Russell W McCalley, DDS

I’ve been in this office a bunch of times now. I am always blown away by the front desk. The girls are so sweet and always manage to find a way to get it done! The doctor is a great guy and always shoot it straight. They have a really fun play area for the kids as well. Extra points because the office smells good. Some dental offices don’t and this one smells amazing. State-​of-​the-​art equipment going through there as well. I would definitely recommend this dentist to anyone who’s looking to bring their entire family.

World needs to know that caring, kind in additional to exceptional professionals in medical field do exist and deserve recognition. The fact is that my dental emergency happened on Christmas eve, and only name came to mind is Dr. McCalley’s. Not even surprisingly that he did return my call on Christmas day offering me to come over for appointment either on same day or Saturday morning basically sacrificing his time with his family, which by the way he does have.
San Diego patients/​customers! If you look for professional who will do excellent job, will care day or night and not overcharge you. You came to right place! This is rare find. Just enjoy from now on, exceptional service, kind and professional dentist and excellent dental work! Yes he is exceptional quality dentist on the top of all that!!!

Great Dentist, got me in right away and did a beautiful efficient job fixing my emergency. Do not chew on pens, my tooth chipped. Looks great now!
Thanks Dr. McCalley!

I’ve been going to Dr. McCalley since I moved to San Diego about two years ago and he is fantastic. I love his entire staff they’re all fun, knowledgeable and sweet, but ultimately the most impressive experience I’ve had with them is t the way he handled a recent cavity I needed handled this morning.
I am completely terrified of all things medical, and needles make me want to run for this hills. This was my first cavity so I was extra terrified and seriously considered turning around multiple times. He was calm, and patient with me and clearly an expert. I felt safe and comfortable. It was a better experience than I could have imagined. I barely felt the needles at all, he checked on me frequently to make sure I was ok, and he worked very fast.
Plus the TV on the ceiling/​Headphones really help to distract you from the discomfort and drone out the noise.
I would recommend Dr. McCalley to anyone and I honestly think he is the best! :-)

Dr. McCalley was really nice to me. It was my first visit. My front tooth composite resin was broken in half so he helped me with the filling. It’s was $ 312 without an insurance.

My family has seen Dr. McCalley for a very long time. I’ve seen him for around 14 years give or take, and have had nothing but ups and down with the man and some of his staff…
Now, the main reason why I am not giving 1 star, is because, Dr. McCalley does some really great work.
But, the reason why I believe he only earned 2 stars is because of his poor customer service and greed. I think he does not have the best interest of his patients financially and takes advantage of his patients.
Example.
My mother had seen him about a year or two (give or take) for a few things. He told her that her fillings were old, and needed to be replaced. He also told her that she had a cavity that she needed to attend to, but to come in soon so it could be fixed before it got worse.
Of course life throws us curve balls, so my mom hadn’t made it back to Dr. McCalley for almost a year. She ended up getting her teeth cleaned by the hygienist (can’t remember her name) but was told that Dr. McCalley had time to see her after she was done. My mom confided in the hygienist telling her that she was a bit afraid that her fillings and cavity would probably be worse since it’s been some time… So about half way through her cleaning, Dr. McCalley popped in saying he had to leave to run arronds. The hygienist reminded him to check my mom before he left, so he told her move over and he’d do it right than before he left. Everything was good. My mom said he took about 5 minutes going through everything, and told her
«Everything looks good.»
and he left.
The hygienist realized my mom looked confused, so she told her,
«What he meant was that everything looks good as it did since the last time you were in.»
I don’t know about anyone else, but that sounds like a scam by trying to make money off of your patients. Trying to take advantage of someone because you’re more educated in the field, is not having the best interest of your patients health wise and financially.
Another Example:
My sister went in recently to get something done with her teeth. Right as they were wrapping up the appointment, she said they accidentally chipped her tooth.
Luckily for them, my sister is a very forgiving person, because if that we’re me, I’d be so upset i’d practically be spitting nails.
They apologized profusely, and had her scheduled to come in a day or two later to have her tooth fixed.
The day came, she got her tooth fixed, they did a great job, and than they tried to charge her over $ 400 to fix her tooth, THAT THEY CHIPPED.
Now if the staff or reception didn’t get the memo that’s one thing, but someone should have filled them in that this should have been a comped service, considering that this was there fault!
She got her money back, but had to explain how upset she was.
Last Example: Me
For the last couple of years I’ve had all sorts of stuff done to my teeth.
Cavities, root canals, quad cleaning, crowns, etc.
Since I was about 9 or 10 years old, I fell off a swing, which made my bottom teeth shift. Dr. McCalley had recommended that I get braces, which I did from the orthodontist down the hall (who is not longer there). I had invisilign for a month, but my dog got to the retainer and I haven’t had a retainer or braces since. He’s never mentioned the urgency for me to get braces since, maybe once or twice he’s mentioned that it could be «beneficial» to align. But he never mentioned the urgency or that they would persistently cause future problems.
Fast forward 14 – 15 years, and within the last 2 – 3 years, I’ve chipped my bottom front tooth about 3 – 5 times. I’ve had it fixed multiple times by Dr. McCalley, and no problems.
I recently saw a new dentist who DENIED to fix my chipped tooth.
Why?
Because my bottom teeth have shifted so much, my top teeth have now shifted. And since they align at an awkward angle, they now impact at a different angle which is causing them to chip easier. Luckily the chip isn’t that bad, and the new dentist was honest with me to fix a much BIGGER problem that I have. He wasn’t looking to make money off of me, but actually help me.
Dr. McCalley would have fixed it and would have collected and sent me on my way.
Sure, I should have gotten my retainer replaced. But my mom and dad thought since there was no «URGENCY», that I didn’t need it. With my whole family having past experiences with him trying to «collect», made it seem like a sales pitch, or that he was trying to pocket money for almost anything and everything.
One last thing, Calling someone or texting them to remind them about an appointment is enough. Calling every day for a week, or multiple times a day is NOT. I can’t tell you how ANNOYED I’d get to seeing a billion missed calls and missed voice mails from you’re office. ONE IS ENOUGH. MORE THAN THAT IS OBNOXIOUS, even if I haven’t seen you in days, months, years.
I’d get a second opinion before becoming loyal to Dr. McCalley.

Fantastic and friendly service. Dr. McCalley and his staff make this often dreaded appointment a joyful experience. Highly recommended!

I have been going to Dr. McCalley for about 20 years. He does great work and is very personable. He has the latest and greatest equipment.
He knows what his doing and is a nice guy.

Yep… 5 stars for Dr. McCalley. Absolutely the best dentist ever!
My wife and I have been going to Dr. McCalley for 20+ years and continue to drive to San Diego from Palm Springs because he and his staff are absolutely the best. Professional, friendly, and helpful all describe his staff. If you are afraid of the dentist or the slightest bit apprehensive, do yourself a favor and give Dr. McCalley a try. You won’t be disappointed.

Best dentist in San Diego! I’ve recommended him to everyone I know for years and years. The whole staff goes out of their way to make you feel comfortable. You can watch tv/​movies or listen to music while they work on your teeth. They have all the latest gadgets and the place is very soothing and relaxing. I’ve never been scared of going to the dentist (yes, I floss after drinking tea). But, friends that aren’t that thrilled about it, have thanked me for referring them. Life is too short to not have a good dentist in your life. Dental health is connected to your overall health, preventative is key. Dental hygienists are great, very gentle, you barely know they are in your mouth! Nice nice people that are great at what they do. If you are looking for a dentist, look no further. Seriously.

The front desk staff is nice and friendly, they will always greet you with a smile. Russell and his team always perform great service and I’ve always had a good experience with them. I would refer my friends to them if they ever needed any dental work.