Heath Montgomery, Dmd's Online Review Report Card

Great experience

Thorough, attention to detail, great staff!

Excellent visit. Everything was explained to me in a manner that made sense. No overly technical jargon was used. Friendly and professional staff.

I just relocated to SB and a friend referred me. My first visit to Dr Montgomery was a checkup and clean. It feels like a friendly neighborhood business vs a high volume dentist office. The follow up yesterday was a couple of fillings - all went well.

Dr. Heath Montgomery gave me the best teeth cleaning I’ve had in Santa Barbara. He never rests the instruments on my gums or lips, uses state-of-the-art tools, and takes his time so nothing feels rushed. The cleaning was thorough yet comfortable, and it’s clear he truly cares about your smile and his patients’ experience. Highly recommend!

Amazing staff and Dentist!!

I went to this place 3 years ago and after the horrible experience I had especially dealing with the rude,complacent and Incompetent front desk manager Rebecca. I didn't want to see any other dentists again. I'm thankful today I found a place that changed my whole outlook. Not only did Rebecca not bother checking my insurance putting me in a whole heap of pain dealing with bills etc. She had zero empathy in the matter. As for the doctor. I was told I needed to do a filling and I am very confident I didn't. And since that I've been dealing with pain. Do avoid, there are better places. Especially if Rebecca is still doing the insurance work. Do your due diligence.

Amazing dentist! Rebecca at the front is the best. I recommend Dr Heath to everybody, he clearly really cares about my health and doing right by patients.

Had a thorough teeth cleaning with very friendly service!

When I saw Dr. Montgomery in April 2013 at the UCSB Dental Center he was angry that the night guard he made for me wasn't fitting correctly and said the mold wasn't done correctly. He said "I am not going to eat the $500 on this myself" and got a product that he said would make the night guard more pliable so he could adjust it so it would not have to be remade at his expense. He used a product that is intended for making temporary crowns, molds for dentures and other devices. It was NOT the correct item to be used in adjusting the poorly made night guard, nor was it safe to do so. When he placed the liquid filled night guard in my mouth with my head tilted backwards the liquid splashed to the back of my throat and instantly caused a painful burning sensation. It felt like he had poured acid down my throat. That pain continued intensely until the next day when I went to the urgent care wing at the UCSB student health center where I was seen by a doctor who said he could see the burning that had occurred in my throat. He was very upset that this happened and directed me to Nancy Gustafson the Clinic Manger at the time. She was deeply apologetic about the situation and had a different dentist, Dr. Dart, look into how this acrylic product is used and he confirmed that this was not the correct product to use in this situation and that of course this never should have happened. I continued to have pain in my throat for ten days, and thankfully it lessened each day. I was told by the Clinic Manager Nancy Gustafson that Dr. Montgomery was going to be let go from the UCSB Dental Clinic as a result. Never have I had anyone in a medical setting display anger for something not my fault (that it was made incorrectly by his office), and then try to jerryrig a faulty device with an unsafe substance (the acrylic liquid that burned by throat) in order to save themselves money. At the time he said his four year old son had been up all night and that he had hardly slept, perhaps that is one reason he displayed such poor judgement. Prior to this horrible treatment I had been his patient for sometime and had really liked and trusted him, which made all of this so much more upsetting. I had found him friendly, and thought he was a skilled dentist. My trust was totally broken when this happened and it really felt like medical abuse. Would he have treated his mom or his wife the way he treated me? No way. It was like I had no human value to him as his patient in that moment. It has taken me a decade to feel comfortable speaking up about this because it was so traumatic. I just wouldn't want another person to end up in such a horrible situation. I have all of the documentation in the forms of emails between me and the UCSB administration regarding this situation if anyone cares to call its veracity into question. Based on this experience I would not recommend Dr. Montgomery under any circumstance.