yup, this guy is a shady crook! I tell everyone that will listen not to go to this guy. My story is the same as the other reviews, but worse! My husband and I went separately right before the end of the year and we got the same story... we needed crowns, then that he had to go deeper and we had to pay extra for a "pulp cap" which we had already signed a form saying was okay to do and not covered by insurance. Then when we each had pain, we were told we needed root canals! CROOK! We now go to Dr. Biles who is amazing and honest. The good news about this was that I was in so much pain during the holidays that I didn't over eat! read more

I went here because they accepted my insurance and it was close to home. For the most part routine cleanings were fine, except for the relentless overselling of the night guard. My last procedure was a really negative experience. Maybe saying my insurance was about to be gone was a mistake. I was told I needed several fillings and a (partial?) crown. Reasonable. Though a surprise, because I swear I remember them telling me before that the potential cavities were really small, and might not need to be filled. Whatever. I support preventative medicine, so I gave it all the green light. Insurance picked up some, but not much, and I spent well over $1000 in the end. What really left me upset was that up until these procedures I had no pain, no discomfort, and only the tiniest bit of sensitivity, but not where the crown was placed. After the crown, I had horrible shooting pain every time I tried to chew anything on that side. Dr Halbleib assured me his work looked excellent, and that we just needed to adjust the bite a little with some polishing. After 3 visits back after the the crown was done, more polishing (which was not comfortable!! I was not numb and I got hit with twinges of pain every time, thinking this was acceptable and normal) nothing got better, and I was told I might have root damage and needed to see an endodontist. Great! Well, I decided to just see a different dentist. He told me he suspected it was the material used for the crown, that it didn't bond properly, we could likely solve the issue by doing a new filling with different material. One visit, he figured out why I was suffering. One more visit he replaced Dr Halbleib's filling, and I am pain free. What a waste of my time and my money. I'm so frustrated, but super relieved to have found a better dentist. read more

Great people. Very clear on what could be done, should be done, and must be done. Procedures are done with the latest technology, and they have very fair pricing. read more

Ginee is the lead dental hygienist and is extremely patient, flexible, knowledgable, and gentle! I wouldn't have survived my appointment with anyone else. She is a total sweetheart and very passionate about her job. She will totally ease your mind and make you feel 100% comfortable. I hope you can all get a appointment. The entire staff (especially ginee who cleaned my teeth instead of taking a lunch break) is amazing and actually care about your health and wellbeing. I felt like more than just the next patient. read more

I went to Dr. Halbleib for maybe 8 years. I wish I would've read these reviews a long time ago because they would've supported my doubts about his practice. On my last visit, I had a new hygienist. Like many visits before, she was really heavy on the selling, but she was particularly over the top. Being a "captive audience" as a patient, she worked me like some vicious car salesman whom I couldn't get away from. Much worse than that, she did the least amount of actual cleaning than any dental visit I've ever had. She scraped away for about 15 seconds and then went back to hectoring me to have more dental work done. It was the lack of cleaning that made me move on to another dentist. I felt like I was ripped off. The last thing this office wants is to give you a good, quality cleaning and send you on your way. They want to shake you down for every penny they can get out of you. It's tough when you're a gullible patient that is depending on them for sound dental advice, read more

This guy is a fraud, & a crook, overpriced, and dishonest. Tried to do work out of my pocket for over $1000 which is covered and should be $80. staff does not return calls. Big rip off will be making formal complaint soon. read more

Agree with previous reviews. Went to this dentist because he was the only one this side of Hwy 17 that was with under our new insurance plan. He claimed my kids had many, many cavities and padded the purposal to make up his fee which would have cost us over $5,000.00 out of our pocket. Went back to our old dentist that verified they did not have the cavities, and WILL NOT go back EVER to Dr. Halbleib. Now we have to find new insurance. read more

I was in Aptos last weekend and I had a crown fall off and it was really sensitive. So I called around and Jesse Halbleib was the only Dentist that called me back. Personally. I went into his office(which is so beautiful and professional) and he put my crown back on in no time. He was so kind and professional. I do not live in Aptos, I just vacation there often, but he is my new dentist. He is worth the 2 hour drive. I find it very hard to believe that any one would have a bad experience with Dr. Halbleib and his staff. As I said, they were kind and so on top of my delema. He is top notch in my book. I have set my cleaning appointment with his office in July and I am sure it will be the some great experience. read more

Wow, I am so glad I read Yelp reviews. I was getting quoted 7,000 dollar work and when I went and paid out of pocket to my childhood dentist for a quick second opinion, I was told that I needed NONE of it urgently and some of it maybe never. Then, when I called the office to cancel my appointment and see if I had outstanding accounts, I was told I not only owed the 5 dollar copay (expected) but a 46 dollar consultation because the edontologist (??) had walked in for 5 minutes and checked hot/cold sensitivity on my molar. Unbelievable. I was told about none of these charges when I was actually at the office. I am certainly going to find out how I can complain in writing to appropriate authorities. read more

I am wishing I would have looked at the comments before I went to Dr. Halbleib. I came after years of not going to the dentist, knowing I had some cavities (first off that is how they get you, never say that you haven't been to a dentist a long time.) I went in to get the cavities looked at and he had me come back for a filling but "I guess" my cavity went into another tooth he drilled huge holes in two of my teeth and now I needed two root canals! Not to mention he said I needed 3 more root canals on the top teeth by just looking at my x rays, so we chose the two cheaper teeth and that was it. He drilled holes in my teeth and did a temporary fill until I could see the root canal specialist who comes. I paid over ($300 out of pocket and my insurance paid over $1000) just for the hole drilling and filling. Even with my insurance the root canals were going to be over $2,800 out of pocket with only a 3 or 4 month payment plan! I couldn't pay that! The finance lady even asked if I had family I could ask to help!! How rude, embarrassing and unprofessional!! I couldn't get it done right away and over 4 months I ended up getting 4 horrible infections for over a week each, missing work, stuck in bed, needing antibiotics and pain pills. I still couldn't afford the root canals so I looked around to other dentists and got a quote of 1/2 price and I'm not even using my insurance and the new dentist is accepting small payments! My new dentist re did my temp fillings and looked at my xrays from Dr. Halbleib and said that I didn't need 2 root canals, I may have never needed 1! Not to mention the 3 top teeth he was telling I needed root canals that I don't!! Also he drilled too far and that's why I kept getting infections!!!! Thank goodness I didn't get all of that work done for no reason and at that jacked up price! I used up most of my insurance for the year and spent over $300 for holes in my teeth and infections that have taken over my life. If I could give negative 5 starts I would. I don't know how Dr Halbleib sleeps at night. read more

Like many of the other reviewers of Dr. Halblieb, I too chose to come to his office because it was covered by my insurance. I have to admit I did not look on Yelp to see his rating, so I didn't go in with any preconseptions. I have had several routine cleanings and have recently had caps placed on my four front teeth, which were thining, chipped and ugly looking. My over all rating for Dr. Halbliebs office is mainly good but mixed. My experience with his office staff has been positive. They are friendly and helpful. His office is clean, organized and appears to operate effectively. As for routine cleanings, the Hygenist there is wonderful and my gums have never been more healthy. But, I have realistic expectations. Although its more expensive, I nearly always opt to have topical anesthesia because teeth scraping hurts - that's a given. I was always given the choice to get anesthesia or not. The caps came out great! I'm happy with their realistic appearance and feel the procedure was done right and with care. Dr. Halblieb and I were both on the same page, we wanted to make my smile look good and stay good. I appreciated the thought that went in to the long term care for my new and existing teeth. Now for my reasons for not giving Dr. Halblieb the full 5 stars. There does seem to be a lot of up-selling. My caps were around $6K; expensive, but what's not expensive in Santa Cruz? Again, I have realistic expectations. For example, I opt to get anesthesia. I don't like pain and dental work comes with pain - that's a reality. So I pay for my comfort. As for my caps, yes they were expensive, but in my career, I'm in front of people all day long and I would like to have a bright smile. I am willing to pay for that. Because it's expensive (unlike other reviewers) I appreciated having multiple consultations prior to the procedure. It gave me time to ask lots of questions about the procedure, the costs, and options. I felt I had the control to go as expensive or inexpensive as I wanted to at any time throughout the consultation process. In the end, I got exactly what Dr. Halblieb and I discussed and agreed to - no more, no less. I can see where some reviewers have had bad expereinces with the billing process at Dr. Halblieb's office. They do push to get as much reimbursement as possible for their work. For example, I was asked to give my credit card number so I could pay for my caps in full, in advance. That doesn't come across so good. But, then again, I was in control. I kindly let the office person know that I would pay on the day of and after the procedure; they didn't argue with that. Additionally, even though they wanted their payment in full, I still asked if they would accept an installment plan. They did. I was able to spread my charges over 3 months. So, they are not completely inflexible. But, again they're a business and they have to pay their bills too. I don't blame them for trying to get better reimbursement or more perform more procedures. They are all trying to make a living in a high cost-of-living area just like the rest of us. My family and I will continue to seek dental care at Dr. Halblieb's office. - Thank you. read more

I must praise my dentist Dr. Jesse Halbleib. I came to him yesterday in a lot of pain. I did not even think my tooth would be able to be saved. In fact I had resigned myself to the fact I was going to have to have it pulled. My tooth was the worst of the worst. I not only had a huge gaping hole in the middle, but also a large piece of my tooth missing. Dr. Halblieb not only got me in for an appointment quickly, but also fixed my tooth that day. And it did hurt. But Dr. Halblieb was very gentle and quick with what had to be done. And concerned and kind after. I know, and understand how expensive dental care is. But it is rare to find the compassion that Dr. Halbleib has. And I am glad to say he is my dentist. read more

I am no longer a patient of Dr. Halbleib. I never received poor dental care, but didn't like the way the practice was run, so found another dentist. Yes, like others, when I went in for my first visit, I got a list of $10,000 worth of dental work he recommended. Some of that work included filing down my crooked teeth - not recommending orthodontia or something to straighten them out, but just to file down the jutting out corners so that my tooth line would *look* straight (if you weren't looking closely, I guess). Yes, you can choose not to have it done. Always lots of up-selling. The last straw for me was when I went in for an appointment and the dentist was "running behind schedule" so they put in an infomercial DVD for some product and I had to sit and watch the whole thing (about 20-25 minutes?). I couldn't leave since I was already there in the chair. When the DVD was finished Dr. Halbleib, coincidentally, was finally available for our appointment. read more

WOW! i thought I was the only one. Had Blue Cross and he was the only dentist in SC. Initially impressed. He's very nice. but DONT GO THERE!!!! i just got finished paying another dentist to fix the second mistake Dr Halbleib made on my teeth. Expensive mistakes, especially since I was overcharged the first time around for what I was told were high quality materials that would last longest (gold. etc). And by the way, while I was in the process of switching to my new dentist, who I love, the office asst at the new place helped me decode my Halbleib billing statements, leading me to discover not only one but MULTIPLE DOUBLE CHARGES. In general, extraneous money for treatment that does not hold up for more than a few years. What a scam artist. Also, unprofessional, because when I went back to him on recommendation of my new dentist, to see if he would "guarantee his work" he was immaturely defensive and completely dismissive. What a scam artist (don't know if it's him or his staff). What an unprofessional doctor and business. I am sure to tell others not to go to him. He should be made to be responsible for his shady practices. read more