Timothy R Garofolo, DDS

Very expensive. He nickels and dimes you every little thing he does. Those little nickels and dimes add up to ASTONISHINGLY BIG BILLS.
Stay away

So Iv’e been going to Dr. Garofolo for about 3 years now and I definitely recommend him. His office and receptionists are very nice and attentive with regular confirmation texts and updates on your treatments. His dental assistants are very nice and gentle. It’s also a plus that the entire staff actually remembers you too.
As for getting more extensive work done such as having cavities filled Dr. Garofolo is your guy! I have had almost 10 cavities filled by him on 4 different visits. I have been very afraid of needles to the point where I start to feel nauseous and faint at the sight of them so having a huge one shot into my gums is the most terrifying thing for me. But I no longer fear the procedure because Dr. Garofolo has gained my trust. He first numbs my mouth with a topical and then prepares me for the shot by talking me through my breathing and instructing me to wiggle my toes during the shot. It doesn’t take long and all I feel is a little pinch and then the filling only take 5 minutes. The numbing then lasts about 5 hours which is expected. Sometimes after my mouth is a bit sore with the first bites of food I take after the procedure but overall the experience leaves me no longer in fear of shots and dental work.
Thank you Dr. Garofolo!!!

Not sure if Unilocal is the right place to go for dental reviews but dunno where else to post my experience. I had high hopes going to Dr Garafolo, recommended by a coworker. There’s too many dentists in SD and it’s hard to find a good one that your insurance will cover that is close to home/​work. I’d give the regular checkup here a solid 4 outta 5. Even my deep cleaning was not bad, felt fine the next day (unlike some people’s experiences I’ve heard of).
So why 2 stars? My experience getting fillings. Dr. Garafolo seems like he knows what he’s doing, that part is fine, but it’s just really off-​putting when the guy makes you seem like you’re inconveniencing him because you’re not numb enough yet, thus taking up more of his time. Then when the fillings are done and he’s asking you to bite down to check your bite but you can’t, because literally your entire jaw to your ear has gone numb, he gets noticeably irritated at you. I’m already under enough duress here from half my face being numb and fresh holes drilled into my mouth; Who wants the dentist adding anxious vibes to the whole experience? The least the Doc can do is make me feel like he cares about my experience.
Well, once I could feel my face again, my bite was off and so I headed back to get it fixed up. The staff is super nice, offering to get me in the next day inbetween patients… unfortunately for Dr. Garafolo it appeared. I didn’t mind the long wait (~20 mins past my scheduled time), but he seemed genuinely annoyed that I had come back to get my bite fixed. After some back and forth, and having to grab the dentist twice, I sort-​of have a smoother tooth. It’s still noticeably rough, which the Dr. seemed to not believe me.
I got the impression he liked to schedule too many clients at once so he was always rushing. I’m sure that’s great for your paycheck but it’s not great for repeat customers. I’d come back for my regular checkups because its close to work and the hygenists are nice/​competent but I won’t be getting any more serious work done here by the Dr. He didn’t even give me a passing look in the eyes before he literally darted off to go see the next patient, mumming a goodbye at me with a turned back. If that’s how you wanna run a business, fine by me, there are at least 10 other dentists in RB that I can take my teeth to!

Like a lot of people, I have a dentist phobia. My husband was fairly satisfied with Dr. Garofolo, so I decided to give him a try. On the positive side, he is very nice and friendly and didn’t make me feel stupid for being a wimp about dentists. The office is very attractive, has a nice view over the lake. Unfortunately, being a nice guy with a pretty office doesn’t offset the negatives. He is expensive. They figure out how to charge you for everything, «deep cleaning», irrigation, whatever. Your insurance will not cover your visit, even if your insurance covers a standard cleaning at 100%.
So, he does my exam and decides that practically every tooth and filling need to be worked on. Ok, I admit, I am not the most consistent at going to the dentist every six months, but I take good care of my teeth at home: brushing 2−3x a day, flossing _​every_​day, seriously. It’s not like I’m from the deep woods and use a stick and moonshine to clean my teeth. We start with two teeth and he re-​fills one and ‘discovers’ he needs to do a crown on the other. I can’t remember how much that all cost, but it was a lot out of pocket. One positive thing to note, he did give me a prescription for Valium and shot me up with so much Novocain that I didn’t feel a thing (for seven hours) — and he was very gentle during the procedure. I have to say, his chair-​side manner is excellent. The crowned tooth hurt for over a year, still a little sensitive now, another year later. He tried to file it down, but said he might have to do a root canal!!! This was a tooth that didn’t even bother me before and now it needs a root canal? Timeout!
On a visit back east to my hometown, I took Dr. Garofolo’s roadmap for my mouth do-​over to the dentist I went to for many years before moving to San Diego. She took X-​rays, did an exam, looked at what Dr. Garofolo planned, made several disapproving sounds, and said, «find a new dentist.» She couldn’t believe all of the unnecessary work he wanted to do. She said my mouth and existing fillings were perfectly fine. She couldn’t tell why my crowned tooth hurt, but said that the crown work was just «ok».
In summary, Dr. Garofolo is a very pleasant person and makes his patients feel at ease, but he will try to do a lot of expensive work that you may not need and your mouth may end up in worse shape than when you started.

Very nice dentist and staff. Never a wait and the hygienists are very gentle and efficient. This is the dentist for you if you have dental treatment phobias. I highly recommend Dr. Garofolo.

I have had several experiences over the years with Dr. Garogolo and all have been exceptional. The first few were several years ago before he was in his current office (I followed him when he moved). He replaced a few fillings, put on a crown and did a root canal among other minor things. Everyone I’ve ever heard mention a root canal has always complained about pain, etc. Not only was it quick but I didn’t experience any pain after or in the few days following the root canal. No meds, no nothing as they just weren’t required. Some might think maybe I just got lucky but a few weeks ago I actually flew back to San Diego (I live in Austin, TX now) as I had pain when I’d eat something hot, cold or sweet. As I already had a crown on the tooth with the pain, a root canal was the next option and once again, no pain!
I have had my share of bad dental experiences and have no problem speaking my mind about them. I also do not give reviews for mediocrity. After being 2 for 2 on zero pain root canals, I have to say that I am happy to fly back to Dr. Garofolo whenever I need dental work.

I haven’t had good luck with dentists in the past but Dr. Garofolo is the best I’ve been to. I put off having some fillings replaced for over a year because I have a fear of the Novocaine shot and for some reason my other dentists have never been able to get my mouth numb without multiple shots. Dr. Garofolo assured me that he would do his best to keep it as painless as possible. He gave me one shot and I didn’t feel a thing. Afterward he also offered me another injection that got rid of the numbness quickly. I was blown away. I had 4 fillings replaced and I was back to work in the afternoon and my face wasn’t numb for the whole day! I have been going to the office (and his old office) for about 3 years and have always been happy with him and the hygienists. This is the first «major» thing I’ve had done, but he was great and I won’t see anyone else.

I have been going to the office for a couple of years; but, plan to go elsewhere from now on. There are 2 dentist at this office, Dr. Herbert and Dr. Garofolo. I was not comforatable with the bite that I was left with when seeing Dr. Herbert. Also, I have have had some major problems with dental pain that doctors were unable to solve. I had to go elsewhere to have dentist who could find and treat the root of the problems. I was left in very serious pain until another dentist could get my pain under control.
I have dental insurance; but, the cost seems very high. It could be me; but, my payments have been much less with other dentist on the Safeguard program that I currently use.
I do not think anyone is more gentle and better at giving shots that Dr. Gaofolo. At times, I have requested no shots; and, and never pressured to receive them. Everyone in the office is super professional, kind, and attentive. They have been super fast to get me in during emergency situations. Everyone seems to know their jobs well and to be willing to answer all questions. They are very nice people.
I have a lot of complicated problems from bruxism; and have needed
to get additional help from other dentist becasuse of a few fractures in my teeth. Dr. Garofolo’s office has made several dental appliaces for me and I have been extremely happy with them.
I am looking for a dentist who can better detect my sources of pain and nip it in the bud quickly.

My experience with Dr. Garofolo was great. His office is one of the nicer ones I’ve been in and I’ve always had good experience at his practice. It’s interesting to read Donna N.‘s review as I felt the exact opposite regarding the shots I received. Talk about painless… I wasn’t even aware he’d already given me the shots. I was anticpating the pain only to have Dr. Garofolo say «that wasn’t bad, was it?». I see myself being a patient for years to come.

The worst dentist I have been to in my 30+ years. For your first appointment he makes you schedule the check-​up & cleaning on different days… such a waste of time. I had to return for 6 cavities (yeah right). I just had a checkup a couple of months ago with my regular Dentist and was great. The only reason I went to a Dentist was because I moved and needed a new Dentist to indicate on my insurance. After the billing person talked with me she told me only 2 cavities would be covered on insurance but suggested I do all six before it gets bad. Gee, I wonder why? Against my better judgment, I scheduled for the 2 cavities that would be covered under insurance. Oh and get this, $ 177 each cavity if you want white fillings… robbery!!! He numbs both sides of my mouth which I later find out is not something Dentist are suppose to do. Painfully sticks the needle in my mouth. I have never, ever felt pain when they do this and he really hurt me. My whole lower jaw and upper cheeks were numb. It was so uncomfortable. Then after he is done (in 8 minutes), he tells me not to chew on my tongue and cheek. Something common when you numb both sides which he should of told me before he numbed my mouth. When I went home my mouth hurt for hours. For the next 2 days I couldn’t open my mouth all the way. Don’t be fooled by the fancy technology like I was. One good thing, the Dental Hygenist was awesome.