Michael E Barkin, DDS

Yesterday Dr. Barkin pulled my last wisdom tooth. I came to his office twice: first time back in 2014 when I had an emergency tooth removal and yesterday was my last visit. All I can say from my experience: Dr. Barkin truly is a great surgeon. I even appreciated the way he numbed my gums. He slightly pinched and pulled my cheek few times and in between injected the numbing solution. It worked just great because while he was pinching my cheeks, I couldn’t even feel the needle. The whole procedure took less than 10 – 15 minutes. The lady who assisted him was very sweet too. I felt relaxed and I trusted both of them 100%.
I also have to mention their Front Desk staff especially Lisa. She tried to book me ASAP when I called their office for my second visit. Everything was just great, I was supposed to see them in 3 days, but Lisa had to cancel my appointment because their equipment broke. However, she went an extra mile, booked next available appointment under her name for me and called few times to keep me informed with all their updates. At the end, it all worked out beyond perfect: their staff is super professional and very friendly. Lisa, in particular, is a rock star. Dr. Barkin is great. I am happy I found their office and I can’t be happier I stayed true to myself and went to see them second time despite all other reviews.

I had all four of my wisdom teeth removed by Dr. Barkin about 5 years ago.
I just had a chance to read over his reviews, and I am very shocked at the negative ones.
Dr. Barkin was one of the best dentists I had been to, and took very good care of me during, before, and after my procedure. He knew I was very nervous, and calmed me down with great bedside manners. He was very sensitive to my fear and anxiety. I really appreciated that. Some people have no idea what a huge difference that makes when you’re literally sweating from fear and shaking. He sat by my side as the anesthesiologist put me to sleep, held my arm, and chatting with me about traveling and other fun things. He was also sitting my side when I woke up. I was worried and told him «wait, I haven’t fallen asleep yet, the anesthesia didn’t work!!» and he let me know the entire procedure had gone perfectly. I don’t know about you, but that ease and kindness was enough to make me love him!
On top of that, he was also very sensitive to my financial situation at the time as I was unable to afford having all four of my wisdom teeth pulled with no dental insurance. His office kindly put me on a payment plan that worked for both of us. How awesome is that.
Post-​surgery, I barely had any swelling. If I did, no one could notice. The pain lasted for a day, at most, and I only had to take pain meds for the 24 hours.
I would recommend Dr. Barkin to anyone.
Thank you, Dr. Barkin!!!

I recently came here to take out a wisdom tooth and I had the best experience. The front desk was so friendly and helpful. The whole procedure took about 15 minutes, and I was done with my appointment in less than 30 minutes!
The removal was that quick, and I didn’t even experience much pain after the numbness went away. Just took a few Advil. Definitely recommend this place.

I just went yesterday (oct 13, 2014) to get three wisdom teeth pulled out. I definitely got a little nervous and weepy in the office and the front desk was beyond helpful and calming and sweet. Then out came Dr. Barkin who was also alleviating my nervousness by joking with me a little while I was in the chair.
Note: I read the reviews and I think it was a bad idea bc it made me extra nervous. My mother recently had her wisdom teeth out and is always a nervous wreck about dentists and had the highest regard for her experience, and my grandma before her got all of her teeth pulled and felt great and recommended him to my mother who she knows is skiddish.
With that said, he put me out, which I initially was apprehensive about bc I had never been «put under» — it’s really a twilight sleep I learned — and woke up as loopy as ever and carried out by my boyfriend. A little tender afterwards with the side that had one on top and bottom, and no discomfort whatsoever on the right with just a bottom tooth out. Today (the day after) I’m not taking any meds so far (if I am it will most likely be an advil). I woke up feeling fantastic and impressed.
I felt compelled to write this review bc to be honest the other ones scared the crap out of me. I had a wonderful experience, coming from someone who was quite nervous to begin with. Now I would just go in there calmy and eagerly if I had to again… Although hopefully I won’t have any more teeth issues :)

I got my wisdom teeth pulled with Dr. Barkin a few weeks ago, and overall I can’t complain. The front desk lady (Michelle) was very friendly, and I had no issues scheduling, insurance billing, etc. Dr. Barkin is a very straight-​forward doctor, who pulled 3 of my wisdom teeth out in about 20 minutes. I left the office still in the «twilight» state after the volume, and experienced pain in only one of the areas which was very impacted (Barkin notified me that it would give me discomfort). I came back a week later for a post-​op, and got out in under 5 minutes. The office is clean and moderately up to date. Parking of course is rather difficult in this neighborhood, but they do have one of those overpriced parking garages you can use downstairs.

argh, boo, hiss, grrrrrrrr this man belongs in jail with a label of vicious and dangerous on the front of his cell.
10 thumbs down.
He punched a hole in my nasal membrane during a simple tooth extraction. Didn’t bother to sew it up or give me antibiotics. Next day, purile yellow pus FLOWING out my nose. I call and he prescribes antibiotics. When he punched through the membrane I felt it big time. Then he tries to convince me he did it on purpose, said he was giving me a sinus lift. NOT! It took over a month and 5 different antibiotics to clear up the infection. I was in excruciating pain. Had to stay in bed and pay someone to walk my dog, feed my cats, grocery shop etc. The worst part… When I called the day after surgery he couldn’t even remember my name or the procedure he had done. This guy could care less about you.
QUACK STAY AWAY.

I had my last wisdom tooth removed today. It was a very fast and smooth operation. So fa so good, but I’ll have to go for a follow up and hopefully the next couple days will be as smooth as the operation.

I met Dr Barkin for the first time on July 23 for an extraction. I was seated several minutes ahead of my scheduled appointment time and was given a very thorough explanation of the impending procedure and all of the options for post surgery. Dr Barkin administered the pain killer, waited for it to take affect, then extracted the tooth in what seamed like a split second, with only the slightest feeling of a jerking motion but no pain.
His dental assistant explained in a very thorough manner all of the possible complications of post surgery and provided me with a written list of everything she has told me verbally, and Dr Barkin, without being asked, wrote a prescription for pain pills just in case I needed them.
I was fortunate in that there was no excess bleeding or pain, however, when I stuck my tongue into the hole left by the tooth, I felt a sharp bone like structure that I thought might be a piece of the tooth. I phoned the office, and they got me right back in for a check. Dr Barkin examined the area and took an x-​ray, only to discover that it was part of the jaw bone, a normal situation he said. They did not charge me for that exam and x-​ray.
Needless to say, I was very pleased with my visit to Dr Barkin, and I would not hesitate to recommend him to anyone.

I am sorry I didn’t check Unilocal before I went. Have a big problem after my operation but going to see another oral surgeon tomorrow. He is probably at the end of his career and doesn’t care anymore. Sorry to say but those who left 5 stars here probably were never his patients.

I had my two bottom wisdom teeth removed by Barkin. The procedure was not so bad, and the assistant was very nice. He seemed nice, but after wards all they gave me was a sheet on how to care for my gaping holes and a prescription.
A week later I was still in pain, and went in for a check up because I was afraid infection or dry sockets. He checked in my mouth in a hurry and said everything was fine, didn’t clean it or really check it. I had to ask him for a syringe to clean the food from my holes because a friend told me thats what they are suppose to give you. I told me I didn’t need it but he would give me one anyway.
When I got home and used it, so much crap came out of my holes. food from days before that had been too lodged to come out with my vigorous rinsing.
And had he actually checked, he should of seen that my holes were deep and not clean after all.
ugh.

STAY AWAY!!! There are so many fine dentists in the area — sadly, barkin is not one of them.
I recently had 4 wisdom teeth extracted by barkin. I was not thrilled with his attitude, but he was recommended, and I assumed that he would do a fine job for me. His office gave few instructions when leaving, no follow up appt, not even a call that evening to see how you are doing. Most professionals try and make that evening call – nothing!
I developed an infection (which could happen to anyone-​I understand that)-needed to return to him. I did not sleep and agonized over calling. I was very concerned with the area. He acted like I was bothering him and doing me a favor seeing me.-i just did not feel right about him with this type of attitude. I guess I am somewhat spoiled with having kind and gentile medical practitioners in my life. He was SO curt and SO
abrupt. He did not listen well, spoke over me, made light of questions, pain issues, and concerns, spoke so fast that he, at times, was unintelligible, and discounted communication with his egomaniac attitude — rush rush rush – I guess time is money, right???
I went to another oral surgeon for a second opinion – The other surgeon confirmed an infection and was surprised at the lack of follow up care. He was very concerned, patient, and caring. He gave me precise, concise, and proper instructions, materials and tools needed to keep area clean, etc. He spent a great deal of time with me. I never felt rushed. — I was not informed of any of this aftercare with barkin’s office. I could have become very ill due to lack of proper directives!!!
I am sorry, but i cannot, in good conscience, recommend this indifferent, non-​compassionate, egotistical «Little Shop of Horrors» doc – lol!!!
I WISH I WOULD HAVE READ THESE REVIEWS BEFORE GOING TO HIM. His demeanor exhibits a total lack of consideration for the patient.
I implore you to read all of these reviews — most have had the same miserable experience I encountered. However, this last review which gave stellar marks to barkin — must be a shill — no question this review was planted to try and refute all the rest of the honest ones…
shame on you, barkin!!! If you are reading this, you now have a wonderful opportunity to learn from the error of your previous ways and CHANGE. Your patients would truly appreciate it. Also, returning patients calls in a timely fashion is now the norm — not the exception!

I just had two wisdom teeth extracted by Dr. Barkin, and I have to say, it was not a pleasant experience. Not saying I expected having my teeth pulled would have been like my first trip to Disney Land. The procedure was fast and quick, but it was started before all of my questions could be answered. Dr. Barkin seemed way too anxious to get the pulling, cutting, and tearing started. I wanted to know about some of the after surgery care procedures, but I was too quickly sedated.
As soon as he was done, my confused soul was taken to a staff break room and I was told to sit there. I thumbed through a newspaper not completely knowing what would happen to me next, let alone receive instructions on what the next steps were. Luckily, one of the receptionists stumbled across my drug induced body and asked Dr. Barkin if I was cleared to leave (I never saw the Robert Duvall looking tool since he kicked me out of his chair). She then escorted me into the lounge where my ride home was given a sheet of paper called «post-​op instructions», and some extra pieces of gauze.
Once I got home the bleeding continued. Every piece of gauze I put in my mouth immediately became soaked within five minutes of attempting to aid the wounds. After a couple of hours of endless bleeding, my girlfriend called Dr. Barkin’s office for advice in stopping the bleeding. One receptionist obediently quoted everything from the «post-​op care instructions». After a trip to the store for extra gauze and a couple of more gallons (i exaggerate, but just a little) of blood lost, my girlfriend called again. Another receptionist was put on the phone and her thoughts were that I needed to go to the ER, but first she suggested we consult with Dr. Barkin. My girlfriend was then connected to Dr. Barkin, where he was short with her and kept insisting that we were not treating the wounds correctly.
Needless to say the bleeding did not stop and I went to the ER about 6 hours after the surgery (just imagine how much blood came out of my mouth by then). The ER doctor was able to stop the bleeding after about 2 hours of closely monitoring the wounds and applying medicated gauze. Thank you to her.
Dr. Barkin is short, unfriendly, and easily annoyed with extra care. I don’t know if it’s just me, but that is not a dentist I strongly desire. I do not recommend Dr. Barkin to anyone!

To those who have given Mr. Barkin (I refuse to use the title Dr. with him) a high rating. I’m happy you had a pleasant experience. But it’s when things don’t go so well that is most enlightening to the quality of care you will possibly receive from Mr. Barkin. So I hope this review will be helpful for those of you considering going under the care of him.
I went to Mr. Barkin to remove a bone fragment where my wisdom tooth used to be. In the consultation he had explained to me that it might be the cause of the bone loss he saw in my x-​rays, which is a result of infection. This is an important fact because after the surgery to ‘remove’ the bone fragment he did not give me anti-​biotics or even discuss anti-​biotics with me. Now I understand this may not be standard operating procedure for every dental surgeon to automatically prescribe anti-​biotics, but when I asked him later why he did not, he simply said only 2% people people are at risk for infection… so instead of letting me decide whether I wanted to take the 2% risk, he made that decision for me, and that’s where the problem comes in, he does not give you full information for you to make the best decision for your own care.
Guess which side of the 2% I was in?
After the surgery which was on March 17, 2011… 2 weeks passed as I healed. Around march 31 I’m still swollen and I did not feel my healing was progressing normally so I called Mr. Barkin leaving a message about my concern. I returned my call, and said to me that indeed my healing was not going normally and my swelling was not normal. His recommendation was to give it another week and and to make an appointment to see him then. This gave me a false sense of ease, which did not help because it stopped me from seeking out further help that might of helped my situation.
The next day swelling and pain get worse so I call to make the earliest appoint possible to see him, since this was on a friday the earliest available time was Monday morning, so I just have to get through the weekend.
Over the weekend, my swelling and pain get exponentially worse. It went from a more general swelling of the jaw area to an acute egg-​sized pustule filled swell, and I could not open my mouth, with intense pain.
I go to his office first thing monday morning and got seated immediately. On a side note, while im in his chair, he walks in he hasn’t seen the giant puss filled ball on my face yet, asking me how I am. I said «I think it’s infected». His immediate response was «did I prescribe you antibiotics?» That was pretty infuriating.
So because of the infection Mr. Barkin has to cut and drain it by making an incision on my cheek. leaving me with a life long scar. He prescribes me antibiotics now… two kinds and tells me to come see him everyday that week to keep watch on the infection. He also took x-​rays that day and found that his initial diagnosis may not have been accurate and that my molar may be the culprit in this infection flare up. He tells me my molar would need to be removed as soon as my infection is under control.
I decide to get a 2^nd and 3^rd opinion. I went to see a new dental surgeon and they confirmed with new x-​rays that my molar is infected and is cause of problems in that area, but to my horror another discovery was made, the tooth fragment Mr. Barkin was supposed remove was still there. I ask for the post-​op x-​ray Mr. Barkin took and it showed that the fragment was still there so he knew that he didn’t remove it successfully. But he did not feel the need to give me that little bit of information.
I have asked the office to return my money and my insurance paid for the procedure which they have.
I have also tried to seek legal recourse and have found this to be an uphill task.
So for anyone reading this deciding whether you want to take the risk to go under his care, if things go wrong it will be difficult to even find a lawyer to take your case. The dental malpractice lawyer many people will recommend to you in San Francisco already has a relationship with Mr. Barkin and will not take your case due to conflict of interest. There are not many dental mal practice lawyers to chose from.
As some other reviewers describe, Mr. Barkin wants to get you in and out as fast as possible, which may be fine for most procedures. This makes him a mechanic not a doctor.

*****Update:
I wish you returned the phone calls from your sick patient as quick as you replied to the comments on Unilocal

Dr. Barkin is AWESOME! I went in 2 months ago for all 4 wisdom teeth to be extracted. I had never been sedated before and I was so nervous but he was so calming and funny and nice that by the time I sat in the exam chair I felt great. Barely any swelling or bleeding! I was feeling great by the next day and was out shopping! I would definetly recommend Dr. Barkin to all!

So, getting my wisdom teeth pulled has been on my «I should really do this» list for, oh, a decade and a half. I’d gotten as far as making an appointment with a surgeon in the early 2000’s, but alas, had to cancel due to more urgent matters — you know, wash my hair, get groceries, pay the bills. .. ANYTHING but getting the teeth removed.
Fast forward to this summer, when at the dentist, I was told that I really needed to get these teeth out, sooner rather than later. «ya, ya» I thought, I’d heard this before. However, I took the referral to Dr. Barkin, smiled my freshly, cleaned tooth smile at the dentist, and promised to give the good surgeon a call.
A couple of months later, the left side of my mouth started to throb, like wake-me-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night-and-can’t-fall-back-to-sleep throb. I knew my wisdom teeth were on borrowed time. After a couple of days of self medicating, I called Dr. Barkin’s office. I was told that I could come in the very next day. After reading some of the reviews here, I was very nervous about my appointment.
On the day of the appointment, I anxiously walked into Dr. Barkin’s office. I was immediately taken to a room, and in came Dr. Barkin. He told me that yes, indeed, the teeth did need to come out, and he would do it right then and there. The next hour or so is kinda fuzzy, and the next few days were pretty uncomfortable. But after seeing Dr. Barkin for my follow up appointment five days later, he told me I was well on my way to recovery.
For quick, accommodating, professional service, I give Dr. Barkin a full five stars. .. Put his procedures into context, getting your wisdom teeth out definitely scores a zero out of five on the fun scale, but his office shouldn’t be negatively reviewed because of it.

Referred by my dentist, they scheduled me quickly and conveniently. Unlike A LOT of other businesses, they saw me on schedule! Even though it was just a consult, he was able to do the extraction at that time (big yay!) and scheduled the follow-​up at a convenient time. He was good with the local, no problems breaking the tooth out, and it must have been done well because it’s healed fine. I’ll go back to him for the implant.
Update:
After further work by Dr. Barkin & his staff, I want to mention that I’ve never had such excellent customer service, let alone from a doctor or dentist! A big Yay! from me.

Ok, so I read the reviews about blood oozing from someone’s mouth, and how fast Dr. Barkin was. Blood oozing is normal — that is your body’s natural defenses at work; read the sheet that the Dr. sends you home with. Pain is normal — you just had teeth yanked out of your skull. I just had 2 wisdom teeth (the top ones) pulled yesterday and am feeling A-​Ok. Yes, Dr. Barkin is fast, in adminstering the IV and pulling out teeth, but do you really want to endure a slow procedure? I was allowed to stay in the dentist’s chair for as long as I needed to in order to regain consciousness. And once I got home, I was able to put myself to bed albeit having to change the gauze every 2 hours. Don’t expect to eat a Big Mac after the procedure (common sense). Today, I am experiencing slight pain — which is normal.
I had my bottom wisdom teeth removed 8 years ago, and had 1.5 weeks of pain, lost 10 lbs from not being able to eat, and had to call my oral surgeon to have my stitches removed. Dr. Barkin’s skill should not be downplayed by the previous reviews. He gets down to business because that’s his living!

I just had two wisdom teeth taken out. He was very down to business and not friendly. He pulled both teeth out within fifteen minutes though and sent me on my way. After care was very abrupt and when I called back about a possible complication he was very dismissive. So yeah, he’s fast and maybe knows what he is doing. He told me he had sixteen years of schooling, but he is not someone I would go back to.
Also I had local anesthetic and it was not fun to watch. He had no regard for me and was dismissive of the piece of tooth that I was almost choking on that he had shattered.

I had three wisdom teeth out recently with Michael Barkin and I must say I was dissatisfied to say the least. Upon arriving home from the procedure I slept for a couple of hours and awoke to blood pouring from my mouth and down my throat. I figured that bleeding from the operation area was normal after such an invasive procedure so instead of calling Dr. Barkin I simply applied more gauze to the surgery areas. Every piece of gauze i put in was soaked with blood within 5 minutes and after about two more hours of intense bleeding I decided to call the doctor.
I explained that i was bleeding quite a bit and that i wasn’t sure if the amount i was bleeding was normal (according to the aftercare instructions he had given me). Before I was able to finish my first sentence Mr. Barkin was short and rude with me, saying that it sounded as if i was having a panic and that i should call him back if the bleeding didn’t stop. Three hours later with the same amount of bleeding I called him back and with more attitude and anger than i personally care for from someone who was just paid over $ 1000 to annihilate my mouth, he agreed to meet me back at his office to take a look.
Upon arriving at the office Dr. Barkin was rude and short. Now for the worst part… in what seemed to me like an expression of his frustration with having to come back to his office after hours Dr. Barkin proceeded to roughly examine my surgery area. He literally shoved gauze into the back of my mouth with so much force and might that my eyes immediately started tearing. He continued to rub, poke, and irritate the area that he had just performed surgery on that morning with such force that I cant remember ever experiencing a pain so great… my entire chest and torso was shaking at the trauma that Dr. Barkin was inflicting on my mouth, I have broken numerous bones, had stiches many times, had ulcers, and chronic back pain all of which combined doesn’t even come close to the pain I felt in those moments…
Now for the most sickening part… Once he was done putting me through all that he says your doing great and proceeds to shoot me up with so much novicane i cant feel anything anymore. I immediately couldn’t help but wonder why he didn’t numb me up before attacking my mouth with such force and the only answer that i can figure is that he was mad that I made him come back to work after I didn’t stop bleeding from his initial extraction work.
Finally the bleeding stopped and he sent me on my way, Four days later I am still in miserable pain as I sit here and write this review, but for obvious reasons there is no way i am calling Dr. Barkin’s emergency line to see if the pain im in is normal… Im quite sure its not… and im also quite sure its a result of Dr. Barkin’s terrible attitude, ego, work, and persona…
If you need to get your wisdom teeth out i suggest doing it somewhere else…