Alexander Hoghooghi, MD DDS

I had two procedures done by Dr. Hoghooghi. The first was the removal of two wisdom teeth and the second was an alarmingly invasive/​risky surgery that required a bone graft.
I saw many Oral Surgeons and was incredibly nervous for the potential permanent damage my procedure could cause. It was to the point that if there were any way I could avoid going through with it, I would have. However, I had no other options, my jaw would break under the pressure from the teeth/​cyst they had to remove.
Not only did Dr. Hoghooghi expertly inform me on every part of the procedure I was about to endure, he also took extra precaution as to collect all the internal data he needed to execute such a surgery.
The procedure went better than expected, I recovered better than expected, and all risks that were associated with the procedure were blown out of the water by Dr. Hoghooghi’s work.
I am extremely grateful for Dr. Hoghooghi and the dedicated staff at this practice. I could not imagine a more skilled and precise surgeon than Dr. Hoghooghi.
Highly recommended!!!

Had to get four wisdom teeth removed in a trickier procedure because of my age (waited over a decade after another dentist first recommend their extraction), and Dr. Hoghooghi was amazing. I’m so grateful for his work.
He has this wonderful mix of kindness, confidence, and frank communication that eases any fears a patient has. The procedure itself was painless and recovery quick, and I 100% credit all that to his expertise (and that of his staff).

I had 2 wisdom teeth removed by Dr. Hoghooghi at his office at SF surgical arts.
Chose to do it awake, and I was in and out in 30 mins. Dr. Hoghooghi did a great job answering my questions and accommodating before and after the surgery.
Very happy with the results and the recovery.

I came in as an emergency patient. I was very hesitant due to the couple of bad reviews on Unilocal.Those Unilocalers are crazy. Everyone at the office was super kind and went out of the way to help me. The receptionist was able to squeeze me into their schedule within minutes.
During the consultation Dr. Hoghooghi was very informative. He answered all my questions and concerns. He even answered questions I didn’t have.
After April, the receptionist came in and went through the finances. She was very thorough, explaining everything to me. I am not a smart woman when it comes to insurances. You can explain it all you want to me and I still won’t understand but sign and hope for the best! But April explained it so thoroughly even I could understand. I wish I can take her with me when I go insurance shopping.
After all that, the surgical assistants walked me back to the surgery room. As I approached the room I was getting nervous. I wanted to dart out of the office and just live with the pain! But I didn’t because the surgical assistants were so kind and reassuring. The process was quick and painless! After the surgical assistants went over instructions on how to take care of the surgical site after. They were super informative, going above and beyond to make sure I knew how to take care of the site.
So in conclusion, 11 out of 10! Would recommend!

The doctor seems professional, but the receptionists/​billing are rude and will charge you as much as they can in the worst way, not even trying to collaborate with insurance. No customer service at all. The receptionists insult customers and behaving really rude when they know that a customer is half way in the treatment and cannot change the doctor. Cannot believe the receptionists are not fired yet. Never again in this horrible place.

The receptionists are horrible!
My appointment was 45 minutes late.
And I was billed $ 103 bucks for a 10 minute consultation. I thought a consultation was to see if one wanted to go with the surgeon. I didn’t know I was booking an appointment for the Dr. to just tell me to get surgery. And I was given no other solutions for my mouth sore.
My condition cleared on its own in 2 weeks despite being told I needed surgery.
So I was hounded for weeks by the receptionists.
They threatened to send me to collections. They sent a bill dated 11/​25/​2015 with a red sticker notice that if they did not hear from me in 10 days it would be going to collections. Well, they sent it to collections on December 2.
Long story short. Stay away. The receptionists/​billing is a nightmare.

I read all the reviews below before going and honestly, they must have changed the staff or something since those were written because my experience was great. Not only was it great with with the doctor, but with the staff too. They went out of their way to make sure I understood the charges and what our insurance would and wouldn’t cover. Nothing was hidden and nothing unexpected. I waited to write this review for both the healing process, the follow up appointment, and billing to be done.
Additionally, while I was waiting for my teen to have wisdom teeth removed, I watched as the staff treated everyone who arrived the same great way and this was over a two hour period of time. One hour-​ish for the procedure, and one hour-​ish while she was in the recovery area. Everything was up front and they were VERY kind and friendly.
We may never need to go there again, but I wanted to make a point to put a review here because I was a little nervous after reading some of what other people had written. I was very happy to find a great experience all around considering that oral surgery is never really fun for anyone.

I hate to give this place such a poor rating, because Dr. Hoghooghi himself is amazing. He’s super friendly and professional, takes time to answer all your questions and reassure you in any way needed. His work is also top notch. If it was just him, he would be getting full marks!
However, BE AWARE of the billing process here. Their policy is that you pay out of pocket for the full amount at the time of the appointment, and then they bill the insurance company later. They had pre-​aprooved the procedures with my company, so assured me I would be reimbursed within a couple of weeks.
I received no reimbursement. When I finally called to ask about it almost FOUR MONTHS LATER they said that it will be at least another month before I would get anything. The receptionist said the insurance paid them for the procedures immediately, and the money is just sitting there. However, they have one person that comes in and «reviews their accounts,» and she is responsible for cutting reimbursement checks when insurance pays them. Apparently, it is ONLY this one woman, who has only been in once in the past four months (and, whoops!, must have missed this one) who can send me a check. So I’ll have to wait until she comes back in again. The receptionist told me to call them back in another month if I still haven’t received reimbursement. WHAT?!!
As I said, Dr. Hoghooghi was a gem. It’s too bad his office is either incompetent or trying to rip people off. If you’re going to get work done here, stay on them about money. I’m out hundreds of dollars and getting it back is not looking promising.

Be careful with this place — they ripped me off. I feel that all they care is to charge as much as possible from you by recommending unnecessary treatments and sending additional bills afterwards.
I got estimation for the exam and treatment at the day of the exam.
Exam was not covered by insurance so I paid fully for it.
In some months I got an additional bill for the exam which was 3 times higher. I gave them a call and they said that my insurance allowed them to charge me 3 times more. I was fully responsible for the exam and paid for it during the visit! So what does this suppose to mean?!
Also they sent me estimate for the treatment which was twice more than the original one.
After this story I got to a doctor with good reputation and she recommended me not to remove the wisdom teeth as they’re fully functional and need no to be removed. So I suspect that at this place they recommended unnecessary treatment to charge even more from me.

Went to Dr. Alexander Hoghooghi last March for my 3 wisdom teeth removal. I didn’t want to review too early because my family has had history of problems few months after extraction, so wanted to confirm that. In last one year, I had no problems whatsoever.
I went to one more oral surgeon before going to Dr. Alexander Hoghooghi, and that doctor scared me that I might have some permanent damage (loss of sensation in my tooth) etc, but Dr. Hoghooghi said my nerves are too far for any damage (seeing the same x-​ray).
I would recommend him to anyone looking for wisdom teeth extraction.

I’m very happy that my dentist referred me to Doctor Alexander Hoghooghi for wisdom teeth extraction. My experience with the Doctor was extremely positive from the first consultation till the post-​surgery appointment.
The surgery went very well, and there were no any unexpected side effects during and after recovery. Thank you to Doctor Alexander Hoghooghi.
Also I’d like to say thank you to Surgical Assistants who took care of me before and after the surgery.
And Office Managers were always polite and attentive to me.

My dad is a general dentist and he referred me to Dr. Hoghooghi to get my wisdom teeth extracted. My dad has always trusted Dr. H for oral surgery cases. I had to have all 4 removed and Dr. H did an amazing job. Him and his staff were kind, professional, gentle and very skilled. I was sedated and Dr. H ensured that I was comfortable the whole time during and post-​surgery. I had no complications with the procedure and all the extraction locations healed perfectly. Do not hesitate to make an appointment here. You will no regret it.

Short version: I showed up to what was supposed to be a *free* consultation. First they tried to make me take unnecessary (and expensive) x-​rays, then the doctor saw me for roughly 10 minutes (mostly spent chatting), and finally I ended up with a $ 150 bill. Never coming there again.
Long version:
— — — — — –
Let me tell you about my experience with Dr. Hoghooghi.
My dentist referred my to this clinic. I was not sure whether I wanted to remove my wisdom teeth, but they said it was just a consultation, no strings attached.
Two days before the appointment, when I was pretty sure I did not want the teeth removed, I called to cancel. Same story — this is a free consultation, you’ve got nothing to lose, come and just hear the doctor’s opinion.
I came in and brought a set of x-​rays, taken the week before. First thing the assistant tells me is that I have to take a different set of x-​rays (and oh, by the way, it’s a couple of hundreds of dollars, and your insurance doesn’t cover that). I refused, she kept telling me I had to, until she realized it wasn’t going to happen.
Fast forward a few minutes. The doctor comes in, asks me to open and close my mouth a couple of times, looks at my teeth, and tells me I was right — no need to take more x-​rays. In other words, they were trying to get me to waste money (and be exposed to radiation) without even checking first if I needed it at all. How lovely.
Anyway, that pretty much concluded the checkup. The doctor was very nice and friendly, and we talked for a few more minutes about whether I should have the teeth extracted. The whole thing was over in about 10 minutes.
The best part? I just got a bill for $ 150. I called, and they explained that when they said «free» they meant «your insurance covers it», but this isn’t a guarantee, and mine didn’t. I wouldn’t have come if I thought I would end up paying that much.
To sum up: He might be a good doctor, I don’t know, but I was seriously unimpressed with the service. When I do decide to have my teeth extracted, it will definitely be elsewhere.

I met Dr. Hoghooghi last May, as an emergency patient who he managed to fit in to an already crowded day. The dentist I’d seen earlier (see my review for Dr. Notario) had explained that my tooth needed to be pulled immediately. If I waited until after the 3 day weekend, there was a very good chance of infection setting in.
Dr. Hoghooghi agreed and fit me in. He was fabulous, even though I was falling apart. I’d been coordinating an event for over a year –and it was taking place the next day! — I was a mess! He and his staff were all very patient and gentle, and although it took a lot more time, and they were extremely busy, he managed to get me started with an implant and mold a temporary tooth so that I wouldn’t have to run my event with a huge gap in my smile. I was in his office 4 ½ hours and was able to listen to both Dr. and staff as they dealt with their scheduled patients as well as several emergencies the Fri. afternoon before Memorial weekend — they were all hustling, but stayed kind and professional and caring. Although I was very upset at my situation, I felt lucky to have ended up in their care.
The follow up care couldn’t have been better, they sent me off with a care package, easy written instructions (as I was a mess and unlikely to remember them) they called in the prescription so it was ready when I got to the pharmacy, and subsequent visits have been quick, on time, and easy.
I’ve had no complications, and although I still have a couple of weeks to go until the procedure will be complete, I’m confidant all will be well.
You can be comfortable choosing Dr. Hoghooghi, and if fate doesn’t allow you a choice, I hope you’re as lucky as I was and end up here!

Pretty good. I wish they were a little more communicitive at front desk.
The Dr. Is excellent and the service is wonderful and I know the insurance coverage and companies are the real problem but I think that dentists offices just like doctors offices share some of the responsibility of helping patients with the nightmare of billing that usually happens after a simple treatment plan.

Dr. Hoghooghi is an excellent oral surgeon.
I had a tricky situation with my jaw in which a large cyst needed to be removed and a primary molar needed to be extracted. I needed someone who handed tricky cases,
Dr. Hoghooghi did an excellent job extracting the cyst. He was able to use stem cells to rebuild the jaw bone so that I could later get a dental implant.
He sent the cyst out to be analyzed and gave me the appropriate antibiotics.
Dr. Hoghooghi is very thorough and cares about his patients.

Dr. Hoghooghi is AMAZING. He removed my 4 wisdom teeth that were full bony and one side had to have bone grafting. I have zero pain tolerance and was terrified.
Dr. Hoghooghi let me ask as many questions as I wanted and never rushed me, even when I repeated some because I was so nervous I would forget the answers. He never seemed annoyed; only patient and understanding.
He allowed me to have the surgery done in SF (really nice office there) and follow-​up appointments in Palo Alto where I work. Everything went smoothly. I have complete confidence in him and would not be scared one bit if I needed to have more oral surgery done in the future. He is the nicest man and will put your fears at ease. I wish I could give him 10 stars!

I created a Unilocal account just to review this man. Dr. Hoghooghi is perhaps by far the best doctor I’ve ever had, and I’m picky and do my research. The short story is, my wisdom tooth removal went incredibly well, little to no pain, no need for vicodin, little bleeding, and basically no chipmunk-​face swelling.
I actually had only local anesthetic (insurance wouldn’t cover much of general, it was ~$ 400 more out of pocket). While all my friends scared the crap out of me about how crazy that would be, it turned out fine. Of the 45 minute surgery time for 2 teeth they told me, thirty minutes was just sitting there (literally looked at my watch too) waiting for the anesthesia to set in.
With numbness, the 10 – 15 minutes they were in my mouth was not painful at all, it just had a lot of pressure. So you pretty much had them pushing and pulling a bit down there, but no pain. The only other annoyance was the loud noise of drilling, which they kindly warned me about and kept to a super minimum (1 – 2 minutes tops). They also give you a bite guard which relieves the pressure of holding your mouth open on your own and all that soreness (as a kid I remember getting teeth out without one of those– no fun).
So for all of you thinking about local anesthetic, I’d say Hoghooghi did a great job. I imagined it would be 45 minutes of them with sharp stuff poking around my mouth uncomfortably, but it was over before I knew it! The office staff were also all friendly, chatty, professional, courteous, and happy to help me out at each place. They were up front about the costs and got me all the insurance referrals, contracted prices, and discounts (you get one as a Stanford student) I was entitled too. Great job here all around, this is by far the most amazing medical experience I’ve had.
This guy also does all kinds of facial reconstructive surgery and many more complicated operations as a maxillofacial surgeon (across the street at Stanford hospital), so he is well qualified to do this kind of small but intricate job well. No nerves cut, no dry socket, no infection– none of the usual wisdom teeth nightmares.
More generally, everybody I see around is shocked that I just had my wisdom teeth out within the last few days. I could talk fine by 3 hours afterwards, I ate normally even the first night (and I had them out at 3 pm!). With local anesthetic I just drove myself home. I only got two teeth out on the right side, so I could chew fine on the left side immediately, and even on my right side I could chew fine within a full day. I can’t recommend this office enough!

I had 4 impacted wisdom teeth removed by Dr Hoghooghi last friday, the overall experience was great. My bottom two wisdom teeth were horizontally impacted, and one of them required bone grating too, and my top two were bony. I was expecting some serious pain and swelling, but for the past week I have only experienced minimal pain and minor swelling in the first 3 days. The surgery process was smooth, i had general anesthesia, and woke up wisdom teeth free!
Definitely a 5 star experience, worth the $ 3300 I paid. It’s about $ 1000 for anesthesia, $ 750 for each impacted wisdom teeth, 500 for each bone graft, and he gives 25% discount for Stanford students. Although the cost is quite high, I think it’s worth every penny!

I was referred by my dentist to go to Dr. Hoghooghi to get my wisdom teeth out. The top two were completely bony and the bottom two were listed as difficult, all impacted.
I was SO nervous to have the surgery in fear of the pain that would result. I took a 10mg of Valium before surgery given by the office and went in bright and early to get it over with. I was completely sedated throughout the whole procedure.
Charry and Carol were the nicest when they prepped me for surgery and helped me after. It was comforting to know Dr. Hoghooghi has an amazing staff.
I had the operation this morning and while I was watching TV I even forgot it had happened. I’m in no pain, thanks to the hydrocodone and ibuprofen, and the swelling is mild. I’ve heard the third day is the worst but am not anticipating anything horrendous.
I am so grateful for the amazing dentistry of Dr. Hoghooghi and would recommend him to everyone!