Pierre Palian, DDS

I have been a patient of Dr. Palian for over 20 years! I had not had good experiences with dentists from my childhood, and was pretty nervous, and new I needed some work, but Dr. Palian has always taken time to explain options and make sure I was comfortable with any procedure.
Now I look forward to my twice a year visits, the staff is very friendly, and Amy the office manager is amazing!

Really great dentist. They will take the time to answer all questions ranging from billing to details about the procedure and what’s being done. Dr. Palian and the hygienists are professional, friendly and accommodating with great senses of humor! They are also respectful of their time and yours and every visit is the model of efficiency. It’s worth noting the receptionist Amy is really great too and brings the whole experience full circle.

I’ve been going to Dr. Palian since October and only had positive experiences. Amy the receptionist is amazing and very thorough with her explanations of your insurance coverage and dental work. I’m less fearful of the dentist since I began coming to Dr. P.

My husband and I have been very happy patients of Dr. Palian for several years — so much so that even after we moved from DC to Bethesda we stayed with his practice. His staff are so professional and accommodating, and the hygienist is gentle, kind and very sweet! Dr. Palian is also a pleasure to work with, and he is methodical and really takes time to speak with you and examine you. He has never tried to up-​sell my husband or me, and we’ve never had to wait long to be seen.
The real test to how great the whole practice is came today when I had to bring my hungry/​cranky 3-​month-​old daughter with me to the office. The receptionist, Amy, was so sweet, she tried to help soothe my daughter while I was getting my teeth cleaned, holding her and walking her around the office. They also give me all the time I needed to close the door and nurse my daughter before seeing Dr. Palian — and he just patiently waited for me to finish.
Such a great dentist and practice!!! They are just so great, I wouldn’t go anywhere else!!! Can’t speak highly enough about everyone there.

I was nervous about going to the dentist, as it had been a long time since I had been and I knew that I had at least two cavities. Dr. Palian and his staff were friendly, pleasant and quick. They had me in and out in a timely manner, and I left with a huge smile on my face!
The two fillings I had done were PAINLESS, I didn’t even feel the Novocaine injection! I actually had to ask him if he had already injected it because I did NOT EVEN FEEL IT! He talked me through the entire process (except the injection part, probably because he knows that most people will flinch if he says anything about a needle coming near their gums!) He told me to interrupt him if I felt in any way uncomfortable during the procedure, and he was willing to take as much time as was necessary to explain anything.
His hygienists, technicians and administrative staff were LOVELY and so friendly.
I give this guy two thumbs up! He’s a real gem!

I hate the dentist and I love Dr. Palian and his whole staff. I have been going to him for at least ten years and cannot recommend him enough.

Dr. Palian and his staff are terrific. They combine total professional competence with an easy-​going feel and office personality. Dr. P. was temporarily with an old dentist of mine, years and years ago, and I remembered him when that office kept moving further up into Montgomery County. I hunted him down and have happily had his care ever since
Dr. P’s practice is right near the Cathedral. Easy street parking, easy reach for NW DC.

I love Dr. Palian and his entire office staff. Dental hygienists who are perfectionists, Amy the office manager who will explain everything (and dental benefits get complex) and Dr. Palian himself who will address any and every concern you have for as long as it takes and doesn’t believe in unnecessary procedures. I adore this office and even though I no longer live close I go twice every year and look forward to their care!

I really hate going to the dentist.
I really love Dr. Palian.
I love Dr. Palian so much that when I was covered by an HMO for a year, I paid out of pocket to go to him instead of somebody else.
He is always gentle, kind, funny, and patient. He’s willing to take the time to discuss which treatments are absolutely necessary and which can be deferred, and I trust him to respect my preferences completely.
I got my first cavity a few years ago and I was TERRIFIED of the Novocaine injection before the drilling. While I sniffled, he listened to me, talked to me, rubbed my gums, pulled on my lips… Me: «Okay, go ahead and do it.» Dr. Palian: «Honey, I just did.» It was seriously some sort of magic pressure point injection hiding trick.

«99 bottles of beer on the wall
99 bottles of beer,
take one down, pass it around,
98 bottles of beer on the wall…»
yes, this being my 99^th review, and in homage to that indelible standard of staying-​awake-​in-​the-​car-​on-​long-​drives-​or-​just-​plain-​drunk songs, or to assuage the dry day hours of my own strikingly alcoholic nature, i should probably be writing a review about some wonderfully soused establishment with vast quantities (ie. AT LEAST 99 varieties) of beer for purchasing, imbibing, downing, consuming, and over-​consuming…
instead, what do i review? a dentist. yes. that’s right. a dentist.
why? boring, right? well, i would probably be remiss if i did not allow that this recent dental visit did not have some indirect correlation to any number of blacked out, tipped over, drunk-​hungry, face-​stuffing, liver-​pumping evenings where in the sadhappy latenightearlymorning stupor of couchsleep, floorsleep, curbsleep, or ditchsleep, i have failed to brush my teeth correctly, if at all, before reaching a state of full unconsciousness… but that is not really the reason… which is: in all honesty, my cracked tooth had been hurting like a son-​of-​a-​bitch for just about a month, and now, after a quick painless morning visit to Dr. Palian’s office, it feels great. i can once again chew on the left side of my mouth. without grimacing more than i normally do at this shit show of life and it’s occasionally redemptive sustenance.
so. yes, a five star dentist. i know you’re probably thinking i am indeed actually drunk, cracked out, or possibly hallucinating to write this, but, no, apparently, they do exist. does that make the visits enjoyable? no, not necessarily. does it make them interesting? hardly. but it does mean an absence of pain and an easy, uinterrupted bite down? yes. and after so many misstabbed needles, gumbled and tonguepunched tooth cleanings, misshapen fillings, yamfingered drillwork, lackluster golden crowns, poorly dug canals to take the place of roots, 12 hour numbedface, and teeth yanked without a hint of wisdom over too many years, i’ll accept such treatment gladly.
after a mere minute or two of filing papers, the mandatory but expediate x-​rays, a sparklingly thorough teeth cleaning, and the quickest, and by far most comfortable, filling of my life (including a new fangled, possibly unnecessary, but thankfully numbing topical anesthetic just for the needle administering the anesthetic), i was at the desk and out the door, new «complimentary» toothbrush and toothpaste in hand, declaring a happy «fuck you» to my evil-​insurance company who will have to chew at least the heftier chunk of that fat, fat, but industry-​reasonable (which means, of course, nowhere close to normal standards of reasonable) bill…sigh. such is life in america, sweet land of takery.
bonuses? on top of the free «goodies» (um, the tooth brush, paste, and bag), the early 7 am opening (which gives you the option of making it to work on time if you ever were actually so inclined), and mutiple reminder calls so you won’t forget about your appointment and waste your hard-​earned, stolen, chump-​collected, or otherwise gathered moneys, Dr. Palian performs a free cancer-​check of your jaw area (apparently the source of some 5−7% of all episodes of this terrible, and under-​funded, disease) with obviously capable hands. i’m sure any number of other creepy doctors out there likely pull this same number all the time with various nefarious purposes, so i imagine one must beware, but, so far as I, and my colleagues who gave me this office in recommendation, can testify, Dr. Palian is legit.
so…
Dr. Palian,
Thank you. This thin crack in my face that serves occasionally as a sad excuse of a smile looks one step less creepy when this unlikely and unforgivable event does occur, and my teeth bared in regular hostility will shine that much brighter and truelike around town, especially in the darkness.
Even if your first name is Pierre, I forgive you.
And so do the nerves behind my teeth.
I will return again if I must. And i’m sure that will be soon.
Cheers.