Goodness Dental
According to our open methodology, this clinic scored 54.7/100 for transparency, reputation, service accessibility, and digital visibility.
Overall rank: #8 of 15 ranked clinics · Last checked: 25 August 2026
Positions by Rating Profile
- Overall Transparency & Trust#854.7/100
- Best for Expats#1051.5/100
- Best for Dental Implants#947/100
- Best for Emergency Dental Carenot ranked
- Best Price Transparency#838.4/100
- Best English-speaking Clinics#1056.3/100
- Best for Families / Childrennot ranked
- Sleep Dentistry (GA / deep sedation)#354.7/100
General Anaesthesia & Deep Sedation
Whether the clinic documents treatment under general anaesthesia or deep / twilight sedation — "sleep dentistry", where the patient is asleep and unaware (does not feel, see, or hear the procedure). Ordinary conscious sedation, where the patient stays awake and responsive, does not count here. This is informational and does not affect the transparency score.
- ✓ General anaesthesia / deep sedation (sleep dentistry) — General anaesthesia / deep sedation documented Site explicitly describes general anesthesia (patient completely asleep, cannot be aroused) as an option distinct from conscious IV sedation [goodness-dental-sedation]
Summary
Goodness Dental is an American-owned, multi-specialty clinic in Escazú, San José, founded by Dr. Peter Aborn, with a large bilingual specialist team (prosthodontists, endodontists, periodontists, maxillofacial surgeons). It offers implants, cosmetic dentistry, All-on-4/6 and full-mouth restoration and markets internationally. Prices are not published on the site.
Strengths
- Information Transparency: 20 of 20 points.
- Reputation & Reviews: 16.5 of 20 points.
Weaknesses
- Price Transparency: 0 of 15 verifiable points (missing: prices or price ranges published; cleaning price listed; filling price listed; crown price listed; implant price listed; consultation price listed; x-ray / imaging price listed)
Score Breakdown
Every criterion below is scored from public sources. ✓ verified yes · ✗ verified no / not found · ◐ partial · ? unverified (scores 0, not a negative finding).
Information Transparency
Whether basic facts about the clinic - its team, premises, services, and location - are publicly verifiable.
| ✓ | Has a working website [s1] | 4/4 |
| ✓ | Dentist names listed [s1] | 3/3 |
| ✓ | Dentist specializations listed [s1] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Real clinic photos [s1] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Service list published [s1] | 3/3 |
| ✓ | Clear contact details [s1] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | English website version [s1] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Address and map published [s1] | 2/2 |
Price Transparency
Whether patients can estimate costs before visiting. Published price ranges count; exact prices are not required.
| ✗ | Prices or price ranges published [s1] | 0/3 |
| ✗ | Cleaning price listed [s1] | 0/2 |
| ✗ | Filling price listed [s1] | 0/2 |
| ✗ | Crown price listed [s1] | 0/2 |
| ✗ | Implant price listed [s1] | 0/2 |
| ✗ | Consultation price listed [s1] | 0/2 |
| ✗ | X-ray / imaging price listed [s1] | 0/2 |
Reputation & Reviews
Public review signals. The Google rating is adjusted with a Bayesian prior (rating 4.0, weight 25) so a 5.0 from a handful of reviews does not outrank a 4.8 from hundreds.
| ◐ | Google rating (Bayesian-adjusted) as of 2026-08-25 [goodness-dental-refresh] | 5/6 |
| ◐ | Google review volume [goodness-dental-refresh] | 2.5/3 |
| ✓ | Review recency [goodness-dental-refresh] | 3/3 |
| ? | Clinic responds to reviews | 0/2 |
| ✓ | No recurring complaints [s1] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | No suspicious review patterns [s1] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Active Facebook presence [s1] | 1/1 |
| ✓ | TripAdvisor presence [s1] | 0.5/0.5 |
| ✓ | Other review platforms [s1] | 0.5/0.5 |
Medical Infrastructure
The range of publicly documented equipment and services. This measures documented availability, not clinical quality.
| ✓ | On-site X-ray [s1] | 2/2 |
| ? | CBCT (3D imaging) | 0/2 |
| ✓ | Implantology [s1] | 2/2 |
| ? | Orthodontics | 0/2 |
| ✓ | Oral surgery [s1] | 2/2 |
| ? | Pediatric dentistry | 0/1.5 |
| ? | Emergency care | 0/1.5 |
| ✓ | Works with international patients [s1] | 2/2 |
Communication & Service
How easy it is to contact the clinic, get answers, and book - especially for international patients.
| ✗ | WhatsApp / LINE available [s1] | 0/2 |
| ? | Response speed | 0/1.5 |
| ✓ | English spoken [s1] | 2.5/2.5 |
| ✓ | Pre-visit consultation possible [s1] | 1.5/1.5 |
| ✓ | Clear service explanations [s1] | 1/1 |
| ? | Convenient opening hours | 0/1.5 |
AI & Search Visibility
Whether the clinic is discoverable when patients search - including via AI assistants. Checked with fixed queries: "best dentist San Jose", "English speaking dentist San Jose", "dental implants San Jose", "emergency dentist San Jose", "San Jose dental clinic for expats".
| ? | Mentioned for: best dentist San Jose | 0/1 |
| ? | Mentioned for: English speaking dentist San Jose | 0/1 |
| ? | Mentioned for: dental implants San Jose | 0/1 |
| ? | Mentioned for: emergency dentist San Jose | 0/1 |
| ? | Mentioned for: San Jose dental clinic for expats | 0/1 |
| ? | Structured data on website | 0/1.5 |
| ? | Google indexing quality | 0/2 |
| ✓ | Dedicated service pages [s1] | 1.5/1.5 |
Licensing & Credentials
Whether the clinic publishes its operating licence and the dentists working there together with their professional licence numbers. A verified “not published” is recorded as a red flag; data we have not checked yet is shown as unverified and carries no penalty.
Clinic operating licence: not checked against public sources yet — unverified, no penalty
Dentists & professional licences
| Dentist | Specialization | Licence No. |
|---|---|---|
| Dr. Peter Aborn [s1] [goodness-dental-doclic] | Prosthodontics / cosmetic and implant dentistry (founder, NYU-trained) | 160898 (Colegio de Cirujanos Dentistas de Costa Rica) |
| Dr. Andrés Brenes [s1] [goodness-dental-doclic] | Chief Prosthodontist | 424210 (Colegio de Cirujanos Dentistas de Costa Rica) |
| Dr. Alejandro Sáenz [s1] [goodness-dental-doclic] | Chief Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon | 1375093 (Colegio de Cirujanos Dentistas de Costa Rica) |
| Dr. Mauricio Briceño [s1] [goodness-dental-doclic] | Oral and Periodontal Surgeon | 258904 (Colegio de Cirujanos Dentistas de Costa Rica) |
| Dr. Mauricio Madrigal [s1] [goodness-dental-doclic] | Chief Endodontist | 210902 (Colegio de Cirujanos Dentistas de Costa Rica) |
| Dr. Laura Masís [s1] [goodness-dental-doclic] | Periodontics | 288905 (Colegio de Cirujanos Dentistas de Costa Rica) |
Red Flags
- low Opaque or bait pricing (-2 pts) — No prices or price ranges published (derived from data).
Red-flag penalty applied: -2 points (capped at -20).
Data We Could Not Verify
- Reputation & Reviews: Clinic responds to reviews
- Medical Infrastructure: CBCT (3D imaging)
- Medical Infrastructure: Orthodontics
- Medical Infrastructure: Pediatric dentistry
- Medical Infrastructure: Emergency care
- Communication & Service: Response speed
- Communication & Service: Convenient opening hours
- AI & Search Visibility: Mentioned for: best dentist San Jose
- AI & Search Visibility: Mentioned for: English speaking dentist San Jose
- AI & Search Visibility: Mentioned for: dental implants San Jose
- AI & Search Visibility: Mentioned for: emergency dentist San Jose
- AI & Search Visibility: Mentioned for: San Jose dental clinic for expats
- AI & Search Visibility: Structured data on website
- AI & Search Visibility: Google indexing quality
Unverified items score 0 points but are not treated as negative findings. If you can document any of them, please send a correction.
Contact Information
| Website | https://www.goodnessdental.com/ |
|---|---|
| Phone | +1 866-218-1036 |
| https://www.facebook.com/GoodnessDentalCenter/ | |
| Google Maps | Map listing |
| Address | Habitat Empresarial Escazú, Floor 3, Escazú, San José 10201, Costa Rica |
Contact details are provided for identification only and may change; verify with the clinic directly.
Sources
| ID | Source | What it supports | Accessed |
|---|---|---|---|
| s1 | https://www.goodnessdental.com/about-us/dental-team/ | specialist names and specializations, bilingual team | 2026-07-14 |
| s2 | https://www.goodnessdental.com/contact-us/ | address and phone in Escazú | 2026-07-14 |
| s3 | https://smilejet.app/ | Google rating 4.6 and review count 259 (SmileJet-cached) | 2026-07-14 |
| goodness-dental-refresh | https://www.google.com/maps/place/Goodness+Dental+Costa+Rica/@9.932… | most recent review posted about 1 month before 2026-08-25 | 2026-08-25 |
| goodness-dental-sedation | https://www.goodnessdental.com/dental-procedures/sedation-dentistry… | "During general anesthesia, you are completely asleep and cannot be aroused. General anesthesia requires breathing support, while an anesthesiologist monitors your vital signs." | 2026-08-25 |
| goodness-dental-doclic | https://www.colegiodentistas.org/listado-odontologos/ | searched: SAENZ ALEJANDRO, then ALEJANDRO SAENZ — CCDCR registry shows ALEJANDRO SAENZ GUTIERREZ, código 1375093, especialidad CIRUGIA ORAL-MAXILOFACIAL, Estado Activo — exact specialty match to clinic's 'Chief Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon'. Same registrant also matches a same-named doctor listed at DDS Dental Costa Rica. | 2026-08-26 |
Change History
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| 2026-08-26 | License verification 2026-08-26 against CCDCR (no clinic/establishment register exists for Costa Rica; clinic-level licensing not searched): all 6 named doctors matched active CCDCR records, most confirmed by matching registered specialty; Dr. Mauricio Briceño's registered specialty (health-services administration) differs from the clinic's marketing description. |
| 2026-08-25 | Recorded sedation / general anaesthesia availability (informational): documented as available. Site explicitly describes general anesthesia (patient completely asleep, cannot be aroused) as an option distinct from conscious IV sedation |
| 2026-08-25 | Re-verification 2026-08-25: website returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch but loaded live in-browser (confirmed live); not permanently closed per Maps; Google rating changed 4.6->4.7, review count changed 259->492; Maps profile lists phone +1 866-218-1036 vs stored +506 4037-0040 (recorded as correction, not independently confirmed on-site due to fetch block); captured Maps URL, geo coordinates, and review recency (within_3_months). |
A question or a correction?
Have a question, a suggestion, or a correction to this page? Get in touch — we read every message. Verified data corrections are reviewed against sources and applied with a public change-history entry.