Gentle Dental Petaluma

I agree with the other reviewer regarding the front office at Gentle Dental Petaluma.
It is a D.I.S.A.S.T.E.R.
I did like my hygienist and my 4 dentists over 6 years.
However, today I say good-​bye to everyone due to very rude lady at the front desk.
I forgot to mention — they do not receive any phone calls between 12pm and 2pm and there is no voicemail during this time and that was why I had to encounter the rude lady.

Overall I had a great experience at Gentle Dental.
I had an exposed nerve on the top left side of my mouth and I was in pain for about a week before I called them. They immediately set me up with a same day appointment which was nice because I was then able to get on antibiotics and pain meds right away. Both of the dentist that did the oral exam and root canal were very professional, experienced and friendly. There was a little confusion in the beginning when setting up my root canal but nothing serious. In fact they we’re very quick to make the adjustment and make sure I was happy. The receptionists in the front were extremely friendly and very helpful. They made the experience pleasant. And the office manager Susan was the best!!!
Overall work and great prices!

tried 3 times to make an appointment. end up on hold for 5 minutes so I just hang up. not a good mix of too much work, not enough staff.

Had not been to the dentist in 9 yrs. So very afraid to go. I had a loose molar, so had to break down and go. Went to Petaluma Gentle Dental and saw Dr. Warner. Very compassionate and explained everything and answered all my questions. I could not handle the pressure of the tooth being pulled and started yelling and crying, and I felt a hand grab mine. Could not see who it was, but heard her voice. Susan Destito, the office manager came in to comfort me! I did raise my hand to have them stop, but I think they were at a point where they could not stop and just had to get the tooth out. I think it only took about a min, or so, even tho it seemed forever. Nitrous did not agree with me, so had to depend on the numbing only. I just could not handle the pressure and pulling, but they were very kind and got me thru it. Have deep root planing and peridontal work next. Scared to death to go back, but I know I’m in good hands. And I know Susan will be there with me thru it all. It’s not even her job, but she cares. Bless her heart.

I bring my 5 year old son to Dr. So at Gental Dental he is amazing! My son has a two teeth that merged at the bottom of the tooth and was split at the top as they grew in. Unfortunately it resulted in deterioration of the enemal. Since the enemal was so thin he did a filling between the teeth to avoid decay. He numbed the area first with a topical numbing agent waited two minutes and gave him a shot. My son had NO IDEA he even received a shot! In and out in 20 minutes! Great visit and my son enjoys coming in to see Dr​.So.
Happy kid= Happy Mama Thank you Dr. So!

So I don’t have a regular dentist and I’m in pain with a toothache. Gentle dental has an advertisement that says they take emergency appointments everyday. The girl on the phone said they don’t have any appointments this week so if I wanted to sit tight with my swollen face, fever and pain she could maybe get me in next week. What the heck? Don’t give them your money. Leaving anyone with a toothache for a week and not having any compassion is horrible. I’m going to call 1 800 dentist and see if I can get some help there.

At every step, from reception to dental exam to cleaning, the service at Gentle Dental was warmly professional, and thorough. A+ and thumbs up!

I am writing this review mainly about my experience with this place. Because of my negative past experiences with dental offices, I neglected my children’s dental health. Due to that, they now need lots of work done! I spoke with the manager, Susan Destito, and she explained what was more urgent, walked me thru the process and payment options. I plan to continue my families’ dental care there. No need to neglect our health. Thanks to a great manager that always had a great attitude and a smile ready to greet everyone. It is nice to finally have peace of mind.

Susan, Melinda, and doctors are so wonderful! They made the visit very stress free and speedy. They’re fun to be around and professional at the same time. Definitely chose gentle dental if you’re deciding between dental offices!

These folks have changed my relationship with dentistry. Settle in for a long story – with a happy ending.
17 years ago I had a terrible experience with a dentist, after which I have been terrified of going back. 10 years later I needed to have a root canal and a series of other procedures, each with a different dentist; all of these were awful and only made my fear worse.
So it was another five years until a toothache got so bad that I was desperate enough to try finding a new dentist. I figured that having «gentle» in the name was a good sign and I gave it a shot.
To begin with, the ladies at the front desk were not only quite professional but also exceedingly kind and empathetic. Some dental staff react to nervous patients as if they’ve seriously just had enough with all the wussies coming through their doors; these women treated me as if I deserved a break and damn it, they were going to make sure I got one. They set me up with a great finance plan and I settled in with the anxiety that was at least somewhat eased by this positive front-​office atmosphere.
After my x rays, Dr. Elias came in, took one look at my teeth and was able to immediately explain the source of all my chronic jaw pain and broken dental work in a way that made sense – and made me angry at all the dentists in the past who had failed to notice that I had a major problem with my bite. He was kind and matter-​of-​fact, but also sympathetic. He broke the news that I needed a root canal gently, and then got me in for an procedure the next day.
Knowing that this would be the real test, I withheld judgement until after I’d had my tooth hollowed and scraped out. Dr. Mindy was fantastic (not to mention her assistant who did all the hand-​holding and made sure I got plenty of nitrous oxide) and took me at my word about being tough to numb. In the end I needed six shots to get there, but she was gentle and patient in making sure I wouldn’t feel a thing before she got started. The lovely woman who had seen me the day before even came in to say hello and give me an encouraging squeeze.
And a miracle happened: I didn’t feel a thing! It was over before I knew it, and Dr. Mindy didn’t hesitate in giving me the pain relievers I asked for.
Afterwards, all the front desk ladies were so excited for me and I felt genuinely cared for. When I needed a quick follow up a couple of days later (because of the problems with that stupid bite) they got me in quickly and took care of the problem in five minutes, flat.
I have a long dental road ahead of me, but I finally know who I can trust to traverse that distance with me. Thank you, Gentle Dental, for making this a *toothfully* exceptional experience!

I read the past reviews and was shocked. .My kids have been coming her for ortho for about 2hrs and we love the staff. .especially Melinda… my daughter lovers Dr. Lamberton… So when I broke my bridge and was in a lot of pain of course I went to them.. They got me in the next day and I left with a temporary and two weeks later a beautiful new bridge.. They also have a payment plan for whatever your insurance does not cover. .I made an appointment that day for a follow up cleaning and ex rays because I haven’t been to the dentist in some time. .I don’t expect good news but that is ok because I know they will take good care of me..

Had appt for 4 pm. Showed up at 3:50. They claimed my appt was actually for 4:50. Showed them the confirmation text they sent me as well as the appointment card I kept in my wallet. Still waited over an hour to be seen by dentist.

Here I am again at Gentle Dental Petaluma. Once again, they did a stellar job keeping me calm. They referred to me politely as a «nervous patient» even though I’m really a spastic freak. They totally calmed me and even made me laugh on several occasions. They fixed my broken crown and have me a cleaning. And at SUCH an affordable cost. Love these guys!

I was a victim of «UN“Gentle Dental. Patrick Duffy should have his license pulled. The man is a masochist when it comes to working as an oral surgeon. He adores putting people through pain and misery. His mistakes become someone else’s repairs. What should not have been complicated became so. My eyetooth split due to an old root canal. No big deal. But I wanted to go via who was on the plan. Bad mistake. Should have swallowed my pride and wallet and continued as before to the experienced oral surgeon. Patrick not only made a huge mistake on the eye tooth, he had also broken the molar next to it. I was charged for both — my complaints went unnoticed. To this day I only paid for one tooth. I told them I refuse to pay for someone else’s error. I also wrote to the American Dental Association complaining about Gentle Dental. I was not impressed with the ugly, odorous and very unclean offices. I even asked if the equipment was ever sterilized. There were rodent droppings on the counters!
If I could rate this as a negative 5 I would. Again if you have to use an Oral Surgeon, take your business elsewhere. Your mouth deserves better. The negative reviews ARE TRUE! Be forewarned!

My 19 yr old had her 4 wisdom teeth removed on Tuesday, 3÷26÷13. She was so scared, she wanted to make sure that she didn’t feel any pain. Yo (Yolanda) the surgeons nurse held her hand and talked with her and she went right to sleep with the anesthesia. My daughter said the staff, especially Yo was wonderful. From a parents stand point, I am thankful she is happy. When the dentists, and taff including billing and reception, following up, care and concern is so wonderful, I highly recommend this dental practice on 249 N. McDowell Blvd., Petaluma, CA!
Lorie Z.

Review for Pediatrics Dentist…
Not the office for us:(
Today I took my 9 year old daughter to the office to have 1 filling done. I was told that the cavity was shallow and would most likely not need to be numbed because they are just going to basically scratch the surface.
I had a rather bad experience as a child at the Dentist and to this day have a great fear of being in THAT chair. That being said I have invested a great amount of caution when choosing a Dentist for my kids to ensure that they never have a bad experience thus creating fear.
Anyways, at the Dr.‘s office today I got her seated and spoke with the Dentist saying I know you say we can do this without being numb but if anything starts to hurt or she gets nervous in anyway lets just stop and do Nitrous and numb her if need be. She understood. I decide to wait in the waiting room… Big mistake.
Apparently my daughter was told that if she has pain to raise her hand. But when she would the doctor would just say, «Ok I will be gentle.» Ok at this point lets numb it!!! Why make it uncomfortable when you have the tools right at your finger tips to make this discomfort go away?! Apparently after trying to relay, in vain, the discomfort she was having she gave up and actually ended up in tears. (The assistant had told me she was crying after the fact) Why would it have to get to that point?!! Who even does a filling without being numb? I agree with the review that stated that they just quickly want to get you in and out, not really caring about your experience in the chair.
Needless to say… We will not be back.

Will I ever find a good dentist?
What a terrible experience! There are no walls or doors at this place, everything is wide open, no room for privacy, and you can hear the drilling from all the other rooms.
I had a oral surgery consultation with Dr. Patrick Duffy — this guy was SO ROUGH, he basically looked at my xrays, then DUG THE PICK WAAAAAAY deep into my gumline, and then refused to pull out my wisdom teeth because he said I would have nerve damage. Despite the fact that I told him I had a food pocket there, and despite the fact I told him it was a nagging pain — he refused. Probably because it was not a simple yank which he can do in 3 minutes.
I really got the feeling that they just want to churn people out as quickly as possible. Really unhelpful.
And today, I received a bill for $ 81 for the consultation. They told me that my insurance would cover it, in fact I made the appointment three weeks prior and had given them my insurance information. And then all of the sudden, now my insurance won’t cover an oral surgeon consultation? I agree with Jess R — WORST DENTAL EXPERIENCE EVER.

After reviewing the list of local dentists that accepted my policy, I picked Gentle because it was close. My appointment is at 430pm. I show up around 415 and fill out the paperwork. I sit in the lobby until about 5pm when they finally take me in back. Sit around till about 525 when someone finally gets started on Xrays.
I was told by the receptionist during signin that they may do Xrays, but it won’t be any additional charge about the $ 52 my insurance won’t cover. I ask the technician in the back if the Xrays are going to cost anything extra, and she says she’ll check. Comes back and says that it won’t be any additional cost. Ok, fine… let’s do this.
Two hours later (seriously close to 630pm) I finally get out of there. I paid the receptionist $ 52 on my way out and thought we were done.
Boom. $ 30 bill shows up in the mail 2 weeks later. WTF? I’ll pay it just to be done with them. Luckily I moved, so I never have to even think about going there again. Worst experience at a dentist ever!

Just a quick update. I’ve spent A LOT of time and money at this dentist office since my first review in February. And although my reasons for visiting have been less than ideal, the staff there are amazing – especially Dr. Elias.
One stand-​out moment, was when I went in for a recent cleaning, after a quick check of my teeth, Dr. Elias asked me to wait for the hygeniest/​dental technician (whatever she’s called) to do the cleaning. When he discovered that I would have to wait for her to take care of another patient, he stepped in and did the cleaning himself.

For the price this place is pretty good. I have only been in for cleanings since this is where my insurance covered me. The staff is very friendly.
For speciality services, like wisdom teeth pulling, I went to one of the specialists in town (Dr. Allen) since Gentle Dental’s dentist aren’t at this location full-​time.