DENTAL OFFICE OTANI (Dental Office Otani)

According to our open methodology, this clinic scored 54.4/100 for transparency, reputation, service accessibility, and digital visibility.

Overall rank: #16 of 21 ranked clinics · Last checked: 6 September 2026

54.4/100

Positions by Rating Profile

  • Overall Transparency & Trust#1654.4/100
  • Best for Expats#1751.5/100
  • Best for Dental Implants#1149/100
  • Best for Emergency Dental Carenot ranked
  • Best Price Transparency#1838.3/100
  • Best English-speaking Clinics#1455.7/100
  • Best for Families / Childrennot ranked
  • Sleep Dentistry (GA / deep sedation)not ranked

General Anaesthesia & Deep Sedation

Whether the clinic documents treatment under general anaesthesia or deep / twilight sedation — "sleep dentistry", where the patient is asleep and unaware (does not feel, see, or hear the procedure). Ordinary conscious sedation, where the patient stays awake and responsive, does not count here. This is informational and does not affect the transparency score.

  • ? General anaesthesia / deep sedation (sleep dentistry) — Not verified The services page says surgery is performed under sedation in cooperation with an anaesthetist; the depth is not published and the page does not claim general anaesthesia.

See all clinics offering sleep dentistry →

Summary

Umeda practice led by Dr. Takafumi Otani, a US board-trained prosthodontist (University of Washington MSD, formerly in private practice in Seattle, clinical associate professor at Osaka University) who opened the clinic in 2017 under a medical corporation (iryo hojin). The clinic documents a separate operating room for implant and periodontal surgery with patient monitoring, an in-house dental laboratory with a full-time technician, a Carl Zeiss microscope, dental CT and digital radiography, and states that surgery is carried out under sedation in cooperation with an anaesthetist. It publishes a detailed treatment-philosophy and services site in Japanese with a short English mirror, but no fees at all.

Strengths

  • Information Transparency: 20 of 20 points.
  • No red flags identified in public sources.

Weaknesses

  • Price Transparency: 0 of 3 verifiable points (missing: prices or price ranges published)
  • AI & Search Visibility: 2 of 10 verifiable points (missing: mentioned for: best dentist Japan; mentioned for: English speaking dentist Japan; mentioned for: dental implants Japan; mentioned for: emergency dentist Japan; mentioned for: Japan dental clinic for expats; structured data on website; dedicated service pages)

Score Breakdown

Every criterion below is scored from public sources. ✓ verified yes · ✗ verified no / not found · ◐ partial · ? unverified (scores 0, not a negative finding).

Information Transparency

20 / 20

Whether basic facts about the clinic - its team, premises, services, and location - are publicly verifiable.

✓ Has a working website [s1] 4/4
✓ Dentist names listed Takafumi Otani, director (incho), PhD in dentistry and US board-trained prosthodontist, is named with a full CV and publication list. [s2] 3/3
✓ Dentist specializations listed US prosthodontics residency (University of Washington), DDS/MSD/PhD, clinical associate professor at Osaka University; the site also states an implant-certified dentist trained in the United States is on staff full time. [s2] 2/2
✓ Real clinic photos Gallery section with photographs of the treatment rooms, operating room, counselling room and in-house laboratory. [s2] 2/2
✓ Service list published Caries, endodontics, periodontal treatment, periodontal surgery and regeneration, prosthetics for missing teeth, implants, aesthetic prosthetics and whitening. [s3] 3/3
✓ Clear contact details Phone, e-mail address and address on every page. [s1] 2/2
✓ English website version English mirror of the home page; the detailed treatment pages are Japanese only. [s4] 2/2
✓ Address and map published [s1] 2/2

Price Transparency

0 / 15

Whether patients can estimate costs before visiting. Published price ranges count; exact prices are not required.

✗ Prices or price ranges published The site has three content sections (about, services, English) and no fee page; no figures are published. [s1] [s3] 0/3
? Cleaning price listed 0/2
? Filling price listed 0/2
? Crown price listed 0/2
? Implant price listed 0/2
? Consultation price listed 0/2
? X-ray / imaging price listed 0/2

Reputation & Reviews

12 / 20

Public review signals. The Google rating is adjusted with a Bayesian prior (rating 4.0, weight 25) so a 5.0 from a handful of reviews does not outrank a 4.8 from hundreds.

◐ Google rating (Bayesian-adjusted) Star histogram read live on 2026-09-06 from the place page: 47 five-star, 0 four-star, 0 three-star, 0 two-star, 2 one-star. The buckets sum to 49, matching the 49 in the place-page header exactly, and the weighted mean 4.837 reproduces the published 4.8. [gmp1] 5/6
◐ Google review volume Read live on 2026-09-06 from the place-page header; the star histogram sums to the same figure. [gmp1] 1/3
◐ Review recency Newest Google review is dated 2026-05-19 (listing read 2026-09-26). [dental-office-otani-umeda-osaka-gbp-2026-09-26] 1.5/3
? Clinic responds to reviews 0/2
✓ No recurring complaints No review in the visible sample is critical; the histogram carries two one-star ratings in 49 (4 per cent). Sample: the 3 reviews Google Maps renders on the place page in its own relevance order. A newest-first sort was not available; re-checking the Reviews tab returned the same three reviews, so no fresher slice is available. [gmp1] 2/2
✓ No suspicious review patterns Histogram shape, spread of wording and dates, and reviewer-account variety show no sign of manipulation. Sample: the 3 reviews Google Maps renders on the place page in its own relevance order. A newest-first sort was not available; re-checking the Reviews tab returned the same three reviews, so no fresher slice is available. [gmp1] 2/2
✗ Active Facebook presence The clinic's Facebook page has had no post since April 2020 and has no reviews; the clinic's website doo.or.jp is its working channel. [dental-office-otani-umeda-osaka-presence-2] 0/1
✗ TripAdvisor presence No TripAdvisor listing found via its search for "Dental Office Otani Osaka" and "Otani Dental"; the clinic's site does not link to TripAdvisor (checked 2026-10-05). [dental-office-otani-umeda-osaka-tripadvisor] [dental-office-otani-umeda-osaka-tripadvisor-2] 0/0.5
✓ Other review platforms Reviewed on Caloo, the Japanese clinic-review site: 1 member review (November 2017). [dental-office-otani-umeda-osaka-presence] 0.5/0.5

Medical Infrastructure

10 / 15

The range of publicly documented equipment and services. This measures documented availability, not clinical quality.

✓ On-site X-ray Digital radiography with immediate transfer to chairside monitors. [s2] 2/2
✓ CBCT (3D imaging) Dental cone-beam CT documented on the facility page. [s2] 2/2
✓ Implantology [s3] 2/2
✗ Orthodontics Not on the published service list; declared specialties in the Kinki Regional Bureau of Health and Welfare designation list are general dentistry (shika) and oral surgery (shika koku geka) only. [s3] [reg4] 0/2
✓ Oral surgery Periodontal surgery, bone and soft-tissue grafting, carried out in a dedicated operating room. [s3] [s2] 2/2
✗ Pediatric dentistry Not on the published service list; paediatric dentistry (shoni shika) is not among the declared specialties. [s3] [reg4] 0/1.5
? Emergency care 0/1.5
✓ Works with international patients English page and a team the clinic describes as trained and licensed in the United States. [s4] [s2] 2/2

Communication & Service

5 / 10

How easy it is to contact the clinic, get answers, and book - especially for international patients.

? WhatsApp / LINE available 0/2
? Response speed 0/1.5
✓ English spoken English page in the clinic's own voice; principal practised in Seattle and holds a US dental licence. [s4] [s2] 2.5/2.5
? Pre-visit consultation possible 0/1.5
✓ Clear service explanations [s3] 1/1
✓ Convenient opening hours Weekdays 10:00-14:00 and 16:00-20:00, Saturdays 9:00-13:00 and 14:00-17:00 — evening and Saturday cover, published on the home page. [s1] 1.5/1.5

AI & Search Visibility

2 / 10

Whether the clinic is discoverable when patients search - including via AI assistants. Checked with fixed queries: "best dentist Japan", "English speaking dentist Japan", "dental implants Japan", "emergency dentist Japan", "Japan dental clinic for expats".

✗ Mentioned for: best dentist Japan Web search 2026-09-06: not among results for "best dentist Osaka" (named results were DUO Specialists Dental Clinic, Minatomachi Dental Clinic, SMILE PLAN, Tokuoka Dental Clinic, Esaka Dental Clinic). [q1] 0/1
✗ Mentioned for: English speaking dentist Japan Web search 2026-09-06: not among results for "English speaking dentist Osaka" (named results were Yutaka Dental Clinic, Minatomachi Dental Clinic, Osaka Dental Clinic, NINE DENTAL CLINIC, Seo Dental Clinic, OsakaDentist.com). [q2] 0/1
✗ Mentioned for: dental implants Japan Web search 2026-09-06: not among results for "dental implants Osaka" (named results were Osaka Dental University Hospital, ZAGA Center Osaka, Smile Plan Dental Group, DUO Specialists Dental Clinic). [q3] 0/1
✗ Mentioned for: emergency dentist Japan Web search 2026-09-06: not among results for "emergency dentist Osaka" (named results were Osaka Shinsaibashi Evening Dental, NINE DENTAL CLINIC, Yanagida Dental Clinic/OsakaDentist.com, Fujita Dental Clinic, Esaka Dental Clinic). [q4] 0/1
✗ Mentioned for: Japan dental clinic for expats Web search 2026-09-06: not among results for "Osaka dental clinic for expats" (named results were Y & Y Dental Clinic, Kono Dental Clinic, Minatomachi Dental Clinic, NINE DENTAL Clinic, OsakaDentist.com, Tokuoka Dental Clinic). [q5] 0/1
✗ Structured data on website No JSON-LD or microdata found in the served HTML. [s1] 0/1.5
✓ Google indexing quality own domain doo.or.jp takes the top two results plus its about and treatment pages (4 of 12), ahead of the Haisha-Yoyaku and EPARK booking directories and Osaka municipal provider lists (web search 2026-09-07) [giq1] 2/2
✗ Dedicated service pages All treatments are described on a single tabbed page. [s3] 0/1.5

Licensing & Credentials

Whether the clinic publishes its operating licence and the dentists working there together with their professional licence numbers. A verified “not published” is recorded as a red flag; data we have not checked yet is shown as unverified and carries no penalty.

Clinic operating licence: Institution code 41-07929 — designated health-insurance dental clinic, designation date 2017-03-01, declared specialties dentistry and oral and maxillofacial surgery, per the Kinki Regional Bureau of Health and Welfare Osaka dental designation list as of 2026-09-01; operator a medical corporation, chaired by a person not named in Latin script on this card; managing dentist Takafumi Otani. Also registered as a dental clinic in the MHLW Healthcare Information Net under facility code 3270081040, record last updated 2026/1/22. [reg1] [reg4] [reg2]

Dentists & MHLW register entry

DentistSpecializationMHLW entryNotes
大谷 恭史 (Takafumi Otani) [s2] [reg1] [reg3] [reg4]Principal and managing dentist; PhD in Dentistry, University of Washington MSD in prosthodontics, US dental licence, clinical associate professor at Osaka University Faculty of Dentistrynot publishedConfirmed on the public register of 厚生労働省; registered since 2004, no licence number is published.

Red Flags

No red flags identified in the public sources we reviewed.

Data We Could Not Verify

  • Price Transparency: Cleaning price listed
  • Price Transparency: Filling price listed
  • Price Transparency: Crown price listed
  • Price Transparency: Implant price listed
  • Price Transparency: Consultation price listed
  • Price Transparency: X-ray / imaging price listed
  • Reputation & Reviews: Clinic responds to reviews
  • Medical Infrastructure: Emergency care
  • Communication & Service: WhatsApp / LINE available
  • Communication & Service: Response speed
  • Communication & Service: Pre-visit consultation possible

Unverified items score 0 points but are not treated as negative findings. If you can document any of them, please send a correction.

Contact Information

Websitehttp://www.doo.or.jp/
Phone+81 6-4802-0070
Google MapsMap listing
Address〒530-0012 大阪府大阪市北区芝田2-2-1 OSAKA UK GATE 3F (2-2-1 Shibata, Kita-ku, Osaka 530-0012)

Contact details are provided for identification only and may change; verify with the clinic directly.

Sources

IDSourceWhat it supportsAccessed
s1http://www.doo.or.jp/Clinic name, address, opening hours, contact e-mail, insurance acceptance2026-09-04
s2http://www.doo.or.jp/about/Named principal with CV, clinic philosophy, facility and equipment (operating room, CT, digital X-ray, microscope, in-house laboratory), premises photographs2026-09-04
s3http://www.doo.or.jp/whatwedo/Published service list and sedation arrangements2026-09-04
s4http://www.doo.or.jp/en/English version of the site2026-09-04
reg1https://www.iryou.teikyouseido.mhlw.go.jp/znk-web/juminkanja/S2430/…MHLW Healthcare Information Net (Navii) — the statutory facility register kept under Medical Care Act Article 6-3: official name, operator (a medical corporation), managing dentist Takafumi Otani, address, phone, last updated 2026/1/222026-09-04
reg2https://data.e-gov.go.jp/data/dataset/iryou_teikyouseido_mhlwMHLW open data 03-1_dental_facility_info_20251201.csv (snapshot 2025-12-01) — facility ID 2733270081040, official name, address and website2026-09-04
reg3https://licenseif.mhlw.go.jp/search_isei/jsp/top.jspMHLW physician/dentist qualification confirmation search (dentist register), snapshot 2026-09-042026-09-04
reg4https://kouseikyoku.mhlw.go.jp/kinki/tyousa/shinkishitei.htmlKinki Regional Bureau of Health and Welfare Osaka dental designation list as of 2026-09-01 (5,240 institutions read to the last row): institution code, founder, managing dentist, declared specialties and designation date2026-09-04
gmp1https://www.google.com/maps/place/DENTAL+OFFICE+OTANI/@34.705305,13…Live Google Maps place page read in a browser: rating, review count, star histogram, review dates, owner replies, listing website, phone, address and pin coordinates2026-09-06
q1search:best dentist OsakaAI/search visibility scout — canonical query2026-09-06
q2search:English speaking dentist OsakaAI/search visibility scout — canonical query2026-09-06
q3search:dental implants OsakaAI/search visibility scout — canonical query2026-09-06
q4search:emergency dentist OsakaAI/search visibility scout — canonical query2026-09-06
q5search:Osaka dental clinic for expatsAI/search visibility scout — canonical query2026-09-06
giq1search:DENTAL OFFICE OTANI 梅田 大阪 Dental Office Otani Umedaown domain doo.or.jp takes the top two results plus its about and treatment pages (4 of 12), ahead of the Haisha-Yoyaku and EPARK booking directories and Osaka municipal provider lists2026-09-07
dental-office-otani-umeda-osaka-gbp-2026-09-26https://www.google.com/maps?cid=10385196634926297528&hl=enGoogle listing read on 2026-09-26: rating 4.8 from 49 reviews; star histogram 1★ 2 / 2★ 0 / 3★ 0 / 4★ 0 / 5★ 47; newest review dated 2026-05-19.2026-09-26
dental-office-otani-umeda-osaka-presencehttps://caloo.jp/hospitals/detail/4270005165Caloo page for Dental Office Otani (Medical Corporation Rokushikai), Osaka UK Gate 3F, 2-2-1 Shibata, Kita-ku, Osaka, phone 06-4802-0070 — the card's address and phone: 1 member review, score 3.44, posted November 2017 (read 2026-10-02)2026-10-02
dental-office-otani-umeda-osaka-presence-2https://www.facebook.com/DooUmeda/Facebook page "Dental Office OTANI" (69 followers), read 2026-10-02; newest post 2020-04-13; Not yet rated (0 reviews); address 2-2-1 Shibata, OSAKA UK GATE 3F, Kita-ku, Osaka (given in Japanese); phone +81 6-4802-0070; website doo.or.jp, the clinic's own site; one post in all2026-10-02
dental-office-otani-umeda-osaka-tripadvisorhttps://www.tripadvisor.com/TypeAheadJson?action=API&details=true&q…TripAdvisor's own search, read 2026-10-05: 12 suggestions for "Dental Office Otani Osaka" (5 attractions, 4 hotels, 3 restaurants), none of them a dental practice in or near Osaka; 12 suggestions for "Otani Dental" (5 attractions, 7 hotels), none of them a dental practice in or near Osaka; no listing for this clinic2026-10-05
dental-office-otani-umeda-osaka-tripadvisor-2http://www.doo.or.jp/Clinic's website, home page read 2026-10-05: no link to a TripAdvisor page2026-10-05

Change History

DateChange
2026-10-05TripAdvisor presence checked on 2026-10-05: no listing found for this clinic.
2026-10-02Facebook presence re-checked on 2026-10-02: the clinic's Facebook page is inactive.
2026-10-02Presence re-checked: presence on other review platforms — yes.
2026-09-29Corrected 2026-09-29: clinic responds to reviews now unverified: only 3 reviews were checked for owner replies; review recency within a year (newest review dated 2026-05-19).
2026-09-09Sedation criterion re-read against methodology 1.4.0, which counts only general anaesthesia or deep intravenous sedation where the patient is asleep and unaware. The services page says surgery is performed under sedation in cooperation with an anaesthetist; the depth is not published and the page does not claim general anaesthesia. The value moves from true to unknown: the earlier reading credited sedation that is not documented as deep enough, and the published wording settles the question neither way.
2026-09-06Checked by hand in a browser: the Google Maps place page was opened in a real browser and read for rating, review count, star histogram, review recency, owner replies, complaint and manipulation reading, listing website, phone, address and pin coordinates; the checks that needed a rendering browser were worked through on the clinic's own channels.
2026-09-04Adversarial verification pass 2026-09-04: geo added from the MHLW Iryo Joho Net open data (snapshot 2025-12-01, facility ID 2733270081040); the Kinki Regional Bureau of Health and Welfare Osaka dental list re-downloaded and re-read to the last of its 5,240 rows, entry 3164 (institution code 41-07929, designated Heisei 29.3.1 = 2017-03-01, operator: a medical corporation (iryo hojin) whose chairman has the same surname in kanji as the director; managing dentist Takafumi Otani) reproduced exactly; the principal's register entry (Heisei 16 = 2004) reproduced live.
2026-09-04Initial data collection for the Japan Dental Transparency & Trust Index: verified against the clinic's own website, the Kinki Regional Bureau of Health and Welfare health-insurance designation list, the MHLW Iryo Joho Net facility register and its open-data twin, and the MHLW dentist qualification search.

A question or a correction?

Have a question, a suggestion, or a correction to this page? Get in touch — we read every message. Verified data corrections are reviewed against sources and applied with a public change-history entry.

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