Kris S Hamamoto, DDS

Palo Alto, United States

4.3

20 reviews

By Appointment Only

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Telephone:
+1 650-326-6319
Website:
www.hamamotodds.com
Address:
409 Cambridge Ave, Palo Alto, CA, 94306
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
0.3 miCalifornia Avenue
1 miStanford
1.1 miMarguerite - Y Route To Tresidder Union Arrillaga Alumni Center
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Bussiness info

By Appointment Only
Yes

Today

Today –
Local time (Palo Alto) 23:43 Saturday, 31 May 2025

Business hours

Monday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Tuesday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Wednesday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Thursday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Friday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Saturday –
Sunday –

Description

Specialties

Kris Hamamoto, D.D.S. and Allison Kumata, D.M.D. pride themselves on their patient-​centered practice. They have earned the loyalty of their patients through their commitment to providing beautiful, healthy smiles for people of all ages in a warm and friendly atmosphere.

Dr. Hamamoto and Dr. Kumata, along with their personable staff, provide the highest quality cosmetic and restorative dentistry, turning your dream of a fabulous smile into a reality. Our procedures include veneers, teeth whitening, Invisalign®, crowns in one visit, bridges, implants, laser dentistry, and much, much more.

Contact our Palo Alto office today to learn more about our cosmetic procedures and to find out how rewarding quality, personalized dental care can be. We look forward to meeting you soon!

History

Established in 1996.

Dr. Kris Hamamoto graduated from the University of California, San Francisco School of Dentistry in 1991. She entered the United States Navy in 1993 and toured San Diego and Sasebo, Japan. When her service in the Navy ended in 1996, she began practicing dentistry full time and is now the owner of her Palo Alto practice.

Dr. Allison Kumata graduated from Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in Boston and completed her residency at Bellevue Hospital in New York City. While in residency, she received extensive training in the newest techniques involving implant placement and restoration. She especially enjoys cosmetic dentistry and is an Invisalign provider.

We have a very loyal dental team. Two of our hygienists have been with the office for more than 20 years, and Dr. Hamamoto herself has worked in the office since she was 15. The long-​term retention of our staff results in a warm and friendly atmosphere and helps us to establish close relationships with each of our patients.

Meet the Business Owner

Kris H.

Business Owner

Dr. Kris Hamamoto graduated from the University of California, San Francisco School of Dentistry in 1991. She entered the United States Navy in 1993 and toured San Diego and Sasebo, Japan. When her service in the Navy ended in 1996, she began practicing dentistry full time and is now the owner of her Palo Alto practice.

Dr. Hamamoto is dedicated to continuing her education so she can provide the most up to date dental procedures. In 2001, she graduated from PAC-​live (Pacific Aesthetic Continuum), the nation’s premier, hands-​on, live patient continuing education program.

Dr. Hamamoto has been a member of the California Dental Association (CDA) and the American Dental Association (ADA) since graduation. She is married and has one child. Dr. Hamamoto enjoys the outdoors and ran the Honolulu Marathon in 1979 and 2000.

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20 reviews of Kris S Hamamoto, DDS

No registration required
Place rating: 4
Mountain View, CA
Visited last week for cleaning.
Place rating: 5
Stanford, CA
Been to many dentists over the past few years and highly recommend this practice. Was able to get an apt with Dr. Kumata relatively quickly at a convenient time. New patient forms/​insurance was a breeze. Staff is extremely friendly and helpful. The actual space isn’t the nicest but this is expected for a practice smack dab in the heart of Palo Alto.
When it comes to finding a dentist honesty is the most important factor for me. Have had multiple dentists push me to fill some very minor cavities, but Dr. Kumata was quite forthright in saying that the cavities were indeed nothing that needed to be urgently treated. The patient education is also a big plus — Dr. Kumata patiently went through topics from teeth whitening options to endodontics. This will be my dental practice of choice as long as I’m in peninsula.
Place rating: 5
San Jose, CA
Dr. Hamamoto is a skilled dentist with a welcoming personality. I’m also a big fan of the dental hygienists (especially Angelisa, my usual hygienist) and the friendly receptionists at the front. The office has a very pleasant and relaxed feel. There is a lot of natural light, plants, and a large bright aquarium in the lobby. I always receive a really good teeth cleaning from Angelisa and Dr. Hamamoto stops in every appointment (if she is in the office that day, which she almost always is) to check my mouth and let me know her expert opinion. She had a referral doctor (Dr. Ueno) come to her office to extract my top two wisdom teeth and he did a great job. All my interactions with Dr. Hamamoto and her staff have been professional and pleasant.
Place rating: 5
San Jose, CA
There are a lot of dentists in Palo Alto, but no one beats Dr. Kris Hamamoto and her staff. Every 6 months I see Angelisa, the dental hygienist. Prior to coming here I dreaded dental visits. Now I actually look forward to seeing Angelisa every six months. She’s so funny and skilled, which makes the visit fly by. Whenever I have had any dental issues, Dr. Kris has done an amazing job of making me feel comfortable and has provided pain free dentistry. If you’re anxious about the dentist, Dr. Kris and Angelisa will take extra special care of you and take the anxiety out of dental visits.
Place rating: 5
Palo Alto, CA
y husband and I have been going to Dr. Hamamoto for many years and have received outstanding care for our teeth. We highly recommend her. Tatiana and Roland Van Houten
Place rating: 5
Palo Alto, CA
I completely trust Dr Hamamoto.
Unfortunately, I had to change dentists due to insurance coverage from my job change, and I met up with two other dentist who had great reviews on Unilocal and/​or recommendations from other colleagues, but no one can beat Dr Kris’s expertise.
I ended up going back to her for a consultation and she put everything in perspective. I will end up keeping her as my dentist even while paying out of pocket. It is worth it.
Place rating: 5
Palo Alto, CA
Dr Hamamoto is great! Very stable, honest, cool, nice, and incredible! Most other doctors have some bad reputations but dr h does not have that! You should really catch up with her!
Place rating: 1
Palo Alto, CA
Went for a consultation. The experience was bad, the doctor seemed woefully clueless and misinformed for someone who claims 25+ years of dental experience.
Clinic:
— Small, dingy rooms with little of the hygiene expected in a standard clinic.
— Doors weren’t closed across rooms — lots of noise and chatter from a room behind, where apparently someone was handling a dental cleaning.
— Dilapidated state of rooms, popcorn on the ceiling falling off.
Doctor:
— Asked a bunch of questions during the consultation — she beat around the bush a long while before finally asking me to go see an orthodontist instead.
— Couldn’t answer simple questions that one comes up with after 20 minutes of education on Invisalign.
— Beat around the bush when asked for her area of expertise.
Place rating: 5
Los Angeles, CA
I love coming here which I never thought I’d say about a dentist. The whole staff is very pleasant and positive. I especially want to thank one dental assistant named Angelisa. It always brightens my day and my smile when I come in :)
Place rating: 5
Palo Alto, CA
My interactions with Dr. Hamamoto herself have been blessedly rare. She checks in every couple of visits, and is pleasant and efficient. The one (maybe it’s two?) times that I’ve had a filling in the past ~decade, she was similarly pleasant and efficient, and also seems to have done a highly skilled work. (How would I know? I don’t have much to compare it with, other than that I’ve never had any problems.)
On the other hand, I’ve had many interactions with her staff, and these folks are always great! The office is small but clean — pretty much just like you want a dentist to be – and extremely well run. I’ve had two different dental technicians, and they have both been excellent. I don’t remember the first one’s name. She was great, but unfortunately moved on a few years ago. For the past few years I’ve been with Angelisa, who is wonderful!
So between pleasant, efficient, and highly skilled Dr. Hamamoto, a clean and well run office, and wonderful Angelisa, I’ve had an overall very positive experience.
Place rating: 4
Palo Alto, CA
I had a few composite teeth that needed to be replaced from childhood… so last year Dr Kris put veneers on my top front six teeth. This was obviously a big decision and change, so I’ve waited a year to write this review just to make sure I was happy with the results over time.
In short: she did an excellent job. The new veneers look great — way better than my original composites ever did.
We had several visits beforehand to design the new veneers, and then a couple more to get them in, and adjusted afterwards. Dr Kris and her staff were always very friendly, and accommodating with schedule changes through the process.
It took me a while to get used to the new feel, and I did have to revisit a few times to adjust some bite pressure. My bite still feels different than it used to, so I’m concluding that most likely this is just a price of changing the shape of my teeth. Whenever I’ve asked for for Dr Kris or her partner to help me adjust the bite pressure, they’ve been very quick to schedule a drop-​in appointment and happy to try working on it with no additional charges.
Since then, I’ve also been coming here for my regular dental visits and have only good things to say about the 3 different folks who were available those days.
Place rating: 1
Redwood City, CA
Dr. Hamamoto’s office staff are lovely and competent people. I found Dr. Hamamoto to be mean spirited and careless. My experience with her was horrific. I went to her for a resin bonded bridge for an upper front tooth, which she said she could do. The first bridge she put in failed because she ordered it made from a material that the manufacturer clearly states is contraindicated for this type of bridge work. While I thought she was only removing the failed bridge, she drilled out the back of my adjoining front tooth after I explicitly told not to remove any of that tooth. This was unnecessary and against my repeatedly expressed wishes. The whole point this type of bridge is that the adjoining teeth are not disturbed. I am left with a sensitive, thin, fragile front tooth. She had another bridge made and it was cosmetically unacceptable. She was flippant and did not seem to care. At this point, my husband and I decided that we could not trust Dr. Hamamoto’s ability. And, we were concerned that she could cause even more damage. This bridge was not covered by insurance and we are out $ 2,500+ that we had already paid her, but, that pales in comparison to the months of distress and permanent damage she caused.
I have gone elsewhere to have this bridge done. Because of the damage Dr. Hamamoto did, this type of bridge will be more challenging, and never look as good as it could have.
Place rating: 5
Los Altos, CA
Outstanding. My son actually enjoyed having his teeth cleaned. We will be back.
Place rating: 5
Palo Alto, CA
I have been to five different dentists in my lifetime and I must say that Allison Kumata and this practice is the best I have encountered so far! They are very welcoming and do the utmost to make you feel at home. The receptionists are also great. They have done a great job assisting me with my insurance and making sure that I get all my necessary paperwork in check. I have worked directly with Dr. Kumata and her aide, and they are amazing at what they do.
Place rating: 5
Pleasanton, CA
I’ve been going to see Dr. Hamamoto since she took over the practice and she is the best dentist I’ve ever had. She is professional, always keeps up-​to-​date on the latest «best practices», and on time. Her staff is terrific as they have been with her since I’ve been going to see her.
I highly recommend Dr. Hamamoto for any type of work that you require.
Cross your fingers that she has openings.
Place rating: 5
Palo Alto, CA
I am so thrilled with my Invisalign results, thanks to Dr. Allison Kumata! After being a happy patient of Dr. Hamamoto’s for about 8 years, I finally sprung for Invisalign, after Dr Hamamoto had recommended it to me years ago. She was never pushy on selling it to me, which I really appreciated. By the time I opted to do it, Dr Kumata had joined her practice and she took care of me. She is professional, caring, gentle and a perfectionist! At my final visit, I told her about my concerns and she took the time to address all of them to assure I was happy with my results. She fixed more than one chip and rough edge, and checked to confirm my alignment was correct. She is very detail oriented, and now my teeth look fabulous! If you’re thinking about doing Invisalign, go for it, it is totally worth it.
Place rating: 5
Mountain View, CA
Dr. Hamamoto is the best! She is nice, considerate, very capable and a cyclist~!
Her support staff are awesome individuals, caring, accurate, personable and very human! ((Lots of medical support staff are so stuffy and unconcerned, NOT this office!!)) The all around dental visit is always pleasant for my whole family.
Place rating: 5
Monte Sereno, CA
I love Dr. Kris :-)
Place rating: 5
San Mateo, CA
Dr. Kris is great! Professional and knowledgeable. Very patient focused and willing to make make adjustments when there is an urgent need.
Her office staff is friendly yet very professional in dealing with patients. Great customer service. Very helpful with scheduling and appointment reminders.
Place rating: 1
Campbell, CA
I have never had a cavity in my life. Dr. Hamamoto told me that I had two and filled them. I had pain for weeks afterward. She also wanted to do cosmetic work that was totally unnecessary. No thanks, sorry for the money I spent here. Also, I have been to another dentist since and he confirmed no cavities!