Sandor Hites, DDS

I’ve had better, I’ve had worse. Pro-​s :good cavity filings, easy cleanings. Cons: I went in with serious gum infection and they UNDER TREATED it twice, meaning its still there (despite me naming both times it likely needed more full treatment.) I appreciate the good fillings and holistic approach but have zero tolerance for dentists who cannot hear me and appreciate my own body self-​knowledge, particularly twice in a row. Go there for your cleanings and stuff and basic stuff sure. I’d be hesitant to go deeper. Dental school and doctoring bear merit, however, sometimes patients actually have more insight into their own bodies and needs than «protocol» would dictate. Listen to us.

Dr. Hites caught me with a euphemism. «Deep cleaning is needed», Dr Hites told the dental hygienist, right after my annual cleaning. I thought this would be a little something extra to the exterior of my gum line. No! He scraped all my upper tooth roots and charged a hefty price for an unnecessary procedure.
Every day since the «deep cleaning», my gums have felt like they are stuffed full of crap, and I am in constant pain, not to mention months of bleeding and sores. Dr. Hites had wanted to do other unnecessary procedures that he priced at over $ 30,000.00 which I had previously refused.
I scheduled an appointment with another biological dentist for a second opinion. Based on his thorough examination, and Dr. Hites’ X-​rays, he informed me that the work that Dr. Hites had proposed was actually unnecessary.
I would recommend finding another dentist besides Dr. Hites.

Fabulous Dentist. So kind and gentle. A master at his work. Also interested in nutrition and holistic health. A rare find. Office staff is nice. Some of the assistants and hygienists are really fun and kind. Make me feel comfortable when I’m going in for some serious work, like surgery last year. Highly recommend.

Appreciate Dr. Hites wholistic health knowledge as well as his dentistry, also his lack
of Vanity magazines. He provides informative literature in his waiting room.
Did not care for the European lady who did my cleaning; nice enough but
constantly talked and not sure I got a thorough cleaning.
Desk staff charmless — better than too much false friendliness, nontheless could
be more personable.

I waited to write a review about Dr. Hites until we had some time and experience under our belt with him. I researched Bio Dentistry and on a recommendation from my naturopathic doctor chose Dr. Hites. He has replaced all of my mercury as well as my husbands with skillful precaution and has also treated my daughter’s complicated mouth issues with compassion, grace and patience. He is grounded, calm, and professional and has an excellent bedside manner. We feel safe in his care and relieved to have a dentist who is knowledgeable and up to date on alternative health modalities without ever making us feel wrong that we didn’t know. For example, I had no idea the extreme importance of nose breathing which Dr. Hites educated me about and he supports the way I aspire to nourish my family, with nutrient dense food and no processed food.
While he is efficient and business like and not a person who lingers or inquires into our personal life experience, he does provide a very high quality level of care and I have now referred him to several of my friends and colleagues. A special shout out to Patricia, one of his assistants who makes my daughter feel like the most important person on earth. She is a saint and a warm hearted love bug who makes up for the lack of enthusiasm that a couple of the other staff lack. It’s all nicely balanced. One minor negative issue is that I have at times felt a little bothered with one of the staff who is curt and less than friendly but I try to grant her her innocence since all of the other staff are for the most part gracious.
I am grateful we found our dentist and I highly recommend him. He can be trusted and gives excellent care.

I’d read up on the connection between amalgam fillings and thyroid problems, which my then-​dentist scoffed at. So I went to Dr. Hites six months ago and got my amalgam fillings removed. He took all the right precautions, and I think I was given a swig of cholorella-​type liquid afterward, which I’d read helps bind mercury. So I was impressed– felt like I was in real good hands.
My husband’s dentist is telling him he needs a root canal, but I’m wary of other dentists now. So we’ve made an appointment with Dr. Hites, and I’m confident he’ll help my husband make the right choices. If your’e into holistic-​style treatment and wary of typical medical/​dental treatments, I think you can trust Dr. Hites to be on your side!

I have been going to Dr. Hites’ practice for 37 years, about the 4^th but — alas — not the last dentist in my life as he is on his way to retirement as far as I can tell.
I have been witnessing the gradual metamorphosis of his office from no-​nonsense, serious business into a holistic, slightly ideological practice. Not sure I would select the practice today on that recommendation, but he and his staff have done well by me who has a ton of dental problems.
I was sorry to read about the lady who had a bad experience with orthodontics. Dr. Hites did extensive orthodontic work on me about 30 years ago — true, it took a bit longer than the promised 2 years (I was in my late thirties then), but the results were and remain outstanding.
I went through the mercury filling replacement-​phase with him — not sure I believe all the scare stories about it but was glad to be rid of the unsightly dark fillings.
Dr. Hites has also done crowns and root canals on me – as I said, my teeth are terrible. Now I need to have a molar extracted and, to my chagrin, Dr. Hites refuses to countenance an implant, for holistic health reasons, for lack of a better term. He recommends a bridge instead, but given my lousy teeth, every time the two supporting teeth will have another cavity, it may mean replacing the bridge over and over.
So I will be reluctantly having the implant done by a highly recommended specialist in SF who also handled the aftermath of my daughter’s difficult implant. Parenthetically, said specialist marveled, unprompted, at the «artistry» of my crowns, commenting on the high quality of the work. So, despite being refused an implant, and with the caveat of his slightly ideological bent, I wholly recommend Dr. Hites as ethical, thorough, and not unnecessarily aggressive in his treatment.
I have also had nothing but good experience with his staff. Not sure what to say about alleged sternness or lack of warmth — I’ve known this practice for 37 years. Staff turnover has been well below the norm, which is always a good sign. The X-​ray technician, for example, has been there forever, possibly as long as I have been going there. Only the equipment has been turning over many times for modernization, which is a good thing.

Just starting with Dr Hites. From the start the staff is professional and office streamlined for easy in and out.
Dr Hites is clear concise and has been at this for over 20 years.
I have used other Holistic dentists and confident with my experience so far.
Has been waaay better than past holistic dds for TMJ.
I was sorry to see the negative reviews and its funny how what I find professional and streamlined another woman found staff too robotic and another conplained about a specific employee. Feel the person guving bad review couldve just mentioned to the staff to stop talking faith or meat! Whats wrong with having healthy boundaries and just saying no to her comments. Geez.
I spoke with same gal and she was comforting.
I wholeheartedly accept Dr Hites Professional demeanor. Talent is talent.
Highly recommend. Noticed benefit in health first day upper and lower appliances went in. And he massaged my head and neck with first installation. Not all care to that degree.
Looking forward to a continued wonderful journey back from hell with multiple head injuries and dental work done incorrectly in high school.
Hites is genius. Past work is proof.
I drive from San Jose and well worth it.

I went to Dr. Hites for orthodontics and it was a complete disaster. He prescribed the Bioblock appliance for me (which I do not recommend). Right after he installed it, he left the room without seeing my reaction, which was very traumatic as I was gagging and feeling like I was going to die. Surprisingly, he said that he’d never had a patient that couldn’t wear the appliance, but I find that hard to believe given the bulkiness of the appliance. Well, I guess I was the first! Anyway, my experience with Dr. Hites AKA «Dr. Evil» led to anxiety attacks for the next few visits with my new orthodontist and has given me eating sensations (like feeling there is something stuck in my throat) that are very realistic and scary. Additionally I was paying Top Dollar for this as he is SUPER EXPENSIVE; tried to make us pay $ 9000 for a disaster!

Best dentist I’ve ever been to, hands down.
He has a reassuring manner. I always feel completely taken care of.
A perfect balance of old and new practices. He understands the body is a system, each part affecting the other. I can’t recommend him highly enough.

I’ve been to this dental office twice. Both times, amazing. The first round was an exam, cleaning (and follow up to fill a cavity.) The dentists here did a crackerjack job filling a deep cavity that went under the gumline, thus saving me further dental problems. Cleaning was gentle and effective. Later, came back during an emergency when an aging crown fell off another tooth– they effectively put it back on. They are high quality dentists that will keep your dentistry as clean and healthy as possible. Holistic is big for me, and these guys ace it.

I had not been to the dentist is six years. If you think that’s bad, I had waited fifteen years before that!
Moved from the east coast six years ago, and left a dentist I really liked. And that’s not easy.
Waited and waited again (don’t do that!) and finally realized I really needed to go, and came here to Unilocal.
I was looking for a holistic-​minded dentist and Dr. Hites seemed to fit the bill. I was first thrilled seeing the quaint little office on arrival. Then going into the exam rooms, was a little thrown off — totally modern (good thing) but very busy with lots of people working (seemed not so good to me). Had a cleaning done by a very nice woman (though very painful, I’m assuming from the long period since my last, though I don’t know). Then xrays (very thorough and hi-​tec, assuming lower radiation, being digitally done on computer).
Saw Dr. Hites only about 15 minutes. He seemed very thorough and competent. But kind of cold. I didn’t like that, I wanted to be coddled at the dentist so I’d feel all safe and warm and want to return.
He told me I needed a filling and a tooth extracted. (and I know there’s more work coming)
Today, I had that filling, and a wisdom tooth pulled.
There was very little pain. Almost none. Dr. Hites is really an amazing, gentle and skilled dentist. I have had some bad experiences, back to my childhood. So, I’m afraid.
He’s not exactly warm, just very professional.
But in the end, that’s exactly what I would prefer. He really knows how to start gently and even the novocaine shot was the easiest I’ve ever had.
I was a little panicked about having a wisdom tooth pulled (first one, and at 42 years old), especially without gas or being knocked out.
All I can say is Dr. Hites (and his great assistant, who was not only very friendly and warm, but they just made an awesome team!) was… elegant… in his extraction.
The only pain I felt was his pushing on my jaw opposite to the tooth, leveraging for the pull.
He did not offer a prescription for pain meds, and I was kind of worried about that.
He gave a homeopathic remedy to take home, and said I could if necessary also use an over the counter pain reliever.
Six hours later, I have relatively minor pain. Amazing.
I did take some turmeric pills and also the homeopathic tincture a few times.
I really think it was Dr. Hites’ gentle and skilled work that left me with so little pain, though.

first off i don’t care much if the staff is super perky. i don’t care if the dentists and assistants talk all manners of gibberish either. not that they do. i just read some of the reviews here and wanted to address that since i am giving him a high rating.
about 5 years ago our dentist wanted to remove my wife’s tooth and do an implant. because implants are so long term (maybe for life) i decided to read up on them. down the rabbit hole i went. i learned about mercury in amalgams, troubles with root canals (my wife has had 2 badly infected root canals over the last 15 years), troubles with dental materials in general, links between heart disease and dentistry… in short a lot of things i didn’t know before.
about the same time our current dentist (who we liked personally) was recommending a root canal for me. long story short, i switched to hites. no root canal and no trouble with that tooth in 4 years. he removed my mercury fillings at my request. he also did a scaling which changed all my pockets by 1 – 2.
dentistry is something that can very much affect your overall health. i had no idea. this guy is way ahead of conventional ADA dentists imo. but if you think mercury in you mouth is ok, if you think root canals can be sterilized, if you think dentistry is separate from overall body health then any old dentist should do.

In 3 words: quick, quality, professional.
I loath dentist visits. That said, I live 112 miles away and still make sure all my dentistry gets done here. I honestly don’t understand why people complain about staff not being chipper. I want them to make me smile for months, not for a moment. Niceties are irrelevant compared to quality treatment.
I went in this morning for a cleaning, thinking I would walk out with follow up appointments for a filling that broke (work done by a different dentist). Instead they fit me into their schedule, and I walked out in less than 2 hours with (what I thought would be) days worth of work taken care of. They’ve got anesthetics down too; not too little (ouch) or too much (can’t feel face).
My only complaint is being a captive audience in one-​sided conversations, but that seems to be standard among all dentists.

Best dentist on town !!!
This dentist really do their job, they explain the process very carefully and they make sure you feel comfortable.

I was actually really happy when I met with Dr Samantha in Dr Hites office today. She was super warm, and told me about my mouth, tooth by tooth. There are few things she did differently than any other dentist I’ve ever seen which really impressed me — like studied my jaw structurally and pointed out my TMJ issues. She went into detail about the silver filling removal procedure, explained my xrays, and showed me a chart of which meridian lines correlate with which tooth. I didn’t know much about the latter topic but appreciated the thoughts. She also suggested a book for me to read about the fallacy of root canals.
I haven’t done the filling removal yet, but am very impressed with the office so far. They were very personable.

I sought out a holistic dentist for my then 8yr. old because she had a really crooked front tooth and by all accounts Sandor Hites came highly recommended. However, over the course of three years I became gradually disenchanted with him and his staff.
I think it is really great that he focuses on holistic health and wellness by recommending a diet low in grain, sugars, and processed foods but I was very uncomfortable when he aggressively advocated for a diet high in animal fats. Even if they are local and organic I don’t feel it was appropriate, professional, or curteous for him to aggressively push his carnivorous beliefs onto me being that I’m vegetarian.
And he is not the only one in his office that makes it common practice to spout off their personal beliefs. Dr. Hites’ Colombian assistant is a highly religious woman who is always making remarks about God and asking me and my family if we believe in God. I am all for believing in something that makes you a better person but I hardly feel it appropriate to spout off your personal religious beliefs on others– especially children other than your own– and it was my young daughter who got to hear all of their random indoctrination. Besides, we were just there for a freakin’ dental exam– geeze lady!
Also I felt that he was jacking up his fees by trying to get us to schedule ortho check ups separate from annual check ups and things like this.
my daughter still hasn’t even lost all of her baby teeth and i was told by him she may need braces again– No thank you! we already did braces and retainer– and her front tooth is slightly crooked again!
But the piece de resistance was when I was insulted and spoken down to by his billing manager.
Let me be clear, I believe all of these people are good people, and yet I have made my last $$$$$ payment to Sandor Hites and will continue to look for a green dentist that respects my personal values and has an office staff that is professional and pleasant.

Front desk could be a bit more ‘perky’ so to speak hence the not perfect score but work done by dentist Dr Jang (I think that’s her name, Dr Hites partner) was very thorough. I love that she explained everything to me along the way and took the time to answer my questions before and after. Sometimes if she has time she will also take the place of the hygenist as well which is really cool. And unlike my previous Dentist in Alameda, Dr Terecita Dean who kept trying to tell me I needed this and that and was always in a rush to her next patient (BTW, I don’t think Dr Dean is honest in her work). And Dr Deans office always seems to max out the billing to my insurance hmmmm so I left.
Dr Hites facitlity is truly holistic and when Dr Jang removed my mercury filling she used proper precautions ie extra oxygen, oral damn etc (i’ve been to Dr Hites office twice thus far) I feel that Dr Hites office and staff are honest and professional people. Granted the office is very to the point and ‘simple’ but I would rather go there and know that I am getting honest service and what’s truly to my best health interest vs going to a place like Dr Deans which is aesthetically appealling but lacks the work ethic expected from any health professional. I am about to schedule another appointment to have my last mercury filling removed with Dr Jang.

Just went for my first cleaning with his office. I have been to a lot of dentists of varying expense and quality. I am very satisfied with the exam and cleaning I received. I will return in 6 months for my next cleaning!

I’ve been going to them for almost four years now. Dr. Joy Jang is great — but she doesn’t do routine cleanings anymore.
Their frontdesk staff is a bit… lackluster? They don’t smile very much, and tend to be curt. Honestly, come to think of it, maybe I should explore other opportunities.