Best Dentists on the North Shore
We assessed 21 dentists on the North Shore and ranked the top 5 on public rating quality, review volume and how recent the reviews are. The businesses listed below hold 3,689 Google reviews between them. No business can pay for a place in these rankings. Last updated 13 August 2026. How we rank →
Before you hire
Dental fees in NZ are unregulated and vary widely between practices, so the same treatment can cost very differently across town. Ask for a written treatment plan with itemised costs before agreeing to anything, check whether the dentist is registered with the Dental Council of New Zealand, and ask how after-hours emergencies are handled.
Top 5 Dentists on the North Shore
The top 5 dentists on the North Shore are #1 North Shore Dental, #2 Coast Dental, #3 The Tooth Doctor, #4 Auckland Family Dental Milford, and #5 Northmed Dental, ranked by Top5 score. Scroll for our take on each, plus what to ask before you choose.
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1
North Shore Dental
verifiedVerified★ 4.9 804 reviews +15 Top5 Score 199 +145★ 755 4★ 29 3★ 7 2★ 4 1★ 9North Shore Dental gets nervous children and anxious adults through fillings, hygiene appointments, and emergency repairs feeling looked after rather than dreading the next visit. When a tooth breaks, they move quickly, fitting urgent cases within a day or two and completing the repair the same afternoon.
location_on 761 Beach Road, Browns Bay, Auckland schedule Mon 8am–6pm · Tue–Fri 8am–5pm · Sat–Sun Closed
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2
Coast Dental
★ 4.9 566 reviews +18 Top5 Score 192 +125★ 542 4★ 11 3★ 4 2★ 1 1★ 8Coast Dental covers hygiene cleans, tooth extractions, and same-day emergency appointments, with named hygienists like Gabby and Jelena drawing repeat patients who book their next clean before leaving. Jelena and Gabby both take time mid-appointment to explain what they are doing and offer personalised home-care tips, so patients leave with a clearer sense of what to do between visits.
location_on 160 Carlisle Road, Northcross, Auckland
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3
The Tooth Doctor
↑ 3★ 5.0 217 reviews +7 Top5 Score 178 +85★ 216 4★ 1The Tooth Doctor draws patients through extractions, thorough examinations, and multi-clinician care, with Adrian, Anna, Tristan, and Sophia each named by patients who travelled from as far as Whangarei to return. Step-by-step explanation is built into every appointment, with clinicians walking patients through findings, reasoning, and next steps rather than leaving them to guess.
location_on Lower Ground - Northcare Accident and Medical 5 Home Place, Rosedale, Auckland
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4
Auckland Family Dental: Milford
↑ 1★ 4.9 332 reviews +2 Top5 Score 177 +45★ 315 4★ 7 2★ 2 1★ 8Auckland Family Dental Milford draws patients through hygiene cleans, crown repairs, night guards, and general dentistry, with named clinicians like Kave, Grace, Michael, Tiffany, and Nick each building strong individual followings. Their hygienists pick up problems mid-clean, with one catching a cracked tooth before it needed a root canal, and dentists take a holistic approach that extends to general wellbeing advice alongside the clinical work.
location_on 2 Dodson Avenue, Milford, Auckland
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5
Northmed Dental
↓ 1★ 4.9 397 reviews Top5 Score 176 +15★ 378 4★ 8 3★ 1 2★ 2 1★ 8Northmed Dental carries patients through fillings, extractions, wisdom tooth removal, and multi-year orthodontic work, with named clinicians like Dima, Wendy, AJ, and Michael each drawing strong repeat loyalty. Payment plans have made lengthy treatment courses accessible for patients who would otherwise have delayed care, and sedation is available for those who find dental visits difficult.
location_on 12/3 Akoranga Drive, Northcote, Auckland
Other suburbs
Before you choose a dentist on the North Shore
Drawn from 305 customer reviews collected for this page. The first answer is what it costs.
What does dental treatment typically cost in New Zealand? expand_more
Adult dental care in New Zealand is largely user-pays, with no general government subsidy once you turn 18. A standard check-up and clean runs between $100 and $250, while fillings range from around $150 to $400 depending on size and material.
Crowns can cost $1,500 to $2,500 or more, and root canals often sit in a similar or higher range. Reviews from North Shore practices confirm this spread, with some patients noting costs felt reasonable and others describing fees as pricey but comparable to other local clinics.
Children under 18 are entitled to free basic dental treatment through the Community Dental Service or a private dentist enrolled in that scheme. If you cannot afford urgent treatment, Work and Income New Zealand (WINZ) offers emergency dental grants to eligible people, so it is worth calling them before putting off care. ACC covers dental treatment if the damage was caused by a physical accident, but decay, worn fillings, and routine work fall entirely outside that scheme.
How do I check that a dentist is registered and what to do if something goes wrong? expand_more
Every practising dentist in New Zealand must be registered with the Dental Council of New Zealand (DCNZ) and hold a current annual practising certificate, which you can verify for free on the public register at dentalcouncil.org.nz before you book. The register also covers dental hygienists, dental therapists, and clinical dental technicians, so you can check the specific practitioner doing your treatment, not just the practice name.
If something goes wrong, the Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC) investigates complaints about any health or disability provider under the Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994, and complaints can be lodged directly on the HDC website. For conduct matters, the Dental Council of New Zealand can also investigate, impose conditions, suspend, or remove a dentist's registration, giving you two separate pathways depending on the nature of your concern.
How do I avoid being sold treatment I do not need? expand_more
Ask for a written treatment plan with itemised costs and clearly stated alternatives before agreeing to anything beyond a basic check-up, since a good practice will offer this without being prompted. One review in this set described being advised to get a filling before a fuller investigation revealed the real problem was a different tooth needing a root canal, which is a reminder that a full-mouth X-ray at the start of a new patient relationship is reasonable and worth requesting.
A second opinion is entirely normal in New Zealand for any treatment costing several hundred dollars or more, and a trustworthy dentist will not pressure you against seeking one. X-rays, photographs, and written findings are your evidence: if a dentist recommends significant work but cannot show you what they are seeing, that is a reason to pause.
What are the warning signs of a dental practice you should avoid? expand_more
- –Pressure to commit to expensive treatment on the day, without time to review a written quote or consider alternatives.
- –No itemised cost breakdown provided before work begins, leaving you uncertain what you agreed to pay.
- –Poor communication after you have paid in full, such as failing to follow up on a lab item like a night guard or crown without you repeatedly chasing.
- –Receiving treatment, including fillings, without prior X-rays or adequate diagnostic checks, which reviews in this set flagged at more than one practice.
- –Rude or dismissive front-desk staff, since reception behaviour tends to reflect the culture of the whole practice.
- –Unresolved workmanship issues, such as fillings falling out, with no straightforward path to getting them fixed or refunded.
What should you ask before booking a dentist? expand_more
- –Ask what the first visit will cost in total, including X-rays and any examination fee, so there is no surprise charge when you arrive.
- –Ask whether you will receive a written treatment plan with costs and alternatives before any procedure is carried out.
- –Ask how the practice handles after-hours dental emergencies, since several reviews highlighted same-day or next-day access as a deciding factor.
- –Ask whether you will see the same dentist at each visit, as continuity matters for complex or ongoing treatment and for building trust over time.
- –Ask how they support nervous patients, because reviews across multiple North Shore practices specifically praised dentists who explained each step, moved at the patient's pace, and checked comfort throughout.
- –Ask whether they are enrolled in the Community Dental Service scheme if you have children under 18, since not every private practice participates.
Also recommended dentists on the North Shore
Ranked 6 to 10 on the same public review record.
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6
Bayside Dental Centre
↑ 1★ 4.9 254 reviews +4 Top5 Score 176 +65★ 235 4★ 13 3★ 1 1★ 5Bayside Dental Centre turns apprehensive patients through extractions, hygiene cleans, and ongoing dental treatment, with clinicians like Yasmin, Karime, and Xena named repeatedly by patients who say they have changed how they feel about dentist visits. A follow-up call after treatment and pricing that came in well under competitor quotes on extractions are two details patients specifically point to when recommending the practice.
location_on 86 Clyde Road, Browns Bay, Auckland
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7
East Coast Bays Dental
↑ 2★ 4.9 233 reviews +5 Top5 Score 175 +75★ 224 4★ 3 3★ 1 2★ 1 1★ 4East Coast Bays Dental builds the kind of patient loyalty that has people crossing Auckland, some for over 20 years, to stay with named dentists like Kent, Jane, and Sandra for check-ups, fillings, deep cleans, and complex crown-edge repairs. Kent in particular works through treatment decisions with patients rather than dictating them, adjusting appointments to suit those with long commutes.
location_on Level 1/15 Mercari Way, Albany, Auckland
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8
Elite Dental Care
★ 4.9 348 reviews Top5 Score 1745★ 330 4★ 8 3★ 1 2★ 1 1★ 8Elite Dental Care handles routine cleans, fillings, crowns, dentures, and orthodontic braces, with lead dentist Ramneek known for laying out options clearly and referring patients to specialists when the case calls for it. Anxious patients are actively accommodated, including being allowed to listen to music during treatment, and international patients have trusted Ramneek to build multi-appointment care plans timed around their travel to New Zealand.
location_on Unit 1/84 Don McKinnon Drive, Albany, Auckland
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9
Bays Dental
★ 4.8 158 reviews Top5 Score 1725★ 149 4★ 3 1★ 6Bays Dental takes families through fillings, root canals, orthodontic braces, and hygiene cleans, with Inah, Lance, and Camila each building long-term patient relationships spanning small children to grandparents. Lance in particular walks patients through treatment plans in plain terms, and Inah has corrected poor dental work done elsewhere, including for a nervous patient visiting from the UK.
location_on 4/252 Forrest Hill Road, Forrest Hill, Auckland
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10
Smile Dental - Albany
★ 4.5 380 reviews Top5 Score 1685★ 310 4★ 25 3★ 7 2★ 5 1★ 33Smile Dental brings anxious patients through extractions, fillings, and hygiene cleans with clinicians like Babu, Marcus, Cynthia, and Yuan each named by patients who left in less pain than they arrived. Saturday appointments are available, and urgent toothache cases have been assessed and resolved on the day, without needing a follow-up visit.
location_on 119 Apollo Drive, Albany, Auckland
About this ranking
What the 10 dentists listed above hold, at the 13 August 2026 check.
We first assessed dentists on the North Shore in June 2026 and have rechecked the ranking once since. Across the 14 locations we assess dentists in, the 140 businesses listed have a median rating of 4.9, and one-star reviews are 3.3% of their total.
What has changed since June 2026? expand_more
- Aug 2026
Scoring method updated. The Tooth Doctor entered the top 5, up from #6. Elite Dental Care, Bays Dental and Smile Dental entered the list.
- Jun 2026
First check. North Shore Dental #1.
How are the top dentists on the North Shore chosen? expand_more
We build this page from Google Maps results for dentists on the North Shore. Each one is scored on its public rating and review record. Businesses outside the area, or whose reviews describe a different line of work, are left out. A business whose website no longer resolves and that has had no Google review for six months is treated as dormant and left off the page until either changes. Every category and city is rechecked on a rolling cycle, about every two to three months. A location with a subscribing business is rechecked every month, and the whole page updates with it. See how we rank for the full method.
What does a business subscription offer? expand_more
No business can pay for a place in these rankings. Claiming and verifying a listing is free. It adds a phone number to the card and a small trust bonus (+3 points) to its score, for confirming a real operator stands behind the listing. The owner also gets a dashboard showing how their score is made up. A paid subscription provides an enhanced card with more ways to reach the business, including a website link and a detailed profile page. It also refreshes this page monthly and adds ranking history and competitor analysis to the owner's dashboard. The subscription adds nothing to the score. Claim your listing or see what a subscription includes.
Why isn't my business listed? expand_more
We build this page from Google Maps results for dentists on the North Shore. The usual reasons for missing out are a Google Business category that does not match, too few reviews to score near the top, or an address outside the area we cover. Sometimes we miss a business that should be here. Check where you rank first. If you are not there and think you should be, get in touch.