We asked if this establishment was in contract with our insurance company. They told us yes they were. We found out later they were not. They lied to us about this establishment being in contract with our insurance company. read more

Great dentist! I went in for a crown with some apprehension. I have not had good dental experiences in my past. Always have trouble getting enough anesthetic and getting numb. Dr. Shapiro gave me a shot with very little discomfort. Then he whittled down my tooth for the crown with NO PAIN! All with just 1 shot! YAY! This guy gets an A+ in my book. Don't let other reviews that trash the front office get in your way -- the actual dentist is experienced and very very good! read more

Went here a few days ago Melissa was very pleasant to be greeted right away was awesome. She made me feel Very comfortable as I was already nervous. Dr. Shapiro was also very comforting answered any questions I had. A very clean office and dental area I would recommend this place anyone. It was a great experience for a dental office. read more

I have been going to Dr. Shapiro for my dental care for a number of years now, and I am completely satisfied with the thorough, professional, and understanding care that I have received. Both Dr. Shapiro and the pleasant staff at Pacific Dental Excellence have made my regular visits comfortable and stress free. And, in the process, I have received quite an education - one time, as Dr. Shapiro was taking care of an abscess in one of my upper teeth, he enlightened me about the 'Triangle of Death' that we all have in our face... who knew? https://tinyurl.com/2p93vs8v read more

Went to Dr. Shapiro for a cleaning only. Had to use a cash pay since I don't have dental insurance. The cost was totally affordable and they took me right away! I went a 2nd time for a cavity and my experience was great. No pain, barely felt a thing. The staff was great and caring. Would definitely recommend their office. I am so glad I found them and they are local here in Nipomo. read more

10/10! Dr. Shapiro, Evan and his two assistants are amazing. I was in and out of his office for 1 year every 3 weeks for my braces and also had fillings done prior to my orthodontic treatment. He was always so patient and attentive. He is also very knowledgeable! I found out we would be moving overseas in less than 4 months and he was able to get everything right before I left California. I now have a gorgeous smile and could not thank him enough! See picture for transformation! read more

Pacific Dental Excellence - Before and after! - General Dentistry Near Me - Nipomo, California

The worst office! Do yourself a favor and find some one else. I haven't been to this office in over 4 years, and now I'm getting a bill for over 700.00. You could've called me four years ago to settle this. Instead you let the late fees pile up, then decide to mail me a bill statement after four years. Oh yeah you owe me 700.00 for service four years ago insurance did not cover. Some bullshit. read more

I really enjoyed my visit at Pacific Dental. Melissa in the front was very polite and helpful it was very refreshing to find such an amazing office with happy people. Dr went over everything before it was done such peace of mind it was such a great experience overall read more

This is the worst dental experience I have ever had and I'm 74. Beware of unethical practice. I was told that I need 4 fillings replaced to the tune of $1050.00. I was skeptical so I'm seeking a second opinion. They are making it difficult and costly to have the digital x-rays sent. I already paid $175.00 for these x-rays. Now they want another $50.00. I was told by the new dental office that they can email them. Dr. Shapiro's office says they are not able to do that. It makes me wonder if the x-rays are even digital in the first place. I have recently moved to the area and saw my previous dentist 4 times a year for teeth cleaning. In the three years that I lived in Westlake Village I never had one issue and they always complimented me on my teeth. Dr. Shapiro and his hygienist didn't say one positive thing about my teeth. It really makes me suspicious. read more

100% Recommend! After years of avoiding the dentist I finally found a office where I feel comfortable getting my dental work done. Going to the dentist has always been like going to confessional to me, but Dr.Shapiro and his staff have a way of making me feel worry free and unashamed. I highly recommend this office! read more

The first few times going to Pacific Dental Excellence it seemed welcoming and that Dr. Shapiro was going to fix all my family's teeth. However that is quite opposite of what it ended up being. Today I have had to replace ALL fillings, caps, and even had to get TWO teeth pulled because of Dr. Shapiro. He failed to seal both of my root canals and they got very infected and the teeth completely crumbled in my mouth. It was absolutely awful. I have been to many dentists to get second or third opinions and EVERY dentist has asked me "Who has done this to your mouth?". If that doesn't say anything, then I'm not sure what will. He has caused lots of pain to not only my mouth and wallet, but also to my mother where he took out most of her top teeth and bone and never put bone or replacement teeth back. She was in so much pain for many years because she believed that Dr. Shapiro was really trying to help. I had her get a second opinion and they fixed her mouth and caving in face within a couple months. Needless to say, I will NEVER come back to this place. But one thing to note, aside from Dr. Shapiro, his daughter who works there and the assistants are all very nice and welcoming. read more

I had an infected wisdom tooth. I called and made an appointment. They got me right in and surgically removed the tooth. Pain free fast and affordable. Was hands down the most pleasant dental appointment I have ever had. Would recommend them to everyone. read more

The worst experience I have EVER had with any "professional". BEWARE I needed 2 crowns placed. When I came in for my appointment I had a full mouth x-ray done, they must have just gotten a new machine in because neither of the Drs knew how to work it. Dr. Shapiro said that he believed I had an abscess in the back of my maxilla, and that the tooth would need to be pulled to get to it. Before we started I told him I have a high tolerance for Novocain, that it usually takes a lot. He of course didn't believe me and had to stick me over 7 times. He was also a little rude to his staff, and it made me a little uncomfortable. He drilled into the bone for about 10 minutes looking for this "abscess" and determined that it was too high up to get to and he slipped in more than a few curse words while I was in. He also is an acupuncturist and, of course recommend that acupuncture would help, so I agreed. He didn't know what to charge and since I had never had it done before I didn't know what was customary, his daughter (who is also his secretary) didn't know what to charge me and told him that he would have to do that himself. So he charged me $125, on top of pulling my tooth and the time he took looking for an abscess that was never found. I had to come in for another appointment to get a different crown placed which took 3 hours. I expected some pain along with the crown, but thought it would go away after a few months. I am a nursing student so I don't have a lot of time for appointments. After 5 months I was still in pain, but my husband (who is active duty military) was in texas and I went to visit him after school got out. When I got back to the coast, I moved to Paso Robles. Needless to say a lot of time went by before I had a chance to have someone look at my teeth again. I made an appointment with a new dentist in North County in October to have him look at my teeth, he was booked until November and when he saw me they did an x-ray and noticed that the crown that Dr Shapiro had placed was not seeded correctly and there was a big gap between my tooth and the crown. I could see it for myself on the x-ray. My new dentist recommended that I call Dr Shapiro and have him either fix it or reimburse me. I called Dr Shapiro's office asking for a free consultation to have them look at my crown. They said they don't do that , so I went anyway. They took more x-rays of my tooth and the x-ray looked exactly the way it did in my new dentists office. I waited to see what he would say and he said that I had inflammation in my tooth but the crown looked fine. He wanted to do a root canal in the tooth with the crown. I said no and went back to my new dentist. Who called Dr Shapiro telling him what he found on the x-ray and recommended that Dr Shapiro reimburse me. I had the new Dentist send over my x-rays for Dr Shapiro to compare and after over a month and a half he finally sent me a certified letter saying that he was not going to reimburse me because it had been a year since my crown was placed and I didn't follow up with him sooner. I would NEVER recommend this dentist to anyone, in fact I would warn them away. read more

Yes. You are correct. I got an evaluation by your dentist but he recommended a $900 treatment plan ( riser) that seemed unreasonable. He also told me my front teeth would eventually fall out. Really? Not cool. I went to another mercury free dentist in Morro Bay who found NOTHING to fix. read more

I 60+ years old and have always taken care of my teeth. However, an accident, bad genes and a sugar habit resulted in my becoming experienced with root canals, fillings, crowns and implants. I just moved to Nipomo and called Dr. Shapiro's office Pacific Dental Excellence in Nipomo to have him asses a tooth that had cold sensitivity when I ate ice cream. The place was empty, which was nice, but no patients called are came in during the hour I was there. Shapiro looked at my x-rays and said he couldn't see the tooth through the crown on the tooth. He picked up a drill and started drilling on my upper molar. I thought he was trying to remove the crown to look at the tooth. He drilled on my tooth for about 30 minutes, changing drills three times. He stopped drilling three times and left me waiting as he searched for different sized drills. He actually drilled through the center of my molar, through the bottom of the tooth into the root. He then put a temp filling in and told me I could come back in 8 days for a root canal or be referred to an oral surgeon for an implant and extraction. I choose the root canal. They gave me an estimate for the root canal $3625. and told me if I paid it in full then, I could save 5%. The tooth hurt more than when I came in when he was finished. They told me it should settle down in a day or two. Temp filling fell out that night and pain got worse, so I called the office back and asked them if I could come back in. They said no, I should just take OC pain meds and wait. I ended up driving 160 miles to my old dentist in Fresno. He told me the tooth was beyond repair, cracked and and a huge crater. My only options were to have it pulled and get an implant if I wanted. I could have gotten a serious infection with that huge hole that exposed my root Shapiro left me with. Dr. Shapiro tried to get me to pay for the future root canal the day of that first visit. I am so glad I listened to my intuition. My husband read his reviews on Yelp, several describe how he tried to con them out of their money for procedures they didn't need. He tried to pull the same scam on me, diagnosing a root canal when that was impossible due to the cracks he put in my tooth when he drilled. I had to go to an oral surgeon to have the tooth extracted, it came out in three separate pieces. What a nightmare. Avoid this dentist at all costs. read more

I was referred to Dr. Shapiro for a very difficult case of TMJ. I was unsure what type of treatment I needed and nervous about my inability to eat anything. Dr. Shapiro explained exactly what was going on and we developed a detailed treatment plan. His entire office staff worked with me through billing and setting multiple appointment. The care and treatment I received were first rate. read more

In one visit, I knew more about my teeth problem/situation than years with previous dentists. He took the time to explain & educate me on it. There are extremely few other dentists on the central coast with his perspective. read more

New in town and needing to have my dentures relined. Pacific dental did a consult which helped me decide to use them. All is well and I'm comfortable with my adjusted dentures. I would use them again. read more

I came to this Dentist office at the beginning of the year because I made a new years resolution that I was going to stop being a chicken and start going to the dentist to start fixing my teeth. I had bad experiences as a kid and wouldn't go to the dentist until I couldn't handle the pain anymore. So I got the nerve to go in February. I have been very pleased with the Dr. I have been a handful of times and every time I haven't felt any pain. He is very nice and knowledgeable. I just went today because I had a tooth ache and he got me right in and relieved my pain.:) read more

Another great visit. And let me tell you something, I personally asked his staff about the remarks in other comments, before I finished my question they were defending him!@ They didn't like the idea that someone trashed their Dr. Dr Ed is a real treasure, his Texas style is a refreshing tone to me! No nonsense, tells it like it is and has my respect for doing do! Sure you can go to someone who will let you sense the ginger and then let your teeth rot out. If your want your teeth fixed go here, if you want a spiritual moment, go elsewhere! read more

Pacific Dental Excellence is my forever dentist. Everyone in his office really cared about me and wanted to help me with my many dental issues. They were able to get me in for an appointment right away, which helped ease my anxiety about dentists. Kaity the front office girl was great at explaining how they handle patients during this covid-19 pandemic. She explained that I would be the only patient in the waiting room and exam room, as they want to make sure that my health is not compromised with others in the office at the same time. She also explained how Dr. Shapiro put in a new air system that takes all air and toxins out of the room and straight out the roof. When I was in the room I could see how important health and safety really are to Dr. Shapiro and his staff as they took every step to be safe. Vinny and Robert the assistants were so warm and inviting, they really care about making patients feel at ease and that all their issues are addressed. Dr. Shapiro was great at explaining ALL options of treatment with me and never made me feel like I was pressured into treatment that I was not comfortable with. I also love how they have a text message system that reminded of my appointments and also allowed me to leave a message after hours. The staff got back to me with an answer even after hours, which was awesome. Can not wait to go back for my cleaning. read more

Wow - obviously I have hit a nerve with you, Dr. Shapiro. The truth is sometimes difficult to accept, is it not? I certainly do not mind this little volley back and forth because it is only helping me achieve my original goal - which was to warn people of your incompetence. I have said nothing but the truth. I will once again state - I am not doing this out of anger. Had I not happened upon your Yelp review page happenstance while searching for a local Podiatrist (oh horrors - I need orthotics - yet another of my horrible maladies), I wouldn't have even remembered your name. It was only when I saw your incredibly snarky responses to honest people who have had very similar experiences with you as I had, did I even think about writing a review. Honestly - most businesses, when faced with such damning reviews would actually try to make amends - to apologize for a service that did not turn out as planned - offer to rectify the problem. What I saw from you was an attempt to discredit and even libel these people, as you have done with me. Since you seem a little confused from my last post, I shall play along with you. You asked me to clear up whether or not I have TMJ. Honestly - I think I was very clear in my last post, that yes - this is why I was referred to you. Not by my family Dentist (who is well known and respected in San Luis), but by an office I happened to call because they listed TMJ in their ad. According to the Specialist I went to in Atlanta prior to moving here, my TMJ most likely resulted from a severe car accident I was in - I was rear ended by 4 large SUV type vehicles after stopping my little Honda Civic for a dog, chased by his owner, who ran in the road in front of me. Severe whiplash, PT followed. Is that specific enough for you? I came to see you, because after a long period of comfort, the disc in the right side of my jaw slipped out of joint and created a frozen jaw. Are you clear on this? You seem to be fixated on anger issues, which makes me chuckle because you seem to be the one with anger issues. I have never had a jaw clenching problem, or tooth grinding problem - you can check my file for that. Delusional? Sorry sir, I think that might apply to you - but not me. Are you actually trying to deny that you diagnosed me as having rotten lower teeth? And gum disease? And the fact that you had to have my xrays repeated three times because you seemed confused by what they showed? Once again (maybe you can understand it this time) - I am not disputing your diagnosis of TMJ - that's why I came to you - remember? I am disputing your diagnosis of rotting teeth and gum disease. Again - as I asked in my last post - are you saying that you stick with that diagnosis? Because - I assure you it was completely unfounded- flat out wrong. Again - if I had gone ahead with your recommendations I would have had unnecessary work done - completely unnecessary work and could have lost several teeth in the process. Does that not speak for itself? So - you say you will not aid me in my delusions of perfect health. Again, you actually make me chuckle. I did not say I have perfect health - I said my teeth and gums were deemed as being in excellent shape by my family Dentist - after you were insistent that they were rotten. I did not neglect my dental health during the year I didn't see my dentist. I did not see him because I had bilateral knee replacement surgery, which required a long recovery. Good try, though. You can continue to try to paint me as an angry, delusional ranting nut case all you want. I have chosen not to accuse you of being a charlatan and deliberately misleading people into believing that they need unnecessary procedures that they do not need - like you did to me. Instead, I choose to believe - and state - that I believe you to be merely incompetent. I stand by what I've said and I believe anyone that reads this is smart enough to make up their own minds. The balls in your court, sir. read more

This dentist is wonderful. (I see him every 2-3 weeks so I know what I'm talking about!) I've always been afraid of the dentist but Dr. Shapiro has made my "having braces" experience a walk in the park. I was told from a previous doctor that I would need three teeth pulled before getting my braces on and then I got a second opinion from Dr. Shapiro. He set me up with a palatal expander for about two and a half months (pulled strings to get a removable one for my comfort) and after that managed to straighten my teeth in three months with only a few small imperfections to be fixed at the moment. With No teeth pulled. He always makes sure I am in no pain and has a wonderful staff. Not to mention a clean welcoming office. I could not be happier with my experience here.. I love coming to my appointments and every time I come in I see and hear nothing but happy patients. AND they have even worked out an affordable payment plan with me. read more

Great attitudes at this office. Dr Shapiro spent loads of time explaining his analysis of the condition of my teeth and what dental services I could use. Will definitely go back!! read more

Beware of this place!! I never take time to write reviews ever but I felt as though I needed to warn people about this place. First off Dr. Shapiro is such a jerk to all his staff which is so unprofessional. It made me so uncomfortable listening to the way he was yelling at his assistant right in front of me. Then he goes on to tell me I need $3000.00 of work done and I've been scammed by dentists in the past so of course this time I'm going to get a second opinion. For multiple reasons I decided I would never get any work done at this place and the only thing I had done that day was an exam and set of X-Rays taken. I went to another dentist in Santa Maria which went great and it turns out I didn't need $3000.00 of work done. Then 2 months later I get a huge bill from this dentist for all that work that he had quoted me on. What a joke!!! This guy should have his business taken away. I find it hard to believe that his office workers would be that bad at doing their job to charge someone that had no work done. So now I'm disputing through my insurance and going through this whole ordeal that should have never happened... I think this guy is a scam artist!!!! Wouldn't recommend him to anyone!!!!! Oh and I was a patient there not interested in ever coming back and having you make it right. Don't listen to his efforts to try and say he's under attack. These are real valid opinions and I'm just trying to warn people so they don't make the mistake I did. read more