One of those, 94143, is the University of California, San Francisco campus ZIP code. The listing pattern reflects it: 123 of the 181 practices are on Parnassus Ave, and the specialist depth here is far beyond what a neighborhood of this size would normally hold.
What is listed in Inner Sunset
One hundred and three of the 181 listings are general dentists. The specialist side runs deep: 22 pediatric dentists, 18 periodontists, 13 prosthodontists, 12 orthodontists, 9 endodontists, 8 oral and maxillofacial surgeons, 2 in dental public health and 1 dental clinic.
Parnassus Ave dominates with 123 listings. Irving St has 19, and after that the numbers drop sharply, with 3 each on 5th Ave, 3rd Ave and Judah St.
One hundred and fifty six of the listings are individual practitioners and 25 are organizations. Sixty one have held their registration since before 2010 and the oldest goes back to 2005, so this is a younger set of registrations than most neighborhoods of comparable size. Two listings have published a website with us and two have published hours. None has been claimed.
- 181 practices across ZIP codes 94143 and 94122
- 123 of them on Parnassus Ave, 19 on Irving St
- 103 general dentists and unusually deep specialist coverage
- 156 individual practitioners, 25 organizations
How to choose between them
The first thing to work out is what you are actually looking for, because the two halves of this neighborhood behave differently. For everyday care there are 103 general dentists, plenty of them on Irving St and the avenues rather than on Parnassus Ave.
For specialist care, the depth is the point. Twenty two pediatric dentists and 18 periodontists in one neighborhood is more than many whole cities list. If you have been referred, you can reasonably ask for a choice rather than accepting the first name offered.
With 156 of the 181 listings registered to individual practitioners, most of what you see here is a named person rather than a group. That is useful when you want to look someone up, and it means asking who covers when they are unavailable is a fair question.
If you need something this neighborhood does not have
Inner Sunset has no missing specialty. Every branch our records track is present, and most are present many times over, so referrals rarely need to leave the neighborhood at all.
The reasons to look elsewhere are practical. A very large concentration on one avenue can mean parking, waiting lists or costs that do not suit you, and a general dentist closer to home may simply be easier to keep appointments with.
Nearby options are close by city standards. Richmond District has 37 listed practices about 1.4 miles away, Golden Gate Heights has 34 at 1.0 mile, Inner Richmond has 30 at 1.2 miles and Cole Valley has 18 at 0.4 miles. Forest Hill and Midtown Terrace each have 3, at 1.1 and 1.3 miles.
Insurance and paying
These listings come from public registration data. That source carries no fees, no opening hours and no insurance information. In Inner Sunset only two listings have published a website with us and only two have published hours, so for practically all of the 181 you are starting with a name and an address.
Ask each practice whether it is in network with your specific plan, naming the plan rather than the insurer. Specialist treatment is where out of network costs escalate fastest, and this neighborhood is full of specialists.
Before treatment starts, ask for a written estimate with procedure codes and send it to your insurer so their answer is in writing too. Practices that claim their listing on this site can publish hours, prices and insurance participation themselves, which is the only route by which any of that appears here.
If it is urgent
For a cracked tooth, a lost crown or pain that will not settle, call general dentists on Irving St and Parnassus Ave. With 103 general listings in the neighborhood a short run of calls covers a lot of options, and it helps to say that you are in pain and free to come straight away.
Some symptoms belong in an emergency room rather than a dental chair. Go to hospital if swelling is spreading toward your eye or down your neck, if breathing or swallowing is becoming difficult, if you have a fever with facial swelling, or if bleeding from the mouth will not stop.
To widen the search quickly, use dentist directory and sort by distance from where you are.
Questions patients ask
How many dentists are in Inner Sunset, San Francisco?
One hundred and eighty one dental practices are listed in Inner Sunset, across ZIP codes 94143 and 94122. One hundred and three are general dentists, and the specialist listings include 22 pediatric dentists, 18 periodontists, 13 prosthodontists, 12 orthodontists, 9 endodontists and 8 oral and maxillofacial surgeons.
Why are so many dentists on Parnassus Ave?
Parnassus Ave holds 123 of the neighborhood's 181 listings. One of the two ZIP codes covering Inner Sunset, 94143, is the University of California, San Francisco campus code. Our records do not say more than that, but the concentration on a single avenue and the unusual specialist depth are both clear in the data.
Do I need to leave Inner Sunset to see a dental specialist?
No. Every dental specialty our records track has listings inside Inner Sunset, most of them in numbers. If you want alternatives for cost or convenience, Richmond District has 37 listed practices about 1.4 miles away, Golden Gate Heights has 34 at 1.0 mile and Cole Valley has 18 at 0.4 miles.