James Mattingly, DDS

After we bought our house, this office sent a Welcome to the area letter.
Extremely pleased with Dr. Mattingly.
Highly recommend!
The professionalism & quality of work that he and his staff provides is appreciated.

I’d like to start off by saying Dr. Mattingly is an AMAZING provider, I have reached out to him directly multiple times and each occasion he has quickly replied and answered every question I had. I work at Kaiser Permanente and my hours are long so I am limited to availability for appointments but Dr. Mattingly has very convenient hours for patients to meet everyone’s needs. He has definitely made me feel completely comfortable and looking forward to going in heard wonderful things about him from multiple doctors here at Kaiser and seen some of his work that looks AMAZING!!!

He loves himself a bit too much — you can get a copy of his appearance on TV at the front desk! Aside from that, get ready for him and his staff to try and sell you everything from Invisalign to vibrating toothbrushes — whether you need it or not. I doubted/​disagreed that I needed a treatment he was pushing and he actually rolled his eyes at me. I understand that it is hard for Dentists to make very much money without extra sales for aesthetics, but a person has the right to question their Doctor. He is rude and conceded.

I moved from NJ to the Bay Area in 2007 and chose Dr. Mattingly for no other reason than I thought he had a cool name… true story. I have never regretted that decision to this day. Everyone in the office is so friendly, warm and welcoming. Unlike many doctors’ offices where you wait endlessly even with an appointment, not here. Above it all, Dr. Jim and Dr. Tan are two incredible human beings besides being amazing dentists. They are patient, gentle and care about the well-​being of their patients. Every step of every procedure is explained in detail and I know I feel pretty damn awesome whenever I visit. Love these guys!

Extremely friendly and confident staff. The office and chair rooms are very clean and inviting. Dr. Mattingly is very patient and has a way of making a difficult dental procedure relaxing. Best dentist I’ve ever had.

What a great team of people! From Arlene (the master scheduling problem solver with a heart of gold and the patience of a saint) to the wonderfully kind, funny and thorough hygienists to Dr. Mattingly himself (Dr. Tan is great too!) – I always in good hands here!

Dr. Mattingly continues to take care of our families dental needs. We have been thrilled with his work, staff, and facilities. Great scheduling flexibility, reminder calls, and a great Kuerig coffee maker in the comfortable waiting area. Most importantly, Dr. Mattingly has the skills and integrity that deserves 5 *‘s, A+, glowing reviews, and we appreciate him very much! Thanks for reading!

I have been a patient of Dr. Mattingly as long as he has been in practice, because I was a patient of Dr. Douglas Fastabend (since retired), when Dr. Mattingly joined him as a new associate. (I had originally been a patient of Dr. Douglas Fastabend’s father, Dr. Henry Fastabend. This continuity of quality dentistry is meaningful because both of the Fastabends were excellent dentists and Dr. Mattingly has had excellent role models and now has a professional legacy to maintain.) I would HIGHLY recommend Dr. Mattingly. He has kept my poor quality teeth in good shape through conservative, skillful, experienced care. He always explains the alternatives clearly. He always explains what he’s doing every step of the way. I have never had a bad reaction or a bad fit or an unexpected complication from his care. I have never had «Invisalign» mentioned (much less emphasized) to me. Dr. Mattingly’s hygienist Alicia cleans my teeth and she has a gentle manner while doing a thorough job. The office is clean and pleasant and the receptionist/​scheduler Arlene is friendly and effective. (She was able to fit my partner in for an emergency repair of a broken filling, on a few hours’ notice). When I was working, I had excellent dental insurance. Now that I’m retired, my dental insurance is mediocre, so I pay much more of Dr. Mattingly’s charges myself. Bill-​paying is never a pleasure but I know I am making a good investment in a set of teeth that I hope will last the rest of my life in working order. I get advertising mailers from younger local dentists all the time, but I toss them. Why go out some place else to eat hamburger when I can get steak at Dr. Mattingly’s office? Judy M.

I agree with Jennifer W. I had a similar experience and I won’t be going back either. Im sure he’s a great guy and all that but it’s not the experience I would expect from a dentist. First thing before even looking at your mouth is a 10 minute video on Invisalign (my teeth aren’t visually messed up to start out with that aggressive type of sales pitch)
I felt like I was at a used car dealership and kept getting sold on stuff I didn’t ask for nor need. It was a quick check up and then boom! What kind of insurance do you have? Ok, it’ll cost this much for this or that and I was thinking to myself. why am I here? I couldn’t wait to leave and find a better dentist. I did, so I’m kind of grateful because I would’ve settled for this place and ended up broke and unsatisfied. I don’t like writing bad reviews but I rely on Unilocal for my choices so i hope it’ll help someone out.
Ps. After I left i was billed an additional $ 35.00 dollars for an unknown reason.

Dr. Mattingly is a true professional. My wife and I have both had bad experiences as kids with a dentist, and finding one that we actually like going to is a God send!
He puts you at ease by explaining every motion he takes, and his biggest concern is for your comfort. He IS a bit pricey (a com-​plaint I’ve seen here on Unilocal), but quality is a bit more expensive I’ve been told… Overall, finding a dentist chair where you can sit and not break out in a cold sweat before any procedure even begins is remarkable!!! And IF you would like to listen to music while he works, all you have to do is ask… Thank you Doc for being there for Julie and I !!!

Dr. Mattingly is an excellent dentist. He is honest and truly cares about his patients. He goes to great lengths to make sure his patients are comfortable and he does his best to minimize any discomfort. His office is spotlessly clean and the equipment is modern and well-​maintained. All of his staff are wonderful. Alicia cleans my teeth and she is amazing — thorough, yet very gentle. Dr. Mattingly has been my dentist for several years now and I highly recommend him.

My husband and I have used Dr. Mattingly as our dentist for the past few years and he and his staff have been great. We had been visiting another dentist in Walnut Creek prior to Dr. Mattingly but didn’t feel comfortable with the level of care we received.
As another Unilocaler indicates, Dr. Mattingly is on top of his game (diamond certified) and genuinely cares about the patients. His staff (Arlene, Uni, etc.) are also friendly, skilled, and great to work with.
We are leaving the Bay Area and relocating to Southern California so we will miss not being able to visit their office.

I’ve continued using Dr. Mattingly as my regular dentist since 2009, and he’s consistently done a good job. I recently had him fit a dental device for sleep apnea, and he charged much less than many of the other dentists I checked with for this type of device. So much better than CPAP if you have apnea. He’s especially good with dental anxiety issues and is very careful to make sure you feel no pain. My only beef is that I don’t want Invisalign for my one slightly crooked tooth, which drives dentists bonkers.

I just started seeing the Dentist again after years of avoidance. At the end of the day we all have to take care of our teeth, and if we don’t .well the more expensive it gets. I had a note on my «to do „list to go for over 2 years now… finally I did. I have to admit I was more than impressed with this office. They go above and beyond to make sure you are comfortable and even offer to charge your phone for you, provide music to listen to on an ipod, and have a massage chair during visits. More importantly, the quality of work is there.
YES they are more expensive, but you get what you pay for. I went to smaller and much cheaper offices before, and the quality of the work showed. I am not even a doctor but I can see in the photos they show me how bad my old work was and how poorly it was done. The work they do here takes less time because they offer new and better technology, its way less painful, and looks a lot better. It will also last longer. My dad put it best when he said “ 700 for a crown is cheap considering thats 30 years of not having to worry about your teeth again.» He had his crowns done in his 20’s and now he has no issues well into his late 50’s. I have known so many people delay the inevitable and end up with way more expensive dental work needed, yet somehow we always get mad at the dentist as if they are trying to rip us off. I really think this doctor genuinely just wants to help you and he does care about his patients. When I had my first cleaning, Uni, took the time to explain to me what happens when you don’t floss in detail, what can be fixed and what can’t., and educated me on so many other things. When they actually explain it to you, you realize how important it is to just get it taken care of. Even after insurance I still had to pay for the cavities, etc. but its WELL worth getting out of there quickly and having quality work. The way my mouth feels after is so different than when I would go to the other places.
1) I don’t feel the shot at all when they gave me the stuff to numb me.
2) The doctor explains what he is doing each step of the way so it actually distracts you from the horror of having something pry your mouth open and it makes the time go by fast, it also helps to kind of calm you down.
3) They are professional, considerate, and thoughtful.
4) I never felt like they pushed anything on me, everything was «IF YOU CHOOSE to do this… here’s what will happen.»
5) They were persistent in getting me to schedule my next appointment but I am glad they were because I wonder how bad my tooth would have been in a year if I kept waiting, I bet I wouldn’t have ever needed a crown if I didn’t wait so long to begin with.
Overall I am impressed with the office. They are friendly, there is even a cute dog that hangs out there, its VERY clean, and they make every step of the entire visit all about you.
Thank you for providing a good dentist in the Walnut Creek area.

Dr. Mattingly is an amazing Dentist, He explains everything he does and for people like me who HATE coming to the Dentist he made my trip a easy one. I even got a cavity filled same day I got my cleaning :) He even offered me a IPOD to listen to so I didn’t have to hear the drilling of my cavity. This REALLY helped me relax and not be so stressed about coming to the Dentist.
Another perk to this office is that their open on Saturdays. The is really helpful for my husband who works 75 miles away.
Make sure you double check that you are in Network with this Dentist.

I am a new patient and have severe distress/​anxiety about going to the dentist. All of Dr. Mattingly’s staff were/​are very considerate, polite, professional regarding my needs. That is right, my needs. The hygienist took special care when deep cleaning, and also taught at the end of my treatment. I had 1 filling done and Dr M made sure I was very comfortable at every interval of the process. Overall, I would recommend him, especially if you have a fear of the dentist!

Dr. Mattingly was kind enough to carter to my work schedule, and was concerned enough to inconvenience himself for my benefit. He and Dr. Tan are always considerate of the emotional distress that accompany the visit to the dentist, and they both make the process extremely bearable. My only recommendation when asked for a «good» dentist in the area.

Recently had a deep cleaning here. The staff was nice. First half of my mouth done by Alicia, she did a magnificent job, didn’t even feel any discomfort afterwards. When I went back to have the other half of my mouth cleaned I got a different hygienist, Uni, she was friendly but brutal. I was in pain like I had expected after the first visit. I would definitely make sure I get Alicia again for future cleanings. All in all, not bad, a little pricy.

I have always had a great experience at his dentist office. Dr. M is nice, and honest, and direct, doesn’t evade the questions and it goes quickly and he spends time to make it right. This is big coming from a dentist hater.
Knocking your front teeth out in 1965 in a small town in Nebraska meant going to the only dentist in town that practiced in a basement at the end of a dark hallway. The fat needles and his awful hair and black eyes come roaring back whenever I run across that distinctive dank basement smell. I was under construction with head gears and silver teeth for years after that incident and I remember nothing good. All that bad stuff is nowhere near when I walk into Mattingly’s office. If I lived in another state I would probably fly back here to be able to go to him. In fact, I’ll probably still have teeth when I am old because of him. Now thats something.

Visited Dr. Mattingly a few months back, and I have to agree with Jennifer W. who was not very pleased either.
Kevin W. however did bring up some interesting points and has a reasonable surgery/​equipment. However I was not offered an iPod to listen to?
Overall, I was deeply disappointed with his service and only gave one star for the cleaning service. I have used dentists in other countries as well as the USA, this is my only bad experience. Costs for services was very pricy too, I found to be expensive. The workmanship I was not pleased with either, as a ridge was left on a filling. I would not recommend my friends or family to visit.