James M. Lovell, D.D.S.

Dr. Lovell I believe may be an excellent doctor but, you would not know it from the very rude and guarded front office person whom I accidently called Keesha., and her name may be Tessa. After the first conversation had ended, she called me back and her first words were «Let me start with, First of all my name is not Keesha», so much for professionalism. Anyway, I called requesting some dental information about a mutual patient and a fax I had received. I advised her that I had spoken with someone else and she abruptly stops me to say she is the only one in the office. I mentioned the conversation took place last week. As I tried to explain the situation the tone in her voice became more and more sarcastic! I then finished the call as I could not wait to avoid hearing her rudeness any longer. She called back to make it a point that I hung up before she could finish talking (or being RUDE) and that I lacked professionalism. Not sure if she was having an off morning but, My intension for the call was for the care of a patient not a phone battle. If indeed she has been there for years, Maybe she needs a vacation where she can regroup and realize that people are not always out to attack her, we are all doing our job and that is to attend to the need for our patient. I don’t usually give reviews, but I felt that it should be addressed, in hopes that this does not happen to anyone else.

This is the most honest amazing office you will ever encounter. The office manager Marge is in a league of her own. She had been working there for 41 years!!! Dr Lovell is ethical kind and compassionate !!!

Best dentist I’ve been to.
Didn’t even question my concerns to replace all of my old silver fillings with modern composite. Pain been very minimal, which is refreshing compared to my other dentists. Overall very caring and great staff.

Wow!!! I hate the dentist! But Dr. Lovell and staff were amazing! Thanks so much, my teeth have never been cleaner!

I have been going to Dr. Lovell now over eight years and each time I go I feel very comfortable. The staff and Dr. Lovell all greet me by name and take excellent care of me and my teeth.

Dr. Lovell has been my dentist for almost 15 years and I haven’t lived full time in San Diego in almost 10 years. Every time I go back to San Diego for a visit, I squeeze in a cleaning with Hedi and a quick visit with Dr. Lovell. I have dark stained molars (they’ve been that way since I was in elementary school) and never once has Dr. Lovell or his staff tried to do any unnecessary procedures.
If you can’t find easy street parking– don’t worry! There is a garage and they have vouchers for it.
I made an appointment with a new dentist in Austin (Texas) for the first time today and I am going to be so sad to call Margie and Elsa to have them transfer my records. But I guess it’s time I find a dentist who is less than 1300 miles away!

This dentist just blows my mind now… but not in a good way. Here is my terrible story:
I submitted my previous review of this man and of his dental practice far too prematurely. I submitted it before he had actually completed the work in my mouth. Before he had even completed the work he had been paid for up front.
I came to see Dr. Lovell in the first place… to repair a broken molar. He examined my teeth… seemed pretty sweet and while he was prepping my mouth for the crown I needed he kindly offered to try bleaching one of my front teeth. This front tooth had had a root canal and needed a bond to conceal it’s stain.
Dr. Lovell charged me about $ 150 to bleach this front tooth… but he promised to refund that amount in full if it didn’t improve the color of the tooth. he removed the structure behind the tooth to run his bleaching agents through it.
Dr. Lovell’s bleaching work never improved the color of my tooth whatsoever. He never refunded us for the bleaching as he had promised. But even worse… the plug he then replaced into the rear of my tooth has now entirely fallen off! This has left my front tooth entirely o p e n in it’s rear, weakening the integrity of my front tooth and permitting food and bacteria to enter the tooth itself… to rot it out from with. Believe it or not, his front desk agent, Elsa… has informed me today that I must now «learn to live with it and like it».
Unbelievable.
Dr. Lovell charged me half upfront for the crown he was allegedly having made for my broken molar. Our arrangement was that the other half payment would be due on the date he actually put in my crown.
Unfortunately…his office staff doesn’t bother to abide by any of the arrangements and payment options Dr. Lovell makes. His office staff makes their own rules. They don’t even bother to respect the Business & Professions Code when they contrive their rules.
I was left a number of increasingly threatening messages by his front office staff… Elsa & Margie… both of whom actually hanged up on me when I tried to reason with their office over the phone.
Dr. Lovell did send me a very kind letter apologizing on behalf of the unkind women who manage his front office. He even offered to come in on a Wednesday… so I wouldn’t have to deal with them. Unfortunately… these two woman, Elsa & Margie, have kept me stringing along for a year now… trying to get my appointment for him to finish the crown he started and I paid for… not to mention to repair the work he so poorly «completed» on my front tooth.
I’m reading through the other reviews that have been posted for this dentist. I would bet you money… at least two of them were submitted by his office staff… who are so gushingly praised in his counterfeit reviews.

Dr. Lovell is AMAZING.
He is the most patient, kind, honest and caring dentist. He takes so much pride in what he does and always gives an honest opinion. My family has been coming to Dr. Lovell for over 20 years.
Everyone who works in his office is super nice and very attentive. Margie, his receptionist has been working with Dr. Lovell for ages and she is the nicest woman!
If you’re looking for a dentist that gives excellent service and high quality results, Dr. Lovell in La Jolla is your best choice.

Today was my first appointment with Dr. Lovell and I already know I love it way more than my previous La Jolla Dentist. My last Dentist must have also been a used car salesman, because I think he got off on suggesting a lot of unnecessary work to pad his pockets. And judging by what others are saying on his reviews I’m not the only one with that opinion.
I’m happy to say that Dr. Lovell doesn’t do that at all! In fact he says things like, well if they were my teeth I would do it this way… or here’s how you can correct that with just some different brushing. Versus… you need to spend $ 4000 on gum surgery and deep cleanings every 4 months and and and…
I recommend him highly! Thanks Unilocal for pointing me his way! It’s funny, my last dentist had almost $ 6,000 in scheduled dental work for me and today my new Dr. said… what? Really? Your teeth are great! Your fillings are all good and your teeth are white and you’ve got no major problems, I’d tell you if you did. Hmm… I like his honesty.

Dr. Lovell did my entire exam and cleaning. He is one of the greatest dentist I have ever been to and would definitely recommend him. I came to him to get a 2^nd opinion before I had over $ 800 worth of «supposedly» work I needed. I left with clean teeth and didn’t need any additional work.