Can't say enough good things about this place. They're amazing and it was such a pleasant experience. Can't usually say that about dentist. They're thoughtful, efficient, and made the whole experience wonderful. They took the time to explain everything, to my disabled client and I. Their new office is beautiful, welcoming, clean and the staff is a pleasure to work with! Nicest dentist I've ever met. read more

San Marin Dental - Waiting room - General Dentistry Near Me - Novato, California

So grateful to have found San Marin Dental, this office truly sets the bar! From the moment you walk in, you're met with positive vibes and a friendly energy that instantly puts you at ease. The entire staff is incredibly warm, welcoming, and you can tell they genuinely care about their patients. A special shout-out to Cecie and Dr. Dez, they are hands-down the BEST! Cecie is such a gentle hygienist, exceptionally thorough, and meticulous in her care. And Dr. Dez -- he's incredible! He is the most caring dentist I've ever encountered. His calm demeanor, thoughtful explanations, and genuine compassion have completely cured my long-standing dental anxiety. My dental work has been painless and beautiful! For the first time, I actually look forward to my appointments. Couldn't recommend this team more! read more

Dr. Dez is an amazing dentist, compassionate, patient, and caring! Did an amazing job removing my wisdom tooth. Would recommend to any family or friend. read more

My dentist retired and introduced me to Dr Dez. Ive been to San Marin dental 4 times now, general exam, cleaning and new crown. Ive been mostly seen by dr demsky. I've had nothing but positive experiences. Everyone is very nice very gentle and I feel Very knowledgeable. Prep for the crown was a long procedure bc I had a lot of gum decay in the area. I was comfortable the whole time and felt I was in really good hands. Dr Demsky explained the procedures which I found interesting. Afterwards I had no inflammation. Today I went in for the crown. It was an excellent fit. Very quick. The reviews on this office are troubling but I those are older reviews, a different dentist. I feel like I'm In really good hands. read more

I can absolutely recommend San Marin dental . They are under new ownership after Dr. Costigan's retirement . The current staff is excellent . Recently completed extensive dental work here. Dr. Dembski, Leonor and Christopher did skillful work on a difficult procedure . Valerie and Nineveh in the office are super nice . Also Dr Dez was extremely fair on the cost when they found additional work . Thank you ! read more

I'm so grateful for San Marin Dental!Dr.Dez is an amazing dentist & the dental hygienist Cecie is great, smart gentle but extremely thorough my teeth feel amazing after my deep cleaning! The moment you walk in the front desk is smiling & warm welcoming which is calming, this is the DENTIST to go to people honestly! You can tell they definitely care about patient care , So if you haven't already please go check out Dr.Dez & Cecie they will NOT disappoint! I was extremely anxious today going in for my exam & cleaning, Cecie went over everything with me step by step made me feel at ease & comfortable which I really appreciate & Dr. Dez came in to check in with me as well made me feel extra cared for Thank you San Marin Dental what a great experience! read more

Had to have an emergency tooth extraction, they fit me in same day, took amazing care of my dental work, and genuinely seemed to care about my dental anxiety with prior bad pasts experiences with other dental offices! 10/10 STARS FOR SAN MARIN DENTAL CARE read more

BE AWARE! We've recently moved to Novato and was trying to establish new Dental care. After reading the good reviews i decided to give San Marin Dental a try. I had a consultation with Thomas Dembski. I take extremely good care of my teeth and went for a regular check up visit. He told me 2 of my tooth were craked. I had 3 cavities. I would need a dental implant and possibly 2 crowns. I would need to replace 4 of my old fillings. I would need a deep cleaning. You can only imagine how big the final bill was. I felt that they were rushing to get payment and decided to get a second opinion. Glad I did. It was absolutely NOTHING wrong with my teeth. Apparently the practice was recently sold and they are looking to extort patients to pay for it. I am reporting them to the Business Bureau. I felt completely ripped off by the disonesty of the dentist and practice. I am glad I found Marin Modern Dentistry, a great honest dentist in Novato. I will never go back to that place and hopefully more people notice their shady behavior and report. They deserve to be out of business read more

San Marin Dental is a wonderful family dental practice. Highly recommend for adults and children. We were referred by our wonderful long time and very experienced dentist who recently retired. Couldn't be happier with the care here and they are great with children, too. read more

Great experience getting my implant finished with Dr.D. He helped me understand and feel better about the process after having a horrible experience at another place. The front desk explained everything and were able to answer my questions about payments. I barely felt the numbing thanks to the doctor and the assistant. I'm so relieved to have found them. read more

Fantastic experience with the new dentist, Dr. Dez and his assistant. I'm 64 years old, have had many dental procedures, and this was the best experience I've had. Highly, highly recommend! read more

This review is solely for the receptionist (Chrissy or Christine.) I called right at 8am this morning to cancel my appointment for tomorrow because I can't make it anymore and was immediately put on hold. I, being a typically patient and understanding individual, held the line. And held. And held. I give people the benefit of the doubt and figured they got busy and forgot. So I hung up and called right back. I said "Yes, hi, I was holding for 15 minutes so I hung up and called back." Chrissy the receptionist immediately retorted, "There's no way you're been holding for 15 minutes. The line was disconnected. There's no way." I said "Sorry, what? I was on hold for 15 minutes. You put me on hold." Again, she said "That's not possible." I said, "Ok, so you're calling me a liar?" She said, "I'm not calling you a liar." Wow. I said, "Cancel my appointment for tomorrow, and any appointments after that. I'm not coming to you guys anymore." I am shocked by the treatment I got from this horrible, rude receptionist, completely bereft of even the most basic customer service skills, accusing me of lying about being on hold. This is not the first time I've had a bad experience with this particular receptionist. Last year I had an appointment scheduled for 2pm and the same day, they called and asked me to come at 2:15 instead. I said sure, no problem. I was on my way to the appointment around 2:10 when I got a call from Chrissy asking where I was. I said, I'm on my way, you called and asked me to come at 2:15pm. Chrissy denied that and made it seem like it was my error and I had written the time down wrong. ZERO accountability. Dr. Costigan, you are a very sweet person and I had no issues with you, but you have lost a patient based on your receptionist's extreme rudeness. read more

San Marin Dental - You're right, Chrissy, I wasn't on hold for 15 minutes, only 14. - General Dentistry Near Me - Novato, California

I couldn't get in to see a dentist until a week after an emergency and the office got me in and I am so grateful! Everybody is really warm, welcoming and kind. I have severe dental anxiety and I felt at ease here. Christopher was great. read more

When in to get a second opinion because another dentist was about to charge me thousands of dollars. Turns out..I found my new dentist! The staff are all extremely friendly, the space is clean and comfortable, and Dr. Dez (new to the practice) was amazing. Really knows what he's doing and has great bedside manners. If you're in the area, this is definitely the place to be. (Spoiler alert - I was being played at the last place and do not need thousands of dollars worth of procedures done) read more

I've been meaning to write this review for awhile, in hopes that I can help another person with dental anxiety looking through reviews to gauge the experience. I found this practice by searching "gentle dentistry" practices, and the reviews looked solid so I decided to give them a try. I have major dental anxiety after a couple of rough experiences and aggressive dental work at a young age. My teeth are far from perfect, and I know that I'll have work to do, but my hope was to find a dentist who could be gentle, caring and approach any work with understanding of my anxiety. That was not what happened. On my first visit, I was told that I needed to get about 8 crowns and I left the office in tears- as there was nothing gentle about the delivery of the message. I should've gone elsewhere at this point, but I knew that some of my work was necessary now and moved forward with the appointment to get two crowns. There were several parts of those procedures that were rocky (I'm happy to elaborate by message). They do offer total sedation at the cost of $500 (not covered by insurance) or nitrous oxide for $50. I guess that's what makes them considered "gentle"? I made it through the crown procedures and went back a few months later for a regular cleaning. I was then told I needed a filling, and that I should start thinking about my next crowns. At this point, I decided to go back to my dentist in the city for a second opinion. He saw no need for a filling or any need for crowns in the next several years (given nothing big changes). I found this practice to be aggressive in their approach both to dentistry and to patients. read more

Dentists and staff are beyond awesome !! They are caring and listen to every concern I may have .... Exceptional in every way - always professional and friendly ! Lisa Lucchesi read more

Office management isn't the best and I waited 30 minutes in a dental chair waiting for a cleaning. Not happy

All the staff are very professional. Ms Christine and Ms Michelle very nice and helpful. The Dentists are incredible. They don't want you to feel pain, mission accomplished. The assistants are very caring. I am not a patient that goes from one place to another looking for cheap rates. The quality of service is much worth it. It's a plus 10, if you have complaints they are willing to listen and make things happen. read more

Maybe I started with too high of expectations based on the other reviews but this makes it to my top 3 least favorite moments at the dentist in the past 50 years. I know no one likes to go to the dentist but when you schedule an appointment for a chipped tooth that is bothering you, you expect the dentist to put most of the focus on that tooth. The dentist was insistent that it was not the tooth I came in for that was causing pain - I was like "ok", I will let you do your thing since you're the professional, but then it came to tapping each tooth with a metal device to see which tooth had pain because she literally would not listen to me. She started off POUNDING my front teeth - to which I spoke up right away that she was hitting them too hard - literally thought she was going to chip my good teeth. I have had dentists do the tap test in the past but never like this! She proceeded to make her way around my mouth aggressively taping and hits my sensitive tooth so hard I sit-up in the chair! She demands that she finishes to my final tooth that she believes is the issue - I finally give her permission but only if she starts out softer - she does and then adds harder hits - to her surprise I had no pain. Honestly, I just don't feel listened to. She talked about how bad my teeth are how many crowns I need, etc. She then said I need a root canal but then said maybe I don't as she proceeds to sign me up for one. I am so confused! I think I am going to have to go pay for another dentist to get another opinion. Summary: not gentle, not heard, front desk staff was friendly therefore the 2 stars. read more

Had troublesome tooth that had to be extracted, was not a success at this dental office and did not feel communicated with at all. Asked for an implant quote I never received, my appointment was moved around, and I had to ask for the next steps myself when the procedure was not working. Three stars because I realize it was an unexpected challenge that I was not responding to the anesthesia, but better options should have been presented before 5 jabs. read more

I had a great cleaning yesterday after not going to the dentist during Covid! They took time to really clean my teeth and explain to me the small issues I had. Clean place, nice people, and if you have to go to the dentist, it's the place to go. read more

Update Pro's + Dentist good Con's - They only take Delta Dental Premier (not Delta Dental PPO). They don't tell you if you don't ask. You have to specifically ask if they take your insurance (not just broadly "delta dental"). read more

I have been going to San Marin for well over four or five years. This dental practitioner applies the best in industry standards and practices. They did an amazing job with my crowns stemming from years of grinding (I have a pretty stressful corporate job). Their prices are affordable and they will do the best they can to work with your insurance company, no matter how demanding the insurer is. The negative reviews of this place are completely ridiculous. I wonder how some of these people manage to make it out of bed sometimes. It's a dental practice people - if you are afraid of pain then take better care of your teeth. If you are afraid of these procedures, ask Dr.Costigan or Dr. Lawrence for "the gas", pop some earbuds in, and use the time to reflect on the poor dental hygiene decisions that got you in that chair in the first place. read more

To this practice I give no stars. I would give it negative stars if possible. I have been a patient of Dr. Costigan for around 20 years. Always loved her singing while working on my teeth. She saw me through broken teeth, implants, flippers, etc. I am writing this review because after all that history, 22 months ago, she made a serious error with an infected #19 tooth. I went to see her, she put me on antibiotics, and I came back the next week to have the tooth fixed. She said it would need a root canal. So she proceeded to do the work. Due to the numbing, I did not find out until later she did the wrong tooth. #18. I informed her of this, and she seemed concerned at the time. Even left me a long voicemail admitting her mistake. This is getting to be too long, so suffice to say, she denied doing the wrong tooth, as #18 would have needed a root canal anyway. She said she would do the correct tooth and not charge me. I accepted her offer. She proceeded to fix #19. In the ensuing 4 months, it kept hurting. Now, after going to a new dentist, and an endodontist, it was found that she broke off a piece of probe equipment in my jaw. I now have to incur great expense to have it properly fixed. When I told her about it, she said she did her best and there was nothing she could do. She refused to to anything to help me out. A phone call from my lawyer was met with little concern for my well-being. I could go on with more details, but if you value your teeth and dental health, DO NOT GO HERE. It is time for her to retire so no other patients are exposed to her ineptitude. read more

In September 2021, Dr. Valeria Lawrence filled my 7 cavities and did an excellent job. I currently live in Germany now, and I recently had a regular cleaning done there. My dentist was very impressed with how well my fillings had been filled, and said it looked so real that she could hardly tell that they had even been filled. She asked me when I was planning on visiting California again, and recommend I continue on seeing Dr. Lawrence whenever I had the opportunity. read more

At the end of my appointment I was virtually attacked by the dentist who went off and how she hated illegal immigrants and the fact that they are going to be taking money from America requesting healthcare it was out of nowhere and when pressed she became more and more racist I cannot support a business that feels this way read more

I have been going to Dr. Costigan for over 15 years. The staff are always friendly and the office spotless. Dr. Costigan recently replaced my 4 front teeth with 1 implant and 3 crowns. I am overjoyed with the outcome. Dr. Costigan is not only skilled and meticulous but very gentle. I highly recommend this business! read more

Dr. Costigan and her staff are awesome people!!! My husband and I were her patients until we moved back down to Southern California. Everyone at the office are friendly, helpful, and up front when it comes to what needs to be done and how billing works and what would be billed to you and what would be billed to the insurance. The procedures were painless except for a pinch here and there when they injected the numbing medicine, but overall, they made us feel relaxed and comfortable. We would definitely come back to Dr. Costigan if we are ever in the North Bay again. read more

They are my lifetime dentist! I absolutely positively 100% trust them AND REALLY ENJOY COMING! I have to get my teeth cleaned every 3 months for now and I have had a lot of dental work overseas. I found this gem San Marin Dental after I got back an needed a crown on my tooth. I have been going every couple of months now. They are always SO nice and accommodating! Dr. Costigan has become sort of a mentor now at this point! She pointed me in the right direction for dental insurance and braces recommendations. Denise is my FAVORITE HYGENSIST ever! I love coming to get my teeth cleaned which I never thought I would say. They are the my forever dentist and I hope I don't move I would miss them terribly! read more

I love Dr. Costigan and her entire staff. I'm sad to say that due to insurance reasons I will have to find a new DDS. Dr Costigan has always been understanding and compassionate with regards to budgetary concerns, working with patients to utilize insurance most efficiently. She is honest and realistic in her assessments of which treatments are necessary and which can be put off or avoided with proper home-care. Camille is the single greatest Hygienist I've encountered. The new hygienist is great, and I found her every bit as gentle and effective as her counterpart, but Camille has an energy about her that always set me at ease. She remembers your peculiarities and comments (gently) on where you've improved and where you need to focus more in terms of gum/tooth cleaning and health. After years of superlative care I am sad to go, but here's hoping my review helps them gain a few new patients to replace my business read more

Dr Costigan and Dr Lawrence are knowledgeable professionals with an amazing ability to explain patient options for care and compassion for them during treatment. They both show a genuine concern for the best outcome for their patients. Their staff is affable and accommodating. If you want a comfortable approach to excellent dental care San Marin Dental Care would be an excellent choice read more

Doctor Sun is so good at what she does, she is quick and very thorough! Definitely one of the best dentists I've ever had work on me. And her office secretary's are so ice! Highly recommend! read more

A visit to Dr Costigan's dental appointments always ensures me that I will be well cared for by a team of friendly, competent and outstanding staff members. Dr Costigan emphasizes preventative measures for healthy teeth and gums and is sensitive to my dental needs and treatment. Thank you so much read more

I totally recommend going to San Marin Dental. For years since we moved up from my hometown we had been looking for a dentist and none seemed to fit quite right. Then we found this small practice and we've been going ever since. Dr. Sun is awesome, she explains things to you in detail and I never feel like she's just recommending stuff without having used it herself. her hygiensts are very knowledgeable as well. Don't listen to the one start reviews. The billing and the front desk are always great. I always leave here feeling like it was worth it, unlike other places I've been. Also, I hate going to the dentist, but they're always super nice here which makes it better. read more

Yelp reviewers hit the nail with this one. I hadn't been to the dentist's office in a decade. And before that it was probably as a student in elementary school. (I'm 30 now lol). So what finally forced me to go was my insane wisdom teeth that caused me occasional discomfort and were pushing my teeth forward. I chose to go to San Marin Dental because I live nearby. I arrived 20 minutes early and was given some paperwork. My appt began a couple of minutes after scheduled and I was seated comfortably in a chair. Photos taken of my teeth and then the results came in... Dr. Costigan came in and told me she knew I hadn't been flossing. She said she could see the build up between each tooth lol. I digust myself! lol She lectured me about the importance of flossing and then we had a few chuckles. I felt less bad about my lack of dental care and after a slightly painful (but well done) and much needed teeth cleaning, I was given the name of a dentist who does wisdom teeth extractions. She first gave me options on how I could cut my costs (xrays etc) and I followed her advice. I ended up paying $710 out of pocket for all four wisdom teeth with my insurance. I suppose that is the going rate. She absolutely made sure that I get the best care and she called every place I needed to go that very minute. I was able to get two appts at the places I needed to go to in the same day. I was seriously impressed! Thanks to her and her staff I was able to get everything done in an incredibly prompt fashion! (I sound like a tacky commercial but it's so true lol)! I have never given 5 stars but Dr. Costigan and her staff are exceptional. And I suppose it was her telling me I was pretty that convinced me to recommend my husband go there to get his chipped tooth repaired (he was previously seeing a rather colder, seeming dentist near Ignacio). His appt was today and she managed to save the tooth. The appt ran an hour later than expected but he is doing fine. He will be back in two weeks for the crown. She offered to let us pay the full payment in three installments which was very convenient! Letting your clients have payment options makes it seem like you're less money hungry and care more about our overall health. My husband texted me later and told me she told him that he should be an actor because he looked like Jason Statham and that her son had tried but he sucked lmao! I was dying... I think I might make excuses just to see her! read more

I LOVE Dr. Costigan!!! She's the sweetest, caring, respectful dentist I've EVER GONE TO! (Trust me I've had PLENTY) I seriously would never think I could care about my dentist the way I do. (Honestly, quite weird) But I've never had a dentist who seriously cared about my teeth, oral care, hygiene as much as she did. She made me start really caring for my teeth (I cared, just more so now after she's taught me so much). She took the time out to explain white filling vs. metal, brushing, flossing, and even gave me other recommendations. I've always maintained my semi-annual visits to the dentist but they make it so much easier with the great staff she has. I recommend her to all my friends/ family she's seriously a great dentist and cares! AND works with all types of dental insurance! read more

Great experience with the new patient special. Dr. Costigan is professional and helpful. I had been to a dentist in the past that tried to tell me I had a bunch of soft spots in my teeth and should have them all filled. That scared me so I tried Dr. Costigan. She told me my teeth are fine and no cavities. Had I listened to the other doctor, my perfectly good teeth would have been unnecessarily drilled. Because I find her conservative, if I did have a cavity I would not hesitate in letting her treat it. The staff is very friendly and helpful too. read more

San Marin dental care kept the pain at a minimum and help me get through my overriding fear of pain and dental work. They are encouraging and without them I don't know what I would do. read more

Third time coming in, this place is really great would definitely come back and recommend this place to family members and friends, the staff was really nice, polite and very helpful. read more

Great service and attention be Dr. Costigan and her entire staff! The office is nicely laid out and my daughter and I received a thorough exam and cleanings. I would highly recommend Dr. Costigan to families and those who want a warm and friendly atmosphere. Dr. Costigan is a highly regarded dentist in our community and among her peers. Thank you San Marin Dental! read more