For a place this size that is a strong position. It means most people here can find routine and specialist care without leaving the neighborhood, though several of the specialties are represented by only one practice.
What is listed in Downtown Hilo
Thirty three of the 49 listings include general dentistry. Six list pediatric dentistry, four list oral and maxillofacial surgery and four are registered as dental clinics. There is one each for prosthodontics, endodontics, orthodontics and periodontics. Some practices carry more than one specialty, so the counts overlap.
Ponahawai St is the main cluster with 22 listings. Ululani St has six, Kinoole St four, Waianuenue Ave four and Haili St three. The rest are on other addresses. Everything falls inside ZIP code 96720.
Thirty three listings are individual practitioners and 16 are organizations. The registrations run deep: 38 of the 49 were registered before 2010, and the oldest dates to 2005. That is one of the higher shares of long standing registrations you will see anywhere.
How to choose between them
Thirty three general listings in a town of 103 practices means routine care is not hard to find. The differences come down to appointment availability, what is done in house, and price, none of which appear on a listing page.
Ask on a first call what a new patient exam with x-rays costs, how soon an existing patient in pain can be seen, and which treatments get referred. In an island town the last question carries extra weight, because a referral off the neighborhood is a longer trip than it would be on the mainland.
Two thirds of listings are individual practitioners. Small practices usually mean continuity with one dentist and a single diary. The 16 organizations and four dental clinics are generally the ones with more capacity at short notice.
When you need something that is not here
No specialty is missing from Downtown Hilo in our data, which is genuinely unusual. Pediatric dentistry, oral and maxillofacial surgery, prosthodontics, endodontics, orthodontics and periodontics all have at least one listing.
The caution is depth rather than absence. Prosthodontics, endodontics, orthodontics and periodontics have one listing each. If that practice is not taking new patients or you want a second opinion, the neighborhood cannot give you one.
The nearest alternative is Waiakea, 1.0 mile away, with 38 listings. Between the two neighborhoods you have 87 of Hilo's 103 listed practices within about a mile, so start there before looking further afield.
Insurance and paying
None of the 49 listings in Downtown Hilo has been claimed, and none publishes a website or opening hours through us. The registry these entries come from records who a provider is and what they practice. It holds no fees, no hours and no insurance information at all. That is the limit of this page, and it is why a claimed listing is more useful: the practice fills in those details itself.
So confirm coverage by phone. Give the exact name of your plan rather than just the insurer, because being in network with an insurer is not the same as being in network with your plan. An out of network practice may still file the claim, but you pay the shortfall.
For crowns, dentures, implants or surgery, ask for a written estimate with procedure codes before agreeing. In a smaller market that document matters more, because your second quote may be one of only a handful of alternatives.
If it is urgent
Call at opening and say plainly that it is an emergency. Twenty two listings on Ponahawai St means several practices are within a few minutes of each other, and the four dental clinics are worth trying early since group practices usually hold more emergency capacity.
Some symptoms need an emergency room instead. Go to hospital immediately if swelling is spreading toward your eye or down into your neck, if you are having trouble breathing or swallowing, if you have a fever alongside facial swelling, or if bleeding from your mouth will not stop. A spreading dental infection can worsen within hours.
If nothing here can see you, dentist directory searches by distance rather than by neighborhood, which will include Waiakea and its 38 listings in the same set of results.
Questions patients ask
How many dentists are listed in Downtown Hilo?
Forty nine practices, out of 103 across Hilo. Thirty three include general dentistry, six list pediatric dentistry and four list oral and maxillofacial surgery. Ponahawai St alone has 22 of the listings, and the whole neighborhood is in ZIP code 96720.
Can I find a specialist in Downtown Hilo?
Every major specialty has at least one listing here, including pediatric dentistry with six and oral surgery with four. Prosthodontics, endodontics, orthodontics and periodontics have only one listing each, so a choice of practitioners in those may mean looking at Waiakea, one mile away.
Are the practices in Downtown Hilo long established?
Many are. Thirty eight of the 49 listings were registered before 2010, and the oldest registration dates to 2005. That is a high proportion of long standing registrations, though it tells you about the registration rather than about the current dentist or the current owner.