Aligne Orthodontics & Orthotropics: Stepanka Chae, DDS

Incredible team, from the office manager, Rachel to all the dental assistants. Dr Chae is the most compassionate Dr. we've seen. She has cared for my 2 sons incredibly well and the results we have experienced are amazing. I am very happy and grateful for Aligne and highly recommend any family to schedule a consultation.

My son was referred to Dr. Chae for ortho by our holistic dentist. Yes, it takes about $1000 to get started. This information was all given to me up front on day one. It costs money because Dr. Chae is a very busy woman and wants to work with individuals that are serious about her expertise and style of ortho. Every expert deserves to get paid for their knowledge and time. This initial investment includes the first consultation (60 min appt: measurements of the mouth, pictures of the mouth and full body, physical manipulations/tests to find any muscular or alignment issues, and detailed explanation of initial findings), second “records” appointment (60 minute appt: full imprints and x-rays, more pictures and measurements), and a third appointment where Dr. Chae presents all her findings and gives her suggestions for treatment (60 minute appt: “Case Report”) for the patient. These 3 appointments took over 3 hours of clinic time, and does not include all the time Dr. Chae puts into developing each Case Report. Dr. Chae goes above and beyond with her time, making it very clear that she is not in this “just for the money”. During the third appointment it became very clear just how knowledgeable Dr. Chae truly is. I observed her treading lightly when referring to her daughter’s case, however her references made sense and were actually very similar to what my son is presenting as issues. I was not offended by her talking about her daughter’s mouth. It is obviously where she learned much of what she uses today to help everyone else. I think it is unrealistic to expect an exact timeline to completion when dealing with a child as well as an adult. For sure, a child is much easier to manipulate their mouth and body because they are still growing and don’t have years and years of stuck and misaligned body parts. Asking Dr. Chae how long it will take to get the results you desire using her gentler technique is like asking a personal trainer to have an exact timeline for when you will reach your weight loss goals… both scenarios are very complex and depend on many factors. Especially as an adult it takes more effort and more willingness/openness to experiment if original plans of treatment do not work. If you have the expectation of a specific timeline, then you are best to go to a conventional ortho doctor. Only people who want to get to the root problems to why your teeth are crooked should consider working with Dr. Chae. FYI: These root problems go way beyond just the mouth. No, it is not mainstream what Dr. Chae does, and for people like me that is exactly what I look for when choosing a health professional. And yes, the pricing for her clinic is not typical either. But I do find it fair for her and fair for her patients. I will end up paying for whatever my child needs as we go along his journey, and not pay for a big lump sum up front that may or may not cover everything he will need. Instead of forcing a child’s mouth and teeth to go where she wants it to go, she knows how to work with their growth and development in order to give the proper space for the teeth to come in correctly on their own. Yes, this is probably a longer process, however it is definitely a gentler and more loving process for the human body. Heads up! Our mouths don’t stop growing until we are about 25 years old! So that makes me wonder why children are finished with their ortho at 12 years old? Their bodies are still growing! No wonder people often have to repeat ortho treatments as adults. Guiding the teeth gently into place naturally makes the most sense to a holistically minded human like myself. To top it all off, Dr. Chae is so loving, kind, gentle, very authentic, (not at all narcissistic) and downright hilarious! My shy children warmed up to her after just the first visit. We all look forward to our appointments with her. And her great hugs too! Please continue on your divinely guided path! You are loved by many and we greatly appreciate everything you are doing for our families! P.S. Rachel is absolutely wonderful and rad too!!!

Great office!

My short review: Dr with narcissistic tendencies, overpriced service, rude front desk and no clarity or accountability on the treatment results. Just a money milking business. My story: I lost about $3K here Appointments are set up in such way that they milk as much money out of you as they possibly can. $200 initial appointment. No information on treatment, just a general fill out form and a couple pictures taken, technically all you leave with is “yes, indeed we can work with you”. This appointment easily could be 10 minutes long and free. (Turns out other offices do it for free and completely online.) Dr chae likes to chat. She tries to appear personable. I wish she just gave me the answers on my case instead but she invited me for another appointment. $800 the actual comprehensive appointment where Dr does finally look into your case, take measurements, pictures and imprints and creates a protocol on your treatment. But what really concerning is that even with all that dr remains very non-committal to your results. You have no idea what results you will get starting this expensive and prolonged treatment or how long it will actually take. Dr chae tries to seem really sweet with her customers, but the way she treats her assistant says more. She didn’t shy away to be really impatient and rude with her struggling assistant to whom she said “this shouldn’t be taking you this long, and let me do it, you are the problem.” I mean this should have been enough for me to never come back but I was already $1,000 invested which is probably exactly what they count on. Bunch of talking about herself and her daughter. A lot of my questions left unanswered. I asked to at least see some results she has gotten before. She kindly showed me 1 case. $1700 I know it’s crazy to admit but I decided to move forward. We ordered appliances. And I was told that the follow up visits are $500 and will be every other month or so. My treatment was estimated to be 3-4 years. My teeth are not that bad… but I was rolling with it because she made it sound more holistic. $500 First appointment when I should have started my treatment. (+Another impatient incident with the stuff member.) We installed the appliances but I was told to come back in a couple of weeks to actually activate them and was told “it should take only 10 minutes”. I was okay with it even though I didn’t expect it but the reasoning was good - getting used to appliances before we apply the pressure — ok. To my surprise, coming back in 2 weeks for (what in my eyes was) the 10-minute continuation of the first appointment, the front desk lady, Rachel, notified me that those would be two different appointments costing me $500 each. I was reasonably confused and upset. I asked to see my contract on file so I can review where jt said that. But I was so upset I couldn’t comprehend a word so I gave it back and said it’s okay I’ll pay right now and look at it at home. I was ready to pay but Rachel just kept saying the same thing she already told me before again and again instead of checking me out. I interrupted her and said can I just pay? And no, of course Rachel didn’t have any decent customer service skills or emotional intelligence to see that a customer is confused and upset. She made it all passive aggressive and demonstratively made such faces that could be good for internet memes. She did not ask me whether I want to schedule another appointment. And even though I was not planning to come back anyway, it took them 3 months! to send an email asking whether I’m wearing the appliances and if everything is okay. LOL I was really trying to just trust a professional but Dr chae is hard to trust. I just knew if something will go wrong with our treatment (and the contract is pretty aggressive “can’t hold me liable and should keep me harmless” type) I will be alone with my problems. Dr chai and Rachel are just not the type of people that will take care of you when things go wrong to say the least. Save your teeth AND your money.

I’ve paidfor my consultation which was over $200. Bit I gave never been able to get in for treatment. They are constantly booked and now with covid they will only see existing patients. I understand restrictions but I basically paid for so something that is worthless. I found it strange to pay without having knowledge of the practice at all. The former receptionist/ office manager was confusing to work with as well, resulting in a missed appointment. I’m hoping they can get me in as I am having severe jaw problems.

Dr. Chae is my absolute go-to orthodontist! I work for a holistic dental office, and we refer our patients to Aligne all the time for their superior professionalism and the amazing work Dr. Chae does for our patients. Highly recommend to anyone to check out Aligne if they're looking for great orthodontic care.

Dr. Chae's refusal to accommodate a reasonable request has deeply concerned me. This morning her office canceled my appointment because Dr. Chae declined to wear an N95 mask, despite our request for her and her assistant to wear them during my visit. This request was made to protect both myself and my immunocompromised mother, a diabetic recovering from cancer treatment. We had initially been assured that this accommodation could be made, but they later reneged on this promise. Their reasoning for the cancellation was that they preferred I reschedule when I felt more comfortable, citing that other patients were not wearing masks. However, I repeatedly emphasized that I would be comfortable proceeding with the appointment as long as Dr. Chae and her assistant wore N95 masks instead of, presumably, their far less effective surgical FFP2/3 masks (honestly, I don't know if they mask at all). For reference, half of the healthcare providers I see are still voluntarily wearing N95s, and the remainder upgrade from leaky surgical FFP2/3's to N95s without hesitation. The entire staff at my new dentist's office wears an FFP3 surgical on TOP of an N95 because in his words, "I don't want to infect my patients, and I don't want them to infect me" It became apparent during the conversation that the decision to cancel the appointment was initiated by Dr. Chae herself. This shouldn’t matter but for readers swayed by credentials, I am a scientist with an interdisciplinary background (much like Dr. Chae), which has included advising Fortune 100 executives on public PR crises, and this call was a case study in how to accidentally (I’m being very forgiving here) gaslight patients. I was so stupefied in the moment that I attempted to convey the potential ADA legal consequences of their approach during the call, although litigation is definitely not my intention. In the best-case scenario, they believed they were acting in the patient's best interest by denying treatment. In the worst case, it could be an ideological disagreement regarding airborne transmission and mitigation and so on, even though the science is irrefutable there. However, it is likely that my simple request exposed an inconvenient truth: she just didn’t want to wear a well-fitted mask to protect a patient. Regardless, this incident reveals that this specialist has limitations in providing genuine health “care”, adhering to the values of the Hippocratic oath, and practicing the precautionary principle. It is disconcerting to hear a doctor's office effectively say, "We will not do the bare minimum necessary to protect you and your family." Equally concerning is that a research-oriented doctor appears to be unaware of the substantial and accessible evidence, both, empirical and anecdotal, concerning the unprecedented and ongoing escalation in transmissibility of diseases, immunodeficiency, chronic illness, excess mortality, and disability from viral persistence. This raises doubts about whether her practice is truly evidence-based, as I refer to the extensive scientific research and knowledge published in reputable journals from Lancet to Nature to Allergy/Clinical Immunology. Dr. Chae, if you come across this review, I am open to discussion and willing to delete it if this situation was a genuine misunderstanding. However, for a productive discussion, it is essential you catch up on the evidence, assuming that was the source of your disagreement—if the source was ideological, it’s perhaps best to just move on. Regardless of this experience, I believe you may excel in your field, and it is unfortunate that people cannot benefit from it equitably. A fundamental aspect of your profession involves caring for the genuine needs of your patients, being receptive to feedback, and having the courage to do what is right (especially when it backed easily by science), even when it may not be popular. Today's actions become tomorrow's history, and often what appears convenient in the present may seem very obviously wrong when viewed through the lens of the future.

What an amazing place. Everything is amazing from the results that i have to the interior of the place, so sad to see any bad reviews because the dental office is amazing and I have all my family members going to Dr Chae:)

All I can say is wow. I truly regret my first orthodontic treatment with another provider and wish I would’ve done it here with Dr. Stepanka Chae! I can’t express into words how welcoming and understanding the environment is and how they just don’t treat you like some money bag but like a human being. The whole experience was beautiful, we had a consultation for an hour addressing my concerns, she showed me her art, did some measurements of my inner molar width, feeling the asymmetries in my jaw and body, recommended someone who can help with trauma, anxiety, etc! Ive never had a dental office do what they did here I was just really happy to be there and not anxious at all unlike other visits with different providers. Towards the end she gave me a hug of such compassion and love that I wanted to cry right there. If you’re seeking an orthodontist, I highly recommend her. She’s truly a blessing.

Dr. Stephanka Chae cares SO much about her patients and it is so refreshing. Her knowledge/expertise is expansive and she is comprehensive and efficient in her approaches to care. I can't put to words how grateful I am to her but she has increased my quality of life.. I don't struggle with chronic jaw pain anymore and in the process of dealing with that, she also helped me identify that I had food allergies that were causing constant inflammation and pain.