What makes South of Market unusual is not just the number but the concentration. Almost every listing shares a single street. This guide sets out what that means when you are trying to pick a dentist.
What is listed in South of Market
59 of the 91 listings are tagged general dentistry. The specialty tags are deeper here than in most neighborhoods: 10 endodontics, 7 orthodontics, 5 prosthodontics, 4 oral and maxillofacial surgery, 4 periodontics, 4 dental public health, 3 oral radiology, 2 pediatric dentistry, 2 oral pathology, 2 dental anesthesiology and 1 dental clinic. Listings can carry more than one tag, so those numbers overlap.
The addresses are remarkably concentrated. 77 listings are recorded on 5th St, with 5 more as 5th Street, 2 as Fifth Street and 1 as 5th Street with a trailing comma. Those are the same road written four ways. Only one listing sits on Clementina St. The University of the Pacific's Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry is on Fifth Street in this neighborhood, which is worth knowing if you want to ask a teaching institution about patient care.
72 listings are registered as individual practitioners and 19 as organizations. 25 were registered before 2010 and the oldest dates to 2005, so a majority of these registrations are relatively recent.
- 91 listed practices across ZIPs 94103 and 94107
- 59 tagged general dentistry, 10 endodontics, 7 orthodontics
- 85 listings recorded on 5th St under four spellings
- 72 individual practitioners, 19 organizations
- 25 registered before 2010, oldest registration 2005
How to choose between them
Distance will not separate these practices for you, because they are effectively on one street. What separates them is what they do and when they can see you. Call several, ask how soon a new patient exam is available, and ask whether the work you need is done in house.
The depth of specialty coverage is the real advantage of this neighborhood. With 10 endodontics, 7 orthodontics, 5 prosthodontics, 4 oral and maxillofacial surgery and 4 periodontics listings, most referrals can stay within a few hundred yards. Ask any general dentist you are considering whether their usual referrals are local.
Note the 4 dental public health listings and the teaching institution on the same street. If cost is the constraint, it is reasonable to call and ask what options exist for patients without insurance before assuming there are none.
If you need something this neighborhood does not have
There is no specialty gap here. Every main dental specialty appears at least once among the 91 listings, which is rare and is a direct result of how many practices share this small area.
That said, availability is not the same as presence. If the practice you want cannot fit you in, the surrounding neighborhoods are all within a mile. Union Square is 0.5 miles away and has 303 listings, more than three times South of Market. Financial District has 78 at 0.8 miles. West SoMa has 10 at 0.4 miles, Civic Center has 10 at 0.7 miles, Transbay has 8 at 0.6 miles and Tenderloin has 3 at 0.4 miles.
- Tenderloin, 0.4 miles, 3 practices
- West SoMa, 0.4 miles, 10 practices
- Union Square, 0.5 miles, 303 practices
- Transbay, 0.6 miles, 8 practices
- Civic Center, 0.7 miles, 10 practices
- Financial District, 0.8 miles, 78 practices
Insurance and paying
Our registry holds no fees, no opening hours and no insurance information. It records who is registered to practice and where. None of the 91 South of Market listings has published hours or a website with us, and none has been claimed by its owner, so everything about money comes from the practice.
Ask whether they are in network with your exact plan rather than with your insurer as a whole. In network normally means a rate agreed in advance. Out of network can still be workable, but you carry more of the bill and may have to claim it back yourself.
For anything beyond an exam and clean, ask for a written estimate with procedure codes. With this much specialist treatment available locally, a plan that covers your general dentist may not cover the specialist two doors down, so check both.
If it is urgent
For a broken tooth, a lost filling or pain that has kept you awake, call general practices on 5th St and ask directly whether they keep same day emergency appointments. With 59 general listings and 10 endodontics listings in one neighborhood, this is a good area to be in when a tooth goes wrong.
Some problems belong in an emergency room instead. Go to hospital if swelling is spreading toward your eye or down your neck, if you have trouble breathing or swallowing, if you have a fever alongside facial swelling, or if bleeding will not stop.
You can also use dentist directory to sort practices by distance from wherever you are rather than by neighborhood boundary.
Questions patients ask
How many dentists are listed in South of Market?
Our directory holds 91 dental practice listings in South of Market, out of 1,886 across San Francisco. 59 are tagged general dentistry, and the specialty tags include 10 endodontics, 7 orthodontics, 5 prosthodontics, 4 oral and maxillofacial surgery and 4 periodontics. The listings fall in ZIP codes 94103 and 94107.
Why are so many dentists on 5th St?
85 of the 91 listings give an address on that street, recorded variously as 5th St, 5th Street and Fifth Street. The University of the Pacific's Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry is on Fifth Street in this neighborhood. We cannot tell you which registration belongs to which building, only that the concentration is real.
Can I find a specialist in South of Market without traveling?
Usually yes. Every major dental specialty has at least one listing here, which is unusual for a single neighborhood. Endodontics has 10 and orthodontics has 7. If the practice you want has no availability, Union Square is 0.5 miles away with 303 listings and Financial District is 0.8 miles away with 78.