Dentist in Albany: The Solano Avenue Guide
Total Health Dental Care on Solano Avenue is a general, cosmetic, and restorative dental office at 1396 Solano Avenue, Albany, CA 94706. The direct line is (510) 525-5510, and the office is open Tuesday through Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. It serves Albany, North Berkeley, El Cerrito, and Kensington, with free street parking around the office and a short walk from El Cerrito Plaza BART. Dr. Yousif Tolla leads the practice. If you do not have dental insurance, the in-house membership plan starts at $300 a year, and you get your price in writing before any treatment begins.
Last updated: August 8, 2026
Where is the dentist on Solano Avenue in Albany?
The office sits at 1396 Solano Avenue, in the middle of the Solano Avenue commercial strip in Albany, surrounded by the cafes, bakeries, and shops that make up the street. Solano Avenue runs roughly a mile from Berkeley through Albany and ends near San Pablo Avenue, so the address is walkable from most of the neighborhood rather than parked on a highway frontage road.
The essentials:
- Address: 1396 Solano Avenue, Albany, CA 94706
- Phone: (510) 525-5510
- Hours: Tuesday through Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm
- Parking: free street parking around the office
- Booking: online 24/7 at the scheduling page, or by phone
The four-day schedule is worth knowing before you call. If you need a Monday appointment or a same-day emergency slot, the practice has twelve other offices, and the nearest ones are listed further down this page.
Who does the Albany dental office serve?
Albany is a small city, roughly two square miles, wedged between Berkeley and El Cerrito. A dental office on Solano Avenue draws from a wider circle than the city limits suggest:
- Albany residents across the Garfield and Westbrae-adjacent blocks, plus the neighborhoods below Albany Hill.
- North Berkeley households in Thousand Oaks, Westbrae, and the upper Solano corridor, where Solano Avenue is already the closest shopping street.
- El Cerrito residents near El Cerrito Plaza, which sits directly on the Albany border.
- Kensington households coming down the hill on Colusa or Arlington.
In practice that means a lot of homeowners, long-term renters, retirees, and small-business owners rather than a transient population. It also means a lot of people in their forties, fifties, and sixties who are dealing with the accumulated version of dental problems: an old crown that failed, gum recession, years of clenching, a root canal that got postponed. That is the group this office is built for.
How do you get to Solano Avenue and where do you park?
Parking is the honest advantage here. Solano Avenue has free street parking, and the blocks north and south of the avenue add more. You do not need a garage, a validation stamp, or a parking app for a dental cleaning.
By transit, El Cerrito Plaza BART is the closest station. From the station you can follow the path under the elevated BART tracks into Albany and turn onto Solano Avenue. AC Transit Route 18 runs along Solano Avenue itself, and North Berkeley BART is the other practical station if you are coming from the south.
By car, San Pablo Avenue and Interstate 80 both feed into the west end of Solano, and Marin Avenue runs parallel one block south if Solano is backed up.
What dental services are available at the Albany office?
The Albany office lists a full general practice rather than a cleanings-only satellite. Its own service list covers:
- Preventive care: teeth cleanings, dental exams, routine oral health monitoring, and fluoride treatments.
- Restorative care: same-day crowns, dental implants, and root canal treatment.
- Oral surgery: wisdom teeth removal.
- Gum care: periodontics and gum treatment.
- Cosmetic and orthodontic: Invisalign, traditional braces, professional whitening, bonding, and Botox treatment.
- Other: sleep apnea treatment, family dentistry, and emergency dental care.
Anything that needs a specialist, such as complex endodontics, oral surgery, periodontal surgery, or orthodontics, is handled in-house by the practice rather than referred to an outside office you have to find and vet yourself. The specialists work out of the Rotunda Specialty Center in downtown Oakland.
Who is the dentist at the Albany office?
Dr. Yousif Tolla is the general dentist at the Albany practice. His stated focus is a calm, welcoming environment for patients who find dental visits stressful. He takes time to listen, explains procedures clearly, and moves at a pace that respects each patient's comfort level.
That matters more than it sounds. Dental anxiety is one of the most common reasons people in their forties and fifties end up with an expensive problem instead of a cheap one: the visit gets postponed, the small cavity becomes a root canal, and the root canal becomes an extraction. If avoidance is the pattern you are trying to break, read our guide on how to find a gentle dentist before you book.
You can see the full clinical team on the doctors page.
Which Total Health office is closest to you?
If Albany does not fit your schedule, or you live on the Berkeley side of the line, these are the nearest offices in the group.
| Office | Address | Closest for |
|---|---|---|
| Albany | 1396 Solano Avenue, Albany, CA 94706 | Albany, upper Solano, El Cerrito, Kensington |
| Telegraph | 3017 Telegraph Ave. Suite 300, Berkeley, CA 94705 | Elmwood and South Berkeley |
| Dana Street | 2522 Dana St. Suite 101, Berkeley, CA 94704 | Central and Southside Berkeley |
| Emeryville | 2334 Powell St., Emeryville, CA 94608 | Powell Street, Bay Street, West Berkeley |
| Rotunda Specialty Center | 300 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza Suite 100, Oakland, CA 94612 | Specialists and urgent or same-day pain visits |
What if you do not have dental insurance in Albany?
Two paths, and neither one requires guessing at the cost.
If you have a PPO, the practice takes every major plan, including Delta Dental, MetLife, Cigna, Aetna, Guardian, Principal, Anthem Blue Cross, UMR, and Beam. Benefits get verified before the visit, so the numbers are ready before you sit in the chair. If your plan is not on the list, your first visit is free.
If you are paying out of pocket, the in-house membership plan replaces insurance:
- Standard Cleaning Plan, $300 a year. Two professional cleanings with ozone treatment included, plus unlimited exams and X-rays. No deductibles, no copays, no claim forms.
- Loyalty Plan, $600 a year. Everything above, plus 50% off every treatment, including crowns, fillings, extractions, and root canals, and direct access to the in-house specialists with no referrals. It carries a two-year commitment. Loyalty Plan members can get up to $2,000 off dental implants.
Either way, you see the exact cost in writing before treatment starts. For the full math on which option wins, see membership plan versus insurance and what dental work really costs without insurance in the East Bay. Plan details are on the membership page.
Where do you go for a dental emergency near Albany?
The Albany office handles emergency dental care during its Tuesday to Friday hours. Outside those hours, or when the Albany schedule is full, call the main line at (510) 495-1075 and ask for a pain appointment. New patients booking online for pain or emergency are routed to the Rotunda Specialty Center in downtown Oakland, which is the practice's intake office for urgent care and where the specialists work. That is also what makes same-day root canals, extractions, and implants possible instead of a two-week wait for a referral.
Go to an emergency room instead, not a dental office, if you have facial trauma, swelling that is spreading toward your eye or throat, difficulty breathing or swallowing, or uncontrolled bleeding. Those are medical emergencies first.
Related reading: emergency dentist in Berkeley and same-day dentistry in the East Bay.
How should you choose a dentist in Albany?
Most dentists are honest. The differences that actually affect your bill and your calendar are structural, so ask about those:
- Will you get the price in writing before treatment? A written estimate before the drill is the single best protection against a surprise bill, insured or not.
- Are specialists in-house or referred out? A referral to an outside endodontist or oral surgeon usually adds two to four weeks and a second set of exam fees.
- Do the hours match your life? A four-day office is fine for planned care and awkward for emergencies. Ask what happens when you need a Monday.
- What happens if you disagree with the plan? A practice that welcomes a second opinion is telling you something about how it diagnoses. Our guide to reading a dental treatment plan shows what to look for.
- How do they handle anxious patients? If you have avoided the dentist for years, this question matters more than the technology list.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a dentist on Solano Avenue in Albany?
Yes. Total Health Dental Care is at 1396 Solano Avenue, Albany, CA 94706, on the Solano Avenue commercial strip. The phone number is (510) 525-5510 and the hours are Tuesday through Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Do I need dental insurance to be seen in Albany?
No. The practice takes every major PPO, and if your plan is not accepted your first visit is free. If you have no insurance at all, the in-house membership plan is $300 a year for the Standard Cleaning Plan or $600 a year for the Loyalty Plan, which adds 50% off treatment.
Is there parking near the Albany dental office?
Yes. There is free street parking around 1396 Solano Avenue and on the residential blocks just off the avenue. El Cerrito Plaza BART is the nearest station, and AC Transit Route 18 runs along Solano Avenue.
What if I need a dentist on a Monday or in an emergency?
The Albany office is open Tuesday through Friday. For care outside those days, call (510) 495-1075 and ask for the nearest available appointment, or book a pain appointment, which routes to the Rotunda Specialty Center in downtown Oakland.
Where can you find us across the East Bay?
Total Health Dental Care has 13 offices. Twelve are in the East Bay and one is on the Peninsula in Belmont:
- Old Oakland
- 15th Street, Oakland
- Grand Avenue, Oakland
- Temescal, Oakland
- Montclair, Oakland
- Dana Street, Berkeley
- Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley
- Albany, on Solano Avenue
- Emeryville
- Piedmont Avenue, Oakland
- Marina Village, Alameda
- Belmont
- Rotunda Specialty Center, downtown Oakland
To book in Albany, call (510) 525-5510, or schedule online at any of the 13 offices. The main line is (510) 495-1075.
