John C Cottingham, DDS

I love Dr. Cottingham and his staff! I have been a patient for 8 years and have had some misfortune with my teeth– he has been a huge help and has been phenomenal with helping me navigate my issues. I always receive the best care possible, and his schedule is super accommodating to his patients– which is a blessing to me as my schedule is all over the place at times. I have never been to a dentist I felt so comfortable with and would recommend him to anyone I know.

My mentor brought me in here to get me all checked up and good to go before I move abroad which was something I’ve been putting on the back burner for a while. This place is pretty awesome! I had a great clean up with Lisa who’s very knowledgeable and took her time to teach me all about dental hygiene from flossing down right to my diet and lifestyle. She was super sweet. Dr. Cottingham is also great, he talked to me about my dental history, was very honest in terms of telling me what I do need to get done and what can wait. He also gave me copies of my chart and teeth so that I can have them handy for my future follow-​ups in any part of the world.
The receptionist were also great and friendly. It is one of those offices where it almost feels like a spa; you are super relaxed and knowledgeable about your mouth once you exit the front door. Thank you all for everything!

I know for a fact Dr. Cottingham is a great dentist. I was his classmate in dental school

Dr Cottingham and his team are truly a wonderful team. I have a complicated and tight set of teeth when it comes to flossing and the dental hygienist is honestly a fallen angel. Every past dental hygienist has been so rough, and made my gums bleed (even though I floss daily), and they hurt the teeth and just wanted to get the job done. Dr. Cottinghams angel, Lisa, is really something else. She is funny and motivated to educate and is very likable and so delicate– I didnt even have to tell her to be careful since I have a high pain tollerance, it was just like a massage. No head jerking, jaw manipulations or pain afterwards.
Dr. Cottingham is a very skilled dentist who really loves what he does. I have very low enamel and have had a filling on just about every tooth since the age of 7 (and those take lots of maintenance with refilling as sealant gets old), so I have been to the dentist frequently, and never have I received an extremely generous discount on polishing/​«makeovers» on my teeth until I joined the Cottingham group.
I pay out of pocket and the charges are very honest. I know that I am not being ripped off as I am a student.
I am very pleased to recommend Dr. Cottingham and his fabulous staff– and the receptionist is a delight too. She is cheerful, engaged, and genuinely interested in how I am doing, and picks up right where we last started from.
Its really a fantastic place.
Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to introduce to you the best dentist in San Jose (and Northern Virginia where I grew up).

I’ve been going to Dr. Cottingham for over 5 years and would recommend him to anyone. My parents also started going to him after I referred them.
He does everything for me from routine checkups to cosmetic repairs.
Go see him, you won’t regret it!

Best dentist hands down. I was always afraid of dentist because I would always feel the pain but not with him. I would not feel any pain at and had a root cannel done didn’t feel anything. Wasn’t scared of returning at all. Also all his staff is really nice and they are knowledgeable. I would highly recommend him to other people.

Great Office, Great Service, Great Advice from an experienced Dentist!
I’m a big believer that you should never be misinformed or mislead into unnecessary procedures for your teeth or health. The biggest testament to this is when Dr. Cottingham first question to me was «are you happy with your teeth?» I much appreciated that as I haven’t had too many issues with my teeth. But even then, Dr. Cottingham did a very in depth and thorough assessment of my teeth. He did this to help me understand what was going on with my teeth.
I do highly recommend Dr. Cottingham and his office. I was immediately and promptly served by the staff. Since I hadn’t been to the dentist in over a year, the hygienist did a great job cleaning my teeth and taking the time to remove spots from the top of my teeth. I never thought I was being hurried out, and they really make you feel like a real patient instead of «customer».
What I appreciated the most from Dr. Cottingham and the hygenist is the time and effort they took to educate me on what I could be doing for my teeth to improve my oral health. The doctor even took the time to show me via camera which teeth needed attention, why, and what I could do to improve on them. They even showed me how to use a rubber tipped toothbrush and a regimen to accompany it. All round, no dentist to date has ever gone to this level of care and education to help me understand my oral health.
I thank you for my last visit and actually look forward to the next visit. For all you still reading… this guy is awesome, go see him!

Our dentist of 20+ years retired. Our children’s orthodontist recommended Dr. Cottingham. I scheduled a consultation to meet him before I transferred the whole family. The office was clean, pretty and organized. His staff was welcoming, nice and made me feel at home. The appointment went well. Dr. Cottingham is professional, easy to talk to, calm and confident. I felt this was a good fit for our family.
A couple of weeks later I started having some problems with one of my teeth. I called the office and they got me in right away. Turned out that my tooth was chipped and the old filling needed to come out. To make a long story short, he took an ex-​ray, explained what was going on and fixed it right there.
I do not like shots and have a bit of anxiety when going to the dentist. Let me tell you, this Dr. is awesome. I did not feel either of the two shots whatsoever, he explained everything he was doing, or about to do and made me feel 100% comfortable. To top it off, he even called over the weekend to make sure my tooth was feeling ok! WOW!
I have high expectations. Dr. Cottingham exceeds all of them. So happy I found this office!

I started going to Dr. Cottingham under the recommendation of my husband and sister-​in-​law, who have been going to his office for years. He has left such an AMAZING impression on me in the last 6 months that I have now recommended him to my mother and several coworkers.
First, the most amazing part: he made me completely comfortable while using needles. I hate hate hate needles, but he made me calm, comfortable, reminded me to breathe, and talked me through the whole thing. I have never been so un-​anxious around needles in my entire life.
Other great things about Dr. C (there are SO many) include his patience and matter-​of-​fact attitude. I have had a lifetime of horrible dentists who acted without explaining and whispered to their assistants behind my back: Dr. C takes as much time as I want for explanations of exactly what he is doing and what the next steps are for my dental care. He also lets me stop the procedures at any moment to cough, rest, or relax my jaw (I have TMJ).
I like the technology he uses in the office: at my first appointment, he used a camera to go tooth-​by-​tooth and take a full status report of every flaw. Each patient room is outfitted with a screen that displays what he’s looking at, and lets me understand which tooth/​flaw he’s talking about. On subsequent appointments, he constantly refers back to the photos he took. I feel very knowledgeable about my dental health :)
His office staff is incredibly nice, and his hygienist even remembered and asked about my wedding after it happened. Similar to Dr. C, they are very explanatory during appointments, and are more than willing to answer even the silliest of my questions.
And bonus: it may seem small, but it meant a lot that Dr. C had blankets available and offered one to me when I was cold in his office. I thought it was very thoughtful.
I highly recommend him to any one looking for a great dentist in the South Bay! And don’t forget to rubber tip ;)

I am fairly new to the area and was in need of a good dentist. I asked my boss for a referral, and he gave me Dr. Cottingham’s info and explained why he thought he was the best dentist in the world. He was pretty convincing, so I went.
They ask new patients to fill out a comprehensive health questionnaire, not sure if this is standard or not. I had been having tension headaches nearly everyday for a few years now, so I put this on the questionnaire. I had tried everything to get rid of these headaches: months of chiropractor visits, gen practitioners (who prescribed migraine meds), blood work and an MRI to detect any deeper issues, home traction devices, etc. No good. I usually just tried breathing techniques and took an Excedrin everyday.
Who would have thought that a dentist would bother to help with headaches? Dr. Cottingham saw me for my examination and asked tons of questions about my health and the headaches, like he genuinely cared. He asked if I clench my teeth. Why yes, sometimes I wake up with extremely sore jaw. He made a mold of my teeth and had it sent away to a lab to make an NTI (not sure what it stands for, but it’s a tiny plastic device that prevents clenching while sleeping). What a world of difference! I can get through an entire day without a headache now! No more Excedrin. I’m still in disbelief that I tried so many things for years with no relief and this little device has eliminated them completely. No drugs, no surgery, no pain.
I will be ever-​grateful that this doctor cared so much about me.
I should also mention that he and his hygienist also do fabulous general dentistry. Very gentle and explain as much as you care to hear (sometimes I just don’t want to know what you’re doing to me). I will never go to another dentist.

Dr. Cottingham has been my dentist for the past 15 yrs. He always explains what he is doing and makes sure I am comfortable. He has done a great job installing my crowns over the years. In fact, I had a crown come off one Saturday night at 8PM. I called the office number, he called me right back. He met me at his office at 8:45PM and reinstalled the crown… even though his office was being renovated and there were construction workers there. His staff is great as well. He is the only dentist in the area I trust.

Dr. Cottingham is amazing at what he does! He is very gentle and sensitive to how you are feeling with the work he is doing. He has replaced a few fillings that were broken and fixed the white spots on my teeth, something that no dentist has been able to do! I wish I had gone to him sooner!
One of my favorite things about his office, is they work evenings two days a week, which is very helpful for my busy work schedule.
I would highly recommend him and his staff!

On just my very first appointment Dr. Cottingham and his staff made me feel like I had been seeing them for years. They were not just friendly but talked me through every part of the procedure. I had been suffering from tooth pain for two days, they fit me in last minute on a Saturday morning. They have headphones and a large selection of music for you, I turned on and tuned out that drill– what a great offering!
I was a little extra nervous because my new little son was at home and this was my first time away from him. Dr. Cottingham took that into consideration when educating me about the numbing options because of breastfeeding. He also was great about letting me know «about 15 more minutes… Two more things then 5 minutes» I really felt that they cared about my comfort.

«Alright, now this next part is a bit jumpy. Sometimes it can be a bit rough, but I’m going to be as careful with it as I can. I do need to do this part of the cleaning though»
«So here, I’m starting with the backs of the teeth since they’re less sensitive. The fronts of your front teeth are the most sensitive part, so I like to start with the easy stuff and ease into the rest»
And honestly, by the time he got to the front teeth, my mouth was so used to it that I didn’t really notice the difference. Dr. Cottingham is fantastic, and today I had an excellent situation with him for a normal check in/​clean up where he used water vibrations of some sort to clean my teeth. The above was how he explained it all while doing it, and it made me realize that I couldn’t be luckier to know this dentist.
The staff and Dr. Cottingham himself are all very friendly, excited to socialize, and keep your visit under an hour. It’s great! I actually feel comfortable about the idea of returning to the Dentist every six months here, and best yet, he really pays attention. One word out of my mouth about my CS major and wanting to make video games for a living, and he went on to talk about every major thing he could in his life that related to games. I was delighted listening to his conversation while he worked, and he even made a good effort to remember my recommendation for Journey.
His medical knowledge is down to earth, and his words are wise. He’s corrected two of my own failed assessments of past problems (teeth falling out feeling was really caused by nasal passages, sensitivity to cold was not stress/​teeth-​grinding but gingivitis), and explains right up to the point of introducing a couple new words, but no further than what you understand. Again, a fantastic Dentist, and I think I’ll be staying here as long as I can.

You can’t get a better dentist than Dr Cottingham. He’s super friendly, explains everything he’s doing, answers all questions, and takes the time to make sure you’re comfortable. He doesn’t stop until you’re happy with the results. His staff is incredibly friendly and knowledgeable too. Another great part is that he has evening appointments two nights of the week.

Dr. Cottingham is amazing! His staff is wonderful. They take their time to explain things and are very friendly.
Tonight Dr Cottingham replaced 2 of my alloy fillings, fixed a chipped tooth and repaired a crown PAIN-​FREE all within an hour too! He is by far the best dentist I have ever seen. Even the shots I had, I honestly did not feel.
If you want a kind and gentle dentist go to Dr. Cottingham.

Everyone at this office is awesome — especially Dr. John! I inherited him when my other dentist retired, so I thought I would give him a try. That was so long ago I cannot even remember. I started taking my 23 year old son to him at the age of three, so it has been a very long time. I now live in Fremont and I drive down to San Jose to see the dentist.
When he gives you a shot, you do not even feel it. His work is really thorough.

I’ve been going to the Doc for 13 years now!
If I didn’t trust him, I wouldn’t be there. He does great work, cares about his patients, has a great manner about him, and has a good sense of humor.
…and yes, to answer the question from the last poster, he *works* for that tan.

We LOVE Dr. Cottingham. My brother’s family started going to him & then so did we. My husband, myself and both kids (ages 6 & 3) all go, all love him. I have less then stellar teeth & have had nothing but positive experiences. He has a great «bedside manner» & is really good at putting you at ease. One of the things I really like is that he explains to you everything he’s doing and why.
He’s great!

I’ve had several dentists in my lifetime and some were good and some were bad. John is the best there is. If your the type of person who’s afraid of the dentist he’s the perfect guy for you. I have been going to John for 6 years and I have never felt pain, never. Yesterday, I needed a crown and he put a temporary in in about 30 minutes with ease, no problem. They even gave me headphones to listen to music while they fixed my tooth. He is awesome and his staff is very nice too.