Paul Harris, DDS

As some of the other reviews suggest, this is an extremely sketchy dental practice. There is a real effort made to push unnecessary dental treatments during the appointment, and the business office is extremely aggressive and pushy. AVOID DR HARRIS.

I have been going to Dr. Harris for over 4 years. His advice is sound and he has been flexible in helping me find a treatment plan that works for me both financially and time-​wise. He’s an entertaining guy, which I guess some people find off-​putting. I don’t. I went to a dentist who was all business and I hated being in there. Dr. Harris keeps it fun and light and that makes me more likely to see him often.
His assistants are great! They have been there a long time and really know their stuff. Maxine is the best tooth polisher ever!
One of the big pluses of Dr. Harris is that he keeps late hours. I am an educator and find it difficult to see doctors during the day. With Dr. Harris, I can make an appointment as late as 7. That really fits my schedule. And, he is a short bus ride or walk from the Van Ness Metro. Very easy to get to.
I recommend him without any reservations!

Pass! I used to see Dr. Harris twice a year but stopped going, even though I haven’t found a replacement yet. Chief complaints:
1) He loves to talk about his wife and kids and show me pictures of his kid (s). Great. He loves to talk about his gigantic custom-​made house and show me pictures of his house. Fine. The problem?
He loves to talk about himself and not about my teeth. I honestly feel like he pays more attention to his family and house during my cleaning appointments than my teeth. I have no confidence that if something were actually wrong, he would actually detect it. I feel like his checks are cursory at best, not to mention a little rough.
2) He doesn’t do a good job cleaning. His assistants are average, but I feel like Dr. Harris treats me and my teeth cavalierly. When he checks my gums with that little metal pick thing, he carelessly pricks them and makes them bleed. Ow and ow! My gums always hurt after checkups, which never happens with other dentists.
3) He advocates just rinsing with Listerine instead of flossing. Bad dentist! Nothing can replace flossing!
4) Appt times are more like suggestions. Be prepared to sit around and wait for a good long while.
I agree that he’s personable, and is probably a great family guy, but he is not the person I trust with my dental health and I’m not going back.

I’ve now been seeing Dr. Harris longer then any dentist since when I was a kid. even though I’ve moved to Dupont Circle, I’m still taking my trips uptown to see him. He continues to be personable and professional while being strict on me about my teeth. He even offered to bring me in for a free secondary cleaning in a week to make sure I was following his advice.
For as long as I’m in DC, I’ll be using Dr. Harris as my dentist.

I want a dentist to take as long as necessary to provide quality service and I certainly don’t want to split my appointment into two separate visits simply because the person behind me may have to wait. Inasmuch as everybody else feels the same way, I have long ago accepted the fact that my dental appointment is an approximate time and I bring something to read while I wait. No deduction here. As for Dr. Harris, he’s competent, efficient, and very personable. He’s obviously in business to make money but he’s trying to earn it with good service and that’s enough to keep me coming back.

I would give him no stars, if I could.
I went to him in December 2008. He was not straightforward when asked about costs of treatment, seemed reluctant to follow established co-​pays for my dental HMO, and used high-​pressure sales techniques to push a cancer screening (after I said I didn’t want it, he said he wouldn’t continue treating me until I did it – when I SHOULD HAVE walked out, but I was too tired to go find another dentist in my insurance plan and he was close to home, along with already being in the chair – in short, my laziness got the better of me).
The cleaning was okay, but I was shocked when he suggested mouthwash instead of flossing regularly (I DO floss regularly). I would highly discourage anyone from seeing him.

Dr Harris is the most honest and caring dentist I have ever been to. He is sincerely interested in the health of your teeth as well as appearance-​a rarity these days when most dentist simply want to make money on cosmetic procedures. He is funny, very very good at what he does and painless.
I will continue to go to him for all of my dental work, including cosmetic. It is nice to have a dentist who is so good! AND he helped me in an emergency when nobody else would!
His staff is excellent, too. Sandy rocks!
Go here for your dental needs and you will never regret it!

There is no option for zero stars so… I went to Paul Harris to get a veneer on my front tooth. After they did the first impression they lost the veneer and he blamed the office staff. After the second impression he used expired bonding agent and the veneer came off after 48 hours — he blamed his boss for not ordering new supplies.
I explained that I was about to get married and really needed to make this happen. I was assured that he would make it right. After the third impression the veneer that came back from the lab wasn’t designed correctly and he blamed the lab.
I did get a full refund after a lot of wasted time and aggravation but I had to get married with a weird looking front tooth. I highly recommend that you find someone else if you like your teeth!

Forget Mentos; Dr. Harris is the real freshmaker,
I have commitment issues with doctors and had many one-​night-​stands with dentists before I happened upon Dr. Harris. He’s friendly, knowledgeable, and attentive. He’s really into positive reinforcement and always tells me that my teeth are magnificent. Yay! And when he saw that I needed a mouthguard, he suggested waiting until I put some money into my FSA, so I can save a few hundred. Thanks! Now i have another pair of shoes!
The dental hygienist I always see reminds me of a headmistress at a private school, but she’s actually pretty cool and showed me the true art of flossing. It was eye-​opening
Hint: there are TVs in the exam rooms to entertain you while they do their thing. I always try to make my appointments to coincide with Oprah.