Tarsitano Ben DDS MD

Very rude staff. Came in for a consultation and they tried to pressure me into getting the procedure that day. Never saw a doctor as he was on vacation and the full in wouldn’t see me unless I was getting the procedure done. I was upfront with the office staff about only wanting a consultation and after waiting 45 minutes had to tell the nurse three times I was sure I didn’t want it done that day. Horrible customer service and horrible staff. Watched a video from the 80’s and then the nurse rolled her eyes at me when I asked a question. Told my dentist to never refer anyone here again. This was the worst experience of my life. Felt like they only wanted the money and didn’t care about my well being at all. Never saw my X-​ray or anything until I showed up that day. I do not recommend this place and will make sure none of my family ever goes.

(Salinas Office)
I went in for my wisdom teeth extraction and there were post op complications (nothing major) that are typical when recovering from the procedure and so far I’ve had a great experience.
The receptionist is awesome. She is extremely helpful, friendly, and has a welcoming attitude. The dental assistants and others who work there displayed a high level of professionalism. They were also welcoming, respectful and reassuring. I was anxious and nervous before the procedure and they did their best to make me feel comfortable. As for Dr. Tarsitano, he did an amazing job. In regards to those that complained about his bedside manner, I strongly disagree with them. I went back to his office for the post op complication and he did what he had to do and reassured me that everything looked great and that everything was going to be taken care of. He didn’t ask me irrelevant questions that did not pertain to my purpose of being there, instead he and his assistant did what they were supposed to do. They found out what was wrong and they fixed it. The only thing I can complain is the wait. It’s normal and occurs else where but it’s a tad annoying. I highly recommend this Doctor.

My son had an extraction there today. He’s 7, and we were both nervous. The receptionist was nice and helpful, even though we were her first patients in there and were asking questions before she even turned on the computers.
They got us in there pretty close to on-​time and, here’s my glowing part of the review, Lety was wonderful. She was the assistant that took us back and got him all set up. She answered all of my questions without getting impatient and was reassuring to us through the whole thing. She came out as soon as the procedure was over (I wasn’t allowed to stay as it was a surgery and a sterile environment, plus there was no room for extra people) and told me how he did — he did great — and gave me an estimate of waiting time for him to come out of anesthesia. She was just super friendly and helpful.
I saw a lot of bad Unilocal on here and I really don’t understand. I guess everyone’s experience is different but ours was great!

When my daughter had broken three front teeth in a bicycling accident, his office saw her right away. His agile use of interspersing specific dental vocabulary with his use of layman terms quickly gave me a sense of how serious her injuries were and also gave us a sense how lucky we were that her injuries were not worse. My daughter is new to the Santa Cruz area and did not have a regular dentist. Dr. Tarsitano not only recommended a good dentist for her, but one that is in the area where my daughter lives. His staff got her an walk-​in appointment for the same day and in the same hour we saw Dr. Tarsitano. They also printed out a map and had the new office give a call us to confirm that they were expecting to see us in the next 30 minutes. All this happened in twenty minutes with Dr. Tarsitano himself taking the time to allay our fears over the injuries. I am very thankful that my daughter’s primary physician referred her to this oral surgeon.

My mother was scheduled with Dr. Tarsino for oral surgery. During her first appointment the medical assistant gave her medical advice that seemed incorrect and was contrary to what my mother’s primary care doctor advised (and potentialy harmful). The MA was very rude during this initial visit, especially when questioned on her advice. When my mother returned for her scheduled surgery today she asked to speak to the doctor first because she wanted to place a formal complaint. Five minutes later an assistant came in and told her to leave; she was informed that the doctor was refusing to do her surgery because of the complaint. My mother was already in the chair and prepped for surgery. Unbelievable!

My daughter had her first appointment here today and I was very disappointed. The doctors assistant was very rude to me. Never introduced herself to either of us and said she already went over our situation with the doctor. We never saw the doctor and was out in less than five minutes. I received bad attitude from the assistant after asking a question. Very rude.

I must say, this experience was pleasant, the staff seemed busy just trying to maintain the chart fool. After all I discovered in my quest for a Specialized that this Dr. is the only Dr. that takes Medical/​Medicare in the area. I did meet with other Dr’s in the ares and I was not impressed with them at all. Sure they had very nice offices with the latest technology. But they where not Dr. Ben Tarsitano, This Dr. is very busy, but is direct and amazing with the needles I did not even feel the needle go in. He was thought full and kind to me. I felt a sense of care. and relief. I’m also very impressed with the staff. Sara the office manager runs a tight crew. and is no nonsense. which works well with me, but she is also very fare and hard working and always looking after all the details in the office. The quotes I received from the other local office was outrageous. even with me paying CASH. This office rate is fare and just might be he lowest in the county. And this Dr. is experienced and a god with the needle. I will be taking my family to him for any extractions moving forward.

I have read the prior reviews for Dr. Tarsitano and his staff and am frankly surprised and disappointed to see such negative commentary with regard to Dr. Tarsitano. We have been referred to Dr. Tarsitano by our family dentist over the past four years or so and have been more than satisfied with the dental services we have received upon our referral to Dr. Tarsitano’s office.
I called for the appointment and was given a 09:00 appointment for Tuesday. On Monday, just after Maria called to confirm the appointment-​she called back to ask if I could come in at 10:30 instead. She did not insist I change it or give reasons why they had no choice but to change it-​she asked nicely if I would mind, and not being inconvenienced by the change, I agreed to come in at 10:30. We have never felt in any way inconvenienced or mistreated by Dr. Tarsitano or his staff; our experience has been quite the opposite and we thank one and all at Dr. Tarsitano’s office for their kindness and professionalism.
Today I had three teeth pulled by Dr. Tarsitano and am extremely pleased and grateful to have had him perform these extractions for me. He is extremely competent and a very talented oral surgeon; I have very little use for flowery introductions or political and social commentary-​not that he has ever offered any. I go there to have professional, efficient, affordable dental care and it is exactly what I receive. It is my personal opinion that Dr. Tarsitano is one of the finest maxillofacial/​oral surgeons in the Monterey Bay area and it is our hope that he will not be retiring any time soon.

Good experience with my appointment. Before I went to my appt I’ve read all these reviews and I was not comfortable being there but I had no choice.
The process went easy and smooth, friendly and respectful staff and Dr.
They treat you the way you treat them.

Dr Tarsitano is a complete jerk. He should retire from his dentist mill his office manager sara is a very angry person who should not deal with real humans!!! I called and complain to Taristano about her, how did he handle it? he cancel my sons surgery !! he said what can I do about it, I work for her REALLY? do the people a favor and retire!

This is from about four years ago but Kept putting off posting, so here you go…
All the girls that work in the office are really nice. Don’t care for the surgeon or his fill-​in for when he’s on vacation…
Just had my wisdom teeth taken out there and while I was laying there inhaling the «laughing gas» I hear him in the other room on a personal phone call screaming into the phone and pulling the whole, «Do you know who I am?» I was supposed to be loosening up with the gas, but do you think that loosened me up? He was a total jerk. BAD, BAD, BAD experience.

Dr Tarsitano himself was amiable and offered a reasonable price for the medical implant services I was looking for, but this email is about the nightmare I went through at the front desk each time I came in for an appointment.
Appointment 1.) I arrived and waited over 30mins (sometimes happens no problem) for an appointment only to be told that the front desk person had forgotten to send back my approval and so I could not be seen at that time. I was upset but was livid that the girl lied and said she had sent it –trying to deflect any balm off of herself. I had to leave after almost two hours of wasted time…
Ok deep breath.
Appointment 2.) I came in and saw Dr Tarsitano– he was amiable and talked about the range of my options– he saw that I had a root canal (tooth still intact) that needed to be removed and then an implant put in.
A few weeks later I called the front desk to get the ball rolling on my implant, I explained my situation and was told to come in to have an initial screening done for having an implant put in.
Appointment 3.) I arrived, again waited about 30 minutes before anyone talked with me. It was only after I asked about insurance coverage for my having the first step of my implant (removal of the old tooth) was I told that actually I needed to have the tooth out before I could do the initial screening for the implant. Thus, again I had wasted a lot of time taking off work driving to the appointment, waiting and then being told I could not be seen for another number of weeks.
So I was upset and let the front desk folks know that its hard to take time off work to come in and because of their struggle to communicate, coordinate and overall do what they needed to do to set their patient up for success (me) I had wasted a ton of time and been stressed out for not good reason. Im not proud that I got upset and wish I hadn’t but a stress can sometimes take over.
Appointment 4.) Funny thing, this appointment did not happen. I was sent an email from the front desk coordinator (see actual letter below) that they could not meet my needs and that they would forward my information to a new provider. So after all that hassle they put me through, their answer was to fired me. Its really sad and a poor reflection on their administrative staff. I’m sure they are good people but they just don’t have it together.
If you have another choice in Oral Surgery I suggest you go there…

I have had issues with dentists my whole adult life. I’ve had 6 teeth pulled in the past, before I saw this dentist and I am utterly amazed at how quick he pulled lucky number 7 out! I believe it was about a minute, possibly a minute and a half, total. With the other 6 it has taken WAY longer and I was in complete agony with all the sounds going on in my head (mouth). This morning it was just some intense pressure and then BAM! he was done.
What I also really appreciated was the fact he didn’t make me feel bad about my teeth. I’m very sensitive about them and I loathe the way all other dentists I’ve seen has made me feel bad about it. I take care of my teeth as much as I can, I just have bad genes (thanks mom, dad and both sets of grandparents!) Not much more I can do! Dr. Tarsitano was very perfunctory (in a good way) and professional and just got the job DONE! Extremely grateful!
Oh and his staff is very sweet and knowledgable! Thank you!

My daughter had 4 wisdom teeth extracted.
We were very disappointed with Dr. Tarsitano’s service for several reasons. We felt that he was running a «surgery mill» in and out operation with very little doctor/​patient interaction. I was really surprised he didn’t even evaluate my daughter before the surgery. We watched a ridiculously outdated video explaining the procedure and risks as our only pre-​surgery interaction with your office. That should have been a clue as to the type of service that would be provided.
We chose to go with him because he was a preferred service provider with our insurance coverage. We were told on the phone that the out of pocket cost to us would be around $ 300. We paid 294.40 on the day of the surgery and expected that to be the final cost. We were never informed that there would be $ 163 charges for extra anesthesia, which was administered twice, and other fees totaling $ 459. Seems like a bit of a bait and switch.
More importantly, our daughter has not had a successful recovery. The flaps over the extractions have caused the mouth tissue to be too taut and uncomfortable. After several months of my daughter feeling there was something wrong with the incisions, we came back for a consult with Dr. Tarsitano and were told that everything was normal. There was never any follow up on his part to see if she was improving. It is now a year+ past the surgery date and there is still no improvement. Our regular dentist mentioned to us that the way it is healing indicates the incisions were possibly sewn incorrectly.

Do not under any circumstances go to this dentist. He needs to retire. He and his staff do not know how to treat humans, much less patients. They are very unprofessional in their conduct. They don’t seem to understand there is another human in the room when they are gossiping or other inappropriate behaviors. Every patient should be treated like they are the doctor’s family. Respect, kindness, and empathy should be the most on their minds. They are so rude it is unbelievable. There are other choices for oral surgery in the area. Pick someone else!

I went in to get my bottom two wisdom teeth removed a few days ago. Regarding the surgery, I think it went well and have had minimum swelling and pain. This review is based primarily on my experience and care from the nurses and Dr. Tarsitano.
I was already very nervous for the oral surgery as I had never been put asleep or had a large procedure. On top of it I was facing some family troubles and my anxiety was a bit high. Anyways, I went in, waited about 15 minutes and was put into a small room. The nurse put on the laughing gas to make me relax. She then said she would inject an IV and I said that my veins were a bit damaged since I had just donated blood and a few had blown in the process. She tied the rubber band around my arm tighter than anyone had ever done as if she was mad. She couldn’t find a vein, so she used my hand instead and as a reflex tears ran down my face since my hands. She told me I was just being hypersensitive and that she did these better on 3 years old.
Dr. Tarsitano then walked in and I was still awake. He never acknowledged me or even said hi. Having past experience working with doctors and dentists, I had never seen anyone have less respect for their patient’s comfort and professionalism. The only words I remember him saying when the nurse told me she was injecting something that would burn was «don’t be a wimp.» It made me so mad that he could say that but couldn’t say a simple hello. Before I could respond I passed out. It seemed like a few seconds passed and I then woke up.
Once I opened my eyes the nurse said «oh your awake time to go.» I was so confused that I did not get time to even relax after awaking from the anesthesia. I sat up and was so shaky and dizzy. They put me in another room to lay down. My fiancé was a bit upset that they tried to get me out once I woke up and the lack of care from the dentist. He talked to the nurse about my discomfort and all she said was I was acting like a child and kids took these procedures better. I was so offended. The nurse then came in and told me if I was ready. I got up and still felt really dizzy. I laid down again for a couple minutes. My fiancé was sitting next to me and then Dr. Tarsitano walked in and told him he needed to talk to my fiancé.
They walked to another room and all I heard was yelling and cussing from the Dr. The nurse came in and told me I had to exit through a back door. As I got in the car my fiancé told me what had happened.
I guess the Dr. was upset that we had complained. He took him to a room and my fiancé sat down. He yelled at my fiancé that I was being hypersensitive and exaggerated. He also stated that he «fucking hates it when people with medi-​cal complain.» He is the «only dr who serves these types of people and doesn’t think they should be complaining of his service.» He asked my fiancé if he was a dr or had a PhD. He responded «no», but that he wasn’t stupid enough to understand the privatization of health care and how he was paid less through medi-​cal. My fiancé then stood up and asked «people like me?» Dr. then yelled at him that people like us ruin it for everyone and that he needed to sit down. My fiancé said «no» that he would not stand for his bullying and stereotyping. The dr then told him to get the «fuck out of his office.» My fiancé tried to shake his hand but the dr refused and said get out. They were actually in a room with the door open and all the nurses and patients waiting heard.
I was really upset at how badly the situation ended. I never got to even ask questions about my procedure as I was rushed out once my fiancé stepped out. I was not aware of anything going on till i talked to my fiancé. It takes a lot for him to get mad but I think Dr. Tartisano refusing to accept that I was uncomfortable and telling us basically that people with medi-​cal were not worthy of his service crossed the line. Yes my surgery turned out fine so far, but just because of our insurance we didn’t have the same rights as other patients. Both me and my fiancé work full time and go to UCSC but sadly can’t afford to pay for our insurance at this time.
If you have medi-​cal I highly recommend going somewhere else, and also anyone who is paying or using any other insurance. I am sure this man knows his stuff and has treated many people, but he needs to work on making his patients comfortable and treating everyone equal. It seems he is more worried about getting as much patients in and out as possible and getting their money.
I read these Unilocal reviews prior to going and I really hate myself for ignoring them. I will never go back to this doctor again. Even when I called back the nurse at first who answered didn’t want to answer my questions. I called back and she finally heard me out. She responded that the way the dr works is he just comes in and pulls teeth out and doesn’t like to add the fluff of introducing himself to patients and making them feel comfortable. Poor excuse for serving humanity.

My daughter’s wisdom tooth extraction came out just fine, so this is not my complaint. The staff was also very nice… However, the doctor was chewing out the staff in front of everyone in the office and I found it very unprofessional.
About an hour after my daughter was taken back for surgery, I saw the doctor walk into the waiting room, so I asked him how my daughter’s surgery went. He looked at me and said that «she was not done yet». I was perplexed since he was standing in the waiting room. I think he meant she was not done recovering yet. Anyhow, he didn’t give me any information on how well the surgery went or anything. He was more preoccupied with yelling at his staff.
He also asked my daughter if she did drugs once her IV/​anesthesia was in. He told here that there would be issues with the medications if she used drugs.
It all just seemed odd and left a bad taste in my mouth (pun intended) and I’m glad that there are other choices, really good ones, in the Santa Cruz area for oral surgery.