Lawrence Puccinelli Jr., DDS

After seven years, I have to update my review with some recent developments. My root canal done by Dr. Puccinelli failed. It had to be retreated, during the course of which it was discovered that Dr. Puccinelli had broken off a file, and the fragment was still embedded in my tooth.
Now I don’t know the statistical lifespan of a root canal treatment. Maybe these things just sometimes fail. Also, the failed canal was a different one from the one with the file in it. The file-​filled canal still seems to hold up fine. But I would have expected Dr. Puccinelli to tell me about what he left behind in my tooth, which he didn’t do.
During my days of agony with an infected root, and maximum doses of ibuprofen, acetaminophen, and hydrocodone, I was certain that I would award one star. Looking back, I think Dr. Puccinelli did his job, with some issues, and I just got unlucky. So, meh, I’ve experienced better.

First of all let me say that if you are in pain and need to be seen right away then Dr. Puccinelli is the one to call. Both times that I needed a root canal he got me in right away, accessed the problem, performed the root canal and I was on my way. He makes sure you are comfortable with no pain and fixes your problem. I live in Santa Cruz and will gladly drive over the hill to see him. Professional AND caring– you can’t get any better! He is in Los Gatos now so even closer for me!

I just read some of the reviews for both Dr. Larry Puccinelli and his son Larry Jr. Dr. Puccinelli has done several root canals for me and also took me in on a Sunday because I was in need of a dentist right away. I called the emergency number and Dr. Puccinelli called me back personally at my home and asked how he could help. He told me to meet him at his office in an hour which I did.
As it turned out I had a major infection and needed a root canal immediately which he took care of. I also had to have a tooth pulled and another grown down. He did this as well. Dr. Puccinelli had his wife assist him all the while I was there which was approximately 2 hours. This was on a Sunday mind you. I was told what needed to be done and he explained each step along the way. When he was finished he wrote two prescriptions for me to pick up on my way home and also gave me medication before I left his office.
I was given follow up appointments as he checked to be sure I came in the following week.
About two hours after I got home I received a phone call from Dr. Puccinelli asking me how I was doing and if I needed anything.
Yes, we all have our good days and those not so good, but in all the times I have gone to Dr. Puccinelli and his son they have been nothing but kind, caring, and sensitive to my needs.
R. Adams

My insurance company sent me a list of endodontists. I chose Dr. Puccinelli because the first endodontist’s office on the list did not answer the phone. I called on a Wed and got an appointment for Friday. I was nervous about the root canal, but was never in any discomfort or pain. Dr. Puccinelli was great and explained each step in detail as well as what I should expect to feel afterwards. That weekend, I felt the tooth was still not right and called in on Monday and was seen immediately. After I explained the issue, the doctor corrected the problem in a couple of seconds. His staff were also very helpful and friendly.

First I wanted to say that I am not in any way related to Dr. Puccinelli and he also did not offer me money to write this review :(.
I needed an urgent root canal treatment and looked for a dentist in my PPO network (Anthem/​Bluecross). After asking around I got a recommendation to see Larry — this is how he introduced himself. I ended up in the Los Gatos Blvd location, which is a very new, nice and clean place — your dental cost at work! Before he started treatment he — better his assistant — took another set of x-​rays to make sure that I really needed the root canal treatment, and the conclusion was, yes I did. The trouble tooth was number 14 (upper left) which supported a bridge. He numbed up the area and started the procedure by drilling through my $ 4500 three year old beauty. I appreciated very much that during the entire treatment he commented on what he was doing. Not that I could argue much with the mouth open and dental tools inside. As we know this things are always a monolog by the dentist. Anyway, it made me feel comfortable to stay informed and I had the impression that everything was handled in the best professional way (including his assistant). According to him he his doing root canals for 16 years and after experiencing how he worked I could believe that. The entire treatment took about the same time as an oil change at ‘speedy oil’. After the treatment the office also gave me a printout containing the treatment with x-​rays before and after for my general dentist. I thought that was very good.
There was some confusion on my side when I asked if he did a temporary or permanent filling. He mentioned to do a permanent one so I assumed I was done after that one session. It turned out he was talking about the root canal filling not the one on top to close-​up the bridge. I did not know about this variation and had to go back 1 week later to him to get the final permanent filling in the bridge. He had assumed that usually this bridge filling is done by the general dentist. Anyway he did the permanent filling in the Cupertino location with the same proficiency as the root canal.
Said all this I only can highly recommend Larry.

i’ve only had good experiences.
i’ve had 1 – 2 root canals here.
after 2 – 3 visits for a 3^rd possible root canal due to continual discomfort after a filling i was pleased at dr larry jr’s restraint in not simply doing a root canal when he could’ve. he filed the tooth down some more and discomfort is going away.
i’m from the east coast so i like the drs direct nature. too often i find some Californians to be indirect, spacy or dopey.
these drs are refreshingly sharp.

I have been to Jr and Sr and they are both great. Fast, pain-​free treatment. The office staff was nice too. I don’t understand the negative comments from some of these people. I would 100% go back to this office if needed. These guys don’t do crowns, so I don’t know what «ME N» was talking about. I am a chicken when it comes to this kind of thing, even getting my teeth cleaned, but this was a truly pain-​free experience. And the work was done right!

Going to have work done on your teeth is never a pleasant experience but Dr Puccinelli Jr. made a terrible experience not so terrible. I am the biggest chicken when it comes go going to the dentist. My last root canal, done by my previous dentist was terrilble. I could feel everything and it was painful! Since that experience I have refused to go to the dentist and when I did have to go I couldn’t sleep for days before hand.
What landed my in Dr Puccinelli’s office was my previous root canal had developed an infection which resulted in a very large painful bump that developed along my jawline. I went to my new dentist Dr. Miles Lew and he referred me to Dr. Puccinelli.
I have to admit that I did not want to come once I saw the Unilocal reviews. I called Dr. Lew’s office and told them about the reviews and they reassured me that Dr. Puccinelli is a highly recommended Dr. and they have used them as a referral for over 20 years with NO complaints. They said to go and if I had any issues to call them right away.
From the second I walked into the office and met with Dr. Puccinelli and his staff I felt right at ease. He first sat down and looked at my xrays and felt the lump. He told me exactly what was going to happen and what he thought the problem was. He numbed me and for the first time ever I got numb with the first shot. The procedure was totally painless and very fast. He told me what he was doing the whole time. I really appreciate that because I’m such a chicken and it helps to know what to expect before it happens. Turned out my previous dentist missed that my root had a double canal and the nerve was still alive in there.
Afterward I was told what to expect and what I needed to do and not do. Dr. Puccinelli was concerned that I was going to be in lot of pain and since it was Friday he made sure that I could get a hold of him if I needed him. That put me at ease knowing if I had any issues he was there to help me.
I didn’t have to call him or anyone because I was in very little pain. I took a couple of Motrin when I got home and that was it!
I highly recommend Dr. Puccinelli Jr. He and his staff were wonderful and while I hope I never have to see them again I know I will be in good hands if I ever need a root canal again. Thanks guys!

I can’t believe it’s the same doctor others are writing about. My root canal was done in 40 minutes, had the right anesthetic in the right place, first try, no pain during procedure, doctor explained everything as he went, no bad side effects, hygenic, professional, totally wonderful experience! I’ve had worse fillings than this root canal. Dr. Puccinelli Junior did mine.

I too had a terrible experience here. This is not the worst dental office in the world, but it’s certainly the worst I’ve had the misfortune to visit. My story is a bit long, so I’ll summarize the main problems with this office:
— poor «bedside manner»
— zero explanation of procedure, no aftercare instructions of any kind
— will blow off your problems and discomfort as irrelevant, saying «it’s fine» as a response to anything
— failed to prevent a bad infection after the procedure, did not treat it when I starting having terrible pain
My regular dentist (who is fantastic) saw a small abscess on an old root canal, so his office referred me to the Puccinellis. My appointment was two days before Thanksgiving, which seemed fine as it was just a consultation.
I saw Dr. Puccinelli Senior (father and son practice). They had a cancellation, so they called me to come in earlier and immediately started doing what turned out to be a re-​treatment of the root canal. I did not really understand what was being done and it was never explained to me. Had I better understood, I might have raised concern that this would prevent me being able to eat on Thanksgiving.
The doctor worked rather hastily, and I was given nothing but local anesthesia. Anyone with a dental phobia would have assuredly had a panic attack during the procedure. The doctor’s breath smelled atrocious, and he did not wear a mask. While the hygienist maintained good sterility, the doctor did not. When I mentioned that I was getting rather nervous, I was told «you’re fine.» Towards the end of the procedure, the doctor’s hand slipped for the 100^th time and he set the cauterizing gun down on my gum. «That burned,» I said, with tears welling in my eyes. «You’re fine,» Dr. Puccinelli said.
Afterward I was given no aftercare instructions of any sort. It was lunchtime, and I had to ask how long I should wait before eating and drinking («whenever»). My insurance co-​pay was less than I expected, so at least their prices are not too high. The back of the tooth they had worked on was jagged and rough — they had put in a temporary filling that needed to be replaced, but no one mentioned that to me or made any plans to do the rest of the work. In the parking lot, I found a stray piece of metal in my mouth. I vowed never to return.
Everyone (co-​workers, friends) I spoke to expressed surprise that I was not given any antibiotics. Typically for this procedure antibiotics are even given in advance. I was about to learn why.
The next day it seemed to hurt too much (worse than wisdom teeth). Given that a holiday weekend was about to begin, I was concerned & called them. I spoke only to the receptionist, who assured me «you’re fine,» told me to take advil and that I should not call again unless I had sensitivity to cold. As the nerve in this tooth is long dead, I’m not even sure that’s possible. However, she seemed to feel that I was wasting her time so I took the advice to heart. Maybe I was just overreacting.
By the evening advil was not enough. I could not eat or do anything more than moan pathetically. I started taking painkillers left over from surgery. My Thanksgiving holiday was a massive suck-​fest. On Sunday, I was ready to go to the ER. I convinced Puccinelli’s answering service that I had an emergency worth interrupting the doctor’s vacation, despite still not having sensitivity to cold. Dr. Puccinelli called me in prescriptions for painkillers and antibiotics, which was wonderful if overdue. My this point I had a major infection which was more painful than I thought possible. To give you a sense, it was slightly less painful than an ovarian cyst or childbirth, but much more than a concussion, kidney infection, or broken bone.
On Monday my face was twice the size of my head, so I asked to come in and have it looked at. They could only give me an appointment in the middle of the day. I was working up in the city that day, so I had to get someone to give me a ride down in the middle of the day. When I arrived, Dr. Puccinelli Junior talked to me across the counter into the waiting room. He never even looked inside my mouth. It’s inexplicable why I had to make an appointment at an inconvenient time and drive hundreds of miles for this.
Ultimately the infection healed, although several weeks later it’s still inflamed. My regular dentist explained the procedure to me after the fact, and arranged to replace the temporary filling. I thought the back of my tooth would just be jagged for the rest of my life! He was shocked to hear about my bad experience and found me a new endodontic office covered by my insurance.
I’m sure not everyone will have a bad experience with this office, and they were nice enough. However, for me it’s simply not worth the risk. My first vacation in nine months was completely ruined because of these guys, and I guess I’m having a hard time getting over it

Had a not so good experience, twice. 3^rd time shame on me. Had a root canal my regular dentist wanted no part of. So he «referred» me to this office. A Father and Son place. I got Jr. He said to his assistant «ok, set the timer» and proceeded to powerblast my tooth and top it off with some poorly fitted temp crown. A week later it still hurt, my reg dentist said «go back, they wil fix it». I went back (like a dumbass) and they said «it shouldn’t hurt». They dug around and changed the crown and now 2 yrs later I still have probs. Don’t think the crown fully covers the tooth and it still sometimes hurts.