Malcolm Murray, DDS

Efficient, professional service with a smile. I make the trek from Baltimore to VA for my dental care! I recommend Dr. Murray to all of my friends, family and colleagues without reservation

This is simply the best dental experience you will ever have. Dr. Murray is the Rolls-​Royce of dentists. His techniques are virtually painless. He is able to clearly explain complex medical terms and procedures in a way that any patient can understand. The staff is very friendly and treats you like family. Here is one of the best parts– he offers a luxury service level, but his prices are extremely low. I needed a root canal. I called five dentists in NOVA. Dr. Murray’s standard root canal price was HALF of what the other dentists quoted me. Dr. Murray is simply the best.

I went to Dr murray several months ago & the staff was very unprofessional. They don’t even have sinks by the patients chair. You actually have to get up & walk over to the sink they wash there hands in to rinse. I went back because I was told I had 9 cavities & didn’t know where else to go. I got a few filled there but stopped going after he left the room & had his assistant do one of my fillings (which I got fixed later by my current dentist) I found a new dentist & was told I had NO CAVITIES! Don’t go here!

Not a groupon person. Just a regular family w/​dental insurance looking for good, honest dental check-​up and cleaning. We all get annual cleanings/​check-​ups and looking for new dentist for the family as we had moved to Fairfax.
There is no doubt that the Dr. has very welcoming chair-​side manners. However, that’s where the professionalism ends. After extensive x-​rays for each of us — at least 12 per person — and yes, that is radiation. And, we were not asked if that would be OK.
Then the real shocker, and I think the «sales» job: according the good doc. we each had 4 – 12 cavities — EACH. Keep in mind. we have been going to the dentist annually and we take great care of our teeth. What was weird is that at the end of the visit, which I did not get my cleaning per my appointment b/​c he spent so much time talking me into the fact that i had so many «cavities» and giving me a written estimate for all our «needed» dental work.
Finally, found another dentist that, after just a few x-​rays and extensive check up and cleaning, said we were all cavity free.
Still in shock.

Let me start by saying that I have never been a fan of the dentist and I have been to many of them in my time, I was terrified and had many bad experiences and way too much pain to not break into a sweat at the thought of even scheduling an appointment for a visit! That is… until I started going to Dr. Murray and I truly hope he outlives me so I never have to find another dentist, EVER! I’ve been going to Dr. Murray for 7+ years and from day 1 he was sensitive to me being a total baby about even the most minor of dental procedures and I have had some major dental work, but he has always ensured that my pain, if any, was tolerable and well managed. Dr. Murray makes sure to explain everything in detail which I had never received from a dentist previously and it was refreshing! The entire office staff is attentive, kind, gentle, respectful and even playful and easy to talk to. The office is bright and up-​to-​date, organized and very clean. I’m always seen in a timely manner and the staff seems to work efficiently as a team to get me in and out quickly and ensure I am taken care of while I’m there. The office is in a great location right in Fairfax City and they accept a variety of insurance. Dr. Murray is a fantastic and knowledgeable dentist and an all around nice guy!

Everyone is super friendly here and you can tell that Dr. Murray genuinely cares about you as a patient. He really takes the time and listens to concerns, questions, etc. to make sure he truly understands your needs. I live in Alexandria and I was referred to Dr. Murray by one of my clients, Blanca, who also works at the office. I’m currently going through Invisalign treatment and the results have been awesome! Caroll, the office manager is also very sweet and went above and beyond with everything whether it be helping withy insurance claims or just trying to fit me in the best she can when I had scheduling issues. I would recommend this dentist to any one and guarantee you won’t find a more comfortable and inviting dentist’s office because yes, there is such a thing.

I waited two weeks to write a review to give myself time to cool off. I will not be returning. I was one of the Groupon customers, so this could be a case of «you get what you pay for» where regular clients are treated better. Please note my review and rating is a reflection of the EXPERIENCE and not Dr Murray, who was efficient, unlike his staff. Here’s my experience:
The cleaning and take-​home whitening kit was around $ 60 via Groupon. I made my appointment and printed all the forms from their website as requested. Driving to the location, I was surprised when my GPS took me to a shopping plaza with no dentist in sight… I called the office to request assistance. I called for 15 minutes before someone answered, and the employee got frustrated when I asked for directions. Upon asking if I should go east or west on Lee Hwy, she kept saying, «turn left»… Eventually she passed me off to a coworker who gave a simple direction — they’re essentially hidden in plain sight in the Main Street Marketplace plaza. I arrived, still on time, and submitted my paperwork and Groupon.
The office is modern and clean, overall a very nice facility. They were playing some undesirable «ghetto» style music, complete with inappropriate language, but that doesn’t bother me. What bothers me is the way I was treated:
the first woman informed me she was doing the impressions and upon asking her what they were for became frustrated. They take an impression to provide you with «trays» that are formed to your exact teeth for the take-​home whitening, I was unfamiliar with the process. I was left in the chair for 20 minutes, and I had just answered a phone call when she arrived with the tray full of play-​doh style stuff to put into my mouth. She rolled her eyes and sighed in a dramatic way as I quickly ended the call, and basically shoved it in my mouth, uncomfortable to say the least. She then snapped because my head wasn’t in the proper location (?) for the procedure and she pushed my face back into the chair with her ungloved hand. She said, «we’ll probably have to re-​do this one,» in a condescending tone. I should have cut my losses and left at that point, but I soldiered on, and after she left with the imprints, I was alone for another 15 min or so when a blonde lady came in, I suppose the hygienist? They do not introduce themselves and I saw no nametags, or I would include names.
the second woman was nice enough and proceeded to clean my teeth after examining them and doing some Xrays. But the cleaning procedure involved basically a «power washer» for the mouth — it was different from any other teeth cleaning I have had, and it was INCREDIBLY painful for me. I could taste blood throughout the process, and she seemed intent on continuing despite my squirming and obvious discomfort. When she was finished with the top teeth and about halfway through the bottom teeth, I thought I was going to pass out. I put my hand up and tried to say «stop,» and after maybe 20 seconds she pulled the tool out of my mouth, glared at me, and said, «we aren’t finished with this but I guess it’s up to you,» allowing me to grab some tissues to adjust the saliva and blood issues. I don’t have unhealthy gums, by the way, I think the pressure was too much.
Anyway, I was uncomfortable, irritated, and ready to split when Dr Murray arrived. He was very nice and straightforward and by far the most professional person of the group. If blonde lady had’t been standing guard I would have commented about my treatment., because I would rather give direct feedback than rant on here. Murray suggested some corrective treatments, as well as prescription preventative cavity toothpaste, which I recommend strongly… anyway, spoke with him for maybe 3 – 4 minutes and was out of there as fast as my legs would take me.
I don’t know if these ladies are rude to everyone, or maybe just young ladies, people who call for directions, Groupon customers, etc… But I am taking my business elsewhere, and you are advised to do the same unless you have a higher tolerance than I for condescending attitudes from office staff and hygienists. Dr Murray gets 4 stars, the experience and his staff would get 0 if Unilocal allowed it.

Dr Murray is the best dentist I have ever been to. My teeth have never looked better. Despite the fact I am typing this review and I can’t blink all the way or feel water in my mouth when I try to drink because they gave me so much Novocain, I’m glad he did. Usually I go to dentists and they don’t believe me when I say I need more Novocaine than most people, or they think I am a baby, which maybe I am… but Dr Murray doesn’t question me, he just wants to make sure I am not in pain (even though the needles do hurt, at least I don’t feel anything else).
Aside from being highly meticulous and providing top notch work, he is a very down to earth guy. They make you feel welcome and the receptionist and assistants are all really nice and know what they are doing. Even if this would be a drive for you, I would suggest you go here. I stopped going to the family dentist I had been going to for YEARS, because he is THAT good. He even fixed a small chip I had in my front row of teeth today… I have had it since I was 12 years old… no other dentist even bothered to fix it – again, beautiful work, highly recommended!

Had an appointment yesterday based on some of the other Unilocal reviews, and there was a bit of an issue with the normal receptionist being gone and some equipment issues.
Past that the Dr. was incredibly friendly, they put on fox news for me while the x-​rays developed, and provided a great explanation. Definitely be going back.

Best dentist I have ever had! He was actually recommended to me by one of my friends and I’m so glad I started going to him. He and his staff are super friendly and they get me in and out for my appointments. He’s also cool kat to shoot the breeze with about anything. They do an awesome job cleaning my teeth, and making sure everything is straight. I would suggest going to him.

I’ve been a patient at Dr. Murray’s for at least 3 years. And even though I’ve now moved to Chicago, I’ve kept Dr. Murray as my dentist (fortunately, my company is still based in the DC area, so I’ll usually tack on a dentist visit when I need to travel there for work).
Exceptionally good, professional service. Dr. Murray and his staff are great, and they always make you feel confortable and welcomed. He also recommended an EXCELLENT oral surgeon to me when I neede my wisdom teeth removed (Dr. Doriot. I think also in fairfax). All 4 teeth removed and not one day of pain (plus his offices look like a spa). It was great. I likely will have to get a bridge or an implant from a removed tooth during some orthodontic treatment, so I’ll update my review once that’s complete.

I picked this place because it was both on my HMO’s list and about a block away from my office. I’ve stayed with them (2 years later) because they’re so cool (ok, really its just because of the 2 aforementioned reasons). Dr. Murray is a very cool dentist and he shoots the ‘ish with me just about every time I go in for cleanings or whatever. He’s probably about 32 years old and he tells me stories of ‘whilin’ out ’ back in the day with his all-​black fraternity. He has also assembled a staff of all women…
When it first opened you could pick a CD (from a pretty large list) that you wanted to play while you were in the chair. I picked Bob Marley so as to enter a zen-​filled happy zone prior to being orally raped with metal pain dispensers. This worked for a while… until I had to get a deep gumline cleaning. That was easily the most painful experience of my life. I’m talking 4″ needles going between jawbones and all kinds of torture. But I haven’t seen a drop of blood in my spit since then!
****To avoid the above described episode of horror, NEVER miss a scheduled routine teeth cleaning. I missed about 4 years worth (I thought daily brushing was sufficient… WRONG) and figured that a drop of red in the spit after brushing wasn’t so bad. WRONG AGAIN. So I’ve been doing this Public Service Announcement ever since. GET THOSE TEETH CLEANED!!****