Gary Avakian, DDS

This place needs an update. I’ve never visited a dentist where they didn’t have a machine to suction saliva, water, etc. from your mouth. I kept having to spit into a basin near the chair which was annoying because my chair was in a reclined position. The hygienist talked at me the entire time about her grandchildren, Cecil the lion, and her life. The hygienist stood on my right side the entire time, so I didn’t feel like that side got cleaned very well.
The worst part was when the Dr. came in. He was not aware of himself at all and his breath smelled awful… like coffee breath. I became light headed from having to hold my breath while he ‘examined’ my teeth. At one point, I pretended to have an itch on my leg so that I could move and take a breath. He stood during the entire examination, asked if I had any pain, dictated things to the hygienist regarding my teeth, and used no tools but his hands. I asked about x-​rays since my insurance covers them and I was due. He said I did not need them. but I asked if I could get them anyways since they are covered once a year by my insurance. He said I should wait until next year. Which doesn’t make any sense! I like to be thorough and if I am paying for x-​rays through my insurance I would like to get x-​rays. Sometimes you won’t have pain but x-​rays will show problem areas. I would not recommend this place for routine care. I had no extensive work done so I cannot speak on that.

This is my only dentist that I have went to in the last 20 years, the and his staff is very professional and I would still be scared to go to dentist if it wasn’t for him. Thank god for Dr avakian.

I hate the dentist. I’ve spent 4 years in Washington looking for a dentist I like, kicking appointments down the road, and avoiding dentists at all costs.
But that’s over. Dr. Avakian is great, my appointment started early and he was actually the one to check me in. He was behind the desk when I walked in, said «Hi! You must be my new patient! Good morning!» My appointment started early, and instead of admonishing me for taking my sweet time finding a dentist, he just dove in, which was very kind. He did my cleaning and exam and told me what he was doing just before he did it – as opposed to some other dentists who just start jamming sharp weapons down your mouth without warning. He’s got a great bedside manor and soft hands, which is key.
He didn’t try and up-​sell me, but I am taking care of two long overdue procedures: extracting two left over wisdom teeth and taking out a permanent retainer from when I was a teenager. I’m confident it won’t hurt, it will be done well, and the paperwork will be nil.
And now I no longer hate going to the dentist. So there’s that.

I have been to Dr. Avakian a couple times and I have had good experiences from the dental side of things. He seems very competent and while I wouldn’t say he is overly friendly, he isn’t mean and just likes to get down to business. His hygenist is fantastic. I’ve never had major tooth issues, so I spend most of the appointment with her and I love her. She dealt with my gagging and dental anxiety issues like a pro and with a lot of care. I would love to give this place 5 stars, but the billing needs a major overhaul. The first time I went I got a little piece of paper in the mail with a barely legible pencil marked amount that I owed, with no instructions on how to pay it. I ended up calling them and paying over the phone. The second time I never got a bill, so I called and was rather rudely told by the receptionist that I didn’t owe anything. (They used to have an extremely nice older receptionist, but she seems to have retired). Never heard anything about it after that, so I guess I’m ok.

I just had my first appointment and it started on time and was seen by Dr Avakian the entire time. Very professionally run, highly recommend.

Dr Avakian is not, perhaps, a «comfort» dentist who promises no pain during your appointment — it’s *dentistry,* and all the soothing music or whatever is not going to make it a spa day — but on the other hand, he doesn’t mess around. I’ve never had to wait more than five minutes (I hate waiting; it just gives me more time to stress) and he gets in there and does what has to be done, quickly and efficiently — and not overly painfully. I have some TMJ issues, and it hurts to keep my mouth open for very long. He and Diane (the hygienist — LOVE her!) understand this and try to mitigate that pain during my procedures. Another wonderful thing: he doesn’t recommend unnecessary procedures or try to sell you things. We’re moving out of state, but it’s really tempting to return for periodic dental care.

I have been a patient of Dr. Avakian’s for 2 years. I had just moved to VA and wanted to find a dentist that was closer. Prior to seeing him, my teeth and gums were in really good, near excellent shape. The cleanings were all done by Dr. Avakian and he worked quickly, too quickly in my opinion, and he never took x-​rays. When I mentioned pain and swelling in my gums during my last visits, he told me that everything was fine, everything looked good, but this has been a persistent problem for about a year. I have not had this problem in the past.
The really big issue for me is billing. I once received a phone call from Dr. Avakian personally, yelling at me for not paying a bill for an invoice I never received. He was completely rude. When he realized he sent the bill to the wrong address, he never offered an apology. I was mortified. I decided not to visit his office again, but of course, life got the better of me and I visited again in Oct of 2014, but swore it would be my last visit. Needless to say, in Feb of 2015, I received a phone call from the admin person telling me I owed a balance. I was going to pay them straight away, but then decided to find out what the bill was for. They told me it was for a cleaning, which is 100% covered by insurance. They swore that they had billed my insurance carrier but had never received payment from them. When I told her I would contact the insurance company, she seemed less than happy to hear it. When I spoke to my insurance carrier, they informed me that the office never submitted an invoice.

I absolutely LOVE Dr. Avakian and his staff. I have been going to him for about 10 years and my kids and hubby now go too. He is excellent. Quick, efficient, never tries to push anything you don’t need. It is an old fashioned operation but I much prefer it to my former dentist, who shortly after getting a new fancy office, recommended 3 crowns for me! No thanks.

GREAT dentist! I actually left with a warm fuzzy feeling… the only downside is they don’t accept Flex spending cards.

If I could give no stars, I would. I went in initially because two years ago, I was having TMJ problems and Dr. Avakian xray’d my mouth for records. He discovered I had a mild issue with an upper back molar and said I’d need a filling. I went forward with it
In my experience, a filling in a place as hard to reach as a molar should take more than 15 minutes — but that’s all it took Avakian, which is why I had intense INTENSE pain for months after: because he did not put cement on my root as a filler between it and the metal filling!!! I know this because I returned to my regular dentist in Los Angeles, CA, months later still experiencing intense pain. My dentist was floored and suggested I bring suit. In addition to that, my dentist was extremely concerned about the amount of tooth that Avakian drilled out, essentially leaving just a shell. My dentist has records and could not justify such a an extensive excavation. It took about 3 months for the pain to completely subside.
Nearly two years have passed since I made the worst decision to see Dr. Avakian, and my tooth is now giving me trouble again. I’m worried my dentist in Los Angeles will tell me I need a major procedure like a root canal to correct Dr. Avakian’s faulty work.
This should be a warning to anyone in the NOVA region — avoid Dr. Avakian, see someone who is going to give you more than 15 minutes of his time, and really assess what needs to be done. I can’t imagine I’m the only one to call him out on such egregious malpractice!!!

This is the best dental experience I’ve had so far. Some things that impressed me were that Dr. Avakian was personal and welcoming, greeting me by name after I walked in. He’s also extremely efficient. In my most recent visit, Dr. Avakian, after explaining my tooth condition and probable causes, drilled, filled, and sent me on my way in ten minutes. Ten minutes!
Dr. Avakian you spoil a girl like me!

Awesome:
*Super nice and to the point. Told me to brush and floss forever and my teeth and gums would be (pretty much) happy, i.e. no teeth falling out.
*Didn’t upsell me a bunch of things like teeth whiteners, invisalign, etc.
*Doesn’t do x-​rays every.single.visit. As someone with a pretty uninteresting dental history and no major problems or complaints, I don’t want new x-​rays every six months. Just because my insurance will pay for it doesn’t mean I want to be radiated for the sake of the same freaking picture they took last time.
*Receptionist was really nice, it seems like that is harder and harder to find these days.
Great, I’d definitely recommend. I haven’t been this happy with a dentist in years (maybe my whole life, save for this guy when I was four that I barely remember) and I’ve moved a lot and been to a lot of dentists.

I’m the world’s worst dental patient. Not only do I have a gag reflex that is legendary, for some reason I have no tolerance for pain in my mouth. Anywhere else, I’m G Gordon Liddy. I’ll burn a hole through my hand with a candle before I’ll lose a bet. But if it’s my gums…
As a result, I hate, hate, hate going to the dentist.
Well… let’s make that past tense: Hated. I’m not exactly looking forward to my next appointment with Dr. Avakian, but I’m not dreading it, either — and that’s a first for me with a dentist.
He’s friendly, efficient, kind, gentle, he knows what he’s doing, and he takes the time to explain what he’s doing. He give you options. My last cleaning was long overdue, but he didn’t guilt me, he just showed me the xray and said «You can take care of this problem at home, by flossing properly.» When I mentioned getting some whitening, he recommended I get the overthecounter strips and try those, before committing to expensive procedures.
His staff is friendly and efficient. He has this little office tucked around the corner from Duke St in Old Town, but during the day parking isn’t a problem. His waiting area is tiny, but he’s so quick, and the British lady who runs the office is so danged efficient, you’re not really in there that long.
The world’s worst dental patient has found a new dentist. Now, that makes me happy, but he’s probably cringing!

I visited Dr. Avakian in the winter of 2012, and he was great. Wonderful bedside manner. Competent practitioner. Efficiently-​run office. (The office is a little dated, but who needs fancy stuff when the dentist is competent and kind?)
He gave me a memorable compliment: that I had an immaculately clean mouth. He said he wished his own mouth looked as good as mine! (His oral hygiene looked fine to me.)
Seriously nice guy. I’ll be returning.

Dr Avakian has been my dentist for 20+ years since i was a kid! They are good with kids and, as others have said, they are very quick. The only thing some may not like is that the office is not brand new. They use some older tools (i.e. a spit bowl and dental pick) instead of newer equipment. But the office is very clean and they do an excellent job. Not to mention he cares about his patients and does not overcharge. He is also quite conservative and avoids unnecessary work.

My old dentist kept aggressively selling procedures and products I did not need, so I started shopping for a new dentist. It was a long search that took forever — you keep going back to the devil you know. Finally, one of the names recommended to me was Avakian. Very happy.
(When even your endodontic specialist tells you he has heard bad things about your old dentist, it’s, like, really time to listen.)
And, if someone at your dentist’s keeps trying to sell you molds to use to whiten your teeth every year, run. You don’t need that stuff every single year — the molds last a very long time. It’s a scam.

When I lost my beloved Dr. Breslerman a few years ago, I never thought I would find a good dentist again. I hopped around from dentist to dentist, with no kindred spirit to be found. Two dry sockets and half a numb tongue later (yes, the left half of my tongue is numb thanks to oral surgery I prefer to forget), I found Dr. Avakian through, where else, but Unilocal!
His office is just blocks from my house in Old Town so the location cannot be beat. I walked in and he greeted me immediately by name. Dr. Avakian then led me through the entire register process and conducted my first cleaning. He was so friendly, telling me about his background and what exactly he was doing in my mouth and why. He was horrified when I told him about my wisdom teeth removal experience, and even gave me a glimmer of hope that my dead half tongue will come back to life someday (although at this point, I’m pretty over it).
From start to finish, my dentist appointment was a success. And WOW is he fast! I was in and out in what must have been 20 minutes. This is a lesson to everyone, boys and girls: take care of your teeth, and you will be a boring patient with a ridiculously fast appointment every time. Firm (but not harsh) brushing and floss EVERY NIGHT. Words to live by, courtesy Dr. Avakian!

I used to go to a dentist that was consistently rated among the best in DC. I had to get a new dentist because of health insurance changes, and the couple that I had tried before finding Dr. Avakian inspired no confidence.
Dr. Avakian, however, is on par with my previous dentist. Excellent technique, honest, and fast. No nonsense, no upselling, the standard admonition to floss (and, admit it, he’s right).
I will definitely be going back for regular visits. And flossing more often!

I absolutely hate going to the dentist office… probably because it involves a long wait, lots of money and, most importantly, a great deal of pain.
Fortunately for me, and the rest of Alexandria, Dr. Gary Avakian and his staff are the best I have ever come across. I got in there office around 3:15 for a 3:30 appointment and was out the door by 3:35. Considering I was a new patient, they made the process incredibly fast. On top of that everyone there is friendly and Dr. Avakian has no problem answering any questions (even when you should be saying «AAAHHHHH»).
It was, in all honesty, the best dental appointment I have ever had. Ever. The only gripe I can think of is that I could only find street parking which can be hit/​miss.

I’ve been going to Dr. Avakian for a few years. My boss went to him previously and recommended him.
Unlike a lot of people, I don’t mind getting my teeth cleaned, I like the fresh feeling after, but it is never painful or stressful at this office. Dr. Avakian and his technicians are very up front about what I need to do to maintain proper hygiene and don’t try to «up sell» things I don’t need.
I’ve never flossed enough to make him happy, but can anyone floss enough to make a dentist happy? I think I’d have to have string constantly hanging out of my mouth for them to be satisfied.
The office is nicely situated in Old Town with plenty of street parking available. The staff is nice and always gives an «Admit One» ticket with your next appointment, which is adorable. It has a family feel to it.