David L Rothman, DDS

Still going every 6 months and our daughter still loves Dr Rothman and his whole staff. We’ve even had a smashed tooth emergency (running on a wet pool surface) and went for multiple X-​rays. Dr Rothman said we could call or text him in emergencies. Great service!

My two boys (3 and 5) have been patients of Dr Rothman for their whole lives. He has always been kind, generous with his time and attention, and funny in a way that magnetizes children and parents. On top of that he and his staff are simply top notch when it comes to professionalism and care. I come from multiple generations of dentists and doctors and Dr Rothman is as good at the human side of caregiving as I’ve ever seen.
I was compelled to write a review today because I took my youngest to see Dr Rothman to check a tooth that had turned blue after he had crashed on his bike. Turned out that my 3 year old needed a root canal. Gulp! What I thought was going to be a brutal experience for all involved turned out to be a really excellent one. Granted it was a root canal. But my boy was super at ease and calm throughout the procedure and in no small part due to Dr Rothman and his teams great demeanor and quick, proficient work. No tears. No whimpers. No problems.
If you have a kid and are looking for a dentist in SF, go to Dr Rothman. You will not be sorry. One more thing. We moved to Oakland last year and still drive to Dr Rothman. Hard believe we can find anyone better in the East Bay.

This is a great office and doctor. Everybody is super nice, and kids love going there.
The office has a very good location with multiple street parking available around it.

My little boy just had his first dentist appointment today and it was literally the best first dental experience I could have asked for.
Every single person we met and worked with were all amazing and welcoming. I worked at Nordstrom during high school and my college years and I know what excellent service is. The folks here have it down! After checking in with Kim, we met Justin the R.D.A who was assigned to work with us. He greeted us at the waiting area and my son was very willing to follow him in.
Justin made him feel extremely comfortable. He had him choose a toothbrush, then we settled into our exam room. Justin showed my son what tools he was working with and helped him participate during the entire cleaning process. Seriously folks, this entire experience was top notch! My boy is usually a squirmy little guy and has autism spectrum disorder but Dr. Rothman and his team were able to exam him with little crying. My boy loved using the tools to clean up all the bubbles and being a helper. After Justin finished cleaning his teeth, he even voluntarily sat on the patients chair all by himself. They took 1 X-​ray (to check out a tooth during a fall), and my little boy didn’t cry one bit.
Dr. Rothman was very helpful and answered all of our questions. I highly recommend this office! We left happy and my little boy was all smiles. He loved picking out a toy in the treasure chest. Overall, outstanding experience. Thank you Dr. Rothman, Justin and Kim! You all made our day. We appreciate it and will see you soon.
Wish I could give you 10 stars all around! If you have kiddos, I highly recommend this dental office.

Just took my 3.5 year old daughter here for her 3^rd visit & it was literally the best dental experience you could ever ask for in a pediatric dentist. Dr. David & his dental hygienist Justin are both awesome & my daughter loved coming here. She is the typical defiant 3 year old who makes brushing teeth the most difficult part of our morning & evening routine — but you’d never know that when you’re here. Justin has excellent technique & was like a stand up comedian keeping her laughing as he got her comfortable with every single step of the cleaning… And Dr. David is a consummate professional. I am so happy with my choice to switch here from a previous pediatric dentist that I am Unilocaling this from the waiting room after the appointment. They are that good. And the front desk is also lovely — plus they call or email with appointment reminders. Really you can’t ask for more — I’d give more stars if I could. Love.

Amazing first time experience for my 3 yr old son. He left the office saying «that was fun». He played with the goodies he got at dr. Rothman’s office for 2 hours after he got home. I never expected anything like this since a toddler is hard to predict.
The Hygienist, Justin, should take most of the credit as he is the most entertaining character whom kids are completely comfortable with. A+ performance for Justin and for his ability to simplify the whole experience so that a toddler understands what is happening.

Third appt for my 3 yr old today, and while I believe Dr. Rothman knows his trade, I do not connect with his approach towards interacting with parents and kids.
Instead of asking me what my son needs help working on, he used a boiler plate approach to telling my son I wrote down on a piece of paper that he doesn’t sit through meals and doesn’t let his mom help him clean his teeth.
While I appreciate the intent, the approach is bad. It isn’t based in reality, and undermines me as the parent. I also did to appreciate his approach to telling me what to do with my son’s thumb sucking habit. I appreciate facts about the damage it’s causing, but I do not want the dentist telling my son new rules about his thumb sucking without checking with me to make sure that’s how I want to handle it.
Long story short, if you need a good dentist and don’t mind being talked down to — this guy is for you.

went for our first appointment this morning. the staff were friendly and knowledgable, and dr. rothman was great. my daughter, in fact, wants to go back this afternoon again. dr. rothman was patient with me and asked if i had any questions, and he engaged with my daughter on her interests. i’d definitely recommend dr. rothman to others.

This dentist and his staff could not be more amusing, kid-​friendly or capable. We went to Dr Haeberlein, AKA churn and burn, fro a few years. Then Fred and his staff said my son needed a few baby teeth pulled. Didn’t make sense and IT WAS WRONG. Dave set us straight and said we didn’t need the suggested procedure.
The kids, 11 and 2, love him and the playful way his assistants clean their teeth. They took the time to explain to Philip how the drills and the mechanical chairs work. Then gave them prizes after treatment.
Dave’s staff is uniformly great.

I will never bring my son in again. We had a terrible experience with Dr. Rothman to say the least. He criticizes you as a parent if your child has cavities with his condesending jokes.

He’s the best! Always super friendly, professional, attentive and takes great care of our kids’ teeth.

After my son had a horrible and painful dental experience at another dental office, we went to Dr. Rothman. My son was terrified of the dentist, given his last bad experience. Dr. Rothman and his staff were fantastic. Every visit my son would work himself into a frenzy and Dr. Rothman and his staff calmed him down each time.
My son fell and split his lip open. On a Saturday morning, Dr. Rothman met us at his office and skillfully stiched my son’s lip, plus checked to insure the adult teeth were not affected by the accident. While stiching my son’s lip, Dr. Rothman sang several verses of Sponge Bob Squarepants, just to keep everyone happy and calm.
Fast forward five years and now my son enjoys going to see Dr. Rothman! I highly recommend Dr. Rothman to anyone who is looking for a great dentist for children. Especially for those who may have had a bad experience or who may need a little more TLC.

After an extensive search years ago we chose Dr Rothman and his team for our sons complicated Dental needs! This is three years later and I am still so thrilled we found them. My son and I were so Dentist phobic after a couple of bad experiences. Dr Rothman and his team have tenderly nurtured my son into a boy with a beautiful smile that actually enjoys his checkups.
We went in yesterday for his six month cleaning and he actually asked to go again this morning! That just shows you how wonderful they are at all they do! I am still so grateful I found them after all of these years!!!
Bernadette-​Momma to cavity free, dentist visit loving 6 year old!

After the root canal, her tooth still didn’t look so great. It’s that «ghost teeth» thing. She started asking why her teeth looked so weird. We didn’t want her to get a complex about it, so we decided to cap the tooth. That was just about as difficult as the root canal – having to hold my daughter down, crying (both of us), but it was worth it. Her tooth looks great!
That was six months ago. We had to go in today for cleaning and routine check up and my daughter was actually excited to see Dr. Rothman. She insisted on drawing a picture to give to him when she saw them.
If your child has some extensive dental work needed, I highly recommend Dr. Rothman and his staff. They are extraordinary folks who magically make your kids excited about going to the dentist.

Everything you’ve heard about Dr Rothman is true. He’s one of the most decent, respectful and thorough kids dentist we’ve found. He’s now treating our three kids with a smile and a good sense of humor. Fees are very much in line with other SF dentists.
Bonus points for friendly assistants and über helpful front office staff. Clean well lit office is inviting and comfortable. And for long appointments I bring my laptop to get a bit of work done on their guest WiFi network.

Does not get any better than this!
After two referrences (daughter’s Pediatrician and my colleague), I finally took my almost 3-​year old daughter to her FIRST dentist visit on Wednesday.
Making an appointment was easy, Faye (the receptionist) is very kind. You have your option of filling out the new patient forms online, prior to the visit or upon arrival.
The office is clean, open, welcoming, plenty of natural light, toys for the little ones and state of the art equipment. There are plenty of street parking outside (no meters!).
The staff is very friendly and Justin (RDA) did an amazing job with the introduction and getting right into the cleaning. I love how he had my daughter hold the suction/​straw the whole time he cleaned her teeth as well as entertained her. Justin and Dr. Rothman are very knowledgeable and are great with kids!
My daughter had a very pleasant experience! She even told me once we got in the car that she wanted to go back! Oh she’ll be back alright, in six months that is («,)
I wish that more dental offices were like Dr. Rothman’s, there would definitely be less fear of going to the dentist.

I absolutely love this dentist!!! He’s kind, funny, and very educational. He was thorough and approachable. Definitely not the abrasive and reprimanding dentist that I thought it was weird that my daughter didn’t have x-​rays at the last dental practice. I loved their joyful attitudes and friendly staff!
Thanks everyone for putting my faith back into dentistry!

I have two small kids that are his patient. Overall the treatment that he gives is good but the only bad thing I didn’t like is the way they do their billing and the prices. My recent experience is when I received a bill for $ 52. Our insurance company is Met LIfe and I’ve been with them for a long time. They say they bill on the high side and bill regular routine cleaning and check up are excessive. Did extra flouride treatment not covered by insurance and did not tell me till I get the bill. I mean it should not cost $ 203 for a 2 year old to get his teeth cleaned and looked at. No X=ray. In and out in less than half an hour. The insurance paid $ 189. Anyway, I told them I will not take my kids back again. That’s it.
Should be a lot of good kids dentist out there not so expensive.

All smiles over here for Dr. Dave and his team.
My son had dental screenings at preschool, but at 4, this was his first official trip to the dentist for a full cleaning and exam. Everyone is so kind and friendly and make the experience fun for the kids. My son was mesmerized by Gina the hygienist, and by Dr. Dave. There are plenty of flavor options for toothpaste, dental polish (made from volcano ash!) fluoride treatment, show the kids what’s going to happen, and have lots of sneaky techniques to keep the kids either engaged or distracted depending on what they’re doing.
My son can’t wait for his return appointment in 6 months!

I’ve been going to this office since I was a very young child, when Dr. Traubman was the main dentist. I enjoy Dr. Rothman way more than Dr. Traubman (I may have punched Traubman in the mouth when I was a kid — hey, I don’t remember doing that!). He has great bedside manner and makes great conversation with his patients. Not sure if he actually remembered me or if he took notes in the chart, but either way it feels good to go to a dentist who gives you that «small town» vibe. He’s great with kids and great when performing procedures. I would definitely send my child here.