Joel F Nevins, DDS

I’ve gone to Dr Nevins for a few years. He cleans teeth himself rather than a dental hygienist. I appreciate this because, rightly or wrongly, I feel that he knows my teeth better than other dentists who only spend a few minutes looking at x-​rays.
He and his staff are friendly, and I’ve never had a long wait. I recommend him without reservations.

I went to see him on a friend’s recommendation and can see why he was recommended. Easy to schedule an appointment. Courteous and knowledgeable front desk staff. No waiting to be seen (amazing). The waiting area is spacious, comfortable, quiet, and clean.
Dr. Nevins himself is very thorough, informative, and genuinely friendly. I had an exam, a cleaning, and will be coming back for repair on an old filling. The cleaning was obviously thorough but he took care to be precise and it was neither painful nor slow.

Dr. Nevins is one of the best dentists I have had in a long time. He is always very friendly, professional and efficient. Leanne and his staff is great and always smiling :) I feel like she always remembers who I am when I walk in, and helped me with collecting my records from a previous dentist and oral surgeon. I have been a patient her for over 3 years now, and couldn’t be happier!

Dr. Nevins has been my dentist for the past 10 years and is an absolute pleasure to go visit. His staff is friendly and welcoming, he is patient and gentle and I actually enjoy going to the dentist. I can’t say enough good things about him.
I have had to go to other dentists because of insurance and have hated the experience — rude, painful and pressuring you to buy services you don’t need. Dr. Nevins is none of those.

Dr. Nevins is great! When I first moved up here, two coworkers recommended him, so I decided to go by word of mouth rather than trying to find someone on my own. I am so glad I did. He is very personable and even though I only see him twice a year for cleanings, he always remembers where I went to school, asks me about my job, etc. I appreciate that I don’t feel like I’m going to see a stranger two times a year for a cleaning.
I noticed another reviewer complained that his cleanings aren’t painful enough and that a good cleaning should make your gums bleed?! I totally disagree. Dr. Nevins explained during my first visit that he uses some sort of laser/​water pick teeth cleaning method as opposed to an old fashioned metal pick. This makes the cleaning less painful/​quicker and I imagine it kills more germs.
As for pricing — I had to pick the more expensive dental insurance option at work because his office doesn’t accept some of the cheaper plans, but I definitely think it’s a good investment because I want to keep my teeth for a long time!

I saw Dr. Nevins several times in 2011 – 2012 and then I switched to another practice because of an insurance change. At the time I thought he was ok. Now I do NOT recommend him unless you only want a friendly dentist and not a capable one.
Nevins was fine with cleanings– not overly thorough but fine. However, he was so rough with installing my crown that my mouth bled. It was actually quite a bit more painful than the root canal itself (which was done by an endodontist) and I had to take ibuprofen that evening.
A few months ago (almost a year after I got the crown), I had an emergency dental appointment with my new dentist because a spot on my gums was hurting and swollen. New dentist informed me the crown had been badly set; the edge of it was uneven and too much of the filler cement was left on the tooth, and when I flossed some of the cement broke off and got lodged between my teeth. It would have become infected had I left it any longer. This cement is not supposed to deteriorate for 10 years or more, so clearly this was due to shoddy work by Dr. Nevins. I will now have to have my crown redone well before it should need to be.
Another reviewer previously wrote that his/​her crowns were improperly done and now has to get them redone and deal with other problems. So, consider these warnings and stay away. My experience seeing Dr. Nevins was a big wakeup call to me to stop focusing on how «nice» dentists are in these reivews. It doesn’t matter how nice they are, it matters whether or not they do quality work and don’t screw up your teeth.

I just went to Dr. Nevins for my first appointment this morning. What a WONDERFUL experience! His staff was friendly and courteous and Dr. Nevins himself performed the entire cleaning, all the while picking up on my dental history and asking all the relevant questions from me. He explained every step of the cleaning as he went, and answered any questions I had fully and patiently. I truly look forward to my next appointment.
I have been going to a TERRIBLE dentist (see Washington Dental Studio review) for years, a dentist whose staff constantly berated me and told me my teeth were all going to fall out and my gums were in attrocious condition even though I brush, floss, and use a water pik daily. With dentists like Dr. Nevins in DC, there is simply no reason to put up with the questionable practices and abuse that you get at other dental offices!
I highly highly recommend Dr. Nevins!

I am by no means a fan of going to the dentist (I mean, who really is?), so when I was in the need of a new dentist, I again turned to my Unilocal friends for some recommendations. As always, they were spot on with the recommendation for Dr. Nevins.
One of the winning points for me, was that I didn’t have to wait more than 5 minutes at either appointment I had. The first appointment was a regular checkup and cleaning and was probably the quickest checkup appointment I had ever had. I was in and out in about 25 minutes. Dr. Nevins also does the cleaning himself, which I thought was pretty cool. He uses some kind of high pressure water sprayer, so that will explain why they give you something similar to an apron to put over your clothes because you will get sprayed on. For the flossing part, he only flossed the first couple of front teeth. Maybe he does that for everyone? But he told me that I do a great job flossing. My second appointment was for a filling replacement and was pretty quick and painless as well.
Dr. Nevins shares the office with another dentist, but he has his own receptionist, who is as nice as can be. The waiting area is a alittle funky, with a mural of a country garden, but nothing too scary. I think I might actually look forward to my next appointment.

I was a patient of Dr. Nevins for over 15 years-​and had to change because of my dental insurance. I thought I was happy with him because he is delightful, and his staff is great-​he did a ton of work in my mouth, and I trusted it was being done right. I referred several friends to him. While I was a patient, I had several root canals and he did the crown prep and placement. This last year, I have had to have 5 of my 9 crowns replaced. My new dentist found that he had left the temporary filling material in the teeth that had root canal treatment. The crowns were poorly fitted, the temporary material expanded, and it resulted in cracking my crowns. I also lost a tooth and must now get an implant because the expanding temporary filling cracked my root.

I’ve been a patient of Dr. Nevins for 8 years. I’ve had a lot of work done, and he never hesitates to work with me to work out payment plans, etc when things start to get expensive. His staff are the best, too! I never wait more than a couple of minutes in the waiting area, and Leanne always remembers me, and details about me that I don’t expect. Everyone is friendly and attentive, and Dr. Nevins even knows that I sometimes need a couple of more shots, or more time for things to kick in before he can start work. If I have a dental emergency, even just after Christmas, they always find a way to work with me to get things sorted.
The office isn’t state of the art, but he has been consistently rated as one of the best dentists in our area. As someone who hates going to the dentist, I look forward to seeing Dr. Nevins.

Super personable — check
Painless — check
Fast — check
Great sense of humor — check
Friendly staff — check
Proactive — check
So perhaps two stars is a bit harsh… but strictly reviewing the quality of work that was done, I think two stars is quite generous. I went in for a cleaning (which I haven’t done for over a year). First thing I noticed about Dr. Nevins was his teeth (and not in a good way). Long story short, none of his teeth looked like it was his — meaning they looked like dentures. Not really a great sign in a dentist. But that aside, the work he did was a pitiful excuse for a cleaning. He essentially brushed his tools back and forth the teeth (those that he could see), not really concentrating on the crevices or the back teeth where the cleaning is most needed. He concluded the cleaning with some flossing. First off, for someone who rarely flosses (or at all), if you don’t see some bleeding from the gums, it means you’re not doing it right. To all my non-​flossers out there, you know what I’m talking about… There was no blood. The nylon thread was basically penetrated between the teeth and immediately pulled back out. None of that back and forth, up and down strokes recommended in all those, «How to Floss Your Teeth» videos and he only did that with a few of my front teeth. If I was a flosser (which I’m not), I probably don’t need as much help flossing my front teeth versus the back. So was it fast and painless? Yes, but only because he barely touched my teeth. In summary, I can get a better clean with my cheap $ 1 toothbrush.
It kind of pains me to give him such a terrible review because he is really a cool and friendly guy. But for someone who is busy and paying a zillion dollars for health care, when I go to see a dentist for something as simple as a cleaning, I’m not expecting you to do a magnificent job but I need you to at least do the job I came in for.
On the upside, I did score a new, substantially fancier, toothbrush from my visit, which will be replacing my cheap one for a better, self-​administered, cleaning.

Best. Dentist. Ever. He is gentle, super friendly, fast and efficient but not in a way that makes you suspect he’s juggling 15 patients at a time. The staff are unfailingly friendly, they answer the phone, and they’ll give you a call the day before to confirm your appointment.
I have a general fear of needles and a pretty strong, almost paranoia, of getting fillings or other dental work where the anesthesia fails or wears off. But Dr. Nevins, as stated above, is gentle, efficient, and makes you feel very comfortable. He’ll talk you through procedures and let you know what’s going on. If you feel pain or discomfort he’ll stop, make sure you’re good to go, and then finish the job.
Also, I don’t have to wait weeks to get an appointment unlike every other medical professional in DC. I highly, highly recommend him and his office!

Even though I’m almost 30 I still have a fear of going to the dentist. Fear no more! I was introduced to Dr. Nevins by friends and owe them big time. Dr. Nevins is professional and kind. His office staff is courteous, helpful and funny. Leanne makes you feel like you’ve known her for years. Routine cleanings are always fast and painless. Def. recommend to everyone.

Dr. Nevins has been my dentist since I moved to DC. I cannot say enough nice things about him. He is courteous, fast, and dare I say it… almost painless!
I have sent him countless new patients and I always get a thank you card in the mail. He is the most personable doc I have ever been to.
I swear he must take notes during my appointments because he remembers details about conversations that we had in previous appointments.
I have only seen him for routine cleanings, but I would trust him with any other tooth situation should it arise.

Fantastic. He’s a wonderful person who remembers personal details, it’s easy to get appointments with him, he’s very meticulous about care, and his staff is a delight.

Dr. Nevins is the best. Genetics have done me no favors in this department and he is the first dentist that doesn’t make me feel bad about it. I have been going to him for 6 years and recommend him to everyone. His front desk assistant Leanne is great and his dental assistant is nice and friendly. He has a great sense of humor and is extremely gentle. I would recommend him to anyone.

I’ve been going to Dr. Nevins for the past four years and have been very satisfied. His staff is extremely courteous and proactive – a rarity in DC medical and dental offices, indeed! I’ve never had a bad interaction with them. I’ve gone for cleaning, xrays, and was fitted with a bite-​guard. His procedures thus far have been painless. The only thing that I wasn’t 100% satisfied with was a whitening procedure – it wasn’t as effective as I had hoped. The office seems to take most types of dental insurance – I’ve submitted claims under 3 different types in the last several years with no problem. Overall, however, I would recommend him as a dentist. Four stars!