Paul Y Lin, DDS

San Francisco, United States

3.3

Closed now

20 reviews

By Appointment Only

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Telephone:
+1 415-543-6882
Website:
www.paulylindds.com
Address:
82 Townsend St, San Francisco, CA, 94107
at Colin P Kelly Jr St
SoMa, South Beach
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
620 ft2nd & King
0.2 miBrannan
0.4 mi4th St & Townsend St
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Bussiness info

By Appointment Only
Yes

Today

Today 9:00 am – 6:00 pm
Closed now
Local time (San Francisco) 00:02 Thursday, 12 June 2025

Business hours

Monday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Tuesday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Wednesday 9:00 am – 6:00 pm
Thursday 9:00 am – 6:00 pm
Friday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Saturday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Sunday –

Description

Specialties

We open Mon-​Wed, 09:00hrs to 18:00hrs and Thu-​Fri, 08:00hrs to 17:00hrs. In addition to our regular hours posted, we open most 2nd and 4th Satuday from 09:00hrs to 16:00hrs and close the following Monday to help accomodate working schedules for our patients.

We specialize in conservative, sensitive, and responsive general dentistry as well as cosmetic and restorative treatment when desired.

We have free parking for patients in a secured lot, and we have a gentle and relaxing atmosphere with private treatment rooms to help alleviate some of the stress for those who have anxiety regarding appointments.

We use the latest in technology including digital x-​rays, electronic record keeping, telephone and e-​mail automated couresty appointment reminder notifications, on-​line patient account access, on-​lne registration and account payment and much more.

History

Established in 2005.

Dr. Lin opened this office as his first new office after working for over eight years as an associate with two well known doctors here in San Francisco.

Situated on the original site of the 1882 California Warehouse, the 88 Townsend condominium development in which our office is located retains its historical original façade. We bought our retail office space which is on street level as an unfinished shell and developed the perfect floor space design and procured the latest equipment to make our office comfortable, relaxing, modern, and efficient.

Interior designer, Albert Wang, selected a series of earth tones to calm and relax patients, and our office continues to relfect this idea with an abundance of live plants and gentle lighting. In additon to this, we have a number of subtle art installations that many patients don’t always notice, but which add to the overall aesthetic.

Meet the Business Owner

Paul L.

Business Owner

Many people are surprised when I tell them that I was born in Taiwan. My facial features would usually encourage people to guess my ethnicity was derived from almost anywhere else in Asia other than Taiwan. If you have not been to, or heard of Taiwan, it is a beautiful island with great food on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, south of Japan and Korea, north of the Philippines, and east of Hong Kong and mainland China.

My family moved to San Jose, California when I was 14, where I attended high school. I graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a major in Molecular and Cellular Biology and a minor in Music. I then attended the School of Dental and Oral Surgery at Columbia University in New York City. After dental school in New York I came right back to the Bay Area and settled in San Francisco, doing my residency at the University of California and setting up in private practice as an associate until opening my own office.

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20 reviews of Paul Y Lin, DDS

No registration required
Place rating: 2
San Francisco, CA
While Dr Lin and the hygienists are great, dealing with the office manager/​receptionist is extremely trying and ultimately unsatisfying. I can’t understand why Dr. LIn, who must have seen the many negative reviews this front line guy has, continues to tolerate such behavior. Nothing could be worse for his practice.
I have never dealt with a person less helpful, less respectful of my time or less appreciative of my business.
I am sorry to have to discontinue my professional relationship with Dr. Lin, but I won’t deal with his manager.
Place rating: 1
Financial District, San Francisco, CA
Dr. Lin is a great dentist, but I cannot deal with his receptionist again. He lectures you if you are a minute late for an appointment and does not let anyone else call to change appointments for you, including significant others.
Place rating: 1
San Francisco, CA
After going to Dr Lin for years, whom I love, I can no longer take the abuse
From Ken the receptionist. After reading all the other reviews I see I’m not the only one who thinks ken is the rudest, most condescending person I’ve ever met. Hope Dr Lin
Opens his eyes to this one of these days! I’m done dealing with this office.
Place rating: 4
San Francisco, CA
Dr. Lin is so awesome, seriously a five star dentist. His office is immaculate, modern, he has the most hilarious and amazing dentist assistant whom I seriously adore. I look forward to my cleanings, I shit you not! His receptionist though… holy crap. I understand that you need to have patients come in on time and send back paperwork, and I know how tedious that kind of admin work can be because I have worked as a receptionist at a dental office before, but there is really no need for the attitude. Basically, just do everything Ken says, don’t get on his bad side, and you are going to LOVE Dr. Lin and his dental assistant!
Place rating: 2
San Francisco, CA
I have been a patient of Dr. Lin’s ever since he started his own practice over ten years ago. He is kind, knowledgeable, professional, and a very skilled tech-​savvy dentist. I have trusted him all these years and would never hesitate to recommend him to others.
I am sad to say I am returning to his former practice ironically called, «A People Oriented Dental Practice.» I have chosen to sever ties solely because of his receptionist, Ken, who is the farthest from «people oriented» a customer-​facing employee can get. Ken, is controlling, condescending, and passive agressive… someone who makes the Seinfeld Soup Nazi look like Mr. Rogers. I echo the complaints about the onerous process of simply making an appointment, controlling the parking space, getting lectured about how their system works (for him) and the never ending verbose email reminders with pedantic instructions in caps and highlights. I just don’t need this in my life. I was embarrassed to have sent friends who loved Dr. Lin, but hated dealing with Ken as well. They never went back. I never recommended him again.
I CALLED Dr. Steven Ostwald and in ten seconds had an appointment within 72 hours. After he examined me, he said he had an open appointment now and on the spot replaced the crown on the tooth I was having trouble with. It took two weeks of Ken «claiming» he couldn’t make out my message on VM. Enough. That was the last straw.
And oh by the way… it is in fact NOT Dr. Lin responding to these reviews. It is Ken answering as if he is Dr. Lin. I really believe Ken controls the information Dr. Lin gets because Dr. Lin would be saddened and heartbroken to know he had lost so many patients because of Ken’s behavior.
Place rating: 4
San Francisco, CA
Was looking for a new neighborhood dentist and I think I found him! I went to another dentist in the neighborhood and it left a sour taste in my mouth. It made me think that dentists in our neighborhood just want to rip us off to pay their rent. Dr Lin is different!
The office is quiet and clean. The equipment looks a bit worn but I didn’t mind it too much. For example, the chair I was sitting on had a plastic covering that was cracking off. I think it actually fell off and onto the floor when I sat down in it.
The staff is nice and courteous. I am remembering now that when I originally contacted them I was a bit turned off by all the emails. I think I called and was essentially redirected to email. I was also pregnant so going to the dentist wasn’t at the top of my list. Once I gave birth, I actually got a reminder email and that made me go in for an appointment. They do everything electronically. I think I even called one time and emailed about something and the email got answered but no call back. They even said email is better. Which is fine. Depends on what you like.
I went in for a new patient exam in one visit. Dr Lin was super thorough and took a lot of time to educate me on what he was seeing in my teeth. He was also not pushy and did not try to sell me a bunch of things I would have to pay for out of pocket. I appreciate that.
I went in for a cleaning on another visit and it went well. Not too painful.
Place rating: 3
San Francisco, CA
I echo the comments of those below. Dr. Lin is a great dentist and runs a great medical practice. I’ve seen him for almost ten years. Dr. Lin is balanced in recommending needed treatment while not over selling. His hygienists are skilled, polite, and equally great. His work lasts a long time, and he and his team are very thoughtful to avoid causing any pain. I have referred patients to him over the years.
My lack of 5 stars is due to Ken, the gentleman who runs the front of the house /​reception /​scheduling. Ken is aggressive and can be downright rude. He gets genuinely upset if you don’t respond to the barrage of (sometimes all caps) emails that are generated before each appointment to confirm timing, reconfirm timing, and then confirm insurance. I understand that it takes a lot to run an office, but I’ve never encountered another front office whose front office is so optimized for its own needs and not those of the patients. Ken comes across as logical and thoughtful — but downright mean if you don’t follow the over-​the-​top rules he has.
I’ve left the office several times over the years saying «never again» only to come back because Dr. Lin and his hygienists care is so good. I will visit again (and will grit my teeth at the response that will come if I do something that Ken doesn’t like).
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
Best dentist I had in the U.S.
I went to see Dr. Lin for general dental checkup and 100% enjoyed the experience. After being helped to X-​rays by a very sweet dental assistant and having Dr. Lin examined my teeth, he sat down with me to explain what is going on inside my mouth and explained all the X-​rays and pictures and assessments that he had performed and gave me advice on how to improve my oral condition.
The office is very nice and clean and in a good neighbourhood. Everyone at the office was very friendly and polite. Overall 5 star experience and can’t wait to come back for my cleaning next week!
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
Dr. Lin is an amazing and patient Dentist. He seem very organized and I have never waited to long to see him when I needed to see him. His way of making me feel comfortable puts me at ease and is a nice welcome. Thank you Dr. Lin! As for the office, It is very clean and well maintained. BTW, There is free parking!
Place rating: 4
San Francisco, CA
Dr. Lin is thorough, pleasant, and tech-​savvy and his clinical staff are great. However in the long run I hope to find another dentist because of the office manager, Ken and the overall communication style of the office (I don’t know if the tone comes from Ken or Dr. Lin himself). Some examples:
Before my first appointment (hell, even before I *made* my first appointment), I received a slew of emails with a VERY AGGRESSIVE tone involving lots of ALL CAPS, underlining, bold italics, etc. informing me of the office rules and regulations such as the cancellation policy, tardiness policy, which parking spaces I’m allowed to use, etc. I am a rule follower and appreciate knowing the rules. However the style of these emails was EXTREMELY HEAVY HANDED. They also sent increasingly histrionic requests for re-​confirming my appointment (I was traveling and failed to respond initially) while also informing me that failure to confirm did not constitute cancellation. Overall I felt they had already labeled me as a scofflaw before even meeting me.
I arrived 15 minutes early for my appointment to ensure enough time to be let into the parking garage, however Ken was actually not there yet. Eventually he arrived and told me which space to use. Apparently I misheard, because in the middle of my exam he burst into the room to ask whether I parked in the wrong space. (It was a different space belonging to them, and I didn’t have to move the car. So I felt like he was just pointedly letting me know I messed up.)
Upon getting into the office I was asked whether I had brought the filled out forms they sent me ahead of time. Even though I’m a rule follower I had neglected to do this, probably because I was so overwhelmed with the slew of emails from their office. I said as much to Ken and he responded condescendingly with, «Well, we *are* a medical office.» Nice. Yes, I have visited plenty of other medical offices before. And they didn’t get all huffy if I showed up without my HIPAA form.
One more small example. On my second visit they gave me a CD with images of my mouth, with all the flaws circled and labeled, that caused me to reflect morosely on my mortality. When handing me this CD Ken said something vague like «Here’s the CD they told you about.» I said something like, «Oh, I don’t know about a CD.» And his response was «I’m *sure* they told you about the CD.» In a tone of voice like, you are a moron, case closed, end of story.
It’s really a shame this guy is so patient-​hostile because the rest of the staff are great.
Place rating: 1
Berkeley, CA
I said — enough is enough! The Office Manager here is rude and uprofessional. He did it once and I let it go. But the second time, I said, what is wrong with this person? I went back to my old dentist (who was in Oakland and farther away from me) and I was so happy because I missed the kind of service and care they gave me. I asked myself — why did I ever leave him? I went to Dr. Lin’s office for 3 years because it was a convenient location from my office but I just could not take the rudeness and sort of arrogance (for what reason?) of this man. I agree with everyone who said this Office Manager is rude — he is very, very rude!!!
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
If there were more stars Dr. Lin would get them!
Dr. Lin is so good I flew my mom in to get work done. My mom had her partials and crown looked at/​worked on, and I couldn’t be more relieved she had a trusted dentist working on her.
He’s the best in town with the latest technology and knowledge.
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
It took me a long time to come back to Doctor Paul. But that because he took care my teeth so well last time so I don’t have to come back for fixing anything for second and the third appointment. This time doctor Paul did some filling on my teeth and the whole process went smooth as silk and as painless as it could be.
Everyone here is so professional and knows what they’re doing.
They are so thoughtful, they put lip palm to protect my lips from getting too dry from open my mount for too long and put a gum and tongue protection, showed me before and after picture of my teeth after the operation. These are just small examples that show of how considerate they were for me.
It’s not fun when you think of going back to see the dentist but doctor Pual and team made my second visit this time as wonderful as my first time years ago.
5 stars then and 5 stars NOW!
Place rating: 1
Palo Alto, CA
Terrible service, I tried to make an appointment they made it more complicated than mortgage application
Place rating: 5
Los Angeles, CA
My own expertise was initially class, but my own costs additionally healthy what a top class costs would appear like. Prior to My friend and i came into Medical professional. Salimi’s company, My friend and i presented the leading table employees my own insurance policies facts along with ensured prior to My friend and i got as my own company visit will be included to get a regimen, washing along with x-​ray assessment: that they assured me personally it was along with My friend and i got set for my own visit in August.
A month in the future, My friend and i received a costs for $ 272 because my own insurance policies did not include my own visit in support of paid for area of the costs. Now i am trapped spending as much as My friend and i would’ve experienced My friend and i also been self-​pay affected individual along with along with a smaller amount $ 272.
There members was excellent and for that reason was physician.
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
I’ve lived in lots of cities across the US and Europe and I can honestly say that Dr. Lin was the best dentist I ever saw. He’s thorough, professional and technically strong. He even won’t do work if he doesn’t feel it’s necessary (how often does that happen).
Highly recommended.
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
I’ve been going to Dr. Lin for several years. It’s always been a good experience. The office is well-​run, the staff is friendly, you can park in their garage, the dentistry stuff is high tech, and Dr. Lin takes time to go over everything with you so you understand what’s going on with your teeth.
I feel like I am in very good hands there.
Place rating: 1
San Francisco, CA
Horrible!!! I went in to make an appt. while my partner was having his teeth cleaned. There was no one in the waiting room on this saturday morning and the front desk person said oh yeah eric is in having his teeth cleaned and handed me a business card and said go online and make an appt yourself. Who does this? My partner came out and was told we can’t accommodate your follow up until may 2013. Screw u!!! Rude and unaccommodating ! Never ever again!
Ps I called back later trying to book and was told go online again. I said I had been in the office before and noticed that there was noone taking hos time up and he said well that’s just unfortunate and hung up!
Place rating: 2
San Francisco, CA
It’s tempting to give one star to this practice, but the reality is that if you leave Ken Craig, the office manager, out of the assessment, it’s pretty clear that they do their primary job of dentistry well – well enough to deserve four stars, even.
Unfortunately, flaws like Ken and his consistent difficulty with customer care and bookkeeping drag down the average. But as tempting as it is to blame Mr. Craig exclusively for his condescending behavior, to do so would be a mistake of sorts.
Yes, Mr. Craig is incapable of acknowledging his mistakes and offering apology. Yes, he would prefer, instead, to rudely pursue his course despite being demonstrably in the wrong. No, however, the fault does not lie with him.
Dr. Lin’s office must on some level aspire to this sort of customer handling, as it consistently tolerates such behavior and in so doing promotes a culture of hostility toward the people who support it. It would be one thing if Ken was a new hire, but he is not. We can only assume that Dr. Lin has groomed his office manager to behave in a manner consistent with office standards. As such, we can only conclude that Dr. Lin thinks very little of his patients and shares Mr. Craig’s view that they are beneath him.
Place rating: 5
Oakland, CA
I’ve been going to Dr. Lin for 3 years now, and feel bad that I haven’t posted a review yet.
Dr. Lin and his staff are awesome. All of their x-​rays and photographs are digital so that your dental progress over time can be compared and tracked, and it was really cool last week to see how my gum health has improved (!) over time.
There was a time when I needed to see someone immediately, and Dr. Lin had me come by in 30 minutes. There was another unfortunate incident in which I had to had to be referred to a specialist and they were great.
Yes, some people do complain about the initial sign up, and I remember having some issues around that too, but it was well worth working through!