UCSF Dental Center FAQ

Student dentists are third- and fourth-year dental students who are overseen by experienced UCSF faculty members. Care by student dentists costs from 40 to 60 percent less than regular dental practices. The care takes longer and requires more appointments, but it is most affordable.

Residents/post-graduates are dentists who are pursuing further specialty training in rigorous UCSF residency programs. Specialty areas include endodontics, orthodontics, oral surgery, pediatrics, periodontics, prosthodontics and hospital dentistry.

Faculty dentists are UCSF faculty members who provide care to patients in addition to teaching students and, in some cases, researching the latest advances in oral health care. They provide full-service dentistry in a private-practice setting.

Third- and fourth-year dental students, under direct supervision of attending faculty, provide general dental care (exams, fillings, crowns, dentures, teeth whitening, implants, root canals, etc.) to patients without serious medical conditions.

Yes, we have several faculty clinics where our faculty provide care to patients. Patients receive state-of-the-art dental care from dental school faculty members, including several general practitioners, as well as specialists. The fees charged are similar to those in private practice in the San Francisco area.

If you are accepted into the student clinic and have a flexible schedule, allowing for multiple appointments to complete a treatment plan, you will save approximately half the cost of what you would pay for treatment in a private dental practice.  Dental resident and post-graduate specialty clinic fees are approximately 25 percent less than what the service would typically cost in a private specialty office. Fees charged in our faculty clinics are similar to those in private practice.

The student clinic at UCSF Dental Center offers affordable dental implants to our community. Please schedule a New Patient Visit with the Adult General Dentistry Student Clinic if you wish to be evaluated for your eligibility for this program. For more information, please visit the page of our Student Dental Implant Program.

To request a copy of your dental records, call (415) 476-1891, option 3. There is a small administrative fee for the duplication of records.

Treatment with a student dentist may be extended over several visits. Care with a student takes longer but costs less.

Every effort is made to ensure continuity of care from one appointment to the next. When students graduate, their patients are transferred to incoming students.