Marina Shapiro, DDS

Dr. Shapiro is one of the best dentists that I have ever used; she is thoughtful, careful and focused. She also works with you and listens attentively to her patients. I found her through Dental Dental Insurance in 2009, and have been a loyal patient ever since.
Her staff is equally as awesome.

Dr. Shapiro is very friendly and professional. She gets to know her patients and I appreciate being more than a paycheck for her. Also, she has excellent staff! I had been wanting to fix the discoloration on my tooth for quite a while and one of her helpers gave me exactly the kind of advice I would want from my dentists. Now I have a great smile!

I have been patient of Doctor Shapiro’s for 10 years now, and she is easily my favorite dentist I’ve ever been to, and one of my favorite people, period. Since she started taking care of me, I’ve brought my girlfriend (now my wife) to her, and when they get a big older, we’ll bring our children to her as well. Dr. Shapiro and her staff are beyond polite, personable, and professional, but friendly and very, very skilled as well. It’s obvious that she cares about her patients, and they’ve always gone out of their way to make sure my insurance would cover necessary treatment, and on one occasion when my insurance approved a crown and then wouldn’t pay for it, she didn’t charge me the full price, just the portion that would have been my responsibility. As long as we live in SoCal, and as long as she’s practicing, Dr. Shapiro will be my and my family’s dentist.

Amazing! Service is great! All the hygienists are very friendly, careful, and reactive to what you tell them. If your gums are sensitive they move slowly, and they listen to what you are telling them; this is very hard to find. Dr. Shapiro herself is a very good doctor; she constitutes the utmost of professionalism and knows what she is doing. She is very direct and will tell not hide anything from you. If there is some sort of issue, she already has a solution that she is in the process of explaining to you, making you feel like are in good hands and will be taken care of. My entire life my dentist experiences have been horrendous and now I cant imagine having to switch dentists; it would leave a cavity in my life.

I called this office to inquire information about an inflamed tooth I had. I was in so much pain and I was referred by a family friend. Of course, I had trusted their judgement so I wanted to give this place a try. Personally I wanted to be seen as soon as possible as well. I don’t have insurance, which is another reason why I thought I could give this place a try because they don’t charge an arm and a leg, plus they have fantastic Unilocal reviews. As soon as I called, I had spoken to a woman who off the bat came off extremely rude in her tones. In my opinion she didn’t sound like she was smiling through the phone or like she didn’t want to help me, but I still proceeded to tell her my situation. She then cut me off as soon as I told her my personal information (I.e. Full name, number, etc.) Proceeded to say, «We don’t do root canals or tooth extractions.» We hung up and that was the end of my almost experience. This was last Friday, Nov. 13 in the morning. Whoever that woman was, I hope she knows that I was willing to pay the fee for the visit and any work that could be done, but unfortunately your lack of customer service and sour attitude just lost your Doctor a promising client. Dr. Shapiro, you need people that’s are willing to help you and the patients. Good luck.

Very thorough, kind, conservative and knowledgable dentist. I will be recommending all of my friends see Dr. Shapiro.

Great staff and great dentist! Dr Shapiro took her time explaining everything! Staff was excellent ! Nice and made you feel at ease! On site parking too

I had an issue that I went to several doctors for, but they were all overpriced for the procedure i had to get done. When i came to Doctor Shapiro, not only were her prices very affordable, but she did everything i needed all in my first visit. She does quality work, and I am more than satisfied with my experience. On top of everything, she was a lovely person to talk to, and was able to calm me down, which is usually very hard to do! Special thanks to Maricela, the front desk service was extremely efficient.

Dr Shapiro is the best! She is our family dentist and is great with me and my kids, who are probably less scared than I am anyways! She is fairly priced and really explains all procedures before they are done. She and her staff are sweet and so friendly. My daughters love her and are never scared after they had such a great first experience. My youngest actually asks to go more! That part is so important to me because I had a terrible dentist as a child and it made me terrified of dentists my whole life. I love that Dr Shapiro understands that fear and really has been patient and understanding. I HIGHLY recommend her!

Best Dentist Ever! The only dentist I’ve ever had who can clean my teeth pain-​free.

I have never been a scaredy cat of the dentist, I have had work done in Mexico, including a small cavity filled with no pain killer – no problem. Then I had some work done at a dentist in Clairemont who will remain nameless… let’s just say that I didn’t chew on that side of my mouth for FIVE YEARS.
Finally, I started aching. I knew I had to deal with it. I found Marina Shapiro because she accepts a dental discount plan (called Carington, if you’re interested). I went in and she explained that the tooth in question was… and I quote «like Vegas in there… you know how fast bacteria grows…» You know, you shouldn’t laugh with someone’s hand in your mouth, but sometimes…
Anyway, I went in for a crown and I didn’t realize how fearful I had become because of my ex-​dentist. She numbed me up and left me for a bit and I started shaking and crying (this has NEVER happened to me). I regrouped thankfully before she got back, and she put my temporary in with no issue and off I went for a couple of weeks.
When I returned, I was crowned «No Longer Afraid of the Dentist.» She is excellent and such a professional. What a relief to have a great dentist again.
Hoo friggin’ raaaaaay! Oh and now I have insurance so my co pay was minimal. Double fist pump!!!

Dr. Shapiro is a contracted dentist with Delta Dental, and has her profile on their site. According to Delta Dental, their agreement with the dentist dictates «Delta Dental pays your dentist directly.» «You pay the dentist only your portion of the services.» and «Our network dentists agree to never balance bill you more than their contracted fee.»
Yet, when I went to Dr. Shapiro for the first time, she refused to treat me unless I signed a form which states «At the end of this 60 day period, if payment has not been received from your insurance company, you are expected to pay the total unpaid portion of your account immediately» And goes on to levy an 18% charge on unpaid balances over 60 days. The document characterizes their insurance claim processing as a «courtesy» rather than their contractual obligation.
I find this deception and dishonesty shameful. Dentists get tons of clients through Delta Dental, so she’s taking the benefit and trying to shirk her obligation with the client the one damaged.
I took a day off of work and didn’t get my appointment, now I have to find another dentist. Booo!

How excited do you get about going to your dentist? Well, I get excited all the time. I have been going to Marina for several years already and it is always a great experience. She is always honest and always gives great advice on which treatments are the priority and which ones can wait. My fiancé recently started going to Marina as well and he is very happy!

Dr. Shapiro is great. Her staff is great. I have been seeing her for over 6 years. She is the only dentist that I enjoy going to. Flexible scheduling, good prices, and very friendly. It is kind of hokey, but when you go in for an appointment and feels like you are meeting up with a friend.
Highly, highly recommend.

I like Dr. Shapiro as a professional dentist!!! Prices are reasonable, honest and do not do extra work to charge you more. Highly recommends this dental office to everyone!!!
P. S. By they way call them advance because they always booked!!!

Review #600 shall be dedicated to the only dentist I’ve ever had who could legitimately nurse my teeth back to the point where I would go for a check-​up and be told I have no cavities.
When I moved to San Diego, I began my search for a new dentist. During college, I went through 3 dentists and they were all crap. During my search, I stumbled upon Dr. Shapiro, who just happens to have the same first and last name as my sister in law. You can never go wrong with a Shapiro, so I decided to give her a chance.
During my first visit, she diagnosed a problem I was having with a root canal, recommended me to an endodontist who fixed it up right away, and put on a crown that fits perfectly to this day. She’s fixed all my cavities flawlessly and sold me a special toothpaste that I believe has heavily contributed to the improving health of my teeth.
Her assistants can be a hit or miss. Sometimes, I feel like they have no idea what they’re doing. Other times, they’re spot on. However, Dr. Shapiro has always been a pleasure to work with. We come from similar upbringings, and she always has a story to tell whenever I come in for my cleanings.
After more than a decade of terrible teeth (I partially blame genetics), it’s nice to hear someone tell you that you don’t have any cavities. If you want an honest, caring, and sincere dentist, you can’t go wrong with Dr. Shapiro.

I found Marina Shapiro here on Unilocal.I recently moved to san diego and recently got dental insurance. seeing as I have not been to the dentist for a number of years 5+ to be exact. (im not a dentist lover) I was full of anxiety and nerves about fear of my teeth hurting and being told they were going to fall out of my mouth and that I needed $ 5000 worth of work to be done. I almost canceled my appt multiple times.
however. this did not happen. Marina and her staff were amazing. the office is clean the staff is remarkable. (even checking on me in the waiting room to tell me it will only be a few more minutes) I had all my xrays done, told her my fears of her poking around in my mouth and stabbing my teeth. she put all my fears to rest, she did not lecture me about not flossing enough. She has amazing bedside manner, joked with me telling me that dentists have the worst teeth, I left with clean teeth, only two small cavities and a «goody bag» which made me feel like a kid.
very pleased with my decision, in fact Im excited to go back and have my work done, my teeth feel amazing and I highly rec Marina.
actually I take that back, dont go to her bc then she will get busier and busier. ;)

I broke my tooth last night. Haven’t been to a dentist in 5 years. Called her at 9am, and walked out her door by 1pm with a new temp crown. Awesome, clean, comfortable environment. All the work done was quick and professional. She numbed me up so good, my face is still numb as i write this. Her receptionist handled all of my insurance stuff, and when there was an issue, we corrected it quickly and painlessly. I think I found my new dentist.

I have always had bad experiences with previous dentists. I had a cracked tooth and the only time I could be seen was on the weekends. I found Dr. Shapiro’s office and decided to try them out.
I will never go to any other dental office ever again! I LOVE LOVE LOVE Dr. Shapiro, Jolena, and Maricela! I have had the best service that I’ve dreamed about having when it came to having my teeth worked on.
Covered parking underneath the building which is awesome since street parking is metered. I never really wait to be seen, and I’m feel so relaxed when I’m there. (I sometimes doze off when they’re doing their magic!) I have had painful procedures done in the past by other dentists, but Dr. Shapiro makes sure that I’m numbed up enough to where all I feel is pressure.
I would definitely recommend Dr. Shapiro’s office!!!

I was looking for a friendly good dentist and after I read the previous review about the other ladies husbands fear I took mine there. He liked it! He needed lots of work done, but lost a crown in-​between all that and she fixed it no problem and he hasn’t complained once. Intact he is looking forward to going back.
Great dentist, staff and hours!