John L Starks, DDS

I was very leery of trying a new dentist and I must say I’m pleasantly suprised! What a great experience! It was so informative and thorough, I really support the emphasis on prevention, it’s becoming harder and harder to find that in dentists these days. I highly recommend the entire office!

As someone who has moved frequently (and has weak teeth and therefore many fillings), I have seen a lot of dentists and have always lucked out and never understood the awful dentist stories… until now. I just had two cavities filled last week by Dr Starks, and definitely will not be returning to his office.
In terms of skill/​technique, I was not impressed. The fillings are in there and (after having to go back and get both adjusted) they seem ok. But the procedure was the most painful and awful one I have had. His injections were excessive and went far too deep, and left me unable to open my mouth the next day and with an incredibly sore jaw for four days after. Not a moment after injecting, he started drilling. During the entire procedure, only once did he ask if I was ok, and never asked if I was numb enough (I wasn’t on the top, but dealt with the pain in order to avoid more needle sticks). The procedure was incredibly rough, with my head being yanked back and forth several times. And I never want to hear the sound of my teeth being ground away by hand like that again (way worse than the normal hum of the drill).
In addition to general dentistry skills, I think it’s incredibly important for a dentist to have respect and «bedside manner» with both patients and employees. He was lacking in both. At one point, he said to his assistant (motioning to my mouth) «clean that up.» First, he is not your servant. Second, I am a human being attached to «that.» After the procedure, his assistant was offering comfort due to me covering the half of my face that was numb. Dr Starks laughed a bit and said «yea but wait until you look in the mirror.» Again, disrespectful and rude. Finally, when I shared that I use an Oral-​B instead of Sonicare because several clinical trials have shown Oral-​B technology outperforms that of Sonicare, he brushed it off by saying «well that’s not true.» A quick PubMed search shows it is in fact true, and any reputable doctor should be a good consumer of the research in their field.
I’ll leave it at that. I was at first worried this was a fluke experience, but then happened to talk to a friend who has the same dentist, and she is switching for the very same reasons I listed above. I give two stars because his assistant and the ladies up front are just lovely, and I had no issues whatsoever with them. But I value my teeth and respect too much to return to Dr Stark’s office again.

They told me to do the regular cleaning, followed by two «deep cleanings» that lasted 1.5 hours each… If I’m having two deep cleanings, why do I need a regular one also?
Seems to be all about the bottom line… they have 75% of patients do deep cleanings. It doesn’t feel honest. They’re focused on the bottom line, rather than patients. (No one wants to do an unnecessary cleaning or procedure, especially when they don’t need it!)
I got calls + text + emails pushing me to do my third cleaning in the span of 2 months! I was bombarded with reminders, and it was too much.
Dentist: I’m young (in my 20s) and felt he didn’t take me seriously. He rushed through my questions and jumped to recommend a whole bunch of cleanings.
Hygienist: the one bright spot — they’re really gentle, make you feel comfortable, and clean your teach so well! The stars are for the hygienists. Unfortunately, because I feel pressured to buy when I’m there, I’m leaving this dentist.

Way back when Dr. Starks used to be a man you could trust financially and with your dental health. I was only going to his office because I trusted him. I loathe, the hygienist Barbara and her cackle. I don’t feel that the other two hygienists do a thorough job. I loved the old Office Manager, Kim. The new one, Tina, seems to not care about anything aside from $$$$.
Dr. Starks knew for years I was happy with my NTI and wanted me to have a full mouth nightgaurd. I finally agreed to it, begrudgingly, I was shocked when I got the insane bill in the mail as I NEVER WOULD HAVE GOT AN APPLIANCE I DID NOT WANT FOR AN INSANE COST!!! I used to work in dental offices for 14 years and know that the charge was about 6x more than their cost!!! I sent an email to Tina and asked that Dr. read it too, they barely lowered the bill and when I made monthly payments, started to charge finance fees on top of it.

I agree with the positive reviews. Great dentist, nice hygienists. The front desk staff are not always 100%, but it’s a super busy office and my head would explode answering the phone all day long. Unfortunately, I had a LOT of dental work in the past year and they got it all done and billing squared away, so I am happy.
ALSO, we just took our 3 yo for her first visit and they were awesome. I was a little nervous, since they are not a pediatric office, but my toddler loved it and asks to go back at least every other day. (I think the flashing pink fairy toothbrush they gave her has some influence…)
I miss my former DDS (I changed due to an insurance change), but I have referred several friends to Dr. Starks.

Two years ago, John was my dentist while I live at Bellevue. His practice was walking distance from where I work.
In addition to the regular teeth cleaning, John also pulled all 4 of my wisdom tooth in one visit. They were growing in different directions and one needed to be sawed open. The operation went smoothly and the office even gave me two ice packs on my way out.
I moved back to CA or else I would continue to go see John. Highly recommended!

If it was possible to give a review less than 1 star, this dentist would get it. I went to Dr. Starks to have a temporary then permanent tooth implanted. New to Seattle, I chose him from his positive reviews on Unilocal… Oh, how wrong could all you people be???
The first portion of my treatment was having a temporary tooth made and placed while the temporary tooth was made. Before he began working in my mouth, I told him that my body didn’t respond to Novocaine and that I always needed more than his usual patient. He proceeded to not listed to me and began drilling into my gums, me in obvious pain. He surprisingly laughed at said «wow, I guess you do need more». He gave me one more shot, but I was in pain the remainder of the appointment. The temporary tooth he made was less than a desired finished look, but since it was only temporary, I put up with it.
Here is where he went from a less than great dentist to a shit dentist…
I finally went back to get my permanent tooth implanted. When he showed me the finished tooth, I was surprised at not only the shape of the tooth, but the color. The shape in no way matched its pair on the other side of my mouth. The color was borderline gray. Wanting to get the «Dr. Starks Experience» over as quickly as I could, I left the office knowing I would never seek treatment from him again, nor ever refer someone to him.
Shortly after having the permanent tooth placed, I began to feel as if the tooth was loose. I could feel a «wiggle» to the tooth and was concerned with it coming out. About 2 weeks later, while eating a peach, my PERMANENT tooth feel out of my mouth… not just the tooth, the entire implant — tooth & screw.
Having moved back to my native California, I sought the treatment of my former dentist. When I handed him the implant his immediate quote was «this is the implant that he made and put in your mouth. I have never seen work that bad». He placed the implant back into my mouth and screwed it in place, took x-​rays and immediately saw the problem. Dr. Starks gave me an implant with a tiny screw, there were not enough grooves in the screw to keep in place in my jaw.
Again, my current dentist was amazed that Dr. Starks would use a permanent tooth was so little of grooves to keep implanted in my mouth. My dentist proceeded to make me a new permanent tooth that not only looked like my other teeth (shape, size, color), but used a correct screw size so I would never have an issue.
When I called Dr. Starks to tell him of my dentist’s findings (screw size, shoddy tooth) I told him that I was not going to pay my dentist for the repair job, that he (Dr. Starks) should be responsible for the bill since his work was so substandard. His office manager stated to me that they would assume the costs, to send them the bill. Dr. Starks stated the same thing on a voicemail he left me. I have mailed them the bill on two separate occasions and the bill has still not been paid by him. I have emailed his office, left one voicemail and spoke with someone who said he would call me back… NOTHING!
Do not seek treatment from Starks (withholding doctor from now on, he does not deserve the respect). His bedside manner is arrogant and he does not give the standard of treatment a patient deserves.
DO NOT GO!

I managed to break a tooth, thank you Christmas Peanut Brittle & years of active neglect!
When the pain increased, I called and spoke to a wonderful person who was able to get me is quickly (1 day from my call). Upon getting to the office, everyone was professional and courteous, after a few minutes of paperwork I was in the chair getting a quick set of x-​rays so we could discuss my options.
Dr. Starks came in, introduced himself and explained my options, this of course was an extraction and he went to work, once he was finished which took no time and was very pain free, his assistant explained my aftercare and I was on my way no more than an hour total!
Dr. Starks and his staff were excellent, he is now my Dentist and I look forward to seeing him every 6 months.

Dr. Starks is a great dentist! I had a cavity, and since I’m a student living away from home, I wasn’t able to fly home to my regular dentist. I was able to get an appointment the next week, and they were really understanding about me scrabbling to find my insurance information. Dr. Stark is a really kind man and not only filled in my cavity right away, but also made sure that I was comfortable. When the numbing medication didn’t work at first, he added more and made sure to wait until I couldn’t feel it. Next time I need a dentist, I’m sure to come here!

I am a fan of good dental hygiene. My mom has had dentures since I can remember, so that pretty much scared me into good dental hygiene. I’m a pretty religious Sonicare brusher and daily flosser. When my previous dentist wasn’t a good fit, I asked around at work who people saw. Luckily, a lot of my co-​workers seemed to agree on Dr. Starks. He’s downtown which is especially convenient since I also work downtown and can head down pretty easily.
My dental assistant is always friendly and gentle. They don’t make you take x-​rays if you don’t want them (unless it’s been ages, of course). I also liked that they didn’t want to re-​do all of my fillings when I started seeing them. I had a receding gum on one tooth, and they fixed it without anything noticeable. You always get a free toothbrush and travel toothpaste with each visit which is always a nice touch. I had an area between two teeth that was always irritated, and Dr. Starks filed it down — no more irritation! Hallelujah!
I’m glad to have found a good dentist as dentist visits are not my fave.

I don’t like posting negative reviews, but I went to Dr. Starks because of the positive reviews I read on Unilocal.So even though it makes me feel crappy to write this, I am sharing my experience.
I have had a couple of fillings and a crown at Dr. Starks’ office, and everything went fine — no pain. Unfortunately at my last appointment I ended up crying in the chair from pain. He started drilling, it hurt, I let him know, and he stopped and gave me a tiny bit more novocaine. As he injected it, he told his assistant, «I think she just has delayed onset — that’s all it is,» (ie it took longer for the novocaine to take effect on me), and then he immediately went back to drilling. It still hurt. I indicated many times over the next 15 minutes or so that I was in pain by putting my hands up, making noises — even at one point asking through all the crap in my mouth «Why does it still hurt?» At the end of my appointment he said, «That was actually kind of helpful to me — it helped me know where the nerve was.»
I am not blessed with great teeth, so I’ve had a lot of fillings in my day. Dr. Starks is the only dentist that ever made me cry.

As far as I am concerned there is no better dentist/​staff than Dr.Starks. I have been seeing him for 30 years. Even when I moved to New York and would come home, he was always on my priority list of things to do.
Everybody from Dr. Starks himself to Tracy my hygentist, Kim in the front office they are all very professional and friendly.
My daughters started going when they were very young and still do. When my daughter was 8 years old she fell at school and knocked both of her front two teeth out. We took both teeth to and her to Dr. Starks and he was able to replant them. Are you kidding me? Nothing more to say about that.
Looking forward to another 30 years. LOL…

I was referred to Dr. John Starks by a friend. The first thing I noticed was how detailed and thorough they are. Dr. Starks and his whole team are very committed to completely looking over my teeth and repairing any problems. I had a crown done incorrectly by another dentist that was discovered while Dr. Starks was filling a cavity. He quickly changed the plan and repaired the crown before completing the filling. If he wouldn’t have caught it then it would have created big problems for me down the line.
Your teeth will be taken good care of!

A few years ago, I was looking for a new dentist after dumping my old one. I went to Unilocal to see who had high marks, and Dr. Starks was one that was close to where I live with a good number of stars.
Here’s what I have to say: HE IS THE BEST DENTIST I’VE EVER HAD, and I’m one of those weird people who actually LIKE going to get their teeth cleaned.
Here’s what is great about Dr. Starks and staff:
Receptionists are incredibly busy, but are always friendly and helpful. I can’t «star» these people enough. I mean, going to the dentist for some folks can always be a mixed bag– how much worse would it be if the people making the appointment were mean and/​or impatient?
Dr. Starks is great because he explains any procedures in an accessible and interesting way. (Aka, he’s not talking to you like you are a 3 year old, but he’s also not talking above your head like you are another dentist). He takes care of business and gets you in and out of your appointment as quickly as possible, yet is friendly and personable so you don’t feel like you are on some kind of dental conveyor belt.
I can’t recommend Dr. Starks and staff highly enough. Thank you to the Unilocal community that helped me find them! :)

As others have said, Dr. Starks is an excellent dentist. I’ve been a patient for over fifteen years, and have been happy with the service for the entire time. Dr. Starks replaced some fillings that were done much earlier in my life that would have caused massive cavities later. I’ve also had a root canal and a gold cap put on. Nothing has ever really caused any trouble afterwards. I also appreciate that Dr. Starks supports the arts community, and gets to know many of his patients on a personal basis.
My only complaint is that he’ so good that he’s too popular! Unless you schedule your cleanings six months ahead, it’s hard to get in. On the other hand, they always find time for you in an emergency.

I LOVE Dr. Starks and everybody who works here. Everyone is very nice, helpful and friendly. I was so worried before I went in for my first visit since it had been years since my dental work. I had been avoiding dentist due to my bad experiences with several dentists in the past. I was scared of dentists that I preferred to be in excruciating pain rather than to have it checked. Other than that, I was an international student with no insurance so I was seriously concerned of the bills. There were countless winter nights I stayed awake because the pain was unbearable in my exposed gum. I only stuffed the hole with temporary filling which only helped a little.
After I found a job that paid for my dental insurance, I started searching for good dentists. I’m glad I found Dr Starks on Unilocal.After reading all these reviews I was assured that I would be in good hands, I called to make an appointment. It’s always been a pain-​free experience ever since. I got 3 wisdom teeth extracted (1 impacted), and also 1 root extracted (that was left in there by my former dentist). I was anticipating pain and a lot of more pain and swelling, but nope, I had none of those. I stopped taking the painkillers the very next day (but kept taking the antibiotics). He also redid my filling of my front teeth. Dr Starks is truly remarkable! He’s warm, gentle, always wants to make sure his work is perfect. I highly recommend him to everyone I know, specially the ones who are scared of going to the dentist.

I spent most of my life going to a dentist in my hometown that I thought was your average dentist. After having a few BAD experiences I decided to find a dentist in Seattle.
My first visit with Dr. Starks was Like going to a spa for your mouth. Dr. Starks informed me that my previous dentist may not have know what the hell he was doing and set up 3 different apt. to completely «make over» my mouth. He redid all of my fillings and without any pain or discomfort. I never thought I would LOVE a dentist. Not to mention the fact that no matter what you are going in for you can always have laughing gas if you are nervous.
Thanks Dr. Starks!!!

Absolutely amazing. Dr. Starks just removed my two remaining wisdom teeth yesterday. More on that below.
First, for those with dental anxieties, a short autobiography. I had great dentists as a kid, but then didn’t go for several years. I got an infection around my left wisdom teeth in 2001, and had them removed. It took 2.5 hours, and I was in the worst pain of my life for a week. Since then, I’ve avoided dentists.
When I got an infection, I knew the remaining wisdom teeth must come out. Most dentists insisted I go to an oral surgeon, and the oral surgeons insisted I use general anesthetic. For two teeth???
Upon moving to Seattle, I found Dr. Starks via Unilocal.Knowing that he removes wisdom teeth, and the positive reviews convinced me to try. My painful infection got me a next day emergency appointment, relief, and an extraction a month later.
Even though my teeth were a difficult case, he pulled both of them in 30 minutes flat!!! I’ve had very little pain since. I’ve seen others who refused pain medication after he pulled their teeth. Trust me, I’m a baby. This isn’t the patient, it’s the doctor. This guy is absolutely amazing. I don’t know how he is so much better than other dentists, but he is. I’m a patient for life. If I move and need work, I’ll fly in to see him. Seriously.

Dr. Starks was the first dentist I saw in 10+ years. He reviewed all my x-​rays and my bite and gave me a clean bill of excellent dental health (no cavities!).
That meant I did not spent much time with him or have any procedures but I was very pleased with his demeanor and the rest of the office staff.
p.s.
You also get a cool goodie bag with dental floss and a toothbrush! :D

I am so thankful that I went to see Dr. Starks & now have him as my dentist!~ I actually looked him up and saw he had great reviews on Dr. oogle–
I’ve had horrible experiences w/​dentists in the past– since childhood!
He is very sincere. gentle. and just seems like a warm human being that cares about his patients and passionate about his work.
His whole staff is the same way! I’ve seen a couple dental assistants so far– and they are so personable & friendly.
I had a wisdom tooth that was bugging the heck out of me– it had already grown out but shooting for my ear! so it was rubbing my cheek & created a huge canker sore… OUCH~ they were totally booked (granted his appointments would be b/​c they are all awesome) & they fit me in during the lunch hour!
Im typing away right now coming back from my appointment– pain free and so GLAD that good for nothing tooth is out of my mouth! :)