Malvern Smile Studio - General and Cosmetic Dentistry 1868 Malvern Road, Malvern East, Victoria 3145

"I have been seeing Dr Balhara for over a decade, as has my family, and I couldn’t recommend Dr Balhara more highly for general, orthodontics and cosmetic dentistry. Thank you!"

"Dr Saloni has placed a permanent crown in my mouth several shades lighter than my teeth despite agreeing for a natural look & charged premium money for it. The crown looks ridiculous, as it stands out. After contacting them, they wrote to me seeming to not know which patient is complaining about this as their timeline was off by a year. During my crown appointments, my top veneers were repeatedly being hit with metal objects & suction tool, I had to ask them not to do this prior to going to future appointments. The temporary crown was not attached to anything & came off as I was eating, I bit it in half with 1 of my veneers, almost damaged my veneer & nearly swallowed the temporary crown! The tooth with the veneer was in pain all day & I was stressed I'd have to incur extra costs to fix it. Based on my experience, I would not recommend this dentist for crown/veneers. Quoted me $190 for a clean & on the day put $270 through my insurance. They claimed I was confused as 190 was total after insurance. I've contacted other dentists/health professionals for quotes & noone has ever quoted me after insurance. Noone knows how much benefit you have except YOU for obvious&privacy reasons! This practice had not done dental cleaning for me prior, nor had access to my benefits at the time they gave the quote nor knew/asked if I still even have my insurance! The email specified an amount & examination (if you've supposedly gone to the effort of calculating all that, it doesn't add up that you won't tell me about it). Refuses to clarify questions surrounding it. I've sent emails asking questions, is dismissive &ignores most concerns. Proves to me they don't care about you. All other dentists I contacted quoted me under or near $190, the only dentist who quoted me higher was $250 & included xray. I was shocked to see 270 on my insurance on the day compared to the 190 quote. They claimed they were actually giving me a discount due to the minimal amount of work my teeth needed. I calculated the discount & a mere total of $3.64 was noted going by their claims! Where does this fit & how is it calculated? is it significant on any level on a total of 270? EVEN IF it was my confusion, they've not replied apologising for the confusion THEY created. I even have no idea who I'm talking to via emails as there is no signature& at times, no greeting/acknowledgement for my discomfort RE the situation. I've asked twice in writing for all receipts to check for any other discrepancy, they refuse to send them/even acknowledge the request. I contacted my insurer. They wrote the following RE any checks prior to my appointment: "But there is no record of a cover check amounting to $190. Only if they ran the quote through their HICAPS terminal, which they did not." All these facts have lead me to gather that the $270 charged was arbitrary. I've never met a more unprofessional dentist. I don't trust her on any level, with anything/under any circumstance. Has taught me a lesson to not always trust reviews online no matter how many of them there are. My review is my well-informed, honest opinion & supported by evidence in the form of emails, the crown in my mouth, as well as common knowledge gained from others including my insurer, other dentists & other peoples' understanding of quotes, including lay people & dentists. All which I have looked into as I wanted this review to be as accurate as possible. I gave her several opportunities to rectify issues, outright refused by being dismissive & careless about concerns raised by their patient. Being the reason I wanted to leave a review. I find this concerning & don't want others to receive this type of care. I actually gave this dentist a 2nd chance, albeit reluctantly, I tried to let it go because who wants to go through the trouble & pain of crown replacement. so I bit my tongue. I've changed my view on 2nd chances. Unfortunately I had to get the cleaning done by year end & others couldnt book in time. I've decided to book my nxt cleaning months in advance so I don't have to resort to just going anywhere."

"A unique dental experience with such kind and friendly staff and a beautiful environment. I have sensitive teeth and the Dr was very gentle with me. I had a painless and fast filling as well. Very happy with the service and experience."

"I cannot thank Dr Saloni enough I almost went to her in a fire fighting situation and being someone who has never had a root canal before I was so stressed but she made me feel at ease in no time . Also she is very kind and very good at what she does and hence can completely trust her . Very professional and great team !"

"It had been over a year since my last visit to the dentist and was nervous coming in for a checkup and clean (probably because I haven’t been flossing). The checkup was really thorough and Dr Saloni made me feel at ease. Usually you get a talking down from a dentist for not doing this or that, but Dr Saloni was kind and empathetic. And told me some useful and practical strategies that have helped my teeth in better shape (and colour!)"