I started this practice with a dream: To create a different kind of experience for patients and our professional colleagues.

After I completed my surgical training in 1995, I worked as an associate for several oral surgery practices. The surgeons I worked for were exceptionally skilled doctors, but I quickly sensed that something was missing. Personal care and empathy for patients seemed lacking, and patients’ satisfaction suffered.

Patients would sometimes wait an hour to be seen, only to be rushed in and out. When they called with questions, the staff was irritated and impatient. In some practices, the facilities were old and the equipment out of date. Doctors would walk in the room with their nose in a chart, look at an X-ray and then ask the new patient to open wide. They would start probing into the mouth without ever making eye contact. Patients weren’t seen as people, but rather, as cases.

I quickly knew that there needed to be a better way to serve patients. Going to the dentist can be scary, especially for patients who have pain and real concerns about their teeth — from an impacted wisdom tooth to a smile ruined by an accident. I’ve learned over the years that patients want to have their dental work done quickly and effortlessly and to return to their lives without much interruption. They want to trust totally their dentist and feel free to ask questions and vent fears.

Greatly disappointed with the status quo in dentistry, I followed my passion, both to do great work and provide a caring office. I opened a practice of my own in 1997. My vision was to create an environment where patients felt comfortable and assured. An office where patients would feel our care and concern from the minute they called our office or walked in the front door. A practice that was safe and technologically advanced, and where the staff was empathetic to patients’ concerns and fears. I wanted each patient to have a remarkable experience. I wanted to become known as a practice where education, communication, and partnership between dentist and patient took precedence over the bottom line.

My dream came true. My team and I worked hard to create truly remarkable experiences for our patients and their referring doctors. We only make promises that we can consistently deliver on: to be available, responsive, and on time; to deliver the expected surgical results; to educate and inform at every opportunity; and to offer remarkable service. Simply put, we treat our patients as they would like to be treated, and we become a long-term partner in their oral health. Our philosophy is that patients are more than case numbers, and their treatment should be handled with only the utmost finesse and care.

Since our referring doctors are equally important to us, we have the same philosophy for referrals. We’ve established educational tools to increase their knowledge base, created new lines of communication to become better aligned, and developed ways to improve the care of our shared patients.

Since our inception, we’ve worked with more than 250 dentists in the Greater Washington, DC Metropolitan area. We have treated thousands of patients and their extended families and friends in our community. We continue to be the leader in oral surgery. We continue to provide educational programs and support to patients. We create strong bonds with their dentists and physicians to improve communication and care. And most importantly, we educate people to make better and more engaged decisions about their oral health.

H. Ryan Kazemi, DMD