Edward Kahl, DDS

Dunn Dental Group recently took over Dr. Kahl’s practice after he retired last summer/​fall. I was little nervous at first since I liked Dr. Kahl and good dentist (who doesn’t push you do extra and useless procedures) is hard to find.
All of Dr. Kahl’ staff is still here but they are now working for Dr. Noelle Dunn. She is great! I don’t like getting the numbing shots but she and her assistant made me go through it just fine. Like Dr. Kahl, Dr. Noelle Dunn didn’t over do any procedure with me. I like their receptionist, Ben, he is always very clear and to the point, you can trust him to work with your insurance. Never had problem with them trying to charge me ‘extra’ due to insurance and all that. At least not yet…
Recent snowstorm and metro shutdown actually got my original schedule cancelled, but the staff were quick in reaching out to me (letting me know cancellation and called back the very next day to reschedule within the same week! That’s pretty impressive.

My negative review is NOT for Dr. Kahl, whom I loved for years! It is for Dr. Paul Kourtsounis, a dentist in the new Noelle Dunn practice that just took over upon Dr. Kahl’s retirement. I can’t even find Dr. Kourtsounis’s name when searching for it online. Yesterday his hygenist talked me into a useless Flouride treatment. He then abruptly announced that I really should have all my old fillings replaced and three should be done at once! Yikes! I’ve been in no pain and have been having no problems. Dr. Kahl fixed things on occasion and replaced a few fillings over the years, but nothing like this. Furthermore, his «bedside manner» was wonderful. I left the office extremely depressed, with the distinct feel that these young dentists must have very high dental school bills left to pay. :-(.

Dr Kahl has sold his practice to Dr. Dunn, who upsells fluoride for adults (what a joke) and «deep cleaning». I pay for the deep cleaning and they come back and say, «oh we undercharged you, you owe some more money.» I will no longer be going to this practice. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!

I was a long time patient of Dr. Kahl and thought he was terrific. I now go to Dr. Paul Kourtsounis at the new Dunn Dental Group. He is the absolute best. A total perfectionist and also has incredible skills at making people comfortable during what can be very unpleasant procedures. He has a great sense of humor. The rest of the staff including Musse and Ben go out of their way to get you in ASAP if there are any problems with temporary crowns or bridges. Sure they don’t have TV’s in the dental chairs… but I’d rather go to a place that focuses on patient care and perfection rather than a gleaming office with all the latest and greatest equipment and only mediocre staff members.

My review is of Dunn Dental Group, which took over for Dr. Kahl when he recently retired. The negative reviews seem to be from angry former patients of Dr. Kahl and are scarce in details so I wanted to give my two cents.
I had my first appointment last week at Dunn Dental Group after being referred by a friend. I was apprehensive about seeing a new dentist, since I had been with my former provider for ten years. The office is very conveniently located, welcoming and most important — clean. The staff was quick at getting me registered and in a chair. The dental assistant did a great job at taking x-​rays (a lot of x-​rays) and frequently checked my comfort level. My cleaning was wonderful, they are using new water technology that I felt made it both faster and more comfortable. Dr. Dunn and her partner went over my x-​rays with me and came up with a treatment plan. She was honest and explained every step to me and the reasoning behind it, and was very mindful of spacing out the work to fit my budget. I have been recommending Dunn Dental to all of my friends because of the wonderful experience I had.

Dr Kahl was awesome, we loved him and his office staff. He has recently sold his practice to a new dentist, Dr Dunn. She seems nice, but is recommending a lot more procedures than he did and is pushing expensive fluoride rinses, mouth guards, etc. This business has changed and we will probably be switching to a new practice.

I’ve been a patient of this practice for a year, and I couldn’t be happier. I miss my hometown dentist a lot but Dr Kahl and his staff make me feel right at home.

I have gone to Dr. Kahl twice for my cleanings and he and his staff are efficient and wonderful. I always leave with a great smile!

Dr. Kahl is a great dentist, and everyone working in his office is equally wonderful. I’ve been seeing Dr. Kahl for about five years now. There was a period of time where I had really terrible insurance and tried seeing another dentist — big mistake. That dentist tried to tell me that I had eight cavities and needed a mouth guard. I switched insurances and went back to Dr. Kahl, who reassured me that none of that was correct. Dr. Kahl is efficient and straightforward, which I appreciate. Someone else commented that he has a more conservative approach to treatment, and I’ve found this to be true. This is NOT one of those dentists who’s trying to screw you over or who tells you that you need $ 500 of dental work. Also, his staff is great — the thing that stands out most to me is that everyone who works here actually remembers who you are. I’ve had some cavities filled here with no issues, and Dr. Kahl was also able to recommend a great oral surgeon when I needed to get my impacted wisdom teeth removed. Overall, this is a great office that I highly recommend.

HAVE NOT ACTUALLY BEEN TO THIS DENTIST.
I’m new to the area and have a significant amount of time looking for the right dental insurance and the right dentist. I found some great reviews about Dr. Khal but wanted to call and ask a couple of questions before I committed to an insurance.
I spoke with Ben the receptionist, let’s just say he was the opposite of pleasant. I feel more confused now than before, and honestly, I think I am gonna start looking for a different dentist so I don’t have to deal with that receptionist ever again.

Been going for several years now and have only had good experiences with him and the staff.

Dr. Kahl and his staff are knowledgeable, competent, and very helpful. Dr. Kahl is a no nonsense, patient oriented dentist.
I am so grateful to have found Dr. Kahl. I have been going to him since 2011, after doubting the «four cavity» diagnosis I’d had with a Soft Touch dental on K Street. I asked Dr. Kahl about the «4 cavities» the Soft Touch dentist said I had. Dr. Kahl said there is staining but it’s worse to drill into a tooth unnecessarily. That made sense to me, and is among the reasons I really appreciate Dr. Kahl.
Background: On my second visit to Soft Touch, the dentist indicated that I had
4 partial cavities under existing cavities. Since I rarely get cavities, I found it strange that I had so many. My husband also went to Soft Touch around the same time and had a similar experience, so we started to question the dentists at Soft Touch. We each sought second opinions (and ultimately found different dentists.) In hind sight, I realized that Soft Touch may not have the patients’ best interests in mind. After all, Soft Touch has large flat screen TVs in every examination room, a big ground floor office on K Street, and likely needs to bill more clients for cavities to pay for their opulent office (and perhaps lifestyles). Dr. Kahl’s office is modest and efficient and epitomizes his practice’s conservative approach.

Great local dentist if you live in NW DC. I have been coming here for almost 4 years now. Russ does a great job at the front desk and could not be more nicer /​accommodating. Dr. Kahl is friend, personable, and has a great dry sense of humor. Sometimes I can’t even tell when he is joking but he is never offensive and always brings a smile to your face.
The one downside about this practice is that the technology is a bit dated. They do not have the latest TV’s in the chairs with headphones, etc. I do not personally mind it so much but others may if they are used to going to a state of the art dentist.
I recently had the best cleaning experience I have ever had with Takai. She did a great job and was very good at explaining what she was doing along the way.
Overall, I would highly recommend Dr. Kahl’s practice to anyone looking for a dentist in the NW DC area.

Everything will start out well. You’ll appreciate the friendly staff the first few visits and probably won’t have to wait too long to see the dentist. So; a few visits down the road, you’re going to begin to wonder if you should really be getting dental treatment from a Dentist who just gave you two shots (no warning and NOT slow) on the wrong side of your mouth entirely. Well then you start to realize that half of your ENTIRE FACE is numb AND the correct side now needs the two shots. (Note to self: bring walking stick to navigate home on foot.) Next you’ll wonder why the guy at the front desk who was previously so friendly suddenly thinks you’re the biggest burden as you’ve caused him to close his 3 open computer windows if Facebook. I could go on, but I’m sitting here with an exposed nerve on tooth 15 and must find a new dentist. Cheers!

A great dentist with a wicked sense of humor (see below). What more can you ask for? He’s thorough yet conservative in his approach, meaning he doesn’t find problems that aren’t really problems and isn’t needlessly aggressive in treatment. In fact, he disagreed with my previous dentist who said I needed crowns and thought a lighter touch might do the job. Now, two years later, no crowns, and I’m perfectly fine.
His admin staff is friendly and efficient, and I’ve also been happy with his hygienists. (My husband had a not-​so-​pleasant cleaning by one of them, but he can write his own review.)
Back to humor. Below is our conversation on my last visit, when I told him that I was expecting (and therefore couldn’t get x-​rays):
«How do you feel?»
«Okay. Just tired all the time.»
«That’s not surprising, since you can’t do cocaine while you’re pregnant.»
Ha ha ha! How can you not love him?

I have a historical, chronic fear of dentists — which I justify by having very, very bad teeth. I wasn’t in the market for a new one, but I developed a serious gum problem and needed to be seen pronto. Dr. Kahl’s office got me in less than 5 hours after I called. Without getting too gory, my mouth was a horror show of messed-​up sadness, but everyone was incredibly kind and encouraging through what could have been a terrifying encounter (think being held down and having a fancy sandblaster taken to your teeth). Dr. Kahl is a bit dry and can come off as pretty all-​business, but the rest of the staff — especially Laurann, the greatest hygienist in the history of dentistry — complement him with their kindness (and Kahl gets way funnier the more you talk to him). I’ve been in the office three times in the last few weeks, and it’s been as much of a pleasure as major dental work can be. When I told the folks today that I was planning on quitting smoking next week, they even threw in a nice light teeth bleaching to help keep me motivated. I’m so glad I found this place!
Oh, and their front desk dude is also a total pleasant peach to deal with — somehow he will know you when you walk in without ever having met you before. He’s like a customer service psychic of awesomeness.

I love this office. I found Dr. Kahl when I had an emergency infection and needed someone who could see me right away and was near my office. Dr. Kahl saw me immediately and talked to me on the phone everyday over the weekend to make sure I was okay. I now go to Dr. Kahl for my regular dental needs and he is amazing. Dr. Kahl himself is very funny and he has wonderful staff-​they are all so nice. The biggest thing, Dr. Kahl is reasonably priced. He is the only dentist I’ve ever seen in DC who didn’t try to charge me thousands of dollars for unneeded dental work. Dr. Kahl is #1.

I hate writing negative reviews, but I need to for this one.
The office itself is fine. Easy to deal with, quick responses, no problem.
However, I told Dr. Kahl I only wanted X-​rays of the wisdom teeth (because of my family medical history), even though he recommended doing more. But he ended up, without telling me, instructing his assistant to do a full set of SIXTEEN X-​rays. I had no idea what was going on. By the 10^th x-​ray, I realized this wasn’t what I asked for, and I made her stop from completing the set. I was horrified.
Dr. Kahl was frustrated because, despite taking so many X-​rays, I had stopped his assistant from taking more, and so she barely got any X-​rays of my wisdom teeth. I asked him if it was enough for me to tell him if I should get my wisdom teeth out. He said yes, it would be best if I got them all out.
After that visit, I was too shaken up for another dental or periodontal appointment. I felt taken advantage of and, considering my family medical history, pretty scared.
Now that it’s been a while later, I recently went to a new dentist. He looked at the xrays from Kahl’s office and couldn’t believe it. There weren’t any xrays of my bottom wisdom teeth, and I believe only one of my top wisdom teeth, all of which Dr. Kahl recommended to have removed (!).
He called the large set of X-​rays that was taken «useless,» and couldn’t believe I didn’t receive a simple bite wing xray set (which is four X-​rays) and instead got so many pointless images of «perfect teeth.» He said its entirely inappropriate to give a full set of xrays for someone with healthy teeth like me. He went ahead and only took two xrays of my bottom teeth.
I understand that dentists like xrays because they bring in a lot of money – and that they also can convey some useful information. But they shouldn’t be overdone. And regardless, when a patient says no, that should be understood and respected.

I’ve been at his practice for about 6 years and I have no complains. I recommend him to everyone.

I’ve been going to Dr. Kahl for over twenty years now. In that time he’s been professional, caring and I’ve never felt he did a thing that wasn’t necessary. He’s always given me my options and helped me make the best decisions on any procedure. My teeth are all my own and I have him to thank for it.
I’m nearing retirement now and we’re thinking of moving but I’ll always come back to him if I have to fly here just for appointments.