Emad El Haje, BDS DDS MS

I had a very good initial consult and Xray session with Dr. El Haje. He seemed appropriately on top of what was going on with my teeth but not alarmist. He did not recommend that I get a ton of work done immediately which I liked and seemed on target. I have a crown with a hole in it and he said we’ll keep an eye on it and try to get a couple more years out of it. I agreed with that approach. He also noted that I had recession which seemed correct (to my non expert ears). He also said there was nothing wrong with having a metal crown, which my dentist friend says the same. He and his staff were very friendly. I paid what I thought I would, so there were no surprises there. Dr. El Haje told me to come back when it was the right time for a teeth cleaning. I did not feel that I was being oversold on anything. Dr. El Haje gave me confidence that he knew what he was talking about. I was also impressed with his educational background.

This guy is a butcher of I Street — avoid! Pushed for 8 crowns where simple fillings would work — some teeth already had fresh fillings but he basically said that all have be replaced with crowns. Only to get more from insurance. I let him do some crowns (why did I not look for a second opinion?) and first they were not necessary and second he did a terrible job (long story)!
Avoid this «dentist»!

Absolutely terrible. The reviews on Unilocal are exactly on point. They make charges up on the fly, use ANCIENT technology (still only physical xrays) and have to send out to an off-​site lab, and it took FOUR separate appointments to get a crown installed. My new dentist does the entire procedure in one visit. I will never go back.

I have been to Dr. El Haje’s office three times and my experience has been the same. The lady at the front desk is very professional, courteous and friendly. The lady that does my teeth cleaning is very friendly polite and definitely seems to know what she is doing and Dr. El Haje has been nice. He and I don’t talk alot but then we have not had to.
I like this dental office. I recommend it highly.

I had a great experience with Dr El Haje. I have never had a dentist spend so much time with me. He went through every tooth, discussed past work done, and gave, what I felt, an honest opinion. Not once did I think he attempted to sell unnecessary work. My one surprise is that I didn’t get my teeth cleaned on the initial consultation, which is what I’m used to. But was also not expecting the dentist to spend so much time with one patient. I have booked the cleaning with this office and will continue to use. And, I should throw in a word about the front desk manager. She is fantastic as well!

I read the reviews of this dentist before coming in, and thought it couldn’t be that bad and taht people generally don’t love going to the dentist, and therefore don’t give positive reviews. I wish I had listened.
I came in for a consultation for a sore tooth, which ended up needing a root canal and a crown. There are three main complaints I had during this process, which led me to switch dentists and issue a formal complaint through my insurance company. I think all of these issues are enough to make you think twice about choosing Dr. El Haje if you’re looking for a new dentist.
(1) The crown that Dr. El Haje made for my tooth was too big and poorly placed on. I was in a lot of pain in the weeks following the crown, my gum line was bleeding, and I could fit a fingernail underneath the crown, in what is suppose to be a seamless fit. When I went to have another dentist look at it, they were very concerned and told me this was the worst crown work they had seen in their career. This wasn’t the dentist I was switching to, and he had nothing to gain financially from bashing my other dentist. It was a family friend who was doing me a favor looking at my tooth. I then went to a second dentist in my network for a second opinion, and they concluded the same thing. When they tried to just floss around the tooth, the crown popped off. It was suppose to be a permanent, not temporary crown. The second opinion given by this dentists was that the crown needed to be replaced, and a new crown would need to be made since the first one was much too large. They took photos of my gums bleeding and bruised from this crown. My insurance company agreed, and is refunding the money I spent on the original crown with Dr. El Haje. I now need to restart the entire process of getting a crown with a new dentist. This has been painful, expensive and time consuming.
(2) When I was quoted the original cost of the crown, I was told there were additional procedures that may be necessary, and I would be told if this was the case. When I came out of my crown prep work, I was told there was an additional $ 80 charge for a gingevectomy. I had previously been told was an optional charge. I never consented for this procedure to be done, was never told this was occurring, and then was charged for if afterwards. Work should not be done on me that I have no consented to, particularly when I was never told it was necessary. It seemed like they were just trying to increase their billing. Not once did I leave the office and have a bill that was equivalent to what I had been quoted going in. I was lucky in that my insurance covered a lot — it would have been much more than $ 80, otherwise. The additional charges and lack of consent on procedures being done is not acceptable.
(3) I also found the dental hygienist did not communicate what she was doing and to be very forceful, making it a very painful experience. When they needed to take a molding of my mouth, the dental hygienist came up behind me in the chair without warning, grabbed my mouth, shoved the trays in, and held my mouth shut to get the mould. It was incredibly painful, not because of the trays, but because someone came up behind me without warning and grabbed my head and shoved something in my mouth. Basic patient care means actually telling you patient what you’re doing, and when something is being put in their mouth. This is just one example of what I thought to be the worst bedside manner I have ever experienced at a dentist.
Between poor work that needs to be re-​done, questionable charges and billing procedures, and poor bedside manner, I see no reason anyone would want to choose Dr. El Haje as their dentist.

If I could give negative stars, I would. I’ve been meaning to post this for a long time, and now that I’m looking for a new dentist, it seemed like the right time — finally.
I went to Dr. El-​Haje for several years, partly because I got caught in his web of constant service. He has a way of working where nothing is ever 100% done, but merely morphs from one issue/​set of issues, into another.
I have a lot of dental issues, partly due to an old car crash where I broke my lower jaw in two places. That has partly led to long-​term bone loss, greatly exacerbated by smoking.
From that accident, I had one front tooth knocked out, and the other displaced a bit.
I’ve had a partial for the missing tooth, and he suggested a more permanent device. When I asked him what that would entail, he said he would have to file down 7 different teeth to fit the device, most of which were fully healthy. This procedure would also end up costing about $ 7,000 dollars.
It made no sense to damage so many teeth, healthy or not, merely to replace a fully functional device that replaced one tooth, for a different, more complex device to replace that same one tooth.
That was the first sign of trouble, but I told him I wasn’t interested. However, every visit afterward over the next few years, he would bring it up, and a couple of times he started to do or schedule the work necessary for his device and I had to stop him.
From my first visit, I got a bad feeling about him from the way he spoke to his staff. Over the years, the only staff person who was there more than two visits was his receptionist/​office manager. Everyone else never lasted more than a year — another bad sign.
I’ve had him speak to me condescendingly, and have heard him do the same to many other patients.
Based on the plaques on his wall, he appears to be technically accomplished, which explains his push for the device, which appears to be his true speciality.
On more than one occassion, he’s expected me to leave the office with work half done — one time when he was making a new partial because my old one needed to be replaced, he said he was done, but I wasn’t able to use my old partial because he hadn’t finished other work. That meant he wanted me to go for two weeks with a missing front tooth.
When I told him that was not acceptable, he got upset and did a poor job in finishing u the work needed for me to continue to use my partial. That was the beginning of the end.
As part of his continuous work process, I also had a number of crowns being replaced, and again, he was about to start on more extensive work to file down several teeth so he could build his device to replace my partial.
I stopped him and had him finish the crown work. Unfortunately, after he was done, he told me that he had used a «temporary» cement that would need to be replaced since he would have to take them out anyway to complete the work for the device (yes, the one I had just told him, again, that I did not want).
It seems his only goal is to keep you as a perpetual patient, and to devise the most complex solutions to issues so he can work on what it seems is what he really wants to do — which isn’t taking care of patient needs, but satisfying his desire to show off his skills.
At least the partial he made does seem to be holding up well after a couple of years, but I strongly advise everyone to stay away from this dentist at all costs. I find his practices to be unsavory at best, and very deceptive and unethical without being overly harsh.
DO NOT USE THIS DENTIST IF YOU CAN AVOID DOING SO.

I just moved to USA, and I was trying to look for a primary care dentist to offer me checkups and cleanings like I had in my home country. I found Emad El Haje, and picked this dentist as it was near my work place. I called the receptionist and explained that I wanted a yearly check up as well as basic cleaning. She scheduled me in.
I went in, and a very cold assistant took my x-​rays– they hurt! It was the first time I had my teeth x-​rayed, and I would have appreciated a little more patience and kindness there.
After waiting for 20 minutes, Dr El Haje then showed me the x-​rays and pushed a range of services onto me– Full Mouth Debridement, Braces, Wisdom Tooth removing and night guard. Since I was new to these dental terms, I did not know what a full mouth debridement was. I asked the dentist if this was just aesthetics and not health, and he got defensive telling me that he didn’t tell the person before me that she needed braces, because I did. I’ve been to dentists my entire life and no other dentist has ever told me that I needed all these services before.
Nevertheless, I decided to just nod at his suggestions, since I knew I could refuse them later. I also wanted to get back to work, and if I didn’t agree, he seemed like he wouldn’t stop convincing me.
I then booked a followup for my Full Mouth Debridement, but I made sure I got the codes for the treatment so I could find out if my insurance covers them. I also made sure I told the receptionist I was unsure about this and would call back.
I found out that my insurance pays only 50% for my Full Mouth Debridement. Since I only wanted regular cleaning, I called the dentist back saying that I didn’t want a Full Mouth Debridement, and if I could get regular cleaning first. The receptionist told me she had no authority to change what the dentist wrote on the paper, and that I could not have regular cleaning, only Full Mouth Debridement.
So after all this time/​money wasted, I cancelled any future appointments with this dentist and am on the hunt for another primary care dentist that cares about my teeth and not just about getting me to buy every service he has to offer (and claim). All I wanted was regular cleaning, and I didn’t get that.
I signed up for Unilocal to leave this review, and hope that other people won’t have to go through what I went through.

I’m pretty positive they make up prices on the fly.
Want to test my theory — when they present you with a bill (that your insurance refuses to pay more than a certain percentage of since they charge 50% over what the insurance deems they should charge), question it.
Each time they offer to go over the numbers and call you back. Every time you get a new number. Sometimes more, sometimes less. This happened 3 out of my 4 visits to their office.
Even after having two government dental insurances, I had to pay out around $ 500 for a descaling.
Finally, I called to get my xrays transferred to a new dentist — and suddenly a whole new set of charges emerge. Plus, they don’t have email (it’s been down for a month) to send it to me. What?
As for Dr. Haje — I kind of liked the guy. He was nice and to the point. His staff, though… I’m not really sure who’s to blame for that mess.

I think only people who have had very bad experiences are bothering to write reviews of Dr. El Haje. I had my six-​month check-​up this week, and everything was pretty normal. Waited half an hour, then got my teeth cleaned by Nina, who was very nice, and even cleaned my retainer and gave me a new case. No one tried to sell me anything or make me feel bad. With Kaiser insurance, it cost $ 10.
When you have your first ever appointment with him, you will probably just get xrays and a consultation, so just don’t go in thinking you’re getting a cleaning, and you won’t be disappointed.
I think he’s just obsessed with teeth cleanliness, rather than trying to cash in on your health insurance. He once told me to brush my teeth AT LEAST three times a day, which, of course, I do not do. He’s just kind of nutty about teeth.

I have recently came back from El Haje dental practice and did not realize I had severe gingivitis because I did not go for the last eighth months and was lucky enough to have deep cleaning to prevent and complications since I was bleeding every time I brushed my teeth.
I am not sure what the others are saying, maybe they have had bad experience with other dentist and are using their past experience on every dentist, but believe me he is very skillful and knowledgeable in his domain.

I have mixed feelings about Dr. Haje. During my first visit with him, he told me I needed crowns and gum grafting and was very rough while cleaning my teeth (my mouth looked like a hockey player’s). Because I’d read Unilocal reviews after making my appointment (unfortunately not before) I knew to get a second opinion on the crown and the gum grafts.
To Dr. Haje’s credit, he did not seem upset when I told him I planned to get a second opinion and encouraged me to do so. When I showed up to Dr. Haje’s office to pick up a copy of my X-​ray to take to the other dentist (less than an hour before my appointment with the other guy) I was told that the office cannot just give out X-​rays from my file and that copying X-​rays takes a long time. But when I explained that I had an appointment within the hour, Dr. Haje offered to take new X-​rays of my mouth that minute so that I could take the new photos to the other dentist. He didn’t charge me for the x-​rays. I thought it was very big of him to do that. (Incidentally, the second-​opinion dentist thought the crowns suggestion was laughable* but agreed that gum grafts would probably be a good idea).
Since that first visit, I haven’t had any negative issues with Dr. Haje. My cleanings have been uneventful (perhaps because he has a new dentist or hygienist — Nina, she’s great — working there who cleans the teeth; she is much more careful with her cleanings, which makes the whole affair less bloody). No cancelled appointments, and no long waits. I don’t know if I would recommend Dr. Haje to friends given the strength of the other negative reviews here, but I will probably keep seeing him.
* Edit: FWIW, a year after this first appointment, I had a consultation with a periodontist about the gum graft, and he observed that I had a broken tooth that needed to be capped ASAP. It was the same tooth Dr. El Haje suggested crowning last year. So now we are doing that. If I could add a half star, I would.

I am very upset. Yesterday, I went in to hear this doctor not only lecture me and speak to me in a very condescending tone, but also tell me that I needed another special treatment/​cleaning (that I already had six months ago). Today I’m told that my insurance will not cover it since the same treatment was completed six months ago. So guess how much it will cost out-​of-​pocket…$ 255 extra dollars. Supposedly, they will also charge for an exam. I only went in for my regular cleaning. I love the dental hygienist Nina; however the dentist, Dr. El Haje, is very cold, hurtful, and I often leave in tears. I will be changing dentists ASAP. I don’t have to take this.

I can agree with every criticism offered here: Dr. El Hajj will lecture you, so if you can blow it off, then fine. You will be pressured to buy fluoride rinse and a night guard, so unless you really think you need it, be strong. (And if you really want the fluoride rinse, follow the other Unilocaler’s advice: get a prescription and fill at CVS for a fraction of the cost. I wish I had thought of that!) Appointments can take a long time, partly because of waiting around and partly because Dr. El Hajj may spend some time lecturing you or discussing political philosophy.
What ultimately caused me to stop going was that last year his staff cancelled my appt. with him not once, but two times in a row! I know that they get cancellations all the time and perhaps «turnabout is fair play», but I felt put off by having been rescheduled, and then called later just to reschedule again. Couldn’t they just have scheduled it correctly with the first call? So after a year of flying solo, I’m going to try Charles Porvaznik, DDS who gets high reviews in the area.

I have been going to Dr. Haje since I moved to the DC area, about 6 years now. There have been ups and downs, but overall my experiences have been very good. I have had a lot of crowns done and he does very good work to that end. He is also very friendly. He accepts my dental coverage, Aetna, so the prices I pay are very inexpensive. For the amount of work I have had done, I would have paid tens of thousands of dollars without the insurance, but I have not been out of pocket much at all.
The Dental hygienist who does the cleanings is also very good at what she does. She is very friendly and not terribly critical. She is honest, but in a nice way.
Located right down town (Foggy Bottom area) his office is very convenient for me to run over in the morning or afternoon.
The only thing I would criticize is the amount of time it takes to get things done some times. I feel that on occasion, he might be able to get things done in fewer visits (remember I have had some pretty extensive work done), but overall I am very pleased with Dr. Haje and his staff.

I went to Dr. Haje over the summer and never went back. As a new patient, I guess my expectation to get an x-​ray, cleaning, and examinations was over the top.
After a rough x-​ray (they cut the inside of my cheek on both sides) from a cold dentist assistant, Dr. Haje spent twenty five minutes «analyzing» my chart, waving a magic electronic examination wand all around my mouth, and told me I would have to come back for a «special» cleaning and get a night guard for grinding my teeth (which I don’t do or need). They told me it would cost about $ 300. Then he told me all about my wisdom teeth — which I do in fact need removed, but he pitched it at $ 3000.
They scheduled a follow-​up appointment, but when they called to confirm a day or two before, I cancelled. I get bills for $ 40 for «breaking my appointment» about every three months. I won’t go back, and they can send me to collections for all I care. Awful, awful, awful!

I would not recommend going to this Dentist. I, like many reviewers, was told that I needed a night guard. I felt pressured into getting one although my insurance did not cover it. I would say in general I was pressured into purchasing products (fancy $ 35 mouthwash) and receiving services which I am not sure I needed. Photos were taken of my mouth that cost $ 50 each! Those are not covered by most insurance companies. Can you imagine? You go in for a simple cleaning and walk out paying $ 200-​$ 250 out of pocket for pictures. The dentist claimed he needed them for my file. I have never had a dentist do that before. It got to the point that I would say «please, do not take any photos. They are not covered by my insurance» when I had appointments (and I didn’t like saying that b/​c I would receive a lecture). When I asked for explanations for procedures, he became arrogant in his responses. The dental hygienist would make very negative comments during cleanings. I dreaded having this specific hygienist. She made it sound as if I don’t take care of my teeth at all, which is simply not true. I brush my teeth 2 – 3 times a day and floss daily. It was always such a negative experience. There is a new hygienist there now and she was actually quite nice, much to my surprise. I kept going to this dentist for close to 2 years because I guess I was just too lazy to search for another, but I reached my limit with horrible treatment about a month ago. I went to a different dentist closer to my house in April to have an emergency root canal done and when I went into Dr. El-Haje’s office last month for my biannual cleaning, he treated me so rudely after viewing my x-​rays b/​c there was temp. crown in my mouth and he obviously did not put it there. He took it almost personally and grilled me. Even the way he looked at me — it was alarming. I was so offended and shocked. I shouldn’t have to explain my actions to him. I vowed right there I would not step back in his office for treatment –EVER AGAIN! Patients have the right to go wherever they want for service. I’m choosing my right to go to a new dentist and receive more professional treatment.
The best part of my experience with this office was w/​the receptionist, Shelbia. She has a very calm and pleasant demeanor. She is very professional.

— FIRST of all
— I waited for over an hour just so the dentist could tell me that I grind my teeth and that I need a fluoride rinse — both of which were going to cost approx~$ 500. Then they said, now we can schedule a check up/​cleaning, I had already left work for what I thought was a cleaning — now the receptionist was telling me no one would be available for another month — when my 6 month cleaning was already due!
–Luckily, I went to another dentist for a second opinion and cleaning and he turned out to be the light @ the end of the tunnel. His name — DMD Charles Porvanznik (you can find my review for him on Unilocal). But the crazy thing is Dr. El Haje tried to charge me for the visit — I called my insurance company and explained what «they did» and now the insurance company is looking into. Like another Unilocaler said «RIP OFF».
If you have additional questions about this dentist, please don’t hesitate to ask.

I agree with the previous reviewer wholeheartedly. When I first went to Dr. El Haje we got into a big argument because i had been grinding my teeth and he was very bad at explaining to me the causes, effects and treatment which was frustrating because it is expensive to treat so I felt like I was getting ripped off. Additionally the hygenist only comes in a few times a week so you have to set up a different appointment with her and it’s hard to schedule both the dentist and the cleaning in one go. I have been back since and Dr. El Haje was better the second time, perhaps it just took me a bit to get used to his manner.

I am a new patient here and so far the experience has been mixed. First of all, the dental assistants seem to be very anti-​social. They barely said two words to me except for «open» and «bite down» when doing the X-​rays. Then, they left me sitting there for 20 min. waiting for the dentist.
Dr. El Haje seems very nice, though. He talked to me for a long time — not what I was expecting — although, since he’s so social, the appointment took longer than I thought it would. I was there for nearly two hours just to get Xrays and have him take a quick look at my teeth!
He prescribed me a fancy mouthwash that cost $ 35. I’m not sure yet whether this was worth it or a racket, but we’ll see.
Edit: November 19, 2007
I have to say I dread going to Dr. El Haaj. I’ve been there three times now. The cavity fillings was the worst. My complaint is that he doesn’t explain what he’s going to do or what he’s doing while he’s doing it.
Also, he seems very critical if ANYTHING is wrong with your teeth. He’s already basically told me I don’t know how to brush and my mouth isn’t clean, which is crap. I’d had the cavities for YEARS without getting them filled and they were fine, which to me means I’ve taken pretty good care of my teeth.
Just be prepared for a lecture and blow it off.