Robert J Tigani, DDS

My MD referred me to Dr. Tigani and I’m so glad he did. This guy is wonderful. His staff is very friendly. He’s just the greatest. Let’s face it… going to the dentist is not much fun for anyone. But from just regular teeth cleaning to repairing a broken tooth in record time, Dr. Tigani is a wonderful resource. If you need a good dentist with a good staff and quality care, you couldn’t ask for a better one that Dr. Tigani!

In my experience there are two kinds of dentists: those who produce «treatment plans» for every new patient, and those who do not. Primary in the mind of a «treatment plan» dentist appear to be their mortgage, car payment, kids’ college plans, payments for their high-​priced shiny office and equipment, etc. Primary in the mind of a non-«treatment plan» dentist, are (1) evaluating the physical condition of the patient’s teeth AND (2) listening to the patient’s own preferences.
After moving to DC recently, several friends of mine recommended a dentist who turned out to be the «treatment plan» variety. This dentist recommended over $ 3000 of proposed work, including replacing about 10 existing fillings which are starting to show some wear. When I questioned the amount of proposed work, and stated that I preferred a conservative approach to dental treatment, this dentist threatened me that if I did not do the work, it could lead to crowns, extractions, implants and other even more expensive scenarios.
I went to Dr. Tingani for a second opinion. After looking at my teeth and listening to my preferences, Dr. Tingani was happy to do nothing. He look at all of the fillings that the «treatment plan» dentist recommended replacing, and pointed out that none of the teeth were showing any active decay, but only typical signs of aging fillings. He said while there was a chance some of the fillings could break or pop out as soon as «tomorrow,» they could also last another 10 years. He said that if these were his brother’s or kid’s teeth, he certainly would not replace any of the fillings.
In short, he talks like an engineer and will give you all the details you want about the condition of your teeth, fillings, and the pros and cons of your options, and let you make the call rather than pressuring you into work that may be somewhat «optional» just because he has bills to pay. He also has a nifty camera to show you close-​up photos of your teeth on a computer screen, which I had not seen before even at the much more expensive dentist.
Personally, I would rather pay zero now and take the risk that a filling might pop or even a tooth break in a year or ten — even if it means dealing with a day or two of pain –and go get it redone for a couple hundred bucks, than pay $ 3000 now for five, two-​hour dentist appointments over the next couple months and get all of my fillings put totally up to date. Beyond the cost, this aggressive approach also continually weakens your natural teeth by drilling away more and more of them, as Dr. Tingani was honest enough to acknowledge.
Kudos to Dr. Tingani for competence, honesty and listening to the patient’s preferences, not letting his finances drive his treatment philosophy.
BTW, I think if you prefer a more aggressive treatment approach, Dr. Tingani and his staff would be happy to oblige! The sense I got is that they will lay out your options honestly and let you make the call, and if you want to pay more now and be absolutely sure nothing will ever break, they can do that too.
Also, note– they do NOT accept any insurance. As another reviewer noted, their prices do seem quite reasonable, but the most reasonable price of all is to not pressure you into doing unnecessary work!

This office really stays on schedule, and has early appointments. I thought the cleanings here were a little rougher than I’ve experienced elsewhere, but not unreasonably so. Dr. Tigani is not shy about telling things like they are, which I really appreciate, but ymmv.