought about and discussed with me any future problems we might be looking at. My son now has lost all of his baby teeth, so we'll have to bid Dr. Mandelaris and his staff goodbye, but I wanted to add a note about our positive experience here since I know a lot of people check the wiki when looking for information on local businesses (I do!). —AMcAdow

2012-07-09 09:20:22   I have been sending my kids here, (2,5,12) and I have gone there when I was younger (now 37). I LOVE the office and how my kids are taken care of. I would not trust anyone else. They are really patient and caring. I call , get my answers, they explain everything to me. —Lisa530

2013-03-14 11:47:04   Both my kids went to Mandelaris and his other dentists. The treatment, the ambiance and the hygenists are nothing but fantastic. The kids were fine with going to the dentist, got good treatment, and their teeth are great. I can't remember off the top of my head the name of the orthodontist, but he took care of my older kids teeth just fine. I have nothing but good things to say about the folks that worked on my kids. The front office is a whole other matter. They have messed up billing in past years, failed to change our insurance companies (leaving us stuck for a bunch of costs) and their bills are extremely difficult to figure out. It turned out my kids were outgrowing the practice about the same time that my displeasure with the front office had peaked. Me and the boys are now with Dagon Jones, a fine, fine dentist with a really competent and pleasant front office. —RandyMager