Emergency and After Hours Dental Care - Santa Barbara, California

Cham E.

I would love to recommend that every city needs a Dr. James Rolfe, but this man is one of a kind and we need to just be happy he is here serving our community of SB/Goleta. I had such bad tooth pain, I thought I could make it until my appointment on Monday morning, but it got to be too much. Dr. Rolfe’s assistant answered the phone happily on a Saturday at 4PM! I was stunned. She said “Let me see if he can take you at 6.” I was even more stunned. The being stunned affect lasted all the way until the end of my appointment when Dr. Rolfe expertly numbed me in around 15 minutes and extracted my wisdom tooth in under 5 minutes with absolutely zero pain and in a rather urgent situation of pain/discomfort he remained calm with decades of experience at his disposal. Something my usual dentist was not able to do. Thank you so much for doing what you do Dr. Rolfe and company!

Crimson N. C.

My brief experience with this man was nightmarish and I’m surprised to see that he’s reviewed well by some people.

I called him at midnight in utter
agony and he proceeded to viciously chew me out about how I essentially deserved everything I was going through, how he had nothing but contempt for people like me who ignored their pain for too long and now had the audacity to wake him up out of a deep sleep. Granted, his basic point about my dental neglect was true, in principle. But his delivery was that of a soulless ogre. And I don’t expect him to be any better in whatever cruel and condescending reply he’ll offer up to this criticism, if his past retorts to unfavorable reviews are anything to go by.

This man has clearly forgotten the Hippocratic oath, if he ever deigned to take it in the first place. Thankfully, I finally got over my depression and anxiety disorder enough to return to my regular dentist, Heath Montgomery, one of the kindest and most conscientious—and non-judgemental— professionals in the field. He has since gotten me back on track and my past trauma that kept me from getting help is finally abating (I suffered from severe dental neglect as a child and the resulting years of treatment to amend it were plagued with painful and botched procedures.)

Unlike with some of the other complainants, I was never even asked about whether I carry dental insurance (I don’t). However, I would have been more than happy to pay his fees out of pocket, whatever they would have been. But, for some reason, this ‘Dr. who turns away no one’ couldn’t even be arsed to inquire about my level of coverage. He simply wanted me to know that I wasn’t worth his time. Again, while the crux of his message—that he couldn’t help me—was true, how hard would it have been to deliver it firmly but professionally, without resorting to ugly personal abuse? I suppose I was expected, in my state, to intuit that ‘24-hour emergency dentist’ meant ‘But only if I’m not in a foul mood.’ (I suggest Dr. Rolfe include a note about his mercurial temperament in his website, a ‘caveat emptor,’ if you will. That way, people in vulnerable positions may be forewarned that they might, if unfortunate enough to wake him up on the wrong side of the bed, experience the good Doctor’s arbitrary punishments on TOP of their physical pains.)

He informed me that I likely had a raging, antibiotic-resistant infection and that it wasn’t his problem. ‘Go to the emergency room,’ he barked. After reducing me to a puddle of tears, he abruptly hung up the line.

As mentioned above, I am finally taking care of my teeth again after years of lack of self-care. Thank goodness I didn’t allow Dr. Rolfe to terrorize me into allowing myself to further decline, as is not uncommon in people with dental phobia who get berated by heartless and unprofessional practitioners. If you are suffering intensely, I suggest you just go to the emergency room and bypass this despot.

P.S. I find it rather appalling that he touts his humanitarian work abroad whilst shaming the poor and ‘indigent’ who lack insurance back home. Shame on this man.

P.P.S. If you don’t want your ‘reputation ruined’ by bad reviews, Dr. Rolfe, perhaps practice a bit of self-restraint and don’t act magnanimously toward some whilst utterly savaging others. In other words—and you shouldn’t have to be told this at your advanced age—GROW UP.

~signed, a disgusted and infuriated patient let down by your hatefulness and cruelty

Edited to add: I am not surprised that Dr. Rolfe takes no accountability for the way he treated me. Perhaps our kindly Dr. Jekyll was sleep-walking when he answered the phone and has no recollection of Mr. Hyde taking my call. In any case, his own responses to poor reviews speak for themselves: telling a patient her suffering is ‘karma in action,’ etc. (See attached image from YELP). As I said earlier, the sure way to avoid poor reviews is to not mistreat the people who come to you for help!

Holly H.

What an absolutely wonderful experience! I had a dental emergency on a Sunday and Dr.Rolfe was able to see me right away. Sabrina was amazingly kind and helpful and Dr. Rolfe diagnosed my problem quickly and fixed it. I truly can’t thank them enough. This is the best place!!!!!!

Open D. S.

The negative reviews here are really surprising to me. This man is a local legend for the emergency dental care provided to our community and his clinic in Afghanistan that he has kept going despite brutal resistance from the Taliban. When I needed him last week, he had my back. I called him at 9pm, and he told me to meet him first thing in the morning. He quickly diagnosed the situation, gave me pain and antibiotic meds on the spot and referred me to a specialist that took my problematic insurance. He even gave me free nutritional beverages (similar to Ensure) since I hadn't eaten solid food for 18 hours.

Steven O.

A true old school Dentist. Very talented and quite a dental artist. Extremely knowledgeable and explains everything option for my situation in understandable terms. I’m a repeat patient and will definitely go back if needed. No one “ likes” to go to the dentist, but here I really didn’t mind. Thank you Doctor, I appreciate your style.

eddie A. J.

Dr. James G. Rolfe saved the day for my son, he was in lots of pain and had a bad infection in his mouth. He is a very knowledgeable Dentist in practice for over 55 years, he diagnosed the infection and had solution to our problem which needed a tooth extraction. Unfortunately for us because infection was so bad we had to come back when he was able to open his mouth fully. We got our medicine there with the dentist and he was feeling better with in an hour. He was conveniently open on a Sunday and had a kind assistant who was understanding to talk to over the phone. Thanks Dr James! The emergency DDS!

Juliana

I had a crown come off suddenly a few weeks ago. The dentist who had installed that crown three years ago said I needed to get a mouth guard because I sometimes grind my teeth, (at night when I'm asleep; other family has told me this) but I hadn't got the mouthguard yet.
I looked up emergency dentists when the crown fell of, and Dr. James G Rolfe's name popped up. He was able to fit me in the same day. He was able to make sure the tooth and crown were okay, and re-cement the crown on. Then he said I really did need to get a mouth guard. I knew he was right; I had delayed getting a custom made mouth guard because I have two three year olds who keep me really busy, and I didn't know what the cost would be.
I asked Dr. Rolfe if he could make a mouthguard for me. I was out of town from my insurance coverage, which didn't cover it anyways, that's why I asked if he could make one.
He made me a custom made mouthguard the next week, and it helps. It cost $400 out of pocket. Getting the crown back on was less than $150. I had thought that these costs would be a lot more, so I'm really grateful.
Also, I realized that Dr. Rolfe is a genuinely good person, so I'm glad I could bring my business there.

Drew W.

Given a couple of the other reviews, I feel compelled to share my experience. I contacted Dr. Rolfe regarding a tooth ache. He was very knowledgeable, but rather then simply taking the business (which, of course, would come at a price), he suggested that I first check to see if my dentist provides after hour services (which he did). Especially considering these crazy times I was very impressed with his high level of integrity. Thank you!!