United Dental Group Washington DC

I had a great first visit this morning as a new patient. I was able to make my appointment online using ZocDoc. My hygienist was really nice and made the experience as pleasant as it could possibly be for a dental cleaning.

I’ve been using United Dental for years and really like it, I’m surprised they only get three stars here. They’re nice, almost always have appointments when I need, the dentists and hygienists are thorough and they never try to sell me extra stuff or push me to do things I don’t need. In fact, they’ve looked at my wisdom teeth a couple times and have always said we could take them out but really don’t need to. They fixed an old filling and a chipped tooth quickly and I think for free, which was pretty great. I trust them and they’re not out to gouge me, and they do a good job. The only knock is I don’t always see the same people when I come in, it they’re all good. What more could you want?

I would give it 3.5 stars. Clean office at a great location. Reception area is a bit creepy and dark. Receptionists are friendly and it is very easy to get and reschedule appointments. My doctor and hygienist work really fast, I had 3 cavities filled within forty minutes. The hygienist was not very gentle when I had my cleaning, but then I floss once in a blue moon so it’s partially my fault. I also fixed a chipped tooth here and it looks good. I am super jittery and my doctor deals with it calmly.
The ‘con’ of this place for me is their manager (?) who is a rude guy and tries to upsell you services. But I think it’s an OK place and I’ll keep going here out of convenience.

So… I was recommended to Dr. Tekle at United Dental Group through a friend of my boyfriend’s. Scheduling was a breeze, the receptionists, as I discovered when I arrived at my appointment, were kind and personable. I filled out paperwork as a new patient and was introduced to my hygienist, Kim. She was also incredibly sweet. She took my X-​rays and conducted my cleaning. While cleaning, Kim commented on how clean and cavity free my teeth were. One mistake I made was that I did not have my previous records forwarded to the office prior to my new patient appointment, however I’m not sure how much of a difference it would have made. Afterward, I was seen by Dr. Tekle to examine my teeth. Dr. Tekle claimed that she found 7 cavities while examining with her pick thingy… And I quickly told her that couldn’t be. Although my precious cleaning was in August 2014, I just got lingual braces off of my front 8 teeth top and bottom, and knew from my monthly ortho appointments that 7 cavities would not have gone unnoticed. She pointed out on the X-​ray, and although I said I saw the «holes» she pointed out, I didn’t see much. Dr. Tekle strongly recommended that I receive 7 fillings, and the cost would come to over $ 500 with insurance. She also told me that she would remove my wisdom teeth, which have never given me an issue. When I told her I didn’t want to she asked me what my hesitation was. I told her it was not necessary, they are not impacted and there are no cavities on them. She insisted. Dr. Tekle was very pushy, and acted very much like her expertise overshadowed my concerns and questions as a patient.
With much doubt in Dr. Tekle’s diagnosis, during a visit home in NY, I returned to my previous dentist for a 2^nd opinion. I asked the United Dental Group office to email my X-​rays to me, which I forwarded to my NY dentist. To make a long story short, my dentist in NY explained that he did not see 7 cavities at all. He reviewed my file to see that I’ve never had any cavities and 7 over 10 months would be absurd for my age, health, and oral hygiene. He explained that I have many grooves in my teeth, but they did not «catch» to indicate a cavity and that I only had one catch, on a tooth that wasn’t identified by Dr. Tekle as one having a cavity. He called the procedure unnecessary and stated that Dr. Tekle would be doing more harm than good to my teeth by filling in non-​cavities.
I’m not going to say this office was trying to take money from me, scam me, or anything like that although it sure feels like it. I will say that this particular doctor is not concerned with procedures that are unnecessary. I wouldn’t recommend Dr. Tekle because of my recent experience. Although the staff seemed great (receptionist, hygienist, etc.) I felt taken advantage of by this particular doctor.

An amazing, amazing office. I had a chipped tooth and was panicking and after having gone to a different dental office in DC was really creeped out (it was dirty, they were trying to get me to pay for a lot of unnecessary procedures etc.) A friend of mine recommended United Dental and I am so glad that I called them!
From the moment I called, I was greeted with kindness and understanding. The entire office staff is really friendly and when I explained my situation, they were able to get me an early morning appointment the following day (even though I was told that the schedule was tight.)
The office is beautiful, clean and modern looking. They even have purple massage chairs for while your teeth get cleaned!
My dentist, Dr. Choi, was very patient and friendly. He talked me through the procedure and his work was immaculate. He checked in with me throughout the entire process to make sure that I was happy with the result and explained what he was doing step by step.
I had such a positive experience that I booked a cleaning with them ($ 99 for cleaning, x-​rays and a full exam!)
A good dentist is gold and I cannot speak highly enough of this place.

Hey I know other people have had problems, but my visit was great.
I just needed a cleaning, a good cleaning. The last place I went to gave a crappy cleaning, so even though I didn’t have any cavities, but gums were complaining. Well, they gave me a good cleaning. They used the ultrasonic thing and the hand tool and scraped away. It took like an hour but my teeth feel clean and my gums are happy.
Also, they didn’t try to upsell me on anything. They were on time and did a good job.

Dentist appointments are my most hated kind of appointments. I hate going to the dentist. I had a terrible time when I moved to DC several years ago trying out different dentists, one was extremely sketchy and messed up a filling, another was super bougie and kept trying to sell me all these extra services. I finally found United Dental, have been a patient for about 3 years and I’m pleased with their practice.
I’ve seen a couple dentists there, though now I go to Dr. Catanzano — she has a really calming bedside manner and her technician is great at making sure I’m always comfortable. She is really on top of her saliva suction game. I think they are a great team and work well together. I also appreciate the slow jams and old school hip hop they play in their little booth. I may have a drill chipping away at a cavity, but Mary J Blige makes it all better.
As for the dentistry itself, Dr. Catanzano is always very thorough, I never feel like she’s rushing out to the next patient, and she does a great job of explaining what she is doing.
The office staff have changed over the years. Now they have a really nice man who comes to you while you’re in the chair, explains the charges, what insurance will pay for and offers to work out a payment plan if you need.
Tip: free bottled water in the waiting room
Another tip: You can schedule/​change all your appointments via
so you don’t have to call the office if you don’t want. The office sends text and email reminders of your appointments as well.

I’ve been going to United Dental for about 4 or 5 years — it’s an easily accessible, professional, clean and friendly establishment that I have recommended over the years. It’s located on K Street near the Farragut North metro (easy to find), and the staff is always very nice. All of the cleanings I’ve had were not painful — great staff.

This is an update on my review dated 8÷28÷2013.
I received a confirmation email for an appointment in August. The email contained an email address (
) to contact the staff. However, after two attempts, that email address bounced both messages. I am now trying to send an email to email address
. Note that the correspondence I am sending to United Dental is a request to transfer my dental records to a new dentist.
8/​28/​2013Edit «
reports that United Dental Group has been in business for appx 5 years and their annual revenue estimate as $ 2.5 to 5 million.
I was impressed during my initial visit to UDG in 2010. Although I have not been as thorough and prompt about dental follow-​up, I can tell you that today was my final appointment with this dental provider. Aside from traditional cleaning, my teeth require preventative scaling and deep cleaning appx 3 times per year to minimize the development of periodontal disease. After they preached to me about the ‘seriousness’ of my condition, I reiterated to them that I clearly understand the significance of healthy teeth and gums. I never even had a cavity until I was 32 or 33. Before I learned that my father was dying of cancer, I certainly was more proactive about my health. But as my father’s health declined, I would grind my teeth in my sleep at night, leading to an additional dental issue: TMJ. I politiely asked them not to harrass me about my family circumstances. Although this exchange is important, the added emphasis is on the fact that Ben advised me of their ‘requirement’ of payment at the time of scheduling for the scaling/​deep cleaning. While I recognize the significance of prompt payment, I do not support a business that demand upfront payment upfront to schedule services that are not emergency/​critical.
Finally when I asked how to obtain a copy of my dental records, Ben further explained that noone does paper records anymore. UDG would email the digital records to my new dentist. But if they sent the email to me, I would be unable to open it.
I need a dental provider that is truly consumer friendly. Each of the practices referenced above are barriers to good customer care and do not warrant any further repeat business from me or my family. Now I understand how they can report an annual revenue of $ 2.5+ million.

Dr. Catanzano and technician Nina are amazing! No idea where these other reviews came from but I only have to believe that they never had these two. I had bad experiences in the past with dentists who tried to tell me I needed a lot more dental work than I actually did… these two are totally honest and now I actually enjoy going to the dentist.
After seeing how great they are, I decided it was time to schedule an appt for my husband. He was so nervous of the dentist because of past issues. I warned Dr. Catanzano and Nina that he was very nervous and they could not have been nicer. We scheduled a deep cleaning where they took special care of him and I can say nothing more than these are the women I recommend to anyone WITHOUT A DOUBT. I would recommend these two to any of my friends. I have no connection to them except they took such amazing care of the love of my life (and how much better does it get than that?)

The staff here are amazing! So nice and helpful. They have a guy there just to explain to you how your health insurance will cover your services, and they have three check-​out people at the end for speedy bill-​pay. The hygienists and doctors are all really nice and friendly as well. I had to get wisdom teeth extracted and the oral surgen was super nice and super proficient as well. Even though they are a fancier dentist’s office they don’t try to sell you stuff. I got a mount guard with them that helps me a lot and they adjusted it like 4 times for free to make sure it fit me. One time I was complaining about how a filling felt and they re-​did it for free as well. They really are the best!

glutton for punishment
I go here because its close to my house and easily metro accessible. However, they cause me more pain and discomfort than almost any other dentist I have ever been to. They always begin drilling before the Novocaine takes effect. I was actually reprimanded by the dentist who told me not to scream, just to raise my hand if it hurt. Please don’t go here. Save yourselves people!

My insurance company sent me to united dental group last week after i requested for a dentist near my work.
I was afraid after seeing all the bad reviews from Unilocal.But actually everything went smooth for me.
After i signed in I was escorted to the x-​ray room by a coordinator and an assistant took some x-​rays.
Then they brought me into a room and i received a cleaning.
The dentist was really nice and she explained every concern i had, found out that i didnt need a root canal.
then the coordinator gave me a good amount of discount too;)
Im going to start my crown and fillings next week. Im not sure how its going to unfold but so far a very positive experience for me.

This was the most painful dental visit I have ever had. I went for a routine cleaning (6 months after my last one — so it’s not like I had a lot to be done) and I was almost in tears with how much it hurt and I do not have sensitive teeth. When I got out of the appointment, I tried eating an orange 2 hours later and it hurt to bite down. The dentists herself was fine, very nice and very thorough and the staff were all very friendly but I’ll make it a point to schedule my next visit with someone a bit more gentle.

I disagree with the negative reviews as well! I think the problem is people normally write Unilocal reviews when they’ve had a bad experience (that’s definitely what I do, at least!) so you don’t always hear from the people who were treated well. They were very professional, efficient and friendly with me at this office! I had a cavity filled and a regular cleaning and exam, and everything was great. They even contacted my insurance in advance of the cavity filling and gave me the quote for how much it would cost before I agreed to schedule it, which I very much appreciated. I would certainly recommend them.

They canceled my appointments twice for me being late. But I called them and told them I will be 20 min late. Never have experience with medical office like this. Basically the whole appointment system in US sucks since you make appointments they still keep you wait forever, but you can not be late for your appointment? What if there is an emergency? Patents deserve better service, while paying doctor that much money.

I love this dentist! I’ve been going for a year now and have recommended them to a couple friends who love them as well. They have caught problems other dentists have missed and are totally on top of it in all regards. The massage chairs, juice boxes, nice facilities, and their friendliness all make the entire dentist experience pleasant. They’re really into teeth — huge plus for dentists in my book!

My own experience with this dentist’s office was fine (albeit with paperwork issues), but two of my colleagues had terrible experiences there.
My dentist was kind, patient, explained everything thoroughly, and completed 3 cavity fillings with ease. My hygienist was fine as well.
However, the office confused my paperwork and sent me a bill for all my work without realizing that my insurance covered it all. When I called the office about the problem, they were unable to find any of my information. I had to call back a second time and talk to a different person in order to get everything straightened out. This person told me that she was single-​handedly trying to get all the paperwork in the office straightened out; the office was new, and nobody else knew how to deal with the paperwork yet.
Strike #1.
Then, both of my colleagues who went there had cavities filled, but their cavities still hurt 6 months after the procedures. When one of those colleagues called back to make an appointment to fix this problem, the doctor she had originally seen no longer worked there. Both colleagues had problems with insurance, billing, and I don’t know that the issues were ever resolved.
Strikes #2, #3, and #4.
This office is completely incompetent, and I wouldn’t recommend that ANYbody subject themselves to this inadequacy. Save yourself some headaches and find somebody else.

I’ve been with UDG for about 2 years and my experience with them has always been pleasant, and painless. The staff are all very courteous and informative. And they also accommodate appointment rescheduling without a fuss. My last visit, yesterday, I learned that I needed to have additional work done before the end of the year and the staff were helpful in sorting out all my payment questions. Also, their email appointment reminders are sooo great.

This is my final update to the United Dental saga. I finally went back on March 26^th to have my permanent crown put on. This was after my initial appointment was canceled yet again because they did not have the build-​up material for my crown.
The appointment was actually pretty painless, I was in and out in an hour. I did find it funny that the doctor that said at my previous appointment that «my tooth couldn’t be saved» and didn’t feel comfortable doing my crown build-​up was the doctor that did performed my procedure. Mmkay.
I also had to remind the dental assistant YET AGAIN that my crown had been ordered and had been at the office for nearly three months. She was acting like they had to take an impression! Um, obviously they already did that since I have a TEMPORARY CROWN in my mouth.
The doctor told me that I shouldn’t pretty much eat anything other than soft food from now on. My temporary crown had been on for nearly three months (all my previous temporary crowns had been on two weeks max) and never budged. So not to be rude? I think there’s enough tooth structure there to support a permanent crown. I may not be a DDS, but I’m not an idiot!
To add insult to injury, the dental assistant told me the wrong amount I owed and I had to make a special trip back there to pay my bill. But that will be my last trip back, NEVER AGAIN! I’m so glad to be done with this practice!