Joel Berger, DDS MD

Dr Berger saved my daughters life! We have been going to him for the last 11 years. He removed a rare tumor from her jaw at the age of 4. But he restored her jaw and did such an awesome job that unless you look very closely you cannot tell the extensive surgeries he did. She is now 15. I would not take her to any other oral surgeon. He’s the best. And he has a wonderful bedside manner!

Dr Harper and Dr Thayer have been taking care of me in what most Doctors lack the experience. I checked over 5 different oral surgeons and everyone said Dr Berger was the best and my experience with everyone on staff has been great. I still have some more work to be done when I get back from my trip. Jan Anton

I went to Doctor Berger for my wisdom teeth extraction. I was so nervous going under the knife for the first time but a lovely nurse, Gina, calmed me and called Dr. Berger to start the IV himself (I am extremely susceptible to passing out or throwing up from needles). He was patient and gentle and gave me some medication to ease my nerves. Before I knew it the IV had been administered and a calm brought on not only from the sedative, but from also the accommodating staff soothed me. I woke up with Gina placing a blanket over me, assuring me everything went well. She made sure my parents knew what I was to expect the healing process to be like, and suggested foods and drinks would be best for the first few days. I did the rotation of ice and heat like they suggested and the swelling was completely gone after a few days. I am so glad I chose to go to Doctor Berger’s office. I had never felt more comfortable at a doctors office than I have here. Highly recommended.

Dr Berger is not just a doctor but an artist as well. His skill as a surgeon is unparalleled, there are other doing this procedure but none are his equal. Not even close, I had a hard time wrapping my head around this procedure and still do. He is a master technician, I’m so glade I chose the best to do my surgery. My teeth were failing, Dr. Berger pulled all 27 teeth and I left with new teeth, in one day. In around 5 months I’ll get the permanent bridge after everything has healed. It’s truly a miracle, thank you Dr Burger! Dr Berger and his entire staff are the best!

Dr. Berger and his staff were beyond amazing! I really feel like a new person. I felt comfortable with Dr. Berger right away and was blown away at his expertise. I was a double jaw surgery case who had been researching the surgery and Drs. for years. And After meeting with Dr. Berger and speaking with him about my case and what I needed, I knew he was the right Dr. for me. He and his staff were so caring and knowledgeable, very easy to talk to and he always cared about my concerns and I never got rushed or felt bad about asking a ton of questions and that was important to me. This was major surgery and life changing and I am so happy I did it and that Dr. Berger took on my case. I could not be happier and I am so thankful!!! Thank you SO much Dr. Berger to you and your wonderful hard working staff! I have been and will continue to praise you, your unbelievable and genius work along with your awesome staff!!! And I will refer you and your office always!

This office is amazing! The staff really make you feel like you are family and really welcome. They have a benefit specialist that actually will call you after hours just to tell you what your benefits are for an upcoming procedure. They are friendly and caring and the dentist actually spoke to me about my daughter’s procedure in what benefited her as if she was his own child. It made me very comfortable to have my daughter in his care. I highly recommend this dentistry.

Best jaw surgeon in San Diego. Period. Dr. Berger lives, eats, sleeps, and breathes surgery.
Yes, his office is always busy and wait times can be long, and yes he and his staff can improve their surgical follow up which is why I’m not giving 5 stars, but there is no other surgeon in San Diego that could successfully correct my son’s jaw problems the way Dr. Berger did which is the most important thing when going under the knife.

Staff can’t get scheduling or billing of insurance correct. Wake from extraction to find tongue has been cut and has stitches. Will not use this office again.

Worst experience ever. I’ll advise you not to go here for any procedure. I got a wisdom teeth extracted in August, 2013 and I’m still having issues. First off, Dr. Berger advised that I should get all 4 wisdom teeth removed although two of them didn’t really need removal. Then as part of the procedure, apparently one of the tooth «fell» because the roots of that was eroded. I believed that and thanked him for helping me. I was having more pain on the left upper side of my jaw although that wasn’t the impacted tooth.
1 week later, while rinsing my mouth, water started coming out of my nostrils. Went in for a check-​up and turns out that during the procedure, Dr. Berger has punctured a hole into my sinus cavity and so now I have an oro-​antral fistula. In layman terms, there’s an opening between my mouth and sinus and bacteria from my mouth are infecting my sinus… frickin’ nightmare. Got more stitches to close the opening but after a couple of weeks, it didn’t look like it worked. Dr. Berger said it could be because of the adjoining molar that was partially impacted and needs to be taken out too. So instead of 4 wisdom teeth, he ended up extracting 2 extra molars which were relatively savable and I ended up with a bad sinus infection for the next 1 year and horrible jaw pain.
I still get pangs of pain in my upper left jaw. Worst decision ever! I don’t trust a dentist anymore. They are all out there to take your money and will suggest unnecessary procedures on the pretense of the perfect smile. I learned my lesson the hard way. I honestly wish nobody has to go through the experience that I had to go through. It almost costed me my relationship and my job.
Worst of all, for the follow-​up visit, the oral surgeon’s office charged my insurance and me fee. The billing department assured me that I won’t be charged but they did and then sent my case to collections without notifying me. I wish there was a way I could have sued this guy but apparently unless, it’s a life threatening case, my lawyer friend advised me against it.

I read reviews about the rude staff and decided to give them a fair shake. The result? I wholeheartedly confirm the previous bad reviews. The woman was loud, interrupted me frequently and didn’t even listen to my question (I had to repeat it 3 times). I’m sure she’s a great value to the office so the management should utilize her skills in a position where she doesn’t speak to patients directly (some people just aren’t cut out for communication with patients). There’s never an excuse for being rude in this type of role. In fairness, maybe she needs a vacation (does she get enough PTO? Is staffing sufficient?). Far better to reorganize the staff so customer service-​oriented people handle patient concerns directly, and place people who have other skills behind the scenes.

Hi
Joel= jewel
Berger= best burger in town
That is the definition of thee person don’t have word to say bout the grate legend like thee!
If I believe in any God… I would ask for one of thee Joel!
I cannot express the situation I was that night and the words thee gave me when he first time examine me and just said we will take care of you … Now you’ll b fine… And the spurse I felt when thee rub my head… was like here is the god… Now everything is in lords hand!!!
Thank you so much doc. Burger for all your work and your staff !!

I recently visited Dr. Bergers office with a friend, Since he had surgery and needed a driver. The office is beautiful and staff is great. I was offered water and even I blanket! Since the office is freezing. The nurse was also great. She went over instructions and answered my questions. Way to go Betty and Milly!

This review is only for the experience I had calling to schedule an appointment (I have not met Dr. Berger yet). I was referred to Dr. Berger by my daughter’s medical team at Children’s Hospital and called to make an appointment. When I let the person know who referred us, she rather rudely told us that they have «nothing to do with Children’s Hospital» and are a private practice. I asked if I had the correct Dr. Berger, and if he has experience with the procedure that my daughter needs and was told he does. I made an appointment, but felt uneasy with the hostile tone of the person I dealt with and promptly called my daughters team leader at Children’s Hospital who told me that Dr. Berger is one of the two main doctors they use for this type of procedure and that I was not the only one who has expressed concerns over the way the front office talks to their patients = their customers. Perhaps a little customer service training is needed! I’m scheduling a second opinion just in case the office is this hostile when I go to the appointment.

It took a minute to see the doctor, but it was worth the wait, he’s a nice guy. He took his time with me and answered all my questions. One thing that stood out the most, he shows much respect for his patients! This is a doctor who I immediately felt comfortable with!
Thank you!!!

If you ever want to talk to me about my experience feel free to message me

Wanted to do a review on Dr Berger after my jaw surgery. 2 days before the new year I fractured my jaw and needed medical care and after going to the ER and my primary Dr. they were unable to find me a Dr to stabilize my broken jaw. Finally after calling my insurance and going up to management they were able to get me in same day to Sharpe emergency where Dr Berger would be performing my surgery.
As soon as I walked into the ER and checked in they put a gown on me and took me into my own bed and after a couple hours of waiting they ran all the tests necessary and Dr Berger consulted me briefly but made me feel very calm about the procedure which says a lot because this was my first surgery ever.
After all the nurses and dr’s that were part of my surgery kept reassuring Dr. Berger is as good as they get and some shared how their own family members had underwent surgery and recovered from injuries way worse. So after surgery I felt okay and just stayed in the hospital that night and the next day I was able to spend New Year’s Eve with my family. I had 4 plates and 10 screws in place. I went back to work after about a week and a half after surgery and was on a liquid diet for about a month. Did a couple follow ups and I was getting better day by day. When I visited my primary dentist he was very impressed with Dr Berger’s work. He’s awesome!!! also turns out he removed one of my impacted wisdom teeth during jaw surgery and I didn’t even notice!
So then it was time for plate and screw removal and he recommended I remove my wisdom teeth at once so I could have one recovery and the anesthesia that isn’t usually covered was already going to be covered for the plates so I agreed and I was scheduled for end of March at the end of February. I got a call confirming authorizations had been received with my appointment time.
One month later I show up to my surgery at 2:40 and waited until about 5:15 when they call me in and turns out that they hadn’t sent an authorization for the wisdom teeth. They take me to the payments coordinator and when they ask Lynn about the authorization she got very defensive about the mistake she made and tried to blame it on me and then my primary dentist. She suggested I just get the screws and plates removed and I explained why I wanted the procedure at once and asked her «what did I not do on my end?» and the other staff said «you did more than enough sweetie.» The other staff even told her to lower her tone and that the office was responsible for dropping the ball. I decided to wait for the authorization and told her that I was very upset about how she handled it especially since I had been very anxious for the surgery considering everything I had just gone through the last few months. She said «this surgery is no big deal so there’s no reason for you to be nervous my son went to work the next day.» I felt this was not patient centered at all and she was not apologetic one bit when we all know these are the times we feel most vulnerable and it takes planning. I had made arrangements for time off work, started medication for pre-​op, my mom and bf were taking time off work, I had visited my primary dentist to update records and faxed information for them to coordinate for the authorization within a day of scheduling the procedure.
As the other comments show, she will not take accountability for her mistakes and is not the least bit patient centered. I made sure to call and make sure the authorization was sent the second time around and double checked with insurance. So I got my plates and screws removed yesterday. All the Dr.‘s were awesome and made me feel so comfortable as well as the other staff.
While my mom was waiting for my surgery she witness a couple people being turned away with the same issue about missing authorizations so obviously that needs to be addressed but as far as the medical care received it was 5 stars. So glad Dr. Berger was the one who helped me get through the worst injury in my life! I recommend him just make sure to take an active role in ensuring all the paperwork is correct.

Only rating his staff. I have never encountered any medical office that has more rude, condescending staff. If I could find another doctor as highly rated as Dr. Berger, I would switch, just because of his staff.

Too funny. I just got off the phone with the receptionist and felt nothing but contempt from her. This is not what you want when you’re going to an office for the first time and for something so serious. I had to jump on Unilocal asap to make sure the surgeon wasn’t going to remove the wrong tooth or something. I’m glad to know Dr. Berger is excellent and that I’m not alone with the uneasy feeling I got from speaking to his staff. I’ll have to update my rating after meeting with Dr. Berger, but this is definitely my review for a first impression.

Dr. Berger is an excellent surgeon, no doubt about it. However, some of the office staff is so rude, unprofessional, rigid and not considerate at all.
I haven’t been able to schedule my surgery appointment because Liz would not make hospital appointments if it’s not a Wednesday morning. The other day I called early and she called me back at 5:00! right before closing telling me that she was about to leave and I needed to wait until next Wednesday, I talked straight to her and asked her why she couldn’t be a little bit flexible and empathic and schedule it the next day or Friday. I explained my needs, but it got worse. She got mad and she would only do it if there’s an emergency. The following Wednesday I waited until noon and since she hadn’t called me I called asking to talk to dr. Berger, that’s when she called me right away. However, she said she was not scheduling anymore because she only does that in the morning !!! Unbelievable, but she said she would call me the following Wednesday. That was the third Wednesday trying to schedule my surgery, by then obviously she said there was nothing available for August. How frustrating to deal with this woman.
The nurse Irma refused to give me a spoonful of Benadryl even though Dr. Berger told her to do so when I got an allergic reaction to a medicine. She said I could get my own over the counter. I should’ve told Dr. Berger right away.
Lynn the «office manager» supports all these because she has the same attitude.
So sad, he may not even be aware of this but I will talk to him about it in my next appointment. I can’t wait until all this is over so I don’t have to deal with them.

Unfortunately I have to agree that Dr. Berger’s front office staff and especially Lynn are truly unprofessional and rude. You feel intimidated asking a question or voicing a concern due to the type responses you will receive.
Their are some back office staff who need retraining in appropriate behavior too. Making comments in front of patients like «I don’t know where the f— it is»
Dr. Berger deserves his reputation as one of the best oral surgeons on the west coast but he needs to address these issues with his staff because it is affecting his reputation.

Dr. Berger is 5 STARS! Dr. Berger’s personal dental assistants are another 5 Stars! Berger came highly recommended and we are thankful! Pulling 4 Wisdom on our son this morning and performing jaw surgery on my husband this afternoon! All pre checks have been top rate! Even called last night to check in one last time…
His office staff on the other hand are THE WORST! Most unprofessional baboons one would ever encounter! Yelling at each other! Yelling and berating patients. They bark. They bite. They snap at you on the phone and demand money. It’s only 7:40am in the morning and it’s a Friday — shouldn’t they be at least 1 degree happy? One patient just left and they spoke so rudely about him behind his back simply (and very politely) because he asked an insurance question before he left. Another patient just went up to the window and asked them all if they could calm down and the insurance lady snapped at her «take a seat miss — there’s no privacy here — get over it». In the last hour they have spoken horribly about other doctors, co-​workers, and patients… using everyone’s full name and making sure we can hear them all. Who’s the worst — the insurance lady. MEAN! I just want to get out of here. She just slammed a file down and screamed at the receptionist about confirming an appt for next week and then stormed off. Can’t wait for the 2^nd surgery to be over so I can get out of here and hopefully never come back. I’d write Dr. Berger a letter but I’m afraid of what his staff would do to me… poor man — he has no idea how badly this front office staff ruins the experience for everyone coming in here.

Dr. Berger’s great but the office staff is a joke. Unprofessional, rude, lacking in humanity and compassion. Numerous times they have dropped the ball and no one will take accountability. I can’t imagine Dr. Berger is even aware of how poor his office is run, but someone needs to step up and grab the reins here.