Dr. Naval did a really good job making an unpleasant dental procedure as positive as possible. Very good job Dr!

I can't recommend Dr. Naval highly enough. I recently had a difficult extraction and bone graft with her and will be returning for my dental implant. I live in Los Angeles and drive to Santa Barbara to see her (as does my entire family). She is an exceptional oral surgeon--meticulous, thoughtful, kind, and patient. She takes her time, never makes you feel rushed, and makes sure you understand exactly what's happening and why. I'm very nervous about dental procedures, but her calm approach and attention to detail got me through it. The quality of her work has been outstanding, and I am grateful to be in such capable hands. If you're looking for technical excellence with genuine care for patients, Dr. Naval is the absolute best! read more

The team is amazing! I have been a patient for over a year, and the service provided is always professional, available, and Francie is one of the best doctors I have ever worked with on complex surgeries. read more

Very professional and knowledgable, friendly and courteous. It's a pleasure to visit. The quality of work is superb.

The office staff is always pleasant and appointments are always on time. Dr. Naval is professional and always explains what she is doing. The office is attractive and bright. read more

More than just a dentist. Put yourself in the care of Dr. Navel and enjoy the benefits of healthy teeth and gums.

Dr Naval is professional, knowledgeable and very caring. I would recommend her to anyone for Periodontal work.

Updated 9/14/2023. I've given this a lot of thought since posting those posts below. I truly like Dr. Naval and her staff, but I have gotten too many mixed messages from Dr. Naval to stick with a 5-star review. On my first visit, she looked at the X rays and said she could amputate the root of a lower front tooth, make that tooth stay in place and deep clean upper and lower left teeth to remove infections. During my appointment, she cleaned upper and lower left very well, but indicated I'd need to do the right side as well. Each side costs $684, so not cheap. She also seemed surprised to see the splint my orthodontist had installed tying my bottom front teeth to lower canines. She said it didn't show on the X Rays, however, I think it's pretty visible. How does a piece of metal not show on an X Ray? Ultimately, she didn't think I needed to amputate the root of that tooth, so that's good news, but another change in plan, all leaving me somewhat unsettled. Could be it's just me. I wouldn't discourage anyone from seeing Dr. Naval. Updated 9/11/2023 after my first working visit below. Previous review was based on initial meeting with Dr. Naval. Initially, Dr. Naval said I only needed cleaning on the left side, top and bottom. After she completed the left side today, she scheduled a visit for the right side. Benefit of the doubt, perhaps she saw cause based on physical examination, vs X ray data. She also was supposed to do a root amputation of lower front tooth because she thought it was also infected. Again, that plan changed because she thought it wasn't so bad upon physical examination. She is very thorough and collects all data necessary to assess health of mouth. She did a lot of smoothing, scraping and deep cleaning. She kept me informed throughout our approximately two-hour procedure. Her assistant, Juan, was cool and very capable. He put up with my Spanish during an episodic bilingual exchange. When I started to write this second review, I was going to knock off a star or two because of the change in plan, paranoia about bait and switch, but I've convinced myself she earned the original 5 stars. She and Juan sometimes talked quietly about other than the job (a movie) but even that led to a pleasant atmosphere. Skilled and friendly human beings here. Pleased to make their acquaintance. One more thing. They took my blood pressure which was over 180/80. I've always tended to have high BP during such occasions, due to excitement and in this case riding my motorcycle there. When I'm relaxed at home it's seldom over 140/75 and I'm extremely healthy and fit for 80 years. Still, I've recently been using a lot of salt on my food, and I think I'll stop doing that because those numbers are slightly higher than usual for me. At home later BP was under 140-75 and it'll probably go lower as a wind down, but time to cut the salt. First Review: I had a 230PM appointment today for my first consultation. I arrived on time, but the door was locked, and nobody answered my knock or my cell call. I went to a private side door and knocked again. I was getting pretty annoyed and was about to leave when Dr. Naval opened the door. She had on a backpack and was about to leave. She invited me in. Her manner was engaging and professional. She looked at my recent X rays sent over by my dentist. I wasn't optimistic she could do anything based on conversations with my dentist. But, lo, she quickly deduced that she could remove the root of tooth 26 (lower front) and do a deep laser cleaning on top and bottom left. Importantly, these procedures will remove the ongoing, unnoticed, infection attacking gums, bones and teeth. My regular dentist hadn't picked up on that. No teeth would have to be removed. My existing splint on bottom 4 teeth will hold all in place. My dentist had laid out 3 scenarios all of which involved removing 4 bottom teeth. Dr. Naval said that wouldn't be necessary at all. I couldn't be more pleased with this good news. As everyone seems to say, Dr. Naval is very friendly and direct. A quick analysis and procedural layout which I will receive soon by e mail. The we go to work. She said her staff had been anxious to leave for the Labor Day weekend. Someone texted asking if I could come in earlier since they had a cancellation. A bit of a flub on staff leaving before I got there, but all made good by Dr. Naval. I definitely recommend anyone considering oral surgery to first check with a periodontist (I recommend Dr. Naval), to see if it's necessary. Seems clear to me some folks are more interested in upselling and making $$ than saving your teeth. Besides all this, how can you not like someone named Francie? read more

Dr. Naval is an angel. I was pretty terrified when I was told at 30 years old that I would need gum surgery and would probably have to graft some tissue from the roof of my mouth. I really didn't know what to expect or how much pain I would feel so I asked Dr. Naval a ton of questions when I went to my consultation and she was patient, kind and took the time to make me feel as comfortable as possible. Once I ended up getting the actual procedure done, I was shocked at how gentle she was, and how I literally didn't feel anything more than some light pressure here and there. I was very happy with the results, the way I was treated and the office staff was great. I would highly recommend this place and hope I get the chance to visit again. read more

I am so grateful that Dr. Naval worked with me on my PARTICULAR anesthesia needs despite how hard it made the already difficult task of my stubborn tooth! Her listening to me and believing me reassured me. She deserves a lot of credit for her patience. I didn't experience pain and I felt I was in very competent hands throughout the very long process. Thank you! It would have helped if the appointment had been scheduled 20 minutes prior to actual start time in order to have time to fill out the paperwork and ask questions without being so rushed. It added to the anxiety I was already feeling. read more

I feel lucky to have the best periodontal cleaning at Dr. Naval's office in Goleta. Jess, the hygienist, is always amazing and thorough. And today Dr. Naval devoted time to explaining what my options for further dental care are, and I left the office feeling well informed and confident. I highly recommend Dr. Naval's dental office! read more

Dr. Naval is a competent, caring, and overall wonderful periodontist. Her staff are also kind, helpful, and overall superb. I have a complicated periodontal issue which other dentists and periodontists have shied away from. Fortunately I was referred to Dr. Naval by my endodentist and she took the case which another prominent periodontist in the neighborhood refused. I am immune compromised so I understand the reluctance of some doctors and dentists to work with me but my doctors at the University of California, San Francisco medical center which is one of the top research centers in the country, said that my condition should not scare dentists and if I had problems getting good dental care, they would refer me to their dental specialists. I almost did that even though going to San Francisco would be difficult. Fortunately I met Dr. Naval and was both relieved and happy with her calm and confident competency. She is working on my periodontal issue and it is challenging but she is just an outstanding periodontist and I finally have hope that a situation I thought would require me to leave town to get excellent treatment will not be necessary. I am grateful to Dr. Naval and give her my highest recommendation. She is extremely skillful and also a person who clearly cares about her patients. read more

My visits to Dr. Naval's office have all been extremely positive. The office itself is clean, well maintained and aesthetically pleasing. The staff is welcoming, knowledgeable and very efficient. As a patient, however, the interaction with the doctor is of utmost importance. Dr. Naval's skill and experience are evident. She is professional and at the same time caring. These qualities allow me, the patient, to relax knowing I am in good hands! read more

Dr. Naval and her staff are truly outstanding! I recently received both a gum and bone graft. The initial visits were very informative, the procedure pain free, and the recovery results amazing. Dr. Naval's calm demeanor and friendly staff make you feel very comfortable and at ease throughout and during a procedure process that can be intimidating. Thank you Dr. Naval and staff for a positive and wonderful experience! read more

Dr. Naval is so awesome. The only thing I wish could be better is that she could take care of ALL my dental needs. She and her staff are THE BEST!!! read more

I have gone to Dr Naval for all my gum procedures and she is beyond amazing! She first removed extra gum tissue I had and then recommended crown lengthening to me, which was perfect since I was very self conscious about my small teeth. As a student, her and her staff worked with my school insurance to make sure everything was covered. She is great at making patients feel comfortable and was available after hours via cell phone when I had concerns. I am so happy with the results and think that it boosted my confidence exponentially. I am so grateful to Dr Naval. She does amazing work! read more

Dr Naval was awesome. She was quite cordial, informative, and patient. I would highly recommend her to anyone. I was nervous of having to have him surgery for two my lower teeth with also using tissue from pallet but I didn't feel a thing. It was a perfect procedure better than I ever expected. Her staff were nice, caring and patient as well. I highly recommend Dr Naval. read more

By far the best Dentists I've been to. She was very caring and gentle. Went to her for a teeth cleaning after another dentist tried to trick me into doing a deep cleaning that I didn't need. read more

I always felt really comfortable and confident while Francie was working. She has a lot of skill as well as a really calming presence. I've had some pretty bad experiences dealing with dentistry so to feel so comfortable and sure of a doctor was wonderful. read more

I cannot tell you how amazing and soothing Dr. Naval was. A traumatic event went so smooth. Her office staff is wonderful too. THANK YOU.

Francie Naval is a great doctor. Not only is she kind and caring, she did a great job diagnosing a medical problem for my daughter. After test resutls came in, she called us in evening to explain the results and gave us referral to a specialist while she was traveling in Atlanta. Not once did she complain. You can trust Dr. Naval. read more

Dr. Naval is such a caring and professionalism Oral surgeon you can find these days, I am so peaceful and comfortable every time sitting in her office operation chair, during the procedure and post surgical home care were so smooth as well. I am so grateful with her treatment even the 5 hours driving all the way from Bayarea is worth it. read more

Dr. Naval is great. They fit me in on short notice for a surgery and she made me feel really comfortable. She walked me through every step of the process so I knew exactly what was going on the whole time. read more