Bigman Orthodontics

Exceptional service, friendly people
highly recommended

My son will one day need braces. The question of now or later and how many times will he need to go through this should be considered carefully. This orthodontist presented a well detailed plan on a two stage braces procedure for my son… braces now and braces later. So in essence, he recommended putting braces on my son now even though all his baby teeth had not fallen out and again later on his adult teeth.
We sought two other orthodontists with a ninety-​five to one hundred percent or four and a half to five star Unilocal rating/​feedback and these two orthodontists were recommended by friends who recommended against Dr. Bigman’s two stage braces procedure plan. They said it didn’t make sense to put my child in such trauma twice when his teeth were not all that bad and because all his baby teeth did not fall out yet. So why did Dr. Bigman want to put braces on my son’s baby teeth? Who knows? We ended up declining his proposal when his receptionist called us to schedule another appointment to see if we were going to go through with the procedure.
Anyway, we were very happy to have gotten a second and third opinion by two other well known orthodontists. One of the orthodontists joked if we wanted to pay him to do a two stage plan like Dr. Bigman recommended then he would do it for us, but personally both orthodontists did not feel it was necessary and more of a financial benefit gain for Dr. Bigman and not so much for the well being of my child. So I do appreciate all the honest Unilocal reviews posted by my fellow Unilocalers for all the orthodontists. If you child needs braces, I would recommend reading all the Unilocal reviews on the selected orthodontist and weigh and consider all the options carefully because at the end it is your child and you want the best for him/​her.

All of my children have had their braces from D
r. Bigman. Never had an issue. Zip, zero, nada.

Question for Bigman Orthodontics… What is the point of having a number to call if urgent care is needed during your two week winter break if no one is checking the message box??? We have called everyday for a week only to find the message box full! Not professional at all! Thanks for nothing…

This is a review from a few past, but never wrote one, thought it was time. First bad experience was when my son broke a bracket and he accused my son of eating the improper foods, but it was when another child accidentally kicked him on playground (I was there). The final straw was when he saw my son had plaque and he asked him to eat it. Yes I said eat it. So unprofessional.

Wow, sadden to hear about other people’s reviews… better to look at the positive than the negative.
I took my son to our family dentist and asked him if my then 7 year old should see a orthodontist, he responded «if you want to throw your cash away, I’ll take it»! Not what I wanted to hear looking at my sons teeth that were crammed in his mouth, and crooked! I thought «he’s going to look like this for another 5 years!!! I don’t think so»!!! I spoke to a lot of friends about who they recommend and it seemed everyone said «Dr. Bigman»! We went in, and sure enough his mouth was a wreck! His teeth were so crammed in there, narrow upper and lower jaw, his adult teeth couldn’t come through! 2 years later… what a hunk! He melts my heart and I love his smile ! The office is amazing and I love the women in there, so warm and friendly. They are also very sweet to my younger son while he plays video games in the waiting area. I always grab a coffee and in the summer they pass out ice cream and even let all of us have one As for Bigman… his name fits, and he should be proud of his knowledge and the work he does! Not easy dealing with these parents around here!

Shocked to not see every review for Dr. Bigman at 5 stars! Our daughter was referred to Dr. Bigman, and so far, he has been amazing! His staff/​office is great, amenable, and friendly. Dr. Bigman’s outline for our procedures are taking far less time than planned, and my daughter loves going there! I mean, really… who loves to get their braces tightened/​worked on and have a sore mouth? Never an issue with scheduling. Encouraging online games and other games inside the office for your child to earn points to exchange for a gift card of their choice. You’d be crazy to not go in for a free estimate and see what this office and orthodontist has to offer!

I think Dr. Bigman and his office are top notch. I believe he is meticulous and has your childs best smile at heart. We originally went there in 2003 with my daughter.
Dr. Bigman was recommended by our dentist because our daughter was timid and needed someone that she could feel comfortable around. Since then my husband and son have both been treated by Bigman Orthodontics. Each one was treated as an individual and each one has a beautiful smile to show for it. Dr. Bigman is professional and his prices are no higher then anyone else. Dr Bigman genuinely cares for each patient. My husband had medical reasons why he needed braces. He had jaw surgery through Kaiser and Dr. Bigman was great in communicating with them to make sure they were on the same page during his treatment. When a complication arose during the surgery at Kaiser it was Dr. Bigman that we called and he reassured us about what was happening. We highly recommend him.

I’ve gone through one kid and have one more in treatment. Dr. Bigman’s office is very professional in how they handle you. From the little things of respecting who’s in line to just how they treat you. My kids weren’t comfortable at all with doing braces and Dr. Bigman’s office has gotten them through their fear. Nice touches in the office or beverages like tea/​coffee for you; video games for kids; movies for kids, magazines; nice restroom. Rewards system for kids as an incentive. His office works with you. He will tell you what you are facing and explain to you. You may feel like he’s rushed but you can always ask and he’ll talk with you. His staff can also talk to you like if it has to do with billing as he delegates different duties. But what stands through is that his office is very professional and organized. They handle kids really well. The added bonus is he’s networked with other dental professionals so he gives great recommendations like the oral surgeon who did my daughter’s wisdom teeth was fantastic as well as a pediatric dentist to an adult dentist. He gives great referrals.

I have never written a review before but felt inclined to in regards to Dr Bigman’s practice in hopes of sparing others a drawn out frustrating experience. All four of my children have needed braces but only my youngest was a patient of Dr Bigmans We have just finished «phase one» ($ 4,400) of treatment with him and will not return for phase two. Even my son’s pediatric dentist concurred that a second orthodontic opinion was necessitated in response to Dr Bigman’s recommendations. He will spend minimal time with your child and if your child has any issues with gagging or pain, quickly becomes condescending and arrogant. There are too many really good orthos around to spend this kind of money and time with a practice due to it’s close proximity to your home as I did. Even if you have to drive an extra five minutes it is completely worth the investment to receive competent care from a kind and gentle practice.

I watched in horror as Dr bigman went from a girl with nodule pussing cyst like acne to my son without changing gloves 2 days later my sons face went from perfect clear complexion to pussing sores 3 years later he still has this horrible «acne». Also when he asked if he could give him a drug to keep his mouth dry during a procedure and I refused, he looked at me like I was an alien from outer space and with total disrespect he gave me attitude about my «choice» was rude and left me feeling very worried about leaving my child in his care.

My two children are currently being treated by Dr. Bigman. When it was time to choose an orthodontist, we consulted our dentist (Dr. Solomon in Livermore) — He highly recommended Dr. Bigman. I have to say that we have had nothing but a great experience. From the front office staff to the Ortho. assistants and of course, Dr. Bigman, we are extremely happy. Each staff member truly cares about each and every patient. My daughter recently got her braces on and 2 days later, a hand-​written postcard arrived to our home. It was the sweetest thing and we really appreciated the follow-​up. I hightly recommend Dr. Bigman!

This orthodontist made a foolish move that impacted my child’s life. He ordered too many teeth pulled in my child’s mouth. He didn’t get the spacing correct. Now, my child requires a life long tooth implant. This occurred after years of treatment and thousands of dollars wasted.
He accepted no responsibility and later advised that treatment was complete.
There are more competent choices.

This is the first review I have ever done, but I feel very strongly about the following comments regarding Dr. Sandy Ira Bigman’s office. My history with Dr. Bigman’s office is long. I put one son through two phases of braces approximately $ 8500, another son through one phase approximately $ 4200, and one daughter still in phase one but completely paid off at approximately $ 4600. I noticed that customer service declined considerably after my daughter started treatment. Other than one hygienist and Rosa, the staff is extremely rude. If you need to reschedule, don’t expect to get a new appointment for a month. It is not a personable office. It’s basically how many patients can he pack in a day. The office seemed so nice and state of the art when I started, but it became apparent that this was strictly about the money. I have since found a wonderful orthodontist, Dr. Gonzales in Dublin, that is finishing my second son, and as soon as my daughter is done with phase one I will happily leave this office forever. My advice would be to shop around before you make your decision. Regardless of what Dr. Bigman’s office thinks, they are not the best in town.

I was referred to Dr. Bigman and was immediately pulled in by their pleasant and accommodating staff. However, that changes quickly when you don’t agree with them. Appointments are extremely difficult to get even six weeks out. They constantly wanted to high school son to come during the school day. I did not want my son missing school to accommodate their schedule. I could understand on occasion, however this seemed to be the norm. My son had a reaction to a wire and his gums became very swollen and his breath very bad. Dr. Bigman kept blaming it on his poor hygeine, when I knew my son was brushing at school. I actually bought him disposable toothbrushes to use at school. He was extremely embarassed and Dr. Bigman made him feel worse. I ended up taking him to my dentist for a cleaning and she informed me that she had seen this many times. It was the type of metal in the wire which was causing his reaction. Funny do you know when he got the wire off, the problem completely stopped. During this time Dr. Bigman also wanted me to have the swollen part of his gums lasered off. I felt this was extremely aggressive and wanted to wait to see if the swelling went down after he removed the braces. By a surgeon he recommended… He acted as though I was making the biggest mistake of my son’s life. Thankfully I no longer allowed them into bullying me into treatment and his gums went down a week after he had his braces removed. I would never recommend him and do not plan to continue my other son’s treatment.

At first I was so impressed with Dr. Bigman. His office is slick. He has spared no expense to make your kids think he has the perfect office. Then I paid him a boatload of money for two kids in braces at the same time. Then, the customer service deteriorated faster than you can say «where’d my money go». If I was two minutes late the our appointment, I would get scolded by Dr. Bigman for «wasting his time» while he could leave me sitting for 20 minutes waiting for him, but my time wasn’t considered just as valuable. I spent at least one extra day per month running one of my sons in to have a broken wire fixed, and got the «he shouldn’t be eating____(fill in the blank). When he actually hadn’t eaten anything that should have broken his wires. After 7 years in braces (yes, 7 years they started at age 7 and got them off at 14), my sons both have less than perfect teeth. I will never go to Dr. Bigman again. And, I have more children who need braces. He cares more about the look of his office than he does about his actual patient’s and how he treats them. And you usually never seen him, unless he has to scold you. The turnover of his staff should be listed in the Guiness Book of World Records. I would avoid Dr. Bigman and go to another orthodontist if you want someone who cares more about how your children’s teeth turn out rather than how many video game consoles he can provide.

After 2 children in braces with Dr Bigman, I take the last one in today… he takes less than 2 minutes to tell me her bite is open. After thousands of dollars spent at this practice he tells me treatment is done and the only option I have are to put braces on again. Then he is off to the next patient. This man does not care, find another ortho that will be less expensive and care about customer satisfaction. They are really nice in the beginning, but after they have the money…

We originally went to Dr. Bigman with great hopes after relocating to the area, and had heard good things about him.. The office itself is very nice, but when my child immediately had problems when braces were removed, and the retainer actually made the teeth shift out of alignment., Dr. Bigman was very UNRESPONSIVE! He met with us briefly and then asked us to come back in 3 months, rather than trying to solve the problem and prevent the teeth from moving further. He would not even consider that the retainer might have been incorrectly made. We spent over $ 3,000. with this orthodontist as a transfer patient, after we had already paid our original orthodontist a significant amount. However, we ultimately decided that we could not t trust Dr. Bigman because he simply left my child in pain and discomfort for many months, and allowed additional movement to occur before he would see us again. He was very uncaring and unprofessional which shocked us as we have never been treated this way by any medical professional before. We have since paid a new orthodontist to put another set of braces on our child and it was worth it! My child has now been out of braces for 6 months, with no movement and no problem. I wish I had a way to get my money back because we got nothing for it, but do not feel there is any recourse at this point. I can only warn others.
Update:
The response below from the orthodontist, dated 7÷18÷12, «sounds» good, but unfortunately is completely inaccurate. We called and wrote to Dr. Bigman immediately and directly to get help for our child. Our concerns were met with disbelief, doubt, and inaction by Dr. Bigman — and the blame was put on my child. We were forced to go for a costly, and traumatic tongue thrust assessment by a speech pathologist, before Dr. Bigman would even consider corrective treatment. And then when results were inconclusive he insisted my child have several months of therapy before he would do ANYTHING. He would not even consider the possibility that the retainer was made incorrectly, and was pushing his teeth out of alignment — which it absolutely was!