This guide comes from the provider registry behind those listings, which holds addresses, ZIP codes, provider type and registration dates. It does not rank anyone. What it can do is tell you how many options are genuinely within walking distance, which specialties you would travel for, and what to ask on the phone.
What is listed in Downtown Oakland
All 51 listings sit in one ZIP code, 94612, and one street holds most of them. Franklin Street accounts for 34 once you combine the 31 filed as Franklin St, the 2 as Franklin Street and the one as Franklin St., which are the same street written three ways in federal records. Broadway has 9 and 15th St has 6.
This is an unusually individual neighborhood in registration terms: 41 of the 51 are registered to an individual practitioner and only 10 to an organization. Entries such as Aimin Liu, DDS and Amanda P Lavorini, DDS are typical. That points to smaller registrations rather than corporate groups, though it says nothing about the quality of care.
Thirty eight of the 51 were registered before 2010, and the oldest dates to 2005. That is three quarters of the neighborhood with fifteen years or more under the same registration, which is high.
- 51 practices listed, from 502 across Oakland
- 41 general dentistry, 10 specialist or clinic listings
- 34 on Franklin Street, 9 on Broadway, 6 on 15th St
- One ZIP code, 94612
- 41 individual practitioners, 10 organizations
- 38 registered before 2010, oldest in 2005
How to choose between them
For routine care you have 41 general listings in a few blocks, so proximity is not a differentiator. Use other criteria. Ask whether you will see the same dentist each visit, how long the practice has been at that address, and how they handle patients who call with a problem between appointments.
For specialist care the neighborhood is thin. One periodontist and two each of endodontics, oral surgery and orthodontics means availability, not choice, decides where you go. Ask your general dentist who they refer to and whether that practice is currently taking new patients.
Only 2 of the 51 have a website recorded in the registry and none publish hours, so most comparison happens by phone. Use the call to confirm new patient status and whether they are in network for your plan.
If you need something Downtown Oakland does not have
Two specialties are missing. Pediatric dentistry and prosthodontics both point elsewhere in Oakland, about 1.2 miles away, where there are 20 pediatric listings and 4 prosthodontic. Those are short journeys by any standard.
The surrounding neighborhoods are unusually close together here. Uptown has 10 practices at 0.1 miles, Downtown has 4 at 0.2, the Financial District has 11 at 0.2 and San Pablo Gateway has 6 at 0.2. Chinatown, 0.4 miles away, has 48 listings of its own, nearly matching Downtown Oakland, and Civic Center has 5 at 0.4 miles.
Insurance and paying
The first thing to establish is network status. In network means the practice has agreed rates with your plan and your share is calculated from a discounted fee. Out of network means no agreement, and you may owe the gap between the fee charged and the amount your plan allows.
For treatment beyond an exam and cleaning, ask for a written estimate with the procedure codes listed and have your plan pre authorize it before work begins.
The registry these listings are built from holds names, addresses, credentials and specialty codes. It holds no fees, no opening hours and no insurance networks, and it never has. That gap is the reason claimed listings matter, since claiming is how a practice publishes those details itself. None of the 51 in Downtown Oakland have been claimed so far.
If it is urgent
For a broken tooth, a crown that has come off, or pain that is escalating, work through the general dentistry listings on Franklin Street and Broadway and say clearly that you need same day care. With no hours published anywhere here, calling is the only way to find who is open, and the density of practices in these blocks works in your favor.
Certain symptoms mean an emergency room instead. Go to the ER if swelling is spreading toward your eye or down into your neck, if you are struggling to breathe or swallow, if you have a fever alongside facial swelling, or if bleeding will not stop.
If nothing downtown can see you today, search by distance at dentist directory, which orders practices by how far they are from you.
Questions patients ask
How many dentists are in Downtown Oakland?
There are 51 dental practices listed in Downtown Oakland, out of 502 across the city. Forty one are general dentistry and 10 are specialist or clinic listings, made up of 3 dental clinics, 2 endodontists, 2 oral and maxillofacial surgeons, 2 orthodontists and one periodontist. All sit in ZIP code 94612.
Why are so many Downtown Oakland dentists on Franklin Street?
Franklin Street holds 34 of the 51 listings, once the entries recorded as Franklin St, Franklin Street and Franklin St. are counted together as the one street they are. Several office buildings on a single street can hold many separate practices, which is common in dense downtown areas.
Is there a pediatric dentist in Downtown Oakland?
Not within the neighborhood itself. Pediatric dentistry has no listing in Downtown Oakland, but there are 20 pediatric listings elsewhere in Oakland roughly 1.2 miles away. Prosthodontics is the other missing specialty, with 4 listings at about the same distance.