My negative review is for Dr. Alathari. I originally came to this practice for Dr. Alem, who was wonderful and I saw her for years, but she has since moved on to Metro Dental on F St and this practice has gone downhill. Dr. Alathari is so condescending and terrible with women. It drives me right up the wall. I went to him for orthodontic work, which was never fully completed and he made me feel like I was putting him out to try and get my teeth fully straight. I think he has very little experience with orthodontics and incorporated it into his practice to make more money relying on the aligner companies to tell him what to do. I asked him ahead of time if I should worry about gum recession and he said that would never happen - welp it did. The periodontist just shook his head hearing that Dr. Alathari didn't understand that was a common complication from moving the teeth. I also ended up with root reabsorption on a couple teeth that underwent the most movement. I was also not warned about this and it should have been caught by his X-rays but he never warned me. Now we're busy cleaning up Dr. Alathari's mess at my new dentist. The two stars are only for the hygienist, who was nice. read more

Doctor Humam performed my cleaning. Unfortunately, I don't think it was done well. The doctor also spent way too much time recommending other services. read more

She is great! By far one of the best dentists I have ever seen. She is very thorough with her cleanings. I would highly recommend her to anyone in the area. read more

I'm not happy about the 48hr cancellation policy and accompanying $85 fee, but they do have a notice of the policy posted in the office (although they don't include that astronomically high fee). Most offices have a 24hr cancellation policy. This is the first 48 hour policy I've encountered in the last 4 years. And the fee for late cancellations is usually $25, although I've seen as high as $50. $85 is absolutely insane. Despite this annoyance, the dentist and hygienist are still amazing and I think this is one of the better offices you'll encounter in DC (in terms of wait time, ease in booking an appointment, and office atmosphere). However, I am docking a full star due to a little show put on my the office manager during my appointment yesterday. My first visit to the office was in March for periodontal maintenance. I wound up getting a regular cleaning. The visit went well, and I appreciated the time the office manager spent with me explaining prices and going over what was covered in my treatment plan by medical insurance and what I would need to pay for out of pocket. She explained and documented in the summary report she gave me that 2 regular cleanings and 2 maintenance appointments were covered by my insurance. Maintenance appointments are essentially cleanings, so we discussed my coming to the office every 3-4 months. I kept the documentation she provided me for future use. During my second visit, I was supposed to receive (and had booked an appointment for) periodontal maintenance. Toward the end of the visit, I heard a discussion about the wrong code being used during my previous visit. They assured me that all would be taken care of and that I had nothing to worry about. I walked out of the visit feeling secure. Before booking my 3rd appointment for a cleaning, I checked the documentation I had been given by the office manager AND called my insurance agent to make sure that my next visits were covered. I received confirmation of this fact. When I show up, the office manager tries to convince me that I need to pay nearly $200 out of pocket for my visit. When I told her that my insurance said that it was covered, she said it wasn't. When I told her that she told me it was covered during my March visit, she said she didn't say that. When I asked her to pull up the documentation she'd given me which is in HER handwriting and states, "two regular cleanings are covered per 12 months; periodontal maintenance is covered at the same frequency," she said that I was reading it incorrectly and that it meant that the periodontal maintenance appointments REPLACE the cleanings. Number 1, that doesn't even make sense. The maintenance appointments are basically cleanings anyway- I just need to get them more frequently than others. So to have them REPLACE the cleanings... would mean that I was only eligible for 2 cleanings... like everyone else. WTF. Number 2, no one would read "periodontal maintenance appointments are covered at the same FREQUENCY" as the maintenance appointments replacing anything. We went back and forth for awhile before I realized how stupid this all was. I simply called the insurance agent again who once again confirmed that BOTH 2 cleanings AND 2 periodontal maintenance appointments were covered. The office manager accepted me verbally relaying this information and "made a note for my next visit." The fact that she didn't simply call the insurance company to verify the information herself leads me to believe that she was deliberately lying to me. I suspect that because of the mix-up in codes used during my first visit, properly classifying my maintenance appointments was going to cause them extra work or problems. That is simply not my responsibility and the fact that she attempted to defraud me, PISSES ME OFF. As I walked out of the office after my visit, she said, "I'll submit this to the insurance company and if they don't pay it, I'll just bill you." Chile, please. You lied, you knew you were lying, you got caught, and instead of apologizing, you get slick at the mouth? Mkay. I'll definitely be following up. read more

My dentist should be honest and shouldnt fix my teeth if they dont need to be fixed. That's exactly what I get from Dr Alem. She is very honest and I feel like I am getting professional dental services. I agree there are some shortcomings with regards to her office assistance. But I never was charged extra. I schedule my appointments and keep track of them on my calendar. I also make sure to check all charges and check with my insurance as I do with all my doctors bills. I have been receving dental care in the past 30 years and I think she is one of the best. read more

I have been Dr. Alem's patient for about 4 years and I highly recommend her! During these years I have done many things in her office, including a crown installation and gums cutting. Doctor always does a great job! My gums recovered super fast and I never had any problems with the crown. She is highly professional, punctual, and very experienced. There are a lot of good things about her office that I like, including: 1. the excellent quality of work 2. the friendly atmosphere 3. the good equipment 4. the office is super clean and everything is in the right order 5. prices are very reasonable and no "overcharging" 6. I never have to wait. Dr. Alem does not overbook herself, and rather reserves some time between appointements not to make patients wait. 7. My insurance, Aetna, works there. 8. Dr. Alem does her best in keeping excellent relaltionships with her patients. She prioratizes my needs. 9. Ani, Doctor's assistant, is very devoted to her job. She does Xrays very carefully and assists very well. 10. LaTanya does her best to make patients feel welcomed in the clinic. She is responsibe and always conveys my messages to Dr. Alem right away. The team makes me feel welcomed, prioritizes my needs, and does its best every time I enter the office. read more

I love Dr. Alem! I have been going to her for seven years, and she is by far one of the best dentists I have been to. She makes her patients feel comfortable about any procedure she recommends, and explains very clearly what needs to be done, why and how much it will cost. Her office is well-run, I have never enountered any discrepancy issues with the billing, and I have been very happy with all of the results of her dental work. I highly recommend her to anyone looking for a dentist in the DC area, whether it be for a routine appointment or for more extensive work! read more

I came to her office a little over a year ago and she basically cost me my tooth. I have never seen such unprofessional doctor, even though she has fancy equipment. I had a chipped tooth that i wanted to replace while i had dental insurance before I stared my graduate school in nyc. It took her 3 weeks to order the material, by the time she put it in I had a tooth infection. I was moving to NYC and the infection only became apparent after the material was placed. Furthermore she demanded that I should pay the remaining balance for the tooth, even though I had it taken out in NYC since it was hurting so much(I have already paid a big chunk of the cost and didn't even get an offer to get reimbursed). Fortunately, I got it x-rayed and was able to prove that she got it infected before she put in the new tooth, by sending in the x-rays. I want to doctor in NYC that X-rated the tooth and advised me to go to the clinic to get it removed asap, since "who ever did your tooth did a pretty bad job." I feel so abused even after a year, since I came in with a chippe tooth and now I don't have one at all. Looking back at the situation, such unfair practice is quite something. I just feel sad that I chose this doctor and lost my tooth, which was only chipped to begin with. Avoid her by all means, she is not a fair person, since if I was a doctor I would offer to do my client's tooth again. She cost me sooo much pain, money, and even humiliation, talking to her secretary explaining my situation while holding down all this tooth pain. I dont think that this doctor should practice dentistry. read more

I completely agree with the previous reviewer, the desk assistant "Latania" prepares the invoicing and sets up appointments. When I made the first appointment, I requested a survey and an estimate for the total costs of treatment. after a complete set of x-ray , I was presented with an estimate of $1,200 for 4 teeth that needed work. I went for 12 visits and each time my invoice came to $430 and $480. They also indicated that they were in my provider network (not true). Towards the 8th appointment, I asked for a summary of all the invoices but, I got none. I also indicated that their estimate did not include one of the tooth #15 that needed work. I was told that they were not asked for an estimate! However, indicated in the following appointment an estimate of $6,500 (implant). I paid a total of $6,200 for services + reimbursements from the insurance. the last service received was an onlay and it was the worse service ever, I was in pain for 2 weeks until it chipped off. So, the treatment cost was at least 10X more than the original estimate. I noticed that they would frequently change their service from filling to onlay, etc... also, pay attention to sentences like "we are providing you with the best material,,etc. It means the material, service is not covered by your insurance and you will pay a hefty price. read more