Rand R Ollerton, DDS

I have been seeing Dr. Ollerton for about 15 years. I have had fillings, a crown, and 2 abnormal wisdom teeth removed by him. I have never had a bad experience with him. The staff is friendly, knowledgeable, easy to interact with. You don’t have to wait a long time for an appointment. You don’t wait long to be seen. The office is clean and professional. My 9 year old son had been seeing a different dentist due to different insurance. He became very anxious about getting his teeth cleaned. He had a good and pain free experience in Dr. Ollerton’s office. I have refered one friend to him when she had a sudden dental issue, and she was very happy with him too.

I needed a lot of dental work and my regular dentist doesn’t do much more than cleanings and check ups, plus I always had to «go over the hill» to see her. As a result, I made an appointment with Dr. Ollerton on the recommendation of a friend. It was so easy to get an appointment, the front office staff is so accomodating and friendly. Once I met Dr. Ollerton, he chatted with me for awhile and then explained everything in easily understood detail. I can’t begin to say what a good experience this was and how professional and friendly the office is. Dr. Ollerton has a lot of experience and the whole experience was pretty painless. I don’t love going to the dentist as most people don’t, but I really needed the dental work and I am so glad that I don’t have the apprehension that I had before because of Dr. Ollerton and his staff.

Like most well adjusted adults, I hate going to the dentist. And while Dr. Ollerton hasn’t revolutionized my feelings on having strangers hands in my mouth, he is very good at what he does. I went to Dr. Ollerton for the first time in 2013 after successfully avoiding going to the dentist for many years.
First, I love his front office staff. When I arrived, they walked me through the insurance paperwork and scheduling. The woman at the front desk was warm and kind and patient with my nervousness. Then, I was ushered back for my time with the hygienist, who was very friendly, very gentle and only lectured me on flossing a little bit.
Finally, Dr. Ollerton came in and examined my mouth. Bad flosser that I am, there were cavities that we talked about filling. He was very sensitive to my cost concerns and we made another appointment for the following week. Getting the fillings was pretty boring because it didn’t hurt, and it didn’t cost me an arm and a leg.
Overall, a great experience. When I stop procrastinating, I will be back.

My recent experience with Dr. Rand Ollerton was very instructive, and I’ll pass what I learned along to you: If you have a badly compromised tooth, for example one that has suffered a lot of decay and is causing you some discomfort, go to an endodontist — a specialist — not to a regular DDS like Dr. Ollerton. Doing so could save you a lot of pain, time and money.
But if you have a bad tooth and find yourself in Dr. Ollerton’s chair, be sure that he performs a test (s) to evaluate the viability of the tooth’s pulp BEFORE he says you only need a crown on the tooth. Testing could indicate that the best course of action may be for you to go ahead and have a root canal, a procedure which Dr. Ollerton says he rarely does. If a pulp viability test (usually done with an instrument that applies a point of extreme cold to the tooth) is not done before a procedure is undertaken, you could end up getting a crown on a tooth that is either already past saving by that method, or is unhealthy enough that the trauma of getting a crown will be too much for the tooth, finally making a root canal necessary. That’s what happened to me.
When I originally went to Dr. Ollerton for an evaluation, I suspected that a root canal would have to be done, as I’d had one done on another tooth years before. He asked me if the tooth was painful. I truthfully told him that sometimes there was discomfort, but at other times it felt okay. He took lots of x-​rays, but did not perform a viability test, even after seeing the large extent of decay, but just said — and I quote — «Maybe you don’t need a root canal.», and went ahead with the crown.
When the post-​procedure pain in the crowned tooth did not resolve after two weeks, I started Googling about it, and in less than five minutes I learned what Dr. Ollerton, as a trained physician, must have known: that the best practice is for badly compromised teeth to be thoroughly tested before a choice is made about what procedure should be undertaken. After a month of nagging discomfort, I returned to Dr. Ollerton to have him re-​examine the tooth. ONLY THEN did he perform a viability test on the tooth, which revealed that the tooth had evidently not withstood the procedure and now likely had irreversible pulpitis, a painful condition that leads to the death of the pulp tissue and possible nasty complications. The only option, short of having the tooth pulled, was to have a root canal done by another doctor, an endodontist recommended by Dr. Ollerton, Dr. Rowshan Ahani in Daly City. The root canal was a $ 2,000 out-​of-​pocket expense, since Dr. Ollerton’s office got all my yearly insurance benefits, much of it for the ill-​advised crown.
While getting the root canal done, Dr. Ahani showed me his x-​ray of Dr. Ollerton’s work. He explained, and it was clear to see, that the pulp had been compromised by the removal of the decay, and the metal posts inserted to support the crown were very close to the tooth’s nerves; in fact, they appeared to be right on top of them. I asked Dr. Ahani if perhaps it was just the angle of the x-​ray that made the posts look like they were on the nerve, and he explained that the space is so tiny that it’s all in there tight together. He explained that the trauma of the crown procedure was too much for the tooth, which was already in marginal condition when Dr. Ollerton first saw it. It was all kind of sickening. So far, the root canal has been successful, although Dr. Ahani cautioned me that the tooth is now pretty «beat up» after two major procedures on it.
I would have some respect for Dr. Ollerton if he had tested the tooth and sent me to his colleague for a root canal to begin with, OR AT LEAST INFORMED ME OF THE POSSIBILITY that the crown procedure might cause irreversible pulpitis, requiring a root canal. It’s true that I would have likely gone for the root canal initially, but I would have certainly gone back to Dr. Ollerton for ordinary fillings because I would have admired his honesty. As it is, I’m sorry I ever walked into his office, and I’ll certainly find a different dentist to complete the work I need when my benefits renew in January.

I love this office! This is a hidden gem in HMB. It’s hard to find a good honest dentist. I’m lucky to have found one in Dr. Ollerton. The staff is so friendly and Dr. O is great. I’m recommending him to everyone I know.

Great dentist; very gentle and he takes the time to listen, answer your questions and explain what’s going on with your teeth and various treatment options. I have had several procedures done as well as my husband and we are very happy with his work. He even called us personally to see how we were doing after we each had a major procedure.