Gary Leff, DDS

When I retired, I moved out of Northern Virginia. It’s beautiful here, and there’s no question the traffic isn’t an issue. But. .. the services available when you have a problem are often not what you’d hope for.
That was my problem when a terrible toothache sent me to my regular dentist in Lexington, Virginia. He said I needed a root canal, and that unfortunately, he did not do them on molars with multiple roots. He did, however, call an endodontist 50 miles away-​and she agreed to see me in three weeks!
When the prescribed meds didn’t manage the pain, I was so preoccupied I could barely function. So, on a Friday morning recently I drove to Arlington, and walked into Dr. Leff’s Arlington office with no appointment and no visits there in over 10 years.
They fit me in, and I walked out of there 2 hours later with my problem wonderfully solved. Dr. Leff and staff were kind, caring, efficient, and skilled. They too prescribed pain killers, stating that my tooth might be sore, even though it was all set for cosmetic repairs at my regular dentist. (I didn’t even get the prescriptions filled. I wasn’t a bit sore when the local anesthetics wore off.)
What a wonderful experience I had as soon as I found my way to Dr Leff’s office-​thank you! I realize Dr. Leff and staff could have gone home early on that Friday afternoon, but happily, for me, they stayed and put me back together!

The 1 star is for the work he did but the 4 stars taken off is for the atrocious shady and horrible billing staff. I was seen by him at the burke location and the person there liz will say anything to get your business and keep the doctors in this office rich but after will not file claims correctly and will NOT return your calls. Neither will the person who works at the number you call when you get your statement. Even if you are honest to their face about them being unprofessional they will not care as long as they milk you dry. To them patients are seen as piggy banks than real customers.

I have no idea how this man has such good reviews. He is absolutely awful. I went to Dr. Leff for my first root canal a few weeks ago in his Burke location. Before I even met him the staff at the front desk were complaining about how rude he is. They didn’t seem to mind that there were patients right there waiting to see him. When I FINALLY got to meet him (after about 45 minutes of waiting) he was incredibly rude to his assistant and myself. I had a lot of trouble getting numb and he was very obviously annoyed that I was taking up so much of his time. I was given 9 shots of novacaine and directly after each one his assistant gave me the «cold test» on my ailing tooth, which was absolute torture to say the least. Yet they didn’t seem to believe me that I wasn’t numb. He told me that they would have to get started anyway and that he would give me shots throughout. I could hardly open my mouth to eat for days after due to the amount of shots I was given. I think all I needed was some time to let the novacaine set in but he was in such a hurry that it wasn’t an option. During my second appointment to finish the root canal they didn’t even try to get me numb. Dr. Leff’s assistant insisted that it was not necessary and we could go ahead with the appointment. My hand was raised the entire time for him to stop and he continued to ignore me. He stopped just once and asked «Have you settled down yet??» in an incredibly condescending tone. He referred to my being in pain as «bizarre» and tried to convince me that he was almost done or giving me something to help with the pain (which was a complete lie, he gave me NOTHING to ease the pain). He and his assistant were smirking at each other like they were playing some sick game of torture the entire time. I had my appointment with him days ago to finish my root canal and I am in so much pain that I can’t see straight. To top it off, they overcharged me. Supposedly they put the money back on my card but I have yet to see it go through. I cannot believe how horrible each and every one of those people who work in that office are. I would have paid any amount of money to a doctor who didn’t take my insurance just to avoid the pain and having to deal with that man.

Dr. Leff and staff were unbelievable. I was referred to him by my regular dentist and was at the office for an emergency. He was able to fit me in and took care of my problem which was by performing a root canal.
He and his staff talked with me both prior and after and carefully explained what to expect.
I wasn’t shocked by the cost, since my wife warned me that root canals were costly. What counts most is that the job was done professionaly, painlessly and solved my problem.

my experience can be divided in two one good one and a bad one, i was referred from a dentist office close by foe an emergency root canal that went great no pain no nothing the dr was great, i was let go with a continue treatment, so far so good i ask the secretary about the price that i would have to pay and that was 1500 $
now after i came back for my second treatment a week later i had to sit in the office for 1:30 and wait for the dr, at some point i told secretary i was leaing coz i would be late for work and a sec later the dr was running out to bring me back and said its going to be 15 min treatment and i should wait. no body told me that i would be such a long wait no body apologized, i was done with my treatment and left the office after 2:30 unbelievable .
so week past by and u got my statement in the mail and it said that my treatment wasn’t 1500 $ like i been told me, it was 2500 $ so make sure you guys know the price before you leave, i feel i was scammed a little.

I just went in for my first-​ever root canal, and was more than a little nervous. Having struggled to find any good regular dentists who took my crappy DC government employee dental insurance, Cigna HMO (apparently most dentists that take it range from incompetent to downright fraudulent, according to Unilocal reviews), I was worried about finding a good endodontist so the root canal procedure wouldn’t be a nightmare. My dentist sent me a list of endodontists around DC that took my insurance, and Dr. Leff’s practice came up as the only one in Arlington (in addition to only one in the District). The one in DC couldn’t fit me in very soon, so it was off to Arlington.
First, upon calling, the office was able to fit me in the next DAY… a complete relief after suffering from severe pain and swelling for nearly two weeks. Second, the receptionist not only called my regular dentist to have their referral faxed over for me, but she also called my insurance to get a price quote for the procedure and then called me back with it. After playing phone tag with both my dentist and my insurance, this was amazing! Third, she was completely pleasant, friendly, and sympathetic about the pain I was in, and reassuring that the procedure wouldn’t be that bad at all. After dealing with cold, curt receptionists at other places, this was very nice.
Arriving for the procedure, all went well. The office was clean, bright, and friendly. The receptionists were great. The dental technician was kind and explained everything that was going to happen, and reassured me that the procedure wouldn’t be that painful or take too long. She even took some good steps for my comfort, including using a piece of latex with a hole in it that went over the tooth to «isolate the tooth,» and then stretching the latex over the rest of my mouth (I could still breathe fine!) so that stuff from the drilling and filling wouldn’t get into my mouth. I also heard from many people that the most painful part of a root canal was getting sore from holding your mouth open for so long… well, they had a little angled rubber prop that went in between your back teeth to hold your mouth open at the right angle so your jaw wouldn’t be stressed holding it open for so long! Definitely helpful.
Dr. Leff was also kind and efficient. He talked to me in advance about my x-​rays and what he would be doing. The procedure took 30 – 45 minutes (I couldn’t really tell) and a lot of drilling and scraping, and it was uncomfortable, but not painful. Both he and the technician told me when to expect something uncomfortable (pressure, warmth, etc.). After it was all done, he explained to me what all had happened (since apparently my procedure was a little more complicated due to internal infection), and both he and the technician talked to me about follow up treatment, when to come back, how to take care of it in the meantime, etc. The front desk had prescriptions for mild painkillers, strong painkillers (if needed) and antibiotics (if needed) ready to go when I left, as well as printed follow-​up instructions and the date of my next appointment. Also, the cost of the procedure was exactly what they had quoted me — always a relief!
All in all, I wish I could go to Dr. Leff and this office for my regular dental work. It’s way too bad that they only do root canals!

I have Guardian insurance. I was referred to Dr. Richard Pollock, Endodontic for root canal.
Dr. Pollock treated me for root canal on 8÷4÷11 and follow up on Aug 10, 2011 for total billed amount of $ 1,216.00 (Detailed bill attached).
Issue#1: Deceptive and fraudulent billing:
I was charged total $ 46, for 2 visits of $ 23 each, for «Sterilization»
During 1^st visit when I asked the Secy Maria what it is, she said it is for keeping the dental facility clean.
But that is their basic duty and even insurance is not paying. So why are we forced to pay? I was charged in advance for 2^nd visit’s sterilization too.
On 2^nd follow up visit, I only had my X-​ray done. When I again asked the secy for this charge, she said the cost is because I sat on the dental chair!
When I asked for refund, she said once paid is paid. They don’t issue refunds!
Issue# 2: No advance estimate of cost given, even when requested twice. I asked for estimated expense at the time of taking appointment, and then again at the time of visit.
No estimate was given. It would have given me opportunity to scrutinize the expenses.
Issue# 3: After root canal fix, I was told they will not do any permanent filling and I need to go back to my regular dentist for filling, and pay him again! Root canal work is incomplete without permanent filling. It is like fixing a underground pipe beneath a road, but not repairing the road. Had they told me in advance that they will do half job, I would not have got it done there.
Salesh Gupta

I was referred to an endodontist by my regular dentist (Dr. Arjang Raoufinia, who is the absolute best dentist I’ve ever been to – see my review of him for more details) and Dr. Leff is in the same office building. I am extremely dentaphobic and a root canal is my worst nightmare, but Dr. Leff said he could get it done in 20 minutes, and he did. I wasn’t half-​drowning from the water pic thing because they didn’t use one. There was no pain whatsoever during the procedure, or afterward. He is my root canal hero. I highly recommend him.

Dr. Leff seemed to be all about business. Took care of a root canal in a no nonsense way. I wouldn’t say he seemed like the warmest doctor, but I am satisfied with his work.
The assistants and receptionists here are GREAT. They made you feel comfortable and really went out of their way to make sure everything went well with your entire appointment. I know Dr. Leff works at several different locations but I would recommend this office for the great staff he works with.