Apex Dental
According to our open methodology, this clinic scored 58.3/100 for transparency, reputation, service accessibility, and digital visibility.
Overall rank: #18 of 21 ranked clinics · Last checked: 24 September 2026
58.3/100
Positions by Rating Profile
- Overall Transparency & Trust#1858.3/100
- Best for Expats#1655.5/100
- Best for Dental Implantsnot ranked
- Best for Emergency Dental Care#1759/100
- Best Price Transparency#2139/100
- Best English-speaking Clinics#1958.8/100
- Best for Families / Children#1460.5/100
- Sleep Dentistry (GA / deep sedation)not ranked
General Anaesthesia & Deep Sedation
Whether the clinic documents treatment under general anaesthesia or deep / twilight sedation — "sleep dentistry", where the patient is asleep and unaware (does not feel, see, or hear the procedure). Ordinary conscious sedation, where the patient stays awake and responsive, does not count here. This is informational and does not affect the transparency score.
- ? General anaesthesia / deep sedation (sleep dentistry) — Not verified
Summary
Auckland CBD practice (Lister Building, Victoria Street East) led by principal dentist Dr Lili Mechkova, a double Medicine/Dentistry graduate of Novosibirsk State University with 20+ years of experience; publishes daily emergency appointments and a Studylink/student-finance payment option.
Strengths
- Information Transparency: 18 of 20 points.
- No red flags identified in public sources.
Weaknesses
- Price Transparency: 0 of 15 verifiable points (missing: prices or price ranges published; cleaning price listed; filling price listed; crown price listed; implant price listed; consultation price listed; x-ray / imaging price listed)
Score Breakdown
Every criterion below is scored from public sources. ✓ verified yes · ✗ verified no / not found · ◐ partial · ? unverified (scores 0, not a negative finding).
Information Transparency
18 / 20
Whether basic facts about the clinic - its team, premises, services, and location - are publicly verifiable.
| ✓ | Has a working website [s1] | 4/4 |
| ✓ | Dentist names listed About Us page names principal dentist Dr. Lili Mechkova. [s2] | 3/3 |
| ✓ | Dentist specializations listed “Double major in Medicine and Dentistry with honors from Novosibirsk State University”; “20 years of clinical experience in cosmetic, biological, and general dentistry”. [s2] | 2/2 |
| ✗ | Real clinic photos The website illustrates itself with stock photography — a generic studio “patient in the chair” hero, stock treatment icons and unfilled before/after placeholders. No photograph of the Victoria Street East premises and no photograph of a named team member is published on the site. [s1] | 0/2 |
| ✓ | Service list published Nav: services, emergency dentist Auckland, cosmetic dentistry, Studylink dentist Auckland. [s1] | 3/3 |
| ✓ | Clear contact details [s1] [gmp1] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | English website version [s1] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Address and map published [s1] [gmp1] | 2/2 |
Price Transparency
0 / 15
Whether patients can estimate costs before visiting. Published price ranges count; exact prices are not required.
| ✗ | Prices or price ranges published Checked: homepage, Services and “Our Offer” pages advertise affordability and free WINZ/StudyLink quotes but publish no fee or range for any treatment. [s1] [s4] | 0/3 |
| ✗ | Cleaning price listed No standing cleaning price; only a promotional new-patient bundle [apex-dental-auckland-cbd-deepen] | 0/2 |
| ✗ | Filling price listed No filling price found on any checked page [apex-dental-auckland-cbd-deepen-2] | 0/2 |
| ✗ | Crown price listed Ceramic Crowns page has no price figure [apex-dental-auckland-cbd-deepen-3] | 0/2 |
| ✗ | Implant price listed The clinic does not offer implants (see infrastructure.offersImplantology) [apex-dental-auckland-cbd-deepen-2] | 0/2 |
| ✗ | Consultation price listed Only a promotional check-up bundle prices an exam, not a standing consultation fee [apex-dental-auckland-cbd-deepen] | 0/2 |
| ✗ | X-ray / imaging price listed X-rays only priced inside the same promotional bundle [apex-dental-auckland-cbd-deepen-5] | 0/2 |
Reputation & Reviews
12.5 / 20
Public review signals. The Google rating is adjusted with a Bayesian prior (rating 4.0, weight 25) so a 5.0 from a handful of reviews does not outrank a 4.8 from hundreds.
| ◐ | Google rating (Bayesian-adjusted) Google place page read in a browser on 2026-09-10: 4.2 across 96 reviews; star histogram 1★ 16 / 2★ 3 / 3★ 2 / 4★ 1 / 5★ 74 = 96, whose weighted mean is 4.19. (The automated record used in the earlier passes returned only the rating for this listing.) [gmp1] [gmp2] | 3/6 |
| ◐ | Google review volume 96 reviews, counted on the clinic’s own Google place record. The compact Maps response had returned the rating without any review count, which is why this was recorded as unknown until the place record itself was opened. [gmp2] | 1.5/3 |
| ✓ | Review recency The newest star-rated review rendered on the clinic’s Google place page on 2026-09-10 is two months old; the eight reviews shown span two to eight months. Owner replies and Google Business Posts were excluded from the count. [gmp2] | 3/3 |
| ✓ | Clinic responds to reviews Read on the clinic's own Google listing on 2026-09-11: the practice has answered 5 of the 5 reviews shown there (96 published in total), most recently on 2026-07-14. One reply reads: "Thank you for sharing your experience, Christina! We know how stressful visiting the dentist can be after childhood dental trauma. Dr. Lily always...". [gmp2] [gm-replies] | 2/2 |
| ✗ | No recurring complaints Two readable low reviews describe the same pattern: a discount voucher (Groupon/GrabOne) followed by a poor experience or unexpected upsell [gm-replies] | 0/2 |
| ✓ | No suspicious review patterns No manipulation signals found [apex-dental-auckland-cbd-deepen-8] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Active Facebook presence The practice keeps its own Facebook page (“Apex Dental — Apex Dentist Auckland City…”), identified by the same APEXdental logo as the website and by the contact details it publishes: phone +64 9 379 0149 and info@apexdental.co.nz, both matching the clinic’s own site. It is small (70 followers) and carries no recent posts. The page was found by a Facebook page search in a browser on 2026-09-10; the personal page of the principal dentist is separate. [s7] | 1/1 |
| ✗ | TripAdvisor presence No TripAdvisor listing found; site and GBP do not link one [apex-dental-auckland-cbd-deepen-4] [s1] | 0/0.5 |
| ✗ | Other review platforms No profile found on WhatClinic, Dental Departures, Bookimed or Trustpilot (checked 2026-10-01). [apex-dental-auckland-cbd-deepen-13] [apex-dental-auckland-cbd-deepen-12] [apex-dental-auckland-cbd-platforms] [apex-dental-auckland-cbd-platforms-2] [apex-dental-auckland-cbd-platforms-3] | 0/0.5 |
Medical Infrastructure
11 / 15
The range of publicly documented equipment and services. This measures documented availability, not clinical quality.
| ✓ | On-site X-ray Own site documents X-ray equipment [apex-dental-auckland-cbd-deepen-9] | 2/2 |
| ? | CBCT (3D imaging) | 0/2 |
| ✗ | Implantology Full site read; no implant treatment offered [apex-dental-auckland-cbd-deepen-10] | 0/2 |
| ✓ | Orthodontics Dedicated Fast Braces page: “With just one wire and treatment from 3 to 12 months”. [s6] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Oral surgery Dedicated Surgical Extractions page (wisdom teeth). [s5] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Pediatric dentistry Clinic documents free treatment for adolescents [apex-dental-auckland-cbd-deepen-11] | 1.5/1.5 |
| ✓ | Emergency care Dedicated emergency-dentist-auckland page: “we reserve dedicated daily emergency appointments”. [s3] | 1.5/1.5 |
| ✓ | Works with international patients Homepage: “Languages spoken at our dental practice are: English, Russian, French, Hindi” and “We treat both locals and visitors, with support for Southern Cross and other travel insurance claims”. [s1] | 2/2 |
Communication & Service
5 / 10
How easy it is to contact the clinic, get answers, and book - especially for international patients.
| ✗ | WhatsApp / LINE available Contact and booking pages fully read; phone, email and a contact form only [apex-dental-auckland-cbd-deepen-6] | 0/2 |
| ? | Response speed | 0/1.5 |
| ✓ | English spoken [s1] | 2.5/2.5 |
| ✓ | Pre-visit consultation possible Dedicated online booking page with a contact form [apex-dental-auckland-cbd-deepen-7] | 1.5/1.5 |
| ✓ | Clear service explanations Service pages explain what each procedure involves, not just its name [s5] | 1/1 |
| ✗ | Convenient opening hours Re-read on the clinic’s own homepage on 2026-09-11: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 9:30am–5:30pm, Friday 9:30am–2:30pm, and Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday published as “Open by appointments”, with a footnote that after-hours care is available by prior appointment for emergency and urgent needs. Cover that exists only by appointment is not a published regular opening, and the regular rows hold no evening and no weekend surgery. The clinic’s Google Business profile publishes no hours at all. [s1] [s2] [gmp2] | 0/1.5 |
AI & Search Visibility
6 / 10
Whether the clinic is discoverable when patients search - including via AI assistants. Checked with fixed queries: "best dentist New Zealand", "English speaking dentist New Zealand", "dental implants New Zealand", "emergency dentist New Zealand", "New Zealand dental clinic for expats".
| ✗ | Mentioned for: best dentist New Zealand [av1] | 0/1 |
| ✗ | Mentioned for: English speaking dentist New Zealand [av2] | 0/1 |
| ✗ | Mentioned for: dental implants New Zealand [av3] | 0/1 |
| ✓ | Mentioned for: emergency dentist New Zealand Ranked #2 (own domain, /emergency-dentist-auckland/) for “emergency dentist Auckland”. [av4] | 1/1 |
| ✗ | Mentioned for: New Zealand dental clinic for expats [av5] | 0/1 |
| ✓ | Structured data on website FAQPage JSON-LD schema found on the About Us page. [s2] | 1.5/1.5 |
| ✓ | Google indexing quality [av4] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Dedicated service pages [s1] | 1.5/1.5 |
Ranking leaders in AI answers
The queries above are this index's own check. The three leading clinics have also been measured in full: how often ChatGPT and Gemini name them when a patient asks them to recommend a dentist.
- #1Wellington Dentists50.4 of 100View report →
- #2Greenhithe Dental Boutique19.1 of 100View report →
- #2Christchurch Boutique Dental53.8 of 100View report →
Measured by Ansmeter, 8 October 2026 – 9 October 2026. Ansmeter is an affiliated service. Its figure is not part of this rating and does not affect positions — scores change only when public data changes.
Licensing & Credentials
Whether the clinic publishes its operating licence and the dentists working there together with their professional licence numbers. A verified “not published” is recorded as a red flag; data we have not checked yet is shown as unverified and carries no penalty.
Clinic operating licence: not checked against public sources yet — unverified, no penalty
Dentists & professional licences
| Dentist | Specialization | Licence No. |
|---|---|---|
| Dr. Lili Mechkova [reg0] | Cosmetic, biological and general dentistry | not verified |
Dentists are named; their licence numbers have not been checked against public sources yet — unverified, no penalty.
Red Flags
No red flags identified in the public sources we reviewed.
Data We Could Not Verify
- Medical Infrastructure: CBCT (3D imaging)
- Communication & Service: Response speed
Unverified items score 0 points but are not treated as negative findings. If you can document any of them, please send a correction.
Contact Information
| Website | https://apexdental.co.nz/ |
|---|---|
| Phone | +64 9 379 0149 |
| https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077324196698 | |
| Google Maps | Map listing |
| Address | Level 7/9 Victoria Street East, Auckland CBD, Auckland 1010, New Zealand |
Contact details are provided for identification only and may change; verify with the clinic directly.
Sources
| ID | Source | What it supports | Accessed |
|---|---|---|---|
| s1 | https://apexdental.co.nz/ | Site's own Facebook link is the only social-platform link across the 25 sitemap pages; no TripAdvisor link | 2026-09-24 |
| s2 | https://apexdental.co.nz/about-us/ | About Us page: principal dentist bio, FAQPage schema, Saturday hours | 2026-09-10 |
| s3 | https://apexdental.co.nz/emergency-dentist-auckland/ | Emergency dentistry page | 2026-09-10 |
| gmp1 | https://www.google.com/search?tbm=map&hl=en&gl=nz&q=Apex%20Dental%2… | Google Maps automated lookup: rating, geo, address, phone | 2026-09-10 |
| reg0 | https://dcnz.org.nz/practitioners | DCNZ statutory register (reCAPTCHA-gated) and HealthCERT scope (our registry research) | 2026-09-10 |
| av1 | search:best dentist Auckland New Zealand | (the five canonical city queries) | 2026-09-10 |
| av2 | search:English speaking dentist Auckland | (the five canonical city queries) | 2026-09-10 |
| av3 | search:dental implants Auckland | (the five canonical city queries) | 2026-09-10 |
| av4 | search:emergency dentist Auckland | (the five canonical city queries) | 2026-09-10 |
| av5 | search:Auckland dental clinic for expats | (the five canonical city queries) | 2026-09-10 |
| s4 | https://apexdental.co.nz/our-offer/ | Offers page (checked for a fee list — none published) | 2026-09-10 |
| s5 | https://apexdental.co.nz/surgical-extractions/ | "If you need a tooth extraction in Auckland CBD, we're here to help... Whether you're dealing with ongoing tooth pain, swelling, infection, a broken tooth, or an impacted wisdom tooth, we'll a[ssess...]" -- explains when and why the procedure is needed | 2026-09-24 |
| s6 | https://apexdental.co.nz/fast-braces/ | Fast Braces orthodontics service page | 2026-09-10 |
| gmp2 | https://www.google.com/maps?cid=14802504832134981126 | Google Maps place page read again automatically on 2026-09-10 (two-step /maps?cid= → /maps/preview/place): name, address, phone, rating, review count, star histogram, review dates and owner responses | 2026-09-10 |
| s7 | https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077324196698 | Clinic’s own Facebook page (logo, phone +64 9 379 0149, info@apexdental.co.nz) | 2026-09-10 |
| gm-replies | https://www.google.com/maps?cid=14802504832134981126&hl=en | 2023-02-21: "I purchased a voucher from Grab One for their services promising cleaning and polishing, which turned out to be a tota[l...]"; 2016-12-28: "I went in for a cleaning through a deal on groupon, and now I know why they have to resort to this to get customers" | 2026-09-24 |
| apex-dental-auckland-cbd-deepen | https://apexdental.co.nz/monthly-offers/ | Checked home, services, monthly-offers, our-offer and contact-us: no standing cleaning fee; only a time-limited "Full-mouth dental checkup and X-rays for $59" new-patient offer; none of the 25 sitemap pages (home, /services/, /our-offer/, /monthly-offers/, /book-an-appointment/, /ceramic-crowns/, /root-canals/, /winz-dental-quotes/, /contact-us/) gives a standing figure; the only amounts are the $59 new-patient/student offer and WINZ grant limits | 2026-09-24 |
| apex-dental-auckland-cbd-deepen-2 | https://apexdental.co.nz/services/ | Services page lists treatments (root canal, cosmetic dentistry, whitening, extractions, dentures) with no price figures; none of the 25 sitemap pages (home, /services/, /our-offer/, /monthly-offers/, /book-an-appointment/, /ceramic-crowns/, /root-canals/, /winz-dental-quotes/, /contact-us/) gives a standing figure; the only amounts are the $59 new-patient/student offer and WINZ grant limits | 2026-09-24 |
| apex-dental-auckland-cbd-deepen-3 | https://apexdental.co.nz/ceramic-crowns/ | Premium Ceramic Crowns page describes the service; no price or price range; none of the 25 sitemap pages (home, /services/, /our-offer/, /monthly-offers/, /book-an-appointment/, /ceramic-crowns/, /root-canals/, /winz-dental-quotes/, /contact-us/) gives a standing figure; the only amounts are the $59 new-patient/student offer and WINZ grant limits | 2026-09-24 |
| apex-dental-auckland-cbd-deepen-4 | https://www.tripadvisor.com/TypeAheadJson?action=API&query=Apex%20D… | TripAdvisor's own typeahead search for "Apex Dental Auckland" returns no dental match | 2026-09-24 |
| apex-dental-auckland-cbd-deepen-6 | https://apexdental.co.nz/contact-us/ | Contact page lists phone, email info@apexdental.co.nz and a contact form; no WhatsApp/LINE | 2026-09-24 |
| apex-dental-auckland-cbd-deepen-7 | https://apexdental.co.nz/book-an-appointment/ | "Easy Online & Same-Day Dental Bookings in Auckland CBD" -- dedicated booking page with a contact form for appointments including routine checkups and cosmetic consultations | 2026-09-24 |
| apex-dental-auckland-cbd-deepen-5 | https://apexdental.co.nz/monthly-offers/ | X-rays appear only as part of the $59 promotional checkup bundle, not as a standalone price; none of the 25 sitemap pages (home, /services/, /our-offer/, /monthly-offers/, /book-an-appointment/, /ceramic-crowns/, /root-canals/, /winz-dental-quotes/, /contact-us/) gives a standing figure; the only amounts are the $59 new-patient/student offer and WINZ grant limits | 2026-09-24 |
| apex-dental-auckland-cbd-deepen-8 | https://www.google.com/maps?cid=14802504832134981126&hl=en | 77% 5-star (not 100%) at base 96; review dates spread 2015-2026; accounts include an established Local Guide (140 reviews) | 2026-09-24 |
| apex-dental-auckland-cbd-deepen-9 | https://apexdental.co.nz/monthly-offers/ | "Full-mouth dental checkup and X-rays for $59" documents on-site X-ray capability | 2026-09-24 |
| apex-dental-auckland-cbd-deepen-10 | https://apexdental.co.nz/services/ | Services menu, /services/, /about-us/ and /our-offer/ read, plus all 25 sitemap pages: no implant treatment is offered; implants appear only as a generic use of crowns ("restoring single dental implants" on /ceramic-crowns/) and in emergency re-implantation of knocked-out teeth | 2026-09-24 |
| apex-dental-auckland-cbd-deepen-11 | https://apexdental.co.nz/services/ | "Free treatment for children 13-18 years old" | 2026-09-24 |
| apex-dental-auckland-cbd-deepen-12 | https://www.whatclinic.com/dentists/new-zealand/auckland | WhatClinic: its Auckland dentist listing (4 pages, 37 clinics shown), checked against its profile sitemaps (78 dentist profiles in New Zealand; the 30 not shown in its Auckland, Christchurch, Hamilton and Wellington listings opened one by one) and the profile addresses built from the clinic's name (not found), have no profile for Apex Dental and none at 9 Victoria Street East; a former profile address, auckland/apex-dental, now redirects to the Auckland listing (checked 2026-10-01) | 2026-10-01 |
| apex-dental-auckland-cbd-deepen-13 | https://apexdental.co.nz/ | The clinic's site links out only to Facebook, Twitter and Google Maps; no review-platform link. Its Google listing gives only this site. Read 2026-09-29. | 2026-09-29 |
| apex-dental-auckland-cbd-platforms | https://www.dentaldepartures.com/ | Dental Departures: its clinic search does not recognise New Zealand as a location and lists no clinic there (checked 2026-10-01) | 2026-10-01 |
| apex-dental-auckland-cbd-platforms-2 | https://bookimed.com/clinics/country=new-zealand/ | Bookimed: its New Zealand clinic page has been removed (HTTP 410), and none of the 2,127 clinic pages in its clinic sitemap carries this clinic's name (checked 2026-10-01) | 2026-10-01 |
| apex-dental-auckland-cbd-platforms-3 | https://www.trustpilot.com/review/apexdental.co.nz | Trustpilot: no company page for apexdental.co.nz (checked 2026-10-01) | 2026-10-01 |
Change History
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| 2026-09-29 | Checked whether the clinic is listed on other review platforms: it is absent from WhatClinic's Auckland dentist catalogue, has no TripAdvisor listing, and neither its site nor its Google listing links a review platform. |
| 2026-09-24 | Corrected: other review-platform presence re-assessed on 2026-09-24 -- a Healthpoint directory entry is not a review platform, and no WhatClinic profile was found in the city catalogue, so presence is left unverified. |
| 2026-09-24 | Re-read on 2026-09-24: the clinic's full website (services, surgical extractions, booking, monthly offers and contact pages) and its Google listing (newest, lowest and default review views), plus Healthpoint and TripAdvisor. Recorded: on-site X-ray equipment; free dental care for 13-18 year-olds; no implant treatment offered; an online booking page; procedures explained in plain language; no WhatsApp/LINE; a Healthpoint directory listing; no TripAdvisor listing. Two reviews describe the same pattern -- a discount voucher followed by a poor experience or unexpected upsell -- with no other signs of manipulated reviews. All five prices checked (cleaning, filling, crown, consultation, X-ray) are recorded as not published: the only figures found are inside a time-limited new-patient/student promotion, not standing prices. |
| 2026-09-11 | Rechecked whether this practice answers its Google reviews by reading the reviews on its own Google listing on 2026-09-11: confirmed, 5 of the 5 reviews read carry a dated reply from the practice, the newest dated 2026-07-14. |
| 2026-09-11 | Opening hours corrected: the weekend and Wednesday rows the clinic publishes say “Open by appointments”, and by-appointment cover is not counted as a published evening or weekend surgery; the regular published rows end at 5:30pm on weekdays. Its Google Business profile publishes no hours. |
| 2026-09-10 | Checked by hand in a browser: the Google place record that returned nothing to the automated route was opened in a browser (96 reviews, full histogram, review dates, owner responses); the clinic’s own Facebook page was found by page search; website imagery judged stock. |
| 2026-09-10 | The verification pass adversarial verification: every cited URL re-opened, clinic /about, /team, /fees, /services and /contact pages read, Google place record read again automatically (rating, review count, star histogram, review dates, owner responses), AI-visibility citations re-checked against the AI-visibility record and the listicles it ranks. |
| 2026-09-10 | Initial data collection: clinic website (home, about, emergency), automated Google Maps lookup, DCNZ/HealthCERT registry conclusion applied, AI-visibility record canonical queries. |
A question or a correction?
Have a question, a suggestion, or a correction to this page? Get in touch — we read every message. Verified data corrections are reviewed against sources and applied with a public change-history entry.