Dr. Niki Fallah is a board-certified Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry. She completed her pediatric residency training from the University of California, San Francisco, as well as a Master of Science in Oral and Craniofacial Sciences. She obtained a DDS from the University of Southern California and a BA from the University of California at Berkeley.
Dr. Fallah is currently a part-time assistant clinical professor in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at the University of California, San Francisco. She was also a former instructor atthe University of the Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of dentistry. She is very passionate about teaching and feels incredibly privileged to be a part of two of the most prestigious universities in the country.
Her training has focused in treating patients from newborns to adolescents, both healthy and medically compromised. She is certified in oral conscious sedation and has extensive training in hospital dental surgery. Furthermore, she has many years of experience with pediatric orthodontics and treats many patients with Phase I, or interceptive orthodontics.
Outside the professional realm, Dr. Fallah enjoys a variety of activities, primarily those with a creative outlet. She is an advanced yoga student and a former ballet dancer and instructor. She was born and raised in the Peninsulaand loves calling the Bay Areahome with her daughters Maya, identical twins Ella and Emmyand husband, Dr. Amir Schricker, a cardiologist at Mills-Peninsula Hospital.
Dr. Joanna Meekay is a Northern California native, and grew up in a large Armenian household in Sacramento, California. She received her B.S. in Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior from U.C. Davis in 2013. After college, she attended dental school at University of the Pacific, where she was social chair for her class and dental fraternity, Delta Sigma Delta, attended dental mission trips, was a founding member of an advanced treatment planning study club, and a recipient of the Henry Sutro Clinical Excellence Award.
After earning her DDS in 2017, she completed a general practice residency at NYU Langone - Brooklyn. After spending one cold winter in New York City, she came running back to the bay area to complete her pediatric dental residency at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). During this time, she also obtained a M.S. in craniofacial sciences.
Joanna loves to take her mini poodle on walks in her neighborhood in San Francisco, catch up on podcasts, and play tennis. When she isn't trying new restaurants with friends in the city, you can find her playing hide-and-go seek with her 5 nieces and nephews! Joanna is excited to join the fabulous team at Mills-Peninsula Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics!
Dr. Sona Bekmezian was born in Armenia and moved to Southern California with her family when she was two years old. She grew up in the sunny San Fernando Valley and went on to complete her undergraduate studies in Biology at UCLA. She then moved to San Francisco to pursue her Doctorate of Dental Surgery at UCSF. Dr. Sona worked as a general dentist in San Francisco for two years before returning to UCSF for her orthodontic residency. She concurrently earned a Masters in Oral and Craniofacial Sciences, studying how to protect teeth from the cavities that occur around braces during orthodontic treatment.
Dr. Sona currently lives in San Francisco and works at various orthodontic practices around the Bay Area and is excited to join the Mills-Peninsula team! When she is not having fun working alongside Dr. Niki, Dr. Sona is also working towards starting an orthodontic clinic for children with craniofacial anomalies at Children's Hospital Oakland.
Dr. Philip Yen is a board certified dental anesthesiologist, completing his specialty training from The Ohio State University. He completed his DDS from the University of Southern California and bachelors degree in Physiology from UCLA. Dr. Yen graduated Summa Cum Laude and was elected membership to the national honor society Omicron Kappa Upsilon. Throughout his education, he has been involved in many research projects including anesthetic drug profiling, novel ophthalmic protein characterization, and DNA repair mechanisms. He serves on the board of directors for the American Dental Board of Anesthesiology.
Dr. Yen finds serving the pediatric and special needs population very rewarding, as these groups are often the ones who present with the greatest level of fear and apprehension. In addition to serving these patients, Dr. Yen travels to Nicaragua annually to provide anesthesia and aid in promoting health to those who have limited access to care.
As a bay area native, Dr. Yen spent much of his time in Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, and Santa Cruz, as well as supporting his San Jose Sharks. He enjoys doing any manner of outdoor activity, diving into books, being with family, and spending time in the kitchen crafting dinner parties for friends.
Reviews
Rating 4.1 out of 5 based on 12 reviews
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newest oldest highest lowestHakes Family
2 years ago
Friendly, efficient. Staff is so nice
Anna Dronova
2 years ago
I've been taking my kids here since 2019. Great service, great office, everyone is super professional and friendly.
Nicole Fantin
2 years ago
I'm not sure about the couple of negative reviews because both my kids have been coming here since they got their first teeth and this practice is amazing!!! First off the location is very convenient and parking is never an issue. It feels brand new and very colorful and inviting for kids of all ages. The staff is very friendly and puts both my kids at ease during the cleanings. It also helps that every chair has a TV monitor positioned above for the kids to relax and not squirm while they are getting their cleaning. While younger than 2.5, both my kids had lap and parent assisted cleanings and the staff was always comforting and quick to finish up. Would recommend them again and again!
Karla flores
2 years ago
really bad service atencion for the costumer service
Ajj Kaim
2 years ago
Super pleasant experience unlike most dentist places. The staff is super nice. The place is clean, friendly and the staff knows what they are doing. I will highly recommend them. Parking wasn't a pain, not sure if it was coz of lack of traffic during pandemic but it worked out well.
Karla flores
3 years ago
really bad service atencion for the costumer service
Ajj Kaim
3 years ago
Super pleasant experience unlike most dentist places. The staff is super nice. The place is clean, friendly and the staff knows what they are doing. I will highly recommend them. Parking wasn't a pain, not sure if it was coz of lack of traffic during pandemic but it worked out well.
Irina Chubarova
3 years ago
The place is clean and they have cool iPads in the waiting room for kids to play with. It was rather disappointing that hygienist that was performing the cleaning for my 2-year old didn't bother talking to him and making him comfortable. It was my child't first appointment, so he was terrified. She asked me to hold him down for the cleaning and overall seemed to be annoyed that my toddler is kicking and screaming. Well, with a 2-year old it's important to make the first connection and gain his trust, if he's already scared and trying to find his way out by all means, nothing will help. I was hoping that dental office that specializes on kids dentistry would know this better than me, but they don't. Doctor was nice and helpful with suggestions. It would probably be a good place for older kids, but was a traumatizing experience for a toddler.
Irina Chubarova
4 years ago
The place is clean and they have cool iPads in the waiting room for kids to play with. It was rather disappointing that hygienist that was performing the cleaning for my 2-year old didn't bother talking to him and making him comfortable. It was my child't first appointment, so he was terrified. She asked me to hold him down for the cleaning and overall seemed to be annoyed that my toddler is kicking and screaming. Well, with a 2-year old it's important to make the first connection and gain his trust, if he's already scared and trying to find his way out by all means, nothing will help. I was hoping that dental office that specializes on kids dentistry would know this better than me, but they don't. Doctor was nice and helpful with suggestions. It would probably be a good place for older kids, but was a traumatizing experience for a toddler.
Llawliet Otero
4 years ago
Pretty good job, GOOD PRICE! and Professional assistant! all of them! congratulations, I am amazed with your excellent work!
Llawliet Otero
5 years ago
Pretty good job, GOOD PRICE! and Professional assistant! all of them! congratulations, I am amazed with your excellent work!
stay frosty
5 years ago
Parking is a pain and they want your credit card number and signed authorization to charge the card. I've never had a dentist use this business tactic. The office manager is deceptive.
Patrick Au-Yeung
5 years ago
So far the experience here has been great. Very nice facility, the staff is really friendly. Teeth cleaning is quick and thorough.
stay frosty
6 years ago
Parking is a pain and they want your credit card number and signed authorization to charge the card. I've never had a dentist use this business tactic. The office manager is deceptive.
Patrick Au-Yeung
6 years ago
So far the experience here has been great. Very nice facility, the staff is really friendly. Teeth cleaning is quick and thorough.
Christina Geheran
6 years ago
I took my two girls (5 and 3) to see Dr. Niki this morning. My 3-year old was a little scared, but Dr. Niki made her feel so at ease that sat in the chair and ended up being a great patient. Dr. Niki has a wonderful bedside manner. She's ...
Christina Geheran
7 years ago
I took my two girls (5 and 3) to see Dr. Niki this morning. My 3-year old was a little scared, but Dr. Niki made her feel so at ease that sat in the chair and ended up being a great patient. Dr. Niki has a wonderful bedside manner. She's caring, friendly and relatable, and both my children and I felt comfortable with her. The whole staff, from the front desk to the dental hygienists, was friendly, considerate and accommodating. (They called an hour ahead to tell me about the covered parking lot since it was raining.) The office is tastefully bright and animated, but not overbearing. The cute furniture, from the cushioned leaf tables to the mushroom stools, made my kids feel like they were at a FUN playground, not a "scary" doctor's office. I highly recommend this practice. Saturday appointments are a plus!
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