Certificate in Endodontics
University of Southern California
Doctor of Dental Surgery
Howard University
28 years · Bay Area since 1998
For 28 years, Dr. Priya O'Callaghan has started every appointment the same way: figuring out exactly what is happening before deciding what to do about it.
Before any treatment is discussed, she wants a clear diagnosis — which means some patients come in expecting a root canal and leave having been told they don't need one. Others arrive after prior treatment that didn't hold, and she finds what was missed.
She takes on the cases many offices turn down: teeth under bridges, significant bone loss, complex retreatments, calcified canals. The difficulty of a case doesn't change the process. It just makes the diagnosis more important.
"Sometimes the best decision is not to do the root canal. My responsibility is to help patients fully understand their options so they can make the best long-term decision for themselves."
Your consultation is a conversation — not a procedure.
Dr. O'Callaghan explains her clinical thinking out loud. She draws diagrams. She treats the appointment as a conversation — walking through what she sees, what the options are, and what she would recommend and why. No clinical shorthand. No procedure before the explanation.
She is frequently referred patients considered difficult or high-risk — complex cases from hospital-based oral surgery settings, teeth other specialists have said cannot be saved. The difficulty of a case doesn't change the process. It just raises the stakes on getting the diagnosis right.
"No one has ever explained dentistry this clearly before."
The cases she is most often asked to take on.
Dr. O'Callaghan has a particular reputation for complex and retreatment cases — teeth other offices have declined, diagnoses other practitioners have found inconclusive, and patients who have not had a satisfying outcome elsewhere.
- Complex root canal treatment
- Endodontic retreatment
- Calcified canals
- Cracked teeth
- Traumatic dental injuries
- Microscope-assisted endodontics
- Surgical endodontics
- Advanced diagnostic evaluation
- High-anxiety patients
- Emergency pain management
- Teeth with poor or guarded prognosis
She has used every system available. GentleWave is her standard.
Dr. O'Callaghan offers GentleWave to every patient — not as an optional upgrade, but as her standard approach. Having used every system available over 28 years of practice, she considers it the most significant advancement in endodontics since the operating microscope.
The reason is clinical: better cleaning and disinfection, better preservation of healthy tooth structure, and better long-term predictability for the tooth. Every Endospecialists location is equipped with GentleWave technology, surgical operating microscopes, CBCT 3D imaging, and EdgePRO laser-assisted irrigation.
"We cannot treat what we cannot see."About GentleWave
Trained at USC. Practicing in the Bay Area since 1998.
Dr. O'Callaghan began her academic path at Memphis State University, where she was accepted into Howard University's dental program during her junior year. She completed her specialty training in endodontics at USC and has practiced in the Bay Area since 1998.
Certificate in Endodontics — University of Southern California
Doctor of Dental Surgery — Howard University
- American Association of Endodontists
- California Dental Association
- Alameda County Dental Society
- Berkeley Dental Society
- Contra Costa Dental Society
Born in India. Raised in Australia. Home in the Bay Area.
Dr. O'Callaghan was born in India, lived in Kenya, and grew up largely in Australia before coming to the United States on a tennis scholarship. The Bay Area became home.
Outside the office, she hikes Bay Area trails, explores local restaurants, tends a garden, and goes to live music and stand-up comedy when she can. She is proud to see dentistry continuing into the next generation — her daughter is currently in dental school, and her son attends UC Santa Barbara.
Ready to see Dr. O'Callaghan?
Same-day access · Four East Bay locations · No referral required