Joseph A. Nicolas, DDS

San Francisco, United States

4.4

20 reviews

By Appointment Only

Contacts

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Telephone:
+1 415-566-9700
Website:
drnicolas.com
Address:
801 Portola Dr Suite 204, San Francisco, CA, 94127
b/t Evelyn Way & Fowler Ave
Miraloma Park
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
0.4 miMolimo Drive
0.4 miForest Hill Muni
0.7 miWest Portal Muni
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Bussiness info

By Appointment Only
Yes

Today

Today –
Local time (San Francisco) 15:42 Tuesday, 3 June 2025

Business hours

Monday 9:00 am – 6:00 pm
Tuesday –
Wednesday 9:00 am – 6:00 pm
Thursday –
Friday 9:00 am – 6:00 pm
Saturday 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Sunday –

Description

Specialties

Welcome to a unique dental practice where our purpose is to holistically deliver total health and well being utilizing three simple R’s:

1. Remove decay, disease and its causes from your teeth and body.

2. Replenish deficiencies that move your body systems out of balance.

3. Restore your teeth and the rest of the body to a healthier state.

Our practice aims to preserve, to restore, and to replace teeth with esthetic, natural looking restorations and to treat the gums and the surrounding tissue. At the same time, we especially encourage you to care for your whole body as well. We believe that a diseased oral cavity can affect the whole body; and in return, a diseased whole body can cause one to lose teeth. Through whole body health care, we can improve the quality and the length of life of everyone.

Dentistry is part of taking care of your whole body.

History

Established in 1998.

This office was transitioned from an existing dental practice that had been established in 1960.

Meet the Business Owner

Joseph N.

Business Owner

A San Francisco native who grew up in the Sunset district, Dr. Nicolas went to Holy Name School, Sacred Heart High School, U.C. Berkeley, and the U. of the Pacific School of Dentistry.

His purpose in life is to promote whole body health and well being to all through his dental practice and by recommending various health awareness programs.

Joseph A. Nicolas, DDS also recommends

Café Gratitude — CLOSED

852

reviews

Vegan

,

Live/​Raw Food

,

Gluten-​Free

Joseph N. says,

«Inspiring place cater to your vegan urges.»

Phở Phu Quoc PPQ Beef Noodle House Restaurant

1068

reviews

Vietnamese

Joseph N. says,

«Love the veggie satay soup.»

Other Avenues Food Store Cooperative

217

reviews

Health Markets

,

Fruits & Veggies

Joseph N. says,

«Excellent choice for vegetarian products.»

Rainbow Grocery

1378

reviews

Grocery

Joseph N. says,

«Excellent choice for vegetarian products.»

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20 reviews of Joseph A. Nicolas, DDS

No registration required
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
Awesome service!!! I hadn’t had a visit in years and was developing some tooth ache issues. I requested an appointment online at their website at 6 PM and heard back the same evening. Appointment was scheduled for 48 hours later since it was an becoming an emergency. Dr. Nicolas was very thorough and explained everything to me throughout the visit and then sat with me to develop a plan of care that included several levels of price and service to tailor to my budget (I was given choices, nice!). I have a follow up for 7 days later. The office building is mid 50’s and beginning to come back in style. It is well maintained and his office is just the right size. I have been to many others where I felt like the prices of the dental work reflected the high rents they were paying for super chic spots with views of the bay, not for the quality of the dental work they provided. Here I feel like I am getting great service and not supplementing the price of the view. Very convenient to get to for me and lots of street parking nearby. The fact the large parking lot is reserved for tenants only and was mainly empty was a little off-​putting, but beyond Dr. Nicolas’s control. Street parking is easy, or park in lot by Tower Burger, Tower Market shopping center. Meters there, but very inexpensive (bring a few quarters). Can’t recommend this superb office enough! Thank you Dr. Nicolas and your office manager. This is first time I ever got positive feedback from a dentist and didn’t leave feeling like a scolded little kid for not flossing my teeth everyday.
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
Great dentist. Explains everything in detail. Good communication from front office. Part of Cigna DHMO. I picked him as primary due to the good reviews here and am very happy I did.
Place rating: 1
HAIKU, HI
Called this place 4x over the last month and no return call! Is this place closed? And the one appointment I did get got cancelled by them because they said the doctor had a conference to go to and I wasn’t supposed to be scheduled that day! Ok… the next appt I finally got they had to reschedule AGAIN because they said he had a meeting! Isn’t the staff supposed to already take this into consideration BEFORE scheduling appointments? So far I’ve been trying to get an appointment at this place for over 4 months! Terrible customer service!
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
I found out the hard way that popcorn is really bad for your teeth — I broke a tooth eating it. One whole corner of one of my teeth broke off leaving a big jagged edge. Of course this happens on Saturday night. I call my brand new Cigna dental insurance assigned dentist’s emergency number, hoping to get a call back. Nada, no phone call from this dentist’s emergency number at all despite three messages. Admittedly, I had never been to their office but I’m in their system as being assigned to them and I broke a tooth! Couldn’t they have at least called? Nope. I will never go to South Van Ness Dental. Ever.
I call Cigna and say I need a new dentist gimme another name. That’s how I find Dr Nicolas, who is a very, very kind man and a wonderful dentist. He gets me in at lunch time between patients (giving up his lunch time). He put a temporary fix on my tooth which is really well done; it’s not obtrusive at all. Now my tongue doesn’t feel like razor blades are being dragged across the bottom of it every time I speak. Dr Nicolas explained everything clearly and concisely and was very professional. His office is small and in an old building — don’t judge a book by the cover. He’s great.
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
I was worried no one else would be as good as Dr. William Galager, DDS when my company insurance changed and no longer covered me under my original dentist. .. but I felt I was in good hands when I found Dr. Nicolas — he is very meticulous with each tooth he cleaned. Nice job :)
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
I’ve just had a great experience with Dr. Nicolas. I was very stressed over my dental problem, and Dr. Nicolas put me at ease. He’s very professional, and inspires trust. Also, his work was very gentle, and before I knew it, I was done, and very happy with the service.
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
I had a good experience going here. I felt I could trust Dr. Nicolas and after my last two untrustworthy dentists that means a lot. The office décor is simple and nice. And Dr. Nicolas is thorough, friendly and explained everything as he went along. I will continue with him as long as my insurance allows.
Place rating: 4
Denver, CO
I would definitely recommend Dr. Nicolas. I hate going to the dentist, but this was the best experience I’ve ever had.
The office is small and casual, so it’s not the same experience I’ve had in large, suburban clinics. This was not a problem for me though, especially since the actual dental procedures were done very well and he also accepts insurance.
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
I’ve had a cleaning and a filling replaced. He did a great (and painless) job on both.
Place rating: 5
Daly City, CA
Dr. Nicolas is exactly who I’ve been looking for — a kind dentist!
He’s professional, friendly, straight-​forward, gentle but still direct. He talks you through everything he’s doing and explains what’s going on with your teeth in simple to understand terms.
I’ve only gone once, but will continue to go as long as my insurance stays the same. I need to book my next appointment soon. Can’t forget to mention that the reception lady is sweet! She texted me prior to my appointment as a reminder — I thought that was awesome!
A few more noteworthy things:
1. His office is clean (and I am picky about cleanliness)
2. He accepts DHMO (hallelujah!)
3. He is Filipino! :)
Place rating: 5
Pacifica, CA
If you looking for a kids friendly dentist, a excel professional and one that does exactly what your mouth needs, that’s the guy. Dr. Nicolas doesn’t keep searching for $omething el$e in your mouth even when you don’t have nothing bad on it. Honest and very skilled.
Place rating: 5
South San Francisco, CA
Fantastic experience!
Booked a same day appointment and received caring, thorough and professional service. I am returning for additional work that I’ve been putting off – so relaxing that I almost fell asleep.
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
We are still seeing Dr. Nicolas and his recently renovated office is better than ever!
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
Just had the BEST experience ever at the dentist, my teeth have never been so clean (even after 2.5 years since my last visit). SO, if anyone needs a dentist I HIGHLY recommend Dr. Joseph Nicolas @ 801 Portola in San Francisco. Very friendly guy and super thorough — not a speck of tartar or plaque left on my teeth. He is fantastic!
He also is a great resource for orthodontia referrals as well as oral surgeons.
I find him though trial and error and I will definitely be keeping him as my dentist and look forward to seeing him again in the future. He accepts all types of insurance, his office is clean and very easy to get to with plenty of street parking as well.
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
Dr. Joe Nicolas is a truly amazing dentist. I had the best experience with him. His extraordinary gentle approach has totally eradicated my fear sitting on a dental chair. Being so knowledgeable, efficient and caring is also a plus. The treatments I got from him were completely pain-​free (hard to believe) but it’s true. He did a superb job by fixing a bad filling which was a result of a previous work of my dentist in the Philippines. Dr. Nicolas takes the time to ensure that the patient comes first. Which I believe is a must for every dental practitioners.
I have had so many bad experiences elsewhere, I know how it means to find the right dentist.
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
Been getting my regular cleaning done here for more than two years now and am a happy customer.
Place rating: 1
San Francisco, CA
I scheduled an appointment with this schmuck for this morning at 9 am. When I arrived, the office door was locked and no one was answering their phone. It’s now 3 pm and i have yet to get a call back with an explanation. Don’t waste your time.
Place rating: 1
Brooklyn, NY
I’ve tried getting a hold of the office for the past two weeks. I always get directed to voice-​mail, and even after I leave messages I never get called back. Is there only one person working there?
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
Let’s do some old-​school SAT recall, shall we?
Most DHMO providers: Dick Cheney
Joe Nicolas, DDS: Barack Obama
As a gal limited by a DHMO, my options were a slew of 1-​starred horrific-​experience dental care providers.
Just as I was about to go the route of gritting my teeth and choosing the least damaging provider, I stumbled across Joe’s stellar Unilocal reviews.
They are incredibly deserved — first off, his office is immaculate — open, clean, clear, aesthetically right on.
Second, he was incredibly personable, and explained every step clearly and concisely.
Third, he was gentle as can be — I just had a general checkup and cleaning, and it was great.
He finally totally won my loyalty when he said, «I’m new to this DHMO thing, but I’ve heard the horror stories — people getting processed through the dentist’s chair — and I’m determined to be different, to offer a different model.»
You can’t ask for a better mentality than that.
Place rating: 5
Issaquah, WA
I can’t even remember how I found Dr. Nicolas — all I can say is that after years of either horrible service and bad results, bordering on the criminal, I’ve finally found a dentist that I trust. Dr. Nicolas has a beautiful office (recently updated and just gorgeous!), a very nice receptionist (bilingual in Portuguese), and a comfortable chair. But most importantly to me, Dr. Nicolas does what’s needed to do, finds the problems that other dentists have caused, and fixes them — no muss, no fuss. He’s gentle, he is kind, and he is a human being, not a robot. I really appreciate his warmth. As a very open person myself, I enjoy having a conversation with Dr. Nicolas (though sometimes he asks questions while his fingers are in my mouths, so… :)). Anyway, my highest rating goes to Dr. Nicolas, and my confidence in him is 100%. In five years, he has never let me down. He has also worked on my husband, who had even worse results from our former dentist, including an incomplete root canal that caused a major infection. Dr. Nicolas referred us to a top-​flight oral surgeon, Angela Leung, and we could not be happier at her service, or Dr. Nicolas’ excellent guidance.