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. read more

Stephen Ward, DDS - General Dentistry Near Me - San Diego, California

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! read more

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! read more

Love here and never thought I would say this of a dentist. Well with past not so happy experiences I finally came to Dr Farokian's office. Stephanie did an amazing cleaning. She is also a sweet heart. Dr Farokian has a lot of knowledge and is really calm to explain everything. I keep recommending to all my friends. read more

Stephen Ward, DDS - Someone is taking a nap while waiting - General Dentistry Near Me - San Diego, California

Dr. Ward's staff of dentists, assistants, & administrators are the best. I was recommended here by a friend for getting my required dental evaluation prior to deployment. Now I had gone to another place and they were going to rip me off thousands extra. It was unnecessary (in Mira Mesa anyway) and the dentist at Ward's office made it clear that just 1 crown needed to be done on top of some mandatory cleaning. Needless to say, it worked out well enough to where I'm making an appointment with them as soon as I return from my deployment here in Iraq. I'll update this after my next visit. I'll schedule it early, given how good a quality of service this place is. Stay tuned! read more

Dr. Ward and Kathy have retired to Hawaii heaven. Dr. Faroukian is very good and has taken over the practice, since maybe 2018.

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! read more

Dr. Ward should have stayed a professional drummer. He has no professional demeanor with his clients, reeks of cigarette smoke, is tactless... and... I am never trusting YELP for a medical recommendation, again, EVER. I, too got talked into the onlay thing. Thankfully, my insurance covered most of it but when I had the records sent to my dentist back in Georgia that I have known my whole life.... he said it was unnecessary and that the material he used to do it on my back teeth was not a good choice. (Should have sent him the records PRIOR to getting the procedure done...) That it was too big to fill with this certain type of filling. Is that why it is still painful to drink hot or cold liquids? I must find another dentist to check my mouth out here. The first time I went, it was hard for them to get the huge x-ray film into my mouth so I only had PART OF MY CLEANING done and had to come back another day to get the rest done. A cleaning! Hello. Sorry my mouth is small but your materials are HUGE! So they tell me I need the onlay (Dr. Britton.) I decide to get a second opinion (should have gone to ANOTHER OFFICE but you live and learn.) So Dr. Ward says I need one, too. Oh, my old filling is leaking. RIGHT. Anyhow... I go back for the onlay procedure and it takes me some time to numb up. So when the nurse calls him in to give me more (this would be the THIRD SHOT) I ask him to touch my mouth just to be sure since I had waited five minutes since she had alerted him. He says, "Oh, no. I'm just going to do it," and fucking shoots the numb gun in my cheek again. You may be the dentist here, and you may know I need some more numbing, but there is NO REASON you can't take two seconds to touch my cheek to convince me I need more. I was so pissed. He also has these computer monitor-like t.v.'s in each nook (btw, you will overhear everything happening with every patient, there are NO WALLS.) that broadcast really boring T.V. channels you will never want to watch. He is very rude. The front desk staff is nice. But no, no more Dr. Ward for me. read more

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 yelper 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? read more

I'm going to revise and give my full review for Dr. Ward in a few weeks once the work on my broken tooth (thanks to Hank's at Green Valley Ranch http://www.yelp.com/biz/8jkR47-td9NOuUx6iK6t5g#hrid:Pkp27p9ok7lYV1ggCgFFrg) is complete... But for now, know that Dr. Ward is amazing - and everyone in that office is SO great,. They bend over backwards to fit you in with YOUR schedule, they remember details about your life... they're awesome... Not to mention, Dr. Ward's clients affectionately refer to him as the "Rock-a-dontist" because he LOVE music, goes to shows all the time... and will make any music lover feel at ease by talking your ear off about music (if you want him to) while getting your work done... I'm NOT a fan of going to the dentist, but if you know me at all... .you could probably guess that I would sit in that dentist chair all day long talkin' music with him if I could... read more

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. read more

So my *PREVIOUS* experience with *A DIFFERENT* dentist went like this: I went in for a cleaning and he basically told me that I was unlucky to have my name (strike one). Then he showed me his fancy shcmancy gadgets and told me i needed a deep cleaning (cash only) and fillings (hm, issues with insurance for some reason). I asked him to just do a basic cleaning, and HE REFUSED. I told him I couldn't afford to pay hundreds of dollars on something I don't think I need. Insurance company told me I don't have to pay for something that's cash only. I get a recommendation to go to Dr. Ward, and the hygienist is awesome. He looked at the xrays, thought they looked good, let's do a cleaning, let's measure the gums (the other guy didn't do this), and you'll be set for 6 months. He thought there was something suspicious on the xray for a possible cavity, so he asked Dr. Ward. Dr. Ward says, there's a minor cavity here (but I've known that for years) and let's just monitor it. The other thing? "oh, that's just artifact from the xray. They probably had an old system that doesn't give great images." And that was it. Dr. Ward joked with me and I almost got emotional and teary eyed about how wonderful he was. All he said was, 'glad it was a better experience." The place is clean, the receptionists super-friendly, free parking, and THEY DIDN'T RECOMMEND TEETH WHITENING. So he smokes and looks like a surfer dude. I don't care. Rather that than some prick that only cares about how fancy his office is and adding $$$ to his bank account. read more

Thanks to Ruggy, former SD Community Manager for Yelp 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 5th 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 decor of his office. I love the Honu in the waiting room =) read more

The coolest and most competent dentist in town. This guy and staff make going to the dentist a treat. I was really worried b/c I hadn't seen a dentist in 5 yrs, but they alayed my fears. Really nice staff who did their noble best to fix my fangs. Really great experience - he is my dentist for life. read more

My husband and I have been going to Dr. Ward for about 7 years now. We found him b/c he was the only dentist who would fit in a brand new patient at the last minute, and on a SATURDAY. Everyone at the office is really nice, they always remember my name, even though I'm generally only there every 6 months for my cleaning. I recently had an accident at work, requiring me to have veneers on my front two teeth. There were a few snags in the process, but they more than made up for it with their honesty, and special attention to my situation, and of course for my beautiful new teeth! I haven't had a lot of contact with Dr. Ward (I think my appointments are scheduled on his days off), I usually see Dr. Britton, who actually did my veneer work. He's really nice, and did a great job on my teeth. Thank you Dr. Britton!! read more

I have been a patient of Dr. Ward's for over 15 years and have always had a great experience. Recently, it has come to my attention that there has been a change in staff. The front desk (Debbie) has been very rude on several occasions. Today, I had to reschedule an appointment due to an emergency. Instead of politely accommodating my situation and being understanding, Debbie was very quick to give me attitude and make it known to me that rescheduling was an inconvenience for her. Dr. Ward is a great dentist, but customer service is crucial and her attitude was unacceptable. My family and I will be switching dentists. Update: Dr. Ward left the practice. I guess he forgot to tell his patients. read more

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! read more

Another flawless semi-annual cleaning and check up with Dr. Ward. I have only had exceptional service, upfront pricing and down-to-earth honesty here. BTW I do NOT work for this company nor am I friends with them. I simply must say that this is the best dental experience I have had in San Diego. read more

I have been going ot Dr. Ward for YEARS! When he wasn't on my dental plan I left & went to another dentist but came right back. I've had a lot of work done over the years and he's been with me every step of the way...including an implant for my front tooth that I damaged when I was a kid. It was a very trying time for me, but with him humor and kindness, he & his great staff got me through it! read more

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. read more

Amazing dental office. I started going here when I moved to SD, about a year ago. There's a new dentist in office... Dr. Farrokhian (sp?) and he's really nice. The dental hygienist, Kathy, is lovely and so detailed. She provided a lot of education on my teeth, importance of regular cleanings, and things I should expect in a few years, Dr. F took one look at my front tooth and did a quick polish to even out the coloring. SO nice! I highly recommend this dental office read more

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 5th Ave can be frustrating. read more

I went to Dr. Ward's office the other day and I still think they're great! It's always a bummer to hear that a couple of people have had a negative experience with a business I love, so I'm happy to report that nothing has changed from my perspective. Maybe I'll ask extra questions if they offer me an onlay...but for all I know I may have already gotten one! No complaints here! Some refs I looked at when deciding about fillings, inlays and onlays: http://www.ada.org/3094.aspx#indirect http://www.1800dentist.com/dental-encyclopedia/dental-inlays http://www.1800dentist.com/dental-encyclopedia/dental-onlays read more

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. read more

Good gracious going to the dentist has never been so pleasant! The staff is extremely helpful, they deal with your insurance company so you won't have to -- the ladies there are just excellent! You have to book appointments weeks in advance but they have a wait list and will call you up if anyone cancels. They also give you an estimate on work that needs to be done so you won't be surprised by prices after the job is done. Dr. Ward and the associates here are great! They explain everything they're going to do ahead of time and walk you through what they're doing and the tools they are using. Update: He really does wreak of cigarettes and is extremely expensive (even with dental insurance) read more

I went to Dr Ward as a result of his terrific reviews on yelp. Thanks! Dr Ward's office is fair, quick, and thorough. Ive been to other dentists that want to rip my mouth apart to pocket a few grand. Dr Ward's office only recommends procedures when they are actually needed. When I have needed work done, they schedule appointments promptly and manage all the insurance mambo jumbo without me having to do anything. I have had no problems whatsoever with the work Dr Ward has done on me. Although going to the dentist is definately NOT one of my favorite activities, Dr Ward is funny, thorough, professional, fair, and very capable. read more

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. read more

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. read more

Dr. Ward and his staff were very welcoming and accommodating to two newbies to the area. And anything time I can talk baseball while going through something that really isn't much fun, I'm all for. read more

I had a horrible experience at Ward's office. I had been going regularly for years now. The cleanings were fine and everyone was friendly enough. I noticed that there were some weird billing issues, where excessive amounts were being charged to my insurance, but, I figured, what do I know about billing? I let that slide. That was my first mistake. If a dentist is not honest when charging, he won't be honest when dealing with your teeth. It's a long story, but since you are reading you probably want to know. I went in for problems with one tooth. Couldn't find anything. Sent me to a specialist. Nothing. 6 months later, still had pain, went in. Before I even had a chance to know what was going on, I was in a chair, numb and the dentist was there. Dentist drilled in completely different tooth, with no x-ray, no preliminary examination of my mouth, just drilled. Said that the other tooth could have been causing the initial problem tooth's pain. Thanks for NOT telling me that 6 months ago when I first came in-- oh and I'm glad you know that from NOT looking at my tooth before you started working on it and NOT taking an up-to-date- X-ray. Left hygienist to finish the incredibly large filling instead of working on it himself all the way through. Had pain ever since. Real bad pain. Went in because was uncomfortable, and thought it was bad. Have never had a toothache. Thanks Dr for now letting me know what hurt feels like. I will need a root canal even though tried to fight against it. A root canal in my mouth, where I have barely had any cavities in my 32 years of life! I am very upset by this. Without having examined my mouth before working on it, I have no idea if this filling, at this size was needed. There was NO proper communication whatsoever on Dr. Ward's part; and that is unacceptable. If you are going to go to this dentist, or continue going to him, PLEASE take the time to advocate for yourself. Ask to see X-rays before he completes any work. Tell the hygienist that you would like work done by the DENTIST himself. Make sure nothing is glossed over. I have gone through this whole summer with pain, no one should have to go through that. My quality of life has been affected by a frickin filling! Plus my pocket is going to be mad hurting after the almost $2K root canal. There are so many other dentists that you can find on Yelp that have 5 stars. Find a different one and not one with repeated complaints of unprofessional and insensitive care. read more

I just changed my dentist to this doctor based on these reviews. Thank you all! The doctor and the office people are very friendly. Also, the office is neat and bright, and the dental units seem pretty cutting-edge. Just one thing, the cost here may be a bit more expensive than average. read more

after not going to a dentist for a whole two years, due to a bad experience, i looked to find one on yelp. reading all the reviews of the dentist in my area, i decided to go to dr. ward's office. i really can't say enough about this place. first off, the people there are so incredibly nice. its super clean and open. i absolutely love how you can look out the window onto 5th street while your getting your teeth cleaned, or you have the option of watching your own personal tv right infront of you. the dental hygentist who took care of me during my visit took her time cleaning my teeth. i appreciate the fact that five different people didnt come in to help her or take turns. it was a very one on one experience and i now look forward to returning to my regular 6 month visit. thank you yelp! i will tell everyone about this dentist office. read more

Great, gentle dentist with a really friendly and helpful office staff. Several of my coworkers use him and have nothing but good things to say, too. read more

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! read more

I came to Dr. Wards office to have an onlay put on a tooth (this was the third time I was there for the same onlay. It never fit, so they kept sending it back to the lab... Dr. Ward was not in the office when I came in for my appointment (he had overslept), so his assistant said she could do this without the dentist being there. The onlay did not fit again, so she drilled in my tooth to make the ill-fitting onlay fit better. While drilling, she hit a nerve. I cried out, but she just kept on drilling at the same spot, saying "I'm almost done"... I have never been in so much pain! When she felt she had drilled away enough of the tooth to make this onlay fit, she filled the tooth with ice cold cement, then pressed the onlay on top of that. Need I explain how painful this was? I was close to passing out. I asked if it was supposed to hurt this bad, and she said to come back if the pain didn't go away within a week or two... I could hardly believe what I was hearing...! I went home and took Excedrin, which did not work at all. I did not know what else to take, since I never take any kind of medicine or pain killers, and know nothing about these... I went to the pharmacy, but they said I needed to see my dentist. I went back to the dentist the next day, only to be told that Dr. Ward was on vacation for the next 2 weeks. To make a very long story short... Dr. Ward would not admit that there was anything wrong with their work, and after a root canal in a totally different (and healthy) tooth, and then wanting to do another root canal in an also healthy tooth, I gave up and went to a different doctor who fixed the problem. I was in constant pain for over 6 weeks while this was going on. Did not sleep or eat much, and just wanted to die! Turns out that all the other work he (or his assistant) did, was pretty bad too, and I have to have most of it re-done. I've been told that what his assistant did is illegal, she should not be doing any kind of drilling - especially while the dentist is not even there. read more

I went back to this dentist after I switched insurance and they accepted them again. I have always had good experiences here. I was very impressed by the fact that unlike a lot of dentists, they try to do the least costly, least intrusive fix first, and work their way up from there. Especially since going back. I have been very impressed with their work and cost. I'm glad I switched back. I used to see Dr. Ward but Dr. Britton in the same office was available sooner. I liked him even better than Dr. Ward. Definitely an A+ experience and I will be returning for my next cleaning. read more

This dentist office is amazing. Everyone in there- from the receptionists to the dental hygienists are friendly and helpful. I've never had a less painful experience getting my teeth cleaned. The office is clean, the dental chairs are in front of large windows looking out over Hillcrest, and each chair has a television in front of it. By far- the best dentist I've ever been to. read more

Always on time and not a minute late. How common is that for a dentist? That alone makes this business worth the trip. Everyone is very friendly and makes you feel at home. Great use of technology to put your x-rays on the flat screen TV in front of you, plus I could watch Sports Center all day long and be perfectly content. They always make sure to set up your next appointment which is key. I was referred here by my boss and I will continue to come here as long as I live in San Diego. Great experience! read more

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

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