Alec J Temlock, DMD, MS
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Review Highlights
“Shirley once again came up to bat and helped me get scheduled to come in early and have everything done.” in 47 reviews
“Miriam came in to check on me and I came out of there not feeling bad for "wasting their time".” in 8 reviews
“Temlock I had my wisdom teeth extracted and then later I had bone graft procedures on a few of my back molars.” in 117 reviews
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About the Business
Business owner information
Alec T.
Periodontics and Dental Implants Oral Surgery Cosmetic Surgey
Location & Hours
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Recommended Reviews
Overall rating
129 reviews
5 stars
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1 star
- Robin C.Hayward, CA63148Feb 9, 2024
PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A POST FROM MY MOTHER. She does not have Yelp, a computer/smartphone, and is not technology savvy.
"While I was on vacation in Idaho, I broke a tooth. Knowing I'd ignore it because of my anxiety/fear of going to the dentist my daughter made an appointment for me right away (with a dentist she used to work for). It wasn't my first time visiting Dr. Temlock and it won't be my last.
He is very reassuring and made me feel comfortable. He laid out all my options and processes involved in terms I could understand. My visit went well with good results. I was placed under sedation and the best thing I do not remember anything at all. I HIGHLY recommend Dr. T. "Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - Alex A.San Francisco, CA321208297Dec 23, 2023Updated review
Dr. Temlock is incredibly professional, and I must commend the cleaning service, which was undoubtedly one of the best I've experienced.
I was referred by my primary dental office for gum graft surgery. Not only did Dr. Temlock and the team take excellent care of me, but the surgery was also a success. I am genuinely grateful for restoring my tooth and bringing my gum health back to 100%.
The only challenge I encountered was that they didn't accept my insurance, which presented a bit of a complication. However, I'm delighted that I've since changed my dental plans, ensuring that I can return to Dr. Temlock if needed in the future.
Thank you all for the outstanding care!Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0Mar 20, 2020Previous reviewFirst and foremost, I will like to thank Dr. Temlock and his amazing team. I can't stress enough how well they took care of me. They are straight to the point and get to work. The office is in a beautiful location without the extra mimics to drag patients in (Netflix, TVs). I was sent over to them via a referral from Studio Dental.
They said they have worked extensively with Dr. Temlock and he is a trusted resource. Believe me, reviews matter and I did my research before accepting him. I love how they were straight forward with what I needed and waited until my FSA reset to process my claims and even accepted my visa gift cards as collateral. Second, I want to thank Shirley who completely handle my claim, receipts, processed payments, and kept up with my plan to recover 24/7. You made my experience with my doctor amazing as dealing with teeth issues aren't fun. Next in line was Rachel who did my cleaning and taught me so much about teeth and mouthwash hygiene, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
These are all the procedures I had done and thankful enough it was a success and I recovered a week earlier to get my stitches removed. Please follow all doctor's orders if not you won't have a successful outcome.
There are 4 basic components for my treatment plan:
1) Osseous/Flap Surgery: This is the actual gum surgery, and your insurance covers this procedure at 90%
2) Bone Graft: Dr. Temlock is going to attempt to regenerate some lost bone due to the infection/disease process.
3) Guided Tissue Regeneration (AKA: Membrane). This biological membrane holds the bone graft in place while your body regrows bone in the area. Bone grafts always need a membrane.
4) Biological Materials/Proteins (Emdogain). These proteins act as a regenerative biological material that stimulates your body to produce more periodontal tissue. This substantially improves the outcome and healing of your procedure. Your insurance does not cover the biological proteins required for your grafting (this is simply not covered by your insurance). Google "EMDOGAIN" if you would like to read/learn more information on these regenerative materials.
5) Oral Conscious Sedation
I give them my full recommendation and in due time I will post before and after. Thank you so much. - Bella C.San Francisco, CA413938Jan 19, 2024
Dr. Temlock is the best periodontist ever! :) After two years of putting off getting a lateral gum graft, I decided it was time to take the plunge and do the surgery during my time off this past winter break. All of the periodontists that were listed under my insurance, United Healthcare, had low reviews and I decided with a surgery this serious I needed to go with a periodontist that is credible and that I could trust. After my procedure, I was in pain for ~7 days but the pain meds I was prescribed by Dr. Temlock helped greatly with that. My results 3 weeks post-op are incredible and I cannot recommend Dr. Temlock more.
Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - Lindsay S.Boston, MA2525Mar 3, 2024
Dr. Temlock and his whole team are amazing. I came to his practice recommended by a close friend and I am so lucky to have found him. The procedure I needed to have involved multiple visits, surgeries and many months. He is extremely thorough and cares about his patients. Before every surgery, Dr. Temlock took the time to discuss all of the details of the prep, the surgery and recovery. He always ensured all my questions were answered and made sure I felt comfortable. Dr. Temlock and his staff have great bedside manner and are extremely responsive. The care I have received has been great and I cannot recommend Dr. Temlock enough!
Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - Gwen W.San Francisco, CA08Dec 15, 2023
Dr. Temlock is very professional and has wonderful bedside manner. You're in great hands with him.
Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - Sarah J.San Francisco, CA02Feb 26, 2024
Dr. Temlock is my dental hero! During the pandemic my oral health issues seriously escalated as I hadn't had a proper cleaning in 2 years by the time I finally found myself back in a dentist's chair. They immediately sent me to Dr. Temlock to treat my advanced periodontitis. I was so lucky to get that referral and become under his excellent care. He guided me through an intense overhaul of my mouth with osseous surgery and tons of bone grafts with ease. My healing went so smoothly. And, I only needed ibuprofen! His bedside manner is as impeccable as the quality of his work. I have never had another dental professional take so much time to reassure, explain things, and listen as deeply as he does. I have complete trust in him and his advice. 2 years later and my mouth is like a completely different mouth, his work has held up wonderfully.
Due to injury he was unable to practice for a while so I had to go see another periodontist. It was like night and day- I came running back to Dr. Temlock as soon as I saw he was back in business! I am so thankful that he is doing this work and that I can continue to be a client of his.Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - Cat N.Financial District, San Francisco, CA02Feb 21, 2024
I have pretty severe gum recession (have had multiple dentists and perios tell me so), so I've now done three gum graft surgeries with Dr. Temlock. I truly wouldn't trust anyone else. Dr. Temlock is one of the kindest humans you'll ever meet, and he really cares about his patients. He never pushed me towards a procedure unless it was absolutely necessary, and for each one, I had multiple appointments where he walked me through the prep, surgery, and recovery to make sure I was completely comfortable, informed, and prepared. I've met with other perios and haven't come across another that holds your hand every step of the way like that. Dr. Temlock has grafted over hard-to-reach teeth in the back of my mouth, and teeth front and center, and all surgeries have been extremely successful and look great - you'd never know I had the procedure done. His team is also incredibly nice and responsive. Really, really hope that I'm done with these surgeries, but if I have to do it again, it'll be with Dr. Temlock.
Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - Tech G.San Francisco, CA90686Feb 21, 2022
Update (2/24/22): biz's reply is a clear attempt to remove a genuine patient's experience and IMO is dishonest. I re-reviewed the business to be 100% correct. Front desk has a receptionist by the name of Lindsey and recognize the office. The correction is the Dr is a periodontist, not an oral surgeon.
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Based on Yelp's reviews, I decided to visit Dr.Temlock for my oral surgery but it turned out to be one of the most dramatic and horrifying experiences of my adult life. I do not recommend coming here for oral surgery. Outside of the botched surgical procedure and how the staff initially handled my request, most of everything else was acceptable.
This review will be brief with details redacted.
The dental office presented a sound oral surgery plan but when I insisted on taking a cautious approach, they didn't take it well and kept insisting it couldn't be done. After much wrangling, almost to the point of having the appointment cancelled, they finally agreed to my approach.
Now, this is where the whole thing went sideways.
The night of the surgery when my anesthesia wore off and having already taken the recommended pain killers (Oxy), the pain was still so tremendous and unbearable that for a brief minute suicide was considered. I recognize this may read as a hyperbole but there reaches a point the human mind can only withstand so much and just wanting to give up - this was it. The level of throbbing/shooting pain was a constant 8 or 9 out of 10 for three days.
In those three days I was completely bedridden and immediately lost 5-7 pounds due to not being able to chew/eat (on the good side). It felt as if the surgery had severely injured a part of my mouth/throat where it wasn't suppose to because even swallowing my own saliva was extremely painful. My new periodontist performed the same work on a larger area and the pain was very moderate. The difference was day and night.
I hope no one else has to go through this.Helpful 3Thanks 0Love this 2Oh no 0Business owner information
Alec T.
Feb 24, 2022
There are two businesses at this address:
1. Alex Rabinovich, MD, DDS who is an oral surgeon.
2. The other business is mine (Alec Temlock) and I am not an oral surgeon.
Our first names our similar, so I assume the reviewer made a mistake when writing this review.
We also have completely separate staff as well.
Lastly, this is not a patient of record at my business/practice. I have never seen this patient before nor treated this patient in any capacity.
As such, this review was written for the Oral Surgeon who practices at this facility (Dr. Alex Rabinovich) but was posted under my name/practice incorrectly.
Please remove this post or place it under the correct business as it is completely false and misleading that my practice or staff interacted with this patient whatsoever. - Donna D.San Francisco, CA105366Aug 4, 2021Updated review
I started reading Temlock's Lindsay's response but I couldn't finished because it's apparent she is ignoring how she dealt and interacted with me on the first treatment where I had Cigna Dental for the past 11+ years.
Lindsay continues to talk about the second treatment (where I confirmed that I had changed my insurance from Cigna to Delta Dental and there were mix messages from Delta Dental.
I've never had an issue with any dental service providers or Cigna Dental in 11+ years till that first and only time with you/Temlock.
I stand by 1 star. The saving grace is the others that work there and Temlock's skill. That said, I would have appreciated an apology from Temlock since he owns the business and ultimately owns the experience and service his employees provide.Helpful 5Thanks 0Love this 1Oh no 0Business owner information
Alec T.
Jul 28, 2021
Donna,
I apologize for the experience you feel you have had.
We like to be transparent with costs, and given your request for multiple pre-authorizations and checking on your insurance, our organization worked tirelessly on your behalf to obtain the most accurate estimate possible. I am sorry if your expectations were higher, but I believe any complaints should be directed at your insurance carrier rather than our staff. I can assure you that your case was discussed at our internal meetings at every step. We all spent several hours working on your case to expedite the information on your behalf.
We collected from you what insurance was expected to not pay. When estimating treatment costs, we are dependent on your insurance carrier to provide accurate information as it relates to your overall coverage, benefits, and limitations. Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to predict how your insurance company actually processes the claim for payment after treatment.
I truly believe our organization went above and beyond trying to obtain information, which is normally turned around in 4-6 weeks by insurance companies. I wish insurance carriers worked more quickly on behalf of their enrollees, but the reality is all dental insurance companies are for-profit businesses, which rarely account for patient's needs.
We reimbursed you the exact amount that was owed to you as soon as we received the claim back so I'm sorry to say that those "countless, frustrating hours" on the phone were not needed on your behalf. Everything worked out in the end once insurance processed the claims and unfortunately, we do not have control over their speed.
I hope you now understand in greater detail the complexities a health care provider and organization work on your behalf when asked to do so.
Sincerely,
LindsayJul 27, 2021Previous reviewIt pains me to write this 1-star review because:
1) Dr. Temlock is a board certified peridontist who did good work in assessing then removing a bad tooth and membrane placement.
2) There are a couple of very lovely and personable ladies that work there.
That said, I don't care how great a periodontist Temlock is or how lovely some of the employees are if I am continually being dismissed and disrespected by the one employee all patients have to go through (Lindsay) who works the front desk and handles all insurance related tasks.
Context:
I needed to get a bad tooth removed and wanted to get it done before COBRA expires on March 31, '21. The appointment was scheduled for February 28, '21. I did my due diligence by contacting Temlock' s office for procedure code and verifying with Cigna Dental (my dental insurance for the last 11 continuous years) on the % and $ amount they would cover and my responsible amount.
The issue started when Lindsay walked up to me to tell me 'They said you don't have insurance' while I was laying on my back with several shots of local anesthesia injected and gauze in my mouth. She went on to say I had to pay $2,474.80 up front. I responded that I had insurance but I couldn't talk clearly due to the anesthesia and gauze in my mouth. Per Lindsay's request I gave her my credit card because Dr. Temlock already started the procedure and I wasn't in a physical position to talk with Lindsay.
Fast forward 4 - 5 weeks, Temlock' s office finally refunded me the last $1,850.80 owed to me. To get to this point, I had to spend countless frustrating hours doing the below listed task. And throughout this process, Lindsay would rudely try to shut me down by saying 'we don't owe you $'.
· calls with Lindsay
· calls with Lindsay and my insurance
· call with Lindsay, Dr. Temlock and my insurance
· after Temlock' s office would refund me an amount, I'd send them an excel updated with outstanding amount Temlock still owed me, the amount I paid upfront, the amount the insurance covers
· follow-up calls to Lindsay and Temlock' s office on outstanding issue.
Ultimately Temlock' s office refunded me the exact amount I said was owed to me and was reflected in the excel.
I never received an acknowledgement or apology from Temlock' s office for their mistakes or the rude behavior I received from Lindsay then the dismissiveness I received from Melissa (Melissa works for Lindsay).
Fast forward to May '21. Effective April 1, I have Delta Dental PPO. In scheduling my implant appointment with Temlock' s office there were some issues but they were resolved in June. That said, Lindsay told me I had to pay them $2,435 upfront for the second procedure (implant). Deja Vu. Don't they learn from their mistakes???
The last straw for me occurred when I followed up to schedule my implant appointment and Melissa said to me in an cold voice 'we have seen your emails and because of the issues working with Cigna on your first procedure is the reason we need you to pay upfront $2,435' for the second procedure (implant).
Uhhh Melissa if you read the emails and looked at the excel, you would have seen Temlock' s office ultimately refunded what I had stated all along I was owed from Temlock. That entire agonizing episode unravelling the mistake and getting refunded could have been avoided if Temlock' s office ran the paperwork through my insurance first. - Tom F.San Francisco, CA792Jan 29, 2022
I switched to a really good dentist. He told me how bad my situation really was. He wouldn't do any work until I visited a periodontist. This is what brought me to seek treatment at Dr. Temlock's office.
With Dr. Temlock I had my wisdom teeth extracted and then later I had bone graft procedures on a few of my back molars. These were the first times I ever experienced conscious sedation. One minute I'm selecting a show to watch on Netflix, and then the next minute I'm at home in bed. No memory of the procedure itself. Both went very smoothly, including recovery. I really appreciated the detailed instructions pre and post procedure. I could tell the team knows what they are doing.
I've continued to received cleanings and follow Dr Temlock's recommendations to care for my teeth. Both my dentist and Dr. Temlock agree that my gum heath has completely turned around. They were both worried I was going to lose some teeth, and now they both expect me to keep them all forever.
Thank you!Helpful 1Thanks 1Love this 0Oh no 0
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