M J Taranow, DDS

In two visits, I have found Dr. Taranow to be professional, courteous and careful about my dental work. They took me in on short notice with a dental emergency and the whole staff have been great since. The other dentist, Jessica, who did my cleaning, was also excellent and fun.

Honest, competent, no issue. We switched the whole family to this office.

I love Dr. Taranow and everyone in his office. After my dentist of 20 years retired I was passed on to the Dentist that bought his business, it was not a great experience. My husband had been a patient of Dr. Taranow’s for several years and suggested that I try him out. I couldn’t be happier, the staff are friendly, the dental work has been excellent, I am always told up front what the amount of the total cost will be covered by insurance and how much will be out of pocket. Now my children are ready to move from a pediatric dentist, they will be patients at Dr. Taranow’s too.

I joined Unilocal just so I could write a review about my ongoing positive experience with Dr. Taranow’s office. If I were you, I would not base my decision to see Dr. Taranow on three bad reviews. He has hundreds of patients and the office is always busy.
Since I moved to the Bay Area 34 years ago, I have had four dentists. I ended up at Dr. Taranow’s office when my former dentist moved to an inconvenient location and decided to no longer accept my Blue Shield insurance. Dr. Taranow does accept Blue Shield. Most dentists do not. So I was happy to find such a nice office in a great location that would accept my insurance.
My husband, daughter and I see the hygenist, Lupe, and Dr. Taranow, twice a year (I see Lupe four times a year) and they do a great job keeping our mouths healthy! Last year I decided to drop our Blue Shield insurance and join Dr T’s «Frequent Flosser» program. I am saving hundreds of dollars a year! How great is that? This is definitely the dental office to see if you do not have dental insurance. Cocki, the office manager, will work with you to develop a program that works for you. Sit down with her, get to know her and she will help you!
Regarding Dr. T’s bedside manner. He is a bit shy. If you become a patient, I suggest that you not worry about his inability to carry on sparkling conversation and focus more on his skills as a dentist. Recently, a tooth with a very old crown started bothering me. Dr. T said that I needed a root canal. I begged him to do it rather than sending me elsewhere. He refused because he wanted me to have the best result and he felt an endodentist would do the best job.
All in all, I give Dr. T and his staff the highest recommendation. Give him a try.

Had some emergency dental work done here while visiting the Bay area and was pleasantly surprised. Everyone was nice and I was out of the office within the hour. My teeth are rather sensitive; and I am happy to say that I didn’t experience any pain during the procedure. I will definitely go here again.

I joined Unilocal just so I could write a review on this office. While I found the clerical staff to be friendly, their error cost me a great deal of money. I was a new patient and had newly acquired my dental insurance. Needless to say, I went to the office unaware of the extent of my coverage and was informed by staff that it was 100%. Based upon that information I went ahead and received services and was encouraged to schedule as many appointments as I could to use up my maximum for the year. In hindsight, thankfully scheduling was an issue because imagine my surprise when I received a bill in the amount of $ 500 a few weeks later. I have a family of 4 and like most, we adhere to a strict budget to meet all of our financial obligations. An unexpected bill was not appreciated nor well received, especially at a time when I was only getting 60% of my salary due to maternity leave. I was extremely angry, to say the least, that the faux pas of his staff resulted in such a high bill. Not only was the balance high, but it was due in full!
Dr. Taranow himself was not a very pleasant person. I hate the dentist and in my life have only found 1 that provided me service without managing to make me feel like I am an unhygienic pariah! He was not that Doctor. He was also quick to pass on providing service to my 10 year old daughter, whom he found to be «dramatic.» If he didn’t serve children than why did it say so on his profile?! His staff tried to make up for it by rescheduling her with their female Dr. who they said was better with children. Needless to say, in addition to this review I penned a very strongly worded letter to him letting him know that I did not appreciate his office’s practice and would no longer be using his services. Though I consider the review of the services provided more important, one last complaint is the parking — TERRIBLE!

I initially went to Dr. Taranow’s office about eight years ago to get a second opinion after seeing another dentist on Grand Ave (that was referred by an oral surgeon neighbor of ours) that told me that I needed quite a few fillings and became defensive when I asked him to walk me through the X-​rays. (Ok, truth be told, my Grandfather was a dentist and my Mom taught us to floss before it was a common practice, so I’d like to think I know more than the the average Jo.)
I found Dr. Taranow since he was an «in network provider». I found him to be very practical and candid. He told me that I needed some filling work done but not to the extent the other dentist has recommended. His work was well done (from both a professional and humane perspective) and it does not look like I have any fillings at all now that my teeth are in the hands of a good dentist.
He has a first rate office staff who know how to navigate the world of dental insurance and to make it practically pain free to their clients. After one of his long time hygenists left to start her own business, I have not yet settled back into a routine with another hygenist. (I found one hygenist there to be overly critical and not too warm and fuzzy but the last cleaning with a different hygenist (who is also a licensed dentist (Jessica, I believe)) went well so I am hopeful that I am still in good hands there.

he charges a lot more than others and his work is less than par. i had 2 crowns done and were done incorrectly– they didn’t completely cap my whole tooth so i have a gap between by actual tooth and where the crown starts. i agree with the other post that he had absolutely no bedside manners, just grunts and barely asking how you are. i’m not looking for a conversation, just some courtesy.

My hon of hons husband and I have been going to Dr. T for about five years now. The people who work in his practice are very cheerful and professional. The hygienists are ruthless, but in a good way — they do a wonderful job on cleanings. I guess my real beef is with Dr. T, who while technically competent, has not one iota of a ‘bed side manner”. Plain and simple, the guy is an unfeeling bastard. Case in point:
A few weeks ago I had to be fitted for a crown, have some bonding, and have a cavity filled. For some reason, it took FIVE SHOTS OF NOVOCAINE to numb my mouth sufficiently. I am somewhat needle phobic, and that GIANT SYRINGE coming towards my mouth is kind of daunting. After the fifth shot, my body began shaking uncontrollably and my heart was racing. I could not speak, except to make mumbling noises. I actually thought I was having heart attack or stroke. After nearly a minute passed, Dr. T turned around and said quite casually, «is something wrong?» I managed to mumble that I felt really weird and he asked me if I felt like my hear was racing. I replied affirmatively, and he said, again very casually «oh, some people have that reaction. It’ll pass shortly».
Well, thanks for letting me know THAT I WASN’T GOING TO DIE in the chair. Needless to say, the rest of the session, and the following one, was pretty much downhill. However, I walked out of there happy, since I knew I would never see him AGAIN.
As I said, technically competent, but not a shred of empathy in this guy’s body.