I do not live in the San Jose area, in fact, I live in Santa Barbara. I made the decision to travel to see Dr. Habekost because I had heard that he was exceptionally good at what he does. Not to sound like a chicken... but I hate pain. Dr. Habekost not only was able to do some pretty intensive work on my teeth and gums but did so with a very minimal amount of pain. What makes this doctor different from the others was both his exceptional and warm personality as well as his grasp of the latest technology and procedures that enabled him to perform the procedures in a short amount of time with literally no pain even though he was pretty sneaky about distracting me as he numbed things up. If your looking for the best in the field of periodontics, and you happen to live closer than I did, then your ahead of the game. Dr. Habekost is simply the best out there.