Stephen G Ward, DDS

After years of being a Patient here, I’m still so very pleased after each visit. The Staff is helpful and kind and friendly. I’m never kept waiting and always made to feel like I matter. This is a good group of people and Dr. Ward is an accomplished Dentist who takes the time to connect. Highly recommend.

GREAT Dental office. As most people, I have always hated going to the dentist. I have gone to see many dentists and after one or two visits I stopped going. A little over a year ago, I started going to Dr. Ward’s office. The experience was totally different. Great consultations. Everything I needed done was planned out and scheduled. They also worked with my insurance to maximize the benefits and reduce my out of pocket expense. Dr. LaCivita, Dr. Libby and Dr. Ward have been great. I am very happy with the end results. I also want to mention that it is truly a team effort. Everyone at this office is professional, friendly and caring. I will continue going to Dr. Ward for my regular cleanings. I highly recommend Dr. Ward’s team. I can’t say it enough. They are AWESOME! Thank you for my new smile!

Dentist is a big time smoker, staff is attentive, but i don’t want a smoker as a dentist who smells. I would never go back, they over charge people, and give anonymous bills.

I had an issue over Thanksgiving. I’ve never been a patient here, they got me right in .it was a dreaded root canal. The doc did it right away and I didn’t feel a thing. What was awesome is they explained everything right before they did it, so there were no surprises. And they asked me often how I was doing. I was impressed. Everyone was so nice, I got lost on the way there. they guided me in LOL and even went down to the parking lot to make sure my car was validated. They take care of their patients– so folks take care of them and schedule ur next appointment here.

Dr Ward and his staff are very friendly and welcoming. The office overlooks Hillcrest and has a wall of windows in the cleaning area. The office is very clean and inviting.
As others have mentioned, Dr Ward is a smoker. I’m personally sensitive to cigarette smoke and the smell of smokey fingers + latex gloves was nauseating. I’m by no means casting judgment; he’s a super cool guy but this was deal breaker for me.
This was the first dentist I went to that did not have private cleaning rooms. It’s one large open room with roughly 8 chairs and dividers between each chair area. I could hear the conversations and work being performed on the patients next to me. On my last visit Dr Ward came by to check my teeth 5 minutes into my cleaning. The hygienist had barely started the cleaning and the doctor was already there to check. He never came back at the end of the visit to check her work. I found this strange and unprofessional.

I am very happy I went to this dentist. I had a bad bicycle accident that left me emotionally scarred as much as facially damaged. They saw me right away, worked with me for several hours to get me feeling a bit whole again, and worked with me through my insurance questions. They couldn’t have been nicer and their sense of humor through my accident cushioned the blow for me a bit.

This is a great dental office. It’s a very friendly and chill environment. Just last week, I began having some gum issue. B/​c of the 3-​day weekend, I called to see if I can have a same day appointment. The receptionist told me that they were booked but she still added me to the schedule.

Great place! Friendly staff, great hours, quick service. I can walk there from my house.
Yes, you need to prepare yourself for the dentist’s nasty smoking habit (which is super weird for someone in the med field) but that’s my only complaint. And really, he’s been in-​and-​out of my mouth so quickly that it hasn’t bothered me much.
I trust this guy and I love my funky/​sweet hygienist.

Awesome dentist, awesome staff! Both me and my daughter go here and I really like it! Also they are open on Saturdays! :)

Although the staff is great the dentist is a smoker and a surfer so after the pleasant experience with the hygienist it’s like ok I will settle with this dentist because you think he’s ok at what he does. But when work needs to get done, he will suggest veneers as your only option and when you think it’s hopeless, he tells you that two is recommended to match the color. I have had two dentists in the past that gladly used bonding and it lasted roughly 5 – 10 years and this dentist made a comment about saving my box tops because I preferred the bonding method. So before I wrote this review, I went to an excellent dentist and he fixed it right up saying veneers are ridiculous and that all I need is bonding. So if you go in, and the prices they give you are out of your price range check cassell dentistry and the reviews explain it all.

The staff here are seriously the best! I’m a student, and was unfortunate enough to have my class registration time coincide with my appointment time. Not only were they super fast and great about watching the time, but then they gave me their wifi password and let me sit in their lobby with my laptop so I could register for my classes! Seriously, I’ve never met such accommodating and efficient staff.
Dr. Ward is definitely an odd one, lol. He’s a dentist that drinks coffee, and he smokes. BUT, the guy knows his stuff. After your appointment, the office is in the heart of Hillcrest, so you’re free to explore all the amazing restaurants and shops!

Always on time when it comes to appointment. I appreciate a business who value their client/customer’s time. I’ve been seeing Dr. Ward for several years now and never once did I have to wait longer than 10min. Facility is super clean and staff are super friendly.
I had one dental hygienist that was a tad chatty at on point which was annoying because it is not like I can respond to her question with my mouth wide open. But other than that I am extremely please with their services. The big plus for me is that they have free Parking because finding parking on the busy street of 5^th Ave can be frustrating.

Great dentist, friendly man and makes a difficult task (going to the dentist) tolerable. The best guy in town!

Thanks to Ruggy, former SD Community Manager for Unilocal who turned me on to Dr Ward’s Dental office.
Being new to town I had no clue on where to go to get my pearly whites taken care of and I’m kind of a nervous Nellie in the dentist chair.
I now have been going to Dr. Ward’s office since early 2009 and have had good experiences. The staff are super friendly and always make you feel like they have known you forever. His office is on 5^th making it super convenient for me living and working in Hillcrest.
I’m partial to anything Hawaiian and Dr Ward is all about Hawaii in his dress and his décor of his office. I love the Honu in the waiting room =)

I called to schedule an appointment as a new patient. The phone interaction was pleasant and professional.
The Facilities
The office was clean, and organized. It was not cluttered or messy looking. It was well designed and updated.
Staff
The front staff was very nice and professional. They were engaging and I felt very comfortable and welcomed upon my arrival.
Hygienist
My hygienist was very nice and professional. The hygienist was careful going near my recent wisdom teeth extraction sites and caused little discomfort. I felt I received a very thorough cleaning
Dr. Ward
While no procedures were completed during this appointment we did discuses my future needs. I felt he was attentive and listened to my questions. And I was confident with his recommendations about the needed repairs were accurate. I will update after I go back to complete these fixes.
Overall, this establishment is professional, courteous, and attentive. I would recommend this office to friends and family.

I heart Dr. Ward and all the staff at his office. His wife runs the show behind the desk and is super friendly. Their son goes to Northwestern in Chicago, so we always chat about Chicago, which is nice. One of the hygenists also grew up in the same town where I went to college (Kenosha, WI), so overall this place just feels familiar/​like home. I love it. Have had nothing but positive experiences with everyone.
They have Sat appointments too, which is great!

Had to knock off some stars today after being suckered by what was my favorite dentist up until today… of course i realize I am just as at fault here as well by not asking enough questions and going through with something I probably wouldn’t have done otherwise.
Dr. Ward is a very cool guy and usually has me chuckling with his cracks and jokes, the office staff is also super great and I guess I was sucked in with the personality of the people. But what I should have been focusing on was the DENTAL WORK i am coming in to take care of.
For over a year they have been pushing an onlay to me and for over a year I put it off coming up with some excuse or another. Honestly, I couldn’t figure out why I needed one… the tooth didn’t hurt, it worked fine whats the deal?
Then recentIy came in to have my RIGHT tooth looked at due to pain when eating. They decided it best to fix the onlay on the LEFT and leave the hurting one till the next visit… making sure to remind me to try not to chew too much on the LEFT side temp until I get the full Onlay in 2 weeks. SO you don’t have to be a mathametician to realize my RIGHT side hurts to chew and my LEFT i am not supposed to chew. I guess they don’t believe in eating.
The rest of the afternoon (hungry) i spent looking into Onlays. Several articles later it seems they tend to fail 50% of the time but they are GREAT for a dentisits’ wallet. lots of extra fees for them to charge and a super easy quick procedure. HHHmmmm I guess now I understand why he drives an M6 as his daily car.
Oh and for the Unilocaler who pondered if they ever had an onlay… ask yourself, did you pay in the hundreds of dollars even WITH insurance on your way out the door?

Seriously this is the best dental experience you will ever have. My chompers couldn’t be happier.
Between the ultra friendly staff, Kung Pow Tina (dental hygienist by day San Diego Derby Doll by night), and Dr. Ward (the coolest dentist alive) I wake up the day of my appointments and am stoked to go somewhere that most people dread.
This office will have you cheesing (smiling) for sure!

I’ve been going to Dr. Ward for nearly six years now and will be a patient for as long as I have dental insurance! I know there are some people that hate going to the dentist with a passion, but I’m not one of those because Dr. Ward and his entire staff are all awesome!
Their office went through a major face lift last year and I’m totally digging the aloha vibe up in there, it’s very chill. Parking can be a drag at this medical office building at times, but they cover your parking costs in the private lot as long as you put the validation ‘ticket’ in the slot you can pick up yourself on their front counter.
I try to schedule my appointments later in the afternoon so I don’t have to trek all the way back to La Jolla for work. With my last few visits, they were very accommodating with my request that I had to be out of there at a certain time to make it to my next appointment (whatever it may be… get my hair did, take friends to the airport, etc.).
I administer the benefits for a ton of employees at my work and when they ask me for a good recommendation for an in-​network PPO dentist, I can’t help but mention Dr. Ward if they’re willing to drive out to Hillcrest (a lot of employees live close to the office, a good 15 miles away). Some have tried him out and they’ve been very pleased.
If you’re in search for a good dentist, give Dr. Ward and his staff a shot. Ruggy also goes there, so he can vouch for the Rock-​a-​dontist! I actually ran into Ruggy there today as we were both taking care of our grilles… too funny!

Dr. Ward is the best.
The people working in the office are very friendly and make your visit to the dentist extremely pleasurable. In addition to the top-​notch dental work you’ll receive, you’ll also learn a plethora of rock knowledge from the man known as the Rock-​a-​Dontist.
You see, Dr. Ward used to be a drummer on the Sunset Strip in the glory days of hair-​metal (late 70’s/early 80’s). I can’t remember the name of his band, but the people he ran with are classic. He’s pals with all the dudes in Slaughter, RATT and Judas Priest as well as tight with the Morrissey camp, Ben Harper and Ozzy Osbourne. In fact, Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne offered Dr. Ward a job as his drummer after parting ways with Black Sabbath. He’s got all sorts of stories about him, including one about having to carry a passed-​out Ozzy Osbourne over his shoulder from a tour bus to his bedroom in England. However, after entertaining the idea of touring w/​Oz, he decided to put down the sticks for good and tackle the wild world of dentistry.
Dr. Ward isn’t just about legendary rock stories, he does quality work as well. He graduated from USC and has been practicing for decades. From root canals to veneers, he’s pretty much changed the entire shape of my smile and I have no complaints to speak of.
Life’s too short to have a boring-​ass dentist. Make an appointment with Dr. Ward.