Donna M. Cotner, DDS

She is good at pulling the bait and switch!!!
I had called her because my crown had cracked and we had set up an appointment for just my crown to get fixed, i told her i don’t have time to get my teeth cleaned or x-​rays, and only wanted the crown repaired, so she agreed. When i showed up there she took me in the back and started to clean my teeth i kept asking her about the crown and she kept putting it off, after she finished cleaning i asked her about the crown and she said there wasn’t enough time, by this time me and the dental assistant were in shock, i asked her that i only wanted the crown fixed by this time she hopes off her chair and says her plumber is at her house waiting for her and leaves. She «baited» me into going there to get my crown fixed, but when she found out she had a plumber waiting for her she «switched» the crown for the teeth cleaning so that way she can still make money and not lose an appointment period. Don’t believe me go ask her dental assistant.
Moral of the story, dentist are not doctors, dentists only care about the $$$$$, she could have easily called me the day before and let me know, i could have gone somewhere else. At the end the dental assistant set me another appointment which i could not make and now they have sent me a bill for a missed appointment, what goes around comes around.

Best dentist ever recommending to all my friends thanks again and her assistant is amazing all around best experience at a dental office ever!!!

The positive part of this review is for Doctor Cotner herself. I have had two teeth cleanings with her and both were fine. It wasn’t anything special or particularly outstanding about the experience or service, but it was good. She is very friendly and makes the overall process pretty positive.
The negative part of this review (1.5 stars subtracted) is for the billing and office staff experience I have had. From the first to the second appointment, my dental insurance changed and I have had a name change, so I gave Doctor Cotner and her office assistant all the new info (name and type of insurance, the primary’s name, SSN, etc.) — all of which they noted on a post-​it.
Then, a long time after the appointment I receive a call telling me that my dental insurance had expired (the old one) and that I should give them a call. I called several times and finally left a message again giving them all the info they would need about my new insurance. Weeks go by, so I assume that the confusion cleared up.
Nope. I receive a call this week that my insurance had expired. Apparently, nobody listened to the content of my voicemail because they sure remembered that they had received one from me. Finally, I give them the info again and they check the insurance policy while I am on the phone. It all woks out.
There isn’t much that a doctor’s office is expected to provide in terms of service, but correctly taking down and retaining information is one of the musts. This office didn’t do well at all in this regard. Perhaps I will go back, since it is hard for me to imagine that they will misplace my info again, now that they have it in their billing system.

Dr. Cotner has been our family dentist since 2001. She is wonderful and does an amazing job, her office is very flexible with my appointments as well. My wife and 2 kids love going to her as well.

I agree with the reviews that Dr. Cotner is gentle. However, she should be banned as a dentist. Based on a coworker’s recommendation and good review here, my kids have been going to her for the past two years. She has never done x-​ray for them. When we visited her last oct. my older son had sever headache and jaw pain. She should have diagnosed that he had TMJ! I also had checkup and cleaning with her at the same time. Again, no X-​rays. When I asked her why, she said she only does it when it’s necessary. It turned out soon after I started to have tooth ache and I lost half of that tooth! How could she say x-​ray was not necessary? She should have found the cavity without x-​ray too. I’m convinced that she’s not competent. I checked back with my coworker, and it turned out that she had only gone to her for cleaning. So if you are sure you won’t have any dental problem, then go to her by any means. Otherwise don’t say you’re not warned.

Great dentist, very nice bedside attitude and does good work. Like her staff too.
Switched to Dr Cotner because she was closer to home and I strongly suspected my previous dentist was drilling me unnecessarily (turns out I was right). She’s honest, a bit old-​fashioned but I like that, and very professional.
The only prob I ever had was one time when they accidentally charged my old insurance. Got a big bill in the mail and was like, ‘huh?!’ Called them up and they cleared it right up, so not a big deal.

Donna is wonderful — I’ve been going to her since 10 years now. Her staff — especially Marie at the front desk — are awesome.

I was a patient of Dr. Cotner’s for 4 years and I have recently changed dentists. Here’s why.
The Good:
Donna is pleasant. I enjoyed visiting her & her office staff. I always got an appointment at a convenient time & she did not recommend excessive dental work. For a routine checkup and cleaning, she was perfectly adequate.
The Bad:
It was when the unusual situations arose that her lack of skill really became apparent. Twice I was badly burned by being a patient of Dr. Cotner’s.
— The first time I fell and damaged my front teeth. I called her emergency line but no one answered so I left several voice mails saying I needed an immediate appointment. I never got a call back so I ended up going to another dentist to have the work done.
— The second time was a more egregious error on her part. For my past 3 cleanings I mentioned extreme sensitivity in one of my teeth & she diagnosed it as a receding gum line even though I experienced zero pain along my gum line. The pain got worse and worse and I told her about it and how I was ODing on sensodyne… and she said, the same thing «receding gum line» So I went to get a second opinion & the new dentist was able to diagnose the fracture of my tooth within 60 seconds using newer technology than Dr. Cotner has available to her. I was scheduled for a root canal that same day & today I am pain free.
I would avoid Dr. Cotner for serious dental work, although she is convenient for routine checkups.

This is the review for the front desk. I do like Dr. Cotner. She is very gentle and careful. I was happy that I finally found a dentist that did his/​her own cleaning. But I am having so much trouble with the office. Not only they lost my records twice. I been there 3 times, they still don’t have it even after I did another one. Lost my Xray. Called many times to follow up my lost records and X-​ray. Never return my calls. After 2 weeks of many calls, Got an email with my Xray. No sorry, nothing.
Finally, when I changed my insurance plan. I called first. Asked her to make sure she updated my insurance. Told her again in person twice. Guess what I got today in the mail. They submitted my claim to the old insurance. Seriously, how hard it is to keep a patient’s record in a secure and organize place? I am a medical personnel. If the hospital lost a patient’s record many times, and used the wrong insurance, Do you know how much trouble would that be? Anyway, I am going to another office now. I don’t have time to waste to follow up on things like this. Just called them again, to tell them update my insurance. This is the 4^th times. I will follow up, if this is not clear… Sign… I am sure there are many organize dental office in my area that won’t lost my record and update patient’s information accordingly.
If this never happen to you, great. I think it’s my luck. I did called Dr. Cotner to tell her what happen. Hopefully this will change.

Dr. Cotner and her staff are top-​notch. I recently moved to California from out out state and was looking for a new dentist. Her staff are extremely friendly and helpful. Dr Cotner herself is gentle, thorough and very personable. Highly recommend her to anyone looking for a new dentist.

I want to echo everyone else as Unilocal helped me find Dr. Cotner in the first place. The office is lovely, parking is a breeze, the staff is friendly and yes Dr. Cotner actually cleans your teeth herself! I came in for a cleaning and had some minor pain. She was patient in discussing options with me. I chose the most conservative treatment and she was upfront about the pro’s and con’s. In the end mid-​visit it became obvious I would have to instead see an endodontist and she went the extra mile to make sure I would be comfortable until they got me in and her staff made the appointment for me. I am very pleased.
Also it is a very quiet office. Both times I was there I was the only patient at the time. I think it would be nice for those who have dental visit-​related anxiety, especially.

Ok, I admit it…
I LOVE going to the dentist. I love having my teeth cleaned, love the sound of the drill (OK, kidding on this one!), and I really love the free toothbrush!
Dr. Cotner actually did my cleaning! I can’t remember the last time the dentist actually did the dirty deed! She was gentle, thorough and my teeth look great. I am even flossing (hate it!). She was very nice and the woman at the front desk was very helpful. The office was by mine, so it made it easy to pop over there during lunch. 5 stars!

hmmm, I really like Dr. Cotner however I have a couple of gripes. I went in for a deep cleaning and had to received numbing injections. I’m not sure what went wrong but it was so painful everytime she stuck in the needle! She also had to stick the needle 3 times in the same place as there was not enough medicine to numb the area completely the 1^st two times. I’ve been to a few dentists and never had this experience with the injections. As for the rest of the cleaning, it went really well and she was super nice. I think the office isn’t as up to date in terms of equipment compared to the dentist I used to go to before (Dr. Cho in Irvine! I love him… I wish he practiced down here.)
The reason for the low rating is I had a horrible experience with the office assistant Marie. She was really nice when I was in the office – no issues at all. However, I had to reschedule an appointment and i didn’t do it until the day before. I had a 9 am Friday appt and called to change and reschedule on 11 am the day prior. Marie was really nice and chipper when I called but when I told her I had to reschedule, that’s when it all changed. She totally changed her tone of voice into on that was angry and condescending. She totally berated me and sarcasticaly asked if I wanted to «rescheule my appointment or are you going to „call me back“ with a time later like they all say they will and never call?» Geesh! Calm down lady! Anywho, I was really shocked with the whole exchange and I let her know that I would not be coming back to this office because of her rude attitude. Maybe she was having a bad day? I’m not sure but she shouldn’t take it out on the customers.

Dr. Cotner, and Marie are the best. 5 Stars all the way. These 2 are my faves. When my former dentist retired, I was lucky to find Dr. Cotner. She seemed to be as smart or better than my last dentist. Dr. Cotner is very bright, patient, honest, practical and extremely capable. I wouldn’t go anywhere else.
Marie has always been very courteous and helpful. As a family, we’ve been going to Dr. Cotner for years, with total success,. Her office is bright clean and cheery, with easy access and easy parking.

Great Dentist!
Very thorough!

I have been going to Dr. Cotner pretty much since I was born and she is so sweet! She is very warm and welcoming and you can tell that she really cares about the health of her patients. She is very gentle and always takes things slow, especially if you are nervous. I like that she focuses on preventative measures and she has really helped me understand how to keep my teeth in top shape so that i can avoid major (or minor) problems.
She recently moved into a brand new office and it is really nice. Her office lady, Marie, is also incredibly sweet and helpful. Both of these lovely ladies make going to the dentist an easy task. She also plays great music. She basically does everything that she can to make your experience as comfortable as possible, just the way a dentist should be!

Donna Cotner has taken care of our family’s smiles since our kids were just old enough for their first dental visit. I have the most experience, since Donna helped me through a very complicated crown replacement. I have had dentists in the past, and none have nearly as much «chairside» manner, especially with the kids.
Everyone looks forward to seeing Donna twice each year, and we love our healthy smiles!
Michele