Nova Dental
According to our open methodology, this clinic scored 64.4/100 for transparency, reputation, service accessibility, and digital visibility.
Overall rank: #4 of 15 ranked clinics · Last checked: 25 August 2026
Positions by Rating Profile
- Overall Transparency & Trust#464.4/100
- Best for Expats#465.8/100
- Best for Dental Implants#557.7/100
- Best for Emergency Dental Carenot ranked
- Best Price Transparency#458.2/100
- Best English-speaking Clinics#370.7/100
- Best for Families / Childrennot ranked
- Sleep Dentistry (GA / deep sedation)not ranked
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) — Not verified A blog article generically mentions 'local or general anesthesia' for implant steps, but this reads as generic educational content, not a confirmed clinic offering
Summary
Nova Dental is a clinic in Plaza Itzkatzú, Escazú, led by implantology specialist Dr. Luis Obando, offering implants, endodontics, prosthodontics, cosmetic and surgical dentistry. The English-language site markets to international patients and publishes some indicative implant/full-mouth pricing.
Strengths
- Information Transparency: 20 of 20 points.
- Communication & Service: 8.5 of 10 points.
- No red flags identified in public sources.
Weaknesses
- Price Transparency: 5 of 15 verifiable points (missing: cleaning price listed; filling price listed; crown 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] | 3/3 |
| ✗ | Cleaning price listed [s1] | 0/2 |
| ✗ | Filling price listed [s1] | 0/2 |
| ✗ | Crown price listed [s1] | 0/2 |
| ✓ | Implant price listed [s1] | 2/2 |
| ✗ | 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 [nova-dental-refresh] | 6/6 |
| ◐ | Google review volume [nova-dental-refresh] | 2/3 |
| ◐ | Review recency [nova-dental-refresh] | 1.5/3 |
| ? | 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 | 0/0.5 |
| ✓ | 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 | 0/2 |
| ? | CBCT (3D imaging) | 0/2 |
| ✓ | Implantology [s1] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Orthodontics [s1] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Oral surgery [s1] | 2/2 |
| ✗ | Pediatric dentistry [s1] | 0/1.5 |
| ✗ | Emergency care [s1] | 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] | 2/2 |
| ? | 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 [s1] | 1.5/1.5 |
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. Luis G. Obando [s1] [nova-dental-doclic] | Dental implantology and aesthetic dentistry (Medical Director) | 203401 (Colegio de Cirujanos Dentistas de Costa Rica) |
| Dr. Paola Truque [s1] [nova-dental-doclic] | Endodontics | 233503 (Colegio de Cirujanos Dentistas de Costa Rica) |
| Dr. Javier Chavarría [s1] [nova-dental-doclic] | Prosthodontics | 287305 (Colegio de Cirujanos Dentistas de Costa Rica) |
| Dr. Lucía Baltodano [s1] [nova-dental-doclic] | General dentistry and esthetics | 614919 (Colegio de Cirujanos Dentistas de Costa Rica) |
Red Flags
No red flags identified in the public sources we reviewed.
Data We Could Not Verify
- Reputation & Reviews: Clinic responds to reviews
- Reputation & Reviews: TripAdvisor presence
- Medical Infrastructure: On-site X-ray
- Medical Infrastructure: CBCT (3D imaging)
- Communication & Service: Response speed
- 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://novadentalcr.com/ |
|---|---|
| Phone | +506 2228-0997 |
| +506 8424-6719 | |
| https://www.facebook.com/NovaDentalCR/ | |
| Google Maps | Map listing |
| Address | Plaza Itzkatzú, Local 212, Escazú, San José, 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://novadentalcr.com/ | address, phone, WhatsApp, dentist names and specializations, services, indicative prices | 2026-07-14 |
| s2 | https://smilejet.app/destinations/costa-rica/san-jose | Google rating 4.9 and review count 116 | 2026-07-14 |
| s3 | https://www.facebook.com/NovaDentalCR/ | Facebook presence, hours | 2026-07-14 |
| nova-dental-refresh | https://www.google.com/maps/place/Nova+Dental+CR/@9.9436295,-84.146… | most recent review posted about 4 months before 2026-08-25 | 2026-08-25 |
| nova-dental-doclic | https://www.colegiodentistas.org/listado-odontologos/ | searched: OBANDO (paged) — CCDCR registry shows LUIS GUILLERMO OBANDO AGUERO, código 203401, especialidad IMPLANTOLOGIA ORAL, Estado Activo — middle initial 'G.' = Guillermo, and specialty exactly matches clinic's 'Dental implantology and aesthetic dentistry (Medical Director)'. | 2026-08-26 |
Change History
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| 2026-08-26 | License verification 2026-08-26 against CCDCR (no Costa Rica clinic/establishment register exists; clinic-level licensing not searched): all 4 named doctors matched active CCDCR records, three confirmed by matching registered specialty. |
| 2026-08-25 | Re-verification 2026-08-25: confirmed website live, address and phone unchanged, not permanently closed; Google rating unchanged at 4.9, review count changed 116->131; captured Maps URL, geo coordinates, and review recency (within_year). |
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.