Oswald B Burstein, DDS

Dr. Burstein is literally one of the happiest, friendliest people I’ve ever met. Everyone who works there is great. You’re seen quickly and treated very well. Highly recommended.

I was so relaxed in Dr. Burnstien’s chair I actually fell asleep. That’s a first for a nervous nellie like me. He was so respectful of my time, because i had traveled, He condense two appointments into one.
Previously, i had a consultant with another dentist who wanted to do lots of un necessary work on my teeth. Needless to say Dr. Burstein is honest as well as skilled in the art of dentistry.

This is the first time I’ve been to this dentist, and I was very impressed. The receptionist, Myra, was very friendly and helpful. The hygienist, Danielle, was terrific, and made me feel super comfortable. Dr. Burstein was very friendly and I am happy to say I’ve found my new dentist. They all paid very good attention to the paperwork I filled out, and did their best to address every concern. Best dentist experience I’ve ever had. It was just a routine cleaning and x-​rays, but it certainly made going to the dentist enjoyable.

I went to Dr Burstein for restorations. I would NOT recommend him for cosmetic work as my experience has been disappointing.
He markets his practice as a cosmetic specialist, and a graduate of LVI, an important aspect, and one I appreciate in a cosmetic dentist, but I have been extremely disappointed and troubled by the 8 veneers and one crown he has done. Photos, and albums abound all over the office, and they look good. I brought in my records and xrays to show the status of my roots and teeth. I requested Lumineers because I was told by another dentist that reducing my teeth any further for standard veneers would be potentially damaging to my already foreshortened roots on my upper front teeth and HE AGREED WITH THIS. Dr Burstein assured me that he had done many Lumineer restorations at that time – but I am unsure about how many he had actually done. As it happened, here is what went wrong: He DRASTICALLY reduced my teeth, as if doing standard veneers; he chose too dark a shade, which is yellowed and too warm (who would do veneers in a yellowed tone?); and finally, most importantly, he put on elongated shapes, I believe, in an effort to enlarge my smile, but they now CURVE INWARD, FLATTEN MY SMILE, AND COLLIDE WITH MY LOWER TEETH, tip to front, because of the angle and elongation, and this is causing further DAMAGE to my already compromised upper roots. Dr Burstein ASSURED ME that my roots were fine, would last my lifetime, and there would be no consequences to the procedures. That may have been true before the work was done, but this design has resulted in further degradation and a few years later I am now in real danger of losing my front teeth. I can’t believe I paid thousands and thousands of dollars for this. I returned to his office to discuss some of these issues with him on more than one occasion, but he was adamant, and LOUD, about there not being anything wrong with the work that was done. I could not negotiate any reworking of the work as it was done, but I tried.
A few years later I requested a copy of my file. I saw that he wrote in my file after one of my follow up visits that he would redo the front two teeth as they were indeed too yellow. The only problem with this was HE FAILED TO TELL ME THIS. I would have returned for a redo on those teeth in a heartbeat if he had TOLD ME he was willing to do this. It would have been worth it even though I did not know at the time that my teeth were colliding and degrading.
Secondarily, the crown he did was done with a material that was too soft and it cracked. It was actually a good looking crown, but I later learned that those materials are not the best as far as longevity for crowns because they are too fragile.
It has been several years and I have just confirmed that the occlusion that resulted from this work has loosened my bite considerably.
This is permanent damage.
The way to have worked this problem would have been for someone of his experience and training to have discussed in greater detail the pros and cons of using those types of veneers, to have explained more clearly what was being sacrificed in terms of luminosity and finish, and to have made a more serious consideration of the final color choice, my fragile root condition, and the actual shape and curve of the veneers in relationship to my bite. I feel as though the work was done in a very unthoughtful, cookie-​cutter manner, with no consideration of the specific issues I had as a patient.
*ADDENDUM: I should add that several years ago, I did contact Dr Burstein’s office to discuss coming in for a revision of these issues, but was told that there would be no possible fee discount to fix the problem, and that in fact, the costs would be higher.
In Dr Burstein’s response to this review, he states that none of my enamel was removed, other than old composite material. But I had 8 veneers done, but only 6 teeth had bonding, so two natural teeth were reduced. Further, when I got up to use the ladies room during the reduction, he told me not to look in the mirror because it would be upsetting. I had seen my teeth without the composites on them in the years before, but this was well beyond that. The reduction was shocking and didn’t make any sense, given I was getting Lumineers. He also states that my natural teeth have darkened under the veneers, but the underside of my natural teeth are not darkened. The yellow cast of the veneers is on the surface and plain to see.
Further, in his response to this review, Dr Burstein has violated HIPAA law by disclosing personal information from the medical record in an attempt to harass or intimidate. If my identifying initials or name are no longer the same as when I was a patient, then that data is a part of the medical record and not a part of this discussion. Dr Burstein should be reminded that the Dental Board of California polices such behavior. END ADDENDUM

Dr. Burstein was referred to me as a TMJ specialist. I had seen other TMJ specialists before and no one was able to successfully treat me — until Dr. Burstein. The painful symptoms I had from TMJ — including awful headaches which I thought were migraine related — started dissipating almost immediately.
I really can’t say enough positive things about Dr. Burstein. If you suffer from TMJ or are simply looking for an amazing dentist, I highly suggest you contact his office.