Washington Oral Surgery

Awful experience. Was «in-​network» for wisdom teeth extraction, yet was billed over $ 1500 for the procedures after the fact. Just inexcusable treatment.

I had 4 wisdom teeth removed and the nurses, doctors were all excellent. I’ve had 2 follow up appointments so far and they were quick, informative, helpful, and easy to schedule last minute when I was experiencing some pain. Would recommend.

I always hear painful horror stories about people getting their wisdom teeth extracted, but I don’t know how that feels, thanks to the great job performed by Dr. Gitelman.
I had all four of my wisdom extracted on the same day under general anesthesia by Dr. Gitelman and it went way better than I ever imagined. Didn’t feel a thing. I only had a little bit of soreness the same day. After the first day, I never had any bleeding, soreness, nor swelling.
I highly recommend Dr. Gitelman for your wisdom teeth extraction. :)

Not sure if my wisdom teeth extraction was botched, or if I just had the world’s most complicated teeth. I ended up with three dry sockets after following the take-​home instructions diligently. Once those healed, I had further complications where fragments of my jaw bone that had been left in the extraction site would work their way up and out of the sockets (about as painful as it sounds). I pulled one out today with tweezers and it’s been three months since my surgery, which is what prompted me to write this review. The preparation for the extraction was impersonal; I was put in a waiting room with a video demonstration that explained the surgery and the associated risks. None of the three surgeons I worked with (yes, I went back that many times) were particularly friendly or kind.
The one positive is they were able to schedule me in for the procedure at short notice, and also were always able to see me day-​of when I would call in excruciating pain.

This is a very solid and simple practice. You are not going to get a warm and fuzzy conversation with the receptionist or with the dental assistant. This practice has a very experienced oral surgeon that does an amazing job at surgery. The office is clean. I walked in and watched a 10 min video about tooth extraction, risks and complications. The doctor came in and took a look. He gives you his very honest opinion with no sugar coating. You can schedule the extractions as soon as the next day. I did IV sedation, went home in about 45 minutes. No pain, no dry socket, simple care instructions on a two sided piece of paper. I went back 5 days later for a follow up and was good to go. If you are a person that needs a lot of hand holding, you won’t get it at this practice. It’s in and out with a good surgical technique.

P.S.
1) Dr. Gitelman also failed to disclose long term risks associated with wisdom teeth removal. I’ve always had perfect teeth, but since the surgery (which was elective since my teeth weren’t doing anything other than causing me minor pain) my other teeth have shifted and I may need orthodontia.
2) I complained on the BBB and Dr. G caved. Good because he was lying!

I had my wisdom teeth removed here. This consisted of two appointments, a consultation and then the actual procedure.
I had no issues and everything went smoothly. I noted their billing practice of making you pay up front, which is different than other surgeons I’ve been to. But it wasn’t an issue for me. Also, they didn’t offer me any payment plan, which I’ve used in the past for procedures costing hundreds of dollars.
Overall, solid experience, as far as surgery goes.

I am a undergrad at Georgetown who needed to get my wisdom teeth removed fairly quickly and far away from home and my normal doctors. I spent a lot of time doing online research and was puzzled by the mixed reviews Dr. Gitelman received.
Here’s the bottom line. Dr. Gitelman cranks out wisdom teeth extraction. He is by no means warm and fuzzy and probably not the best bet for someone apprehensive about the procedure. During the initial consultation, you view a stock video that explains the procedure, then the doc takes a look around and asks if you have any questions. He is very matter-​of-​fact and to the point. He certainly answered all of my questions, but is not looking to become friends. This is good for some, bad for others.
But the doc gets five stars from me because the procedure itself was perfect. For all the talk about wisdom teeth extraction killing and not being able to eat for a week, I must have really lucked out. It was easy to schedule the extraction quickly (they even offered me the morning after my consultation!), though do know you need to bring an escort if you’ll be going under anesthesia.
I arrived early on a Friday morning and went immediately into the chair. They placed a quick IV in the arm, plus an finger EKG to monitor heart rate. The doctor came in, verified I was having all four teeth removed, and pushed me a needle full of anesthesia. I woke up 40 minutes later with cotton balls in my mouth and in relatively little pain.
I’m not sure if it was Dr. Gitelman’s work or I was just lucky, but after one day of consistent icing and popping just a few vicadin, I was back to normal and eating basically anything. I used less than half of my painkillers and felt fine. My follow up appointment lasted thirty seconds, and I was on my way.
There are a lot of reviews on here that talk about the Dr’s billing practices, which do seem a little out of date. They originally over-​charged me, but I promptly received a refund check one my insurance figured things out.
In short, go for a competent doctor who gets your wisdom teeth out painlessly. I had a great experience, but those with serious fears or tons of questions/​concerns, may want to look elsewhere.

My initial consultation in July went well enough. My dentist had recommended Dr. Gitelman as an oral surgeon and getting an appointment was easy. The front desk staff were gruff, not exactly polite but not rude either, but Dr. Gitelman seemed fine. He walked me through my options for the procedure and seemed understanding when I explained I have anxiety with needles. I left the office from my consultation feeling OK with using him for my procedure.
However the day of the surgery was a nightmare. We arrived at the appointment a few minutes early but no one was in the office. Right at 8 AM the receptionist opened the door and let us and the other patient without a word or greeting of any kind. I gave her my flex spending card to pay, but a hold had been placed on it. When I called the Flex spending people they said they could life the hold within 2 hours and they were happy to explain this to the office, who could run the card at any time during or after my surgery. If that wouldn’t work I could simply pay out of pocket and get reimbursed.
I tried to explain this to the receptionist but she left her desk as I was speaking. She came back and said we’d need to reschedule the procedure on a different day. I tried to understand why and she said it was because of the hold. I asked why she couldn’t talk to the flex card company, or why I couldn’t pay out of pocket. The receptionist said she could take my credit card, and after I paid she sent me back into the office.
A second woman, who never introduced herself or what her function was, escorted me back into a room and told me to sit down. She asked me what I was having done and when I said my wisdom teeth she just nodded. I explained that I had anxiety involving needles and that the IV could be stressful for me. She commanded me to relax and then started taking my blood pressure and attaching things to me with no explanation of what she was doing or who she was!
Dr. Gitelman came in and said hello and asked me what we were doing today. Admittedly by this time I was already upset and tried to explain again about my anxiety involving needles. He said something to the effect of if that was the case we needed to reschedule. (As if doing this another day would make that problem go away.) I said that no, it had taken me a month to even free up this day and I really couldn’t reschedule. At that point he started working on my arm, tying a rubber band around it without a word. He moved towards me with a needle and I jumped inadvertently.
Dr. Gitelman stopped and said «That’s it. I’m not going to do this procedure for you. You can have someone else do it at a hospital but I won’t. We’ll refund your money» At this point I was shell shocked but also relieved that this man wouldn’t be touching me. I wanted him nowhere near my teeth or any other part of me. I walked back towards the waiting room and the receptionist «refunded» the charge and handed me a printed receipt. I told her I would be complaining to the Dentist who referred me, my insurance company, and any other organization I could think of. She just told me to have a nice day.
When I got home I checked my bank account and saw that the charge had not been refunded. In fact Dr. Gitelman’s office had charged me TWICE and my checking account was overdrawn as a result. I called my bank who told me the charges were pending and the situation would resolve itself in 3 business days or that the office could call the bank and have the charges taken off instantly.
Dr. Gitelman’s office of course refused to cooperate. First the receptionist argued with me that it wasn’t possible and I had the receipt to prove it. I said yes, but I also had my bank confirming I’d been charged twice. She told me she’d call me back after she checked in with Dr. Gitelman. Five minutes later she called back to say that the bank could call the office but she wouldn’t call the bank. I explained that the bank needed them to call but she said «We don’t have your account number and we’re not allowed to ask for that information.» I told her this was the worst medical care I’d ever received and she again told me to have a nice day.
At this point I have no faith that both charges won’t go through. Other reviews online suggest that this practice’s billing practices are suspect. But I want to make sure other DC residents know how terrible Dr. Gitelman’s practice is so that they can avoid the hell I just went through.

Like the rest of the reviewers have said, the billing office is a complete mess! Neither one of the women behind the counter could do simple math (with a calculator) to figure out my 20 percent co-​pay! Since I was only being overcharged $ 6 and they were one of three oral surgeons in D.C. that take my insurance, I didn’t press it.
But this office also likes to add-​on and up-​charge you for everything. They kept pushing me to start the implant process with bone graft when all I wanted was a tooth extraction while I consider an implant or bridge. They also pushed me to get laughing gas, which was not covered at all by my insurance, when the two shots of novocaine worked just fine.
That being said, my extraction by Dr. Merlo was painless, with only a little soreness after. But he didn’t even greet me or introduce himself when he entered the room. The nurse also gave him the wrong patient chart! Glad he noticed and I reiterated that I only wanted the one tooth pulled beforehand.
This office does not offer decent bedside manner or customer service. If you’ve got good insurance, go somewhere else.
UPDATE: And of course a month after my appointment, I received a check refunding me some of my co-​pay. I knew I should not have had to pay a third of my tooth extraction. That office is a total mess!

I had my wisdom teeth out here and have had no issues (at age 30!). I had a follow up appointment where I was given something to clean out the wisdom tooth holes as well which was much appreciated.
Dr. Merlo is a tad brusque with his chairside manner but that doesn’t really matter considering you can’t talk when you’re at an oral surgeon anyway. (In fact, I’ve been knocked out 95% of the time in that chair.) I’m sure I did ridiculous stuff after ‘coming to’ after anesthesia and yet, they didn’t laugh at me — even at my follow up appointment.
Also, I don’t really know why people think there are terrible billing practices. They have had a much different experience than I have. I actually received a thing in the mail from my insurance company that said, basically, «show us your X-​rays to prove you had these teeth out» and when I called the insurance company three days later, they were like «oh, the office took care of everything; you’re good to go.»

I scheduled a consultation for a wisdom tooth extraction, for several weeks out. The day before my appointment, the office erroneously left a personal voicemail for me on our HR director’s direct line. When I called back, after being passed the message, the scheduler informed me that the doctor would be unable to keep my appointment at the scheduled time. She then continued to inform me that she would go ahead and book me for an earlier time that day-​because it’s not like I’m a working professional with anything going on during business hours to prevent me from being incompetently scheduled at any time of their choosing. I informed her that time would not work for me, and that I would call back. Although in reality, the only way I’m calling back is if every other oral surgeon in the metro DMV area suddenly retires.

Dr. Merlo extracted a tooth for me, and the next step is to get an implant put in. The extraction was not fun, but considering that I was having a tooth yanked out I was pleased at how smoothely it went. I was able to go back to work afterward.
Dr. Merlo is a straight-​to-​the-​point kind of guy; I imagine some people find him brusque. I’m fine with no chit-​chat as long as the work is good.

I have never been so ridiculed about money I’m owed. AFTER A YEAR THEY STILL OWED ME $ 540.00!!!
This is ridiculous. Especially after we sat for hours on the phone listening to my insurance company explain clearly what I’m responsible for.

This review is based just on my consultation this morning. I’ll be sure to write an update /​additional review once I’ve had my procedure; I did want to get a review out quickly, however, since those of us with Aetna Dental know how hard it is to find anyone good /​caring /​competent.
My consultation this morning was for a wisdom tooth extraction — long story, but it includes having a repair on a previously extraction. From the front desk staff to the nursing staff to Dr. Geitelman, everyone was very, very pleasant, efficient, and knowledgeable. The nurse (I’m so sorry I didn’t catch her name!) took into account some concerns I had and made decisions /​recommendations that made me feel very comfortable about her skill level and the handling of my case. After some questions and the taking of vitals, she put on a video about complex extractions. I know some people have complained about the video, but I quite liked it. I like to be over-​informed about any procedures I’m having done and watching the video gave me all of the basic information in a step-​by-​step, easy to understand way. Hence, when the doctor came in, we didn’t have to waste time with the basics of the procedure, we could talk about my specifics and my concerns. Love! A time saver for all. The doctor suggested work on both sides of my mouth, but when I indicated I was only interested in having one thing done at a time, he was completely understanding and accepting of that decision — not pushy or upset or anything. He went over all of my options — and discussed them in terms of my aforementioned concerns. Exiting the office, the nurse did several ‘extra mile’ sort of things that made scheduling subsequent visits and preparing for the procedure much easier for me. I feel very confident going into my surgery (and that says a lot, because I am bit of a dentist /​surgery scaredy cat).

My dentist referred me to Dr. Merlo for my wisdom teeth and dental implants. I was extremely pleased by the office staff and doctor. They handled everything with care, the surgery went smoothly and I was able to get back to work the next day. I would definitely recommend this office.

Dr. Gitelman is a good guy who get’s right to the point. My kind of guy. The surgery (4 wisdom teeth) was fast and easy and so far I’ve experienced no major side effects.
I must say that some of the negative reviews scared me a bit before going here. That being said, none of them really had to do with the most important part: The surgery. The fact that someone is putting you to sleep and pulling teeth is the most important thing to me. I don’t care about billing issues or whether or not someone is rude. Unilocal sometimes get’s skewed too much in the direction of customer service and less in the actual services performed. I highly reccomend Dr. Gitleman if you want quality dental work. If you want someone to be your friend and give you a teddy bear when the surgery is done go elsewhere.
Update, it’s been two weeks and no problems. I experienced ZERO swelling (chipmunk cheeks), which a dentist buddy told me is partially a result of a good oral surgeon.

I honestly agree with the positive reviews of Dr. Gittelman and his practice. Today I visited for a consultation on extracting a painful molar my endodontist could not root canal. The nurse (assistant) took one look at the xray and told me they could remove it in about 5 minutes without anesthesia. I was both relieved and horrified — the tooth was causing me a great deal of agony, but I had to go to work and was totally unprepared to have my molar ripped out of my jaw this morning. I had been under the impression it would have to be surgically removed with anesthesia, and being lucid through the whole thing totally terrified me.
The nurse was so kind and reassuring, and told me a thousand times with utter confidence not to be afraid, it would be over in a second. She actually managed to convince the most squeamish, anxious, sissified girl in the entire universe.
Dr. Gittelman, agreed, is brusque, hurried and matter-​of-​fact. But this, in retrospect, is exactly what you are looking for in a surgeon. He was never rude, and constantly reassured me through the process. The best thing was that it was over in five minutes and I really felt no pain. He generally gives the impression that he could do procedures like this in his sleep, which may not be what you want if you want to star in a Hallmark move about your oral surgery, but in reality, was the perfect antidote to all of my anxieties. He had barely introduced himself, than he was telling me it was almost over.
It’s now been over twelve hours and I feel fine — other than a little bleeding and swelling, which has gradually dissipated. This has been the only dental procedure in my whole life, I think, that I’ve had no pain. I even went to the gym and ate a normal dinner… without even resorting to the hardcore pain meds. Bravo Washington Oral Surgery! :-)

1) I was over-​charged during my initial visit by $ 25. They said my consultation (for wisdom teeth extraction) was $ 25 more than it should have been. Although skeptical, I figured either they knew something I didn’t, or (instead of calling my insurance right then and there to double check) I’d see it on the bill summary my insurance always sends me. This wasn’t that big of a deal considering they reimbursed me through the mail with a check around the same time the bill summary came. However, it does speak to the deficiency in the staff to correctly identify and communicate the amount clients need to pay for service… again, it wasn’t that big of a deal at the time, but it becomes more of a problem in section 3 below.
2) I telephoned their office a couple weeks before my wisdom teeth surgery date for my wisdom teeth to let them know that my ride, my wife, would be dropping me off and if it was ok if she left and came back to pick me up. I was told that usually that’s not ok, but if it was necessary, she would need to leave her name and phone number at the front desk and promptly return if phoned before returning. I was told this by someone at the front desk who answered the phone. Ok, so next…
I received a phone call the day before surgery from the office (I believe from the same lady I spoke to the day of surgery in section 3… the «nurse») and it was a reminder about my surgery. I brought up again, the fact that my wife may leave the office to run an errand for work and be back. She immediately became frustrated and a little rude and told me that was not allowed. I told her that was inconsistent with what I was told earlier from the front desk. She corrected the erroneous information, however the staff may need to get on the same page with this bit of information as it was an inconvenience for my wife and I to shift our plans at the last minute based on false information from the front desk.
3) I had my appointment at 9:30am the next day. I show up ready to go. I then get surprised by a breakdown of the bill. I was originally told at the consultation that I would only have to pay my surgical co-​pay of $ 150 and no other breakdown was provided. At worst, it might have been a little vague, but I was under the impression when I left that $ 150 (or even somewhere in that ballpark) would be the cost. I received no information to the contrary until… Then, I get sprung with $ 630 for the surgery, which is not a lot of money, and probably fair and comparable to other offices around DC for my circumstances. However, I was not financially prepared for a $ 630 charge at that exact moment. I canceled my appointment after speaking with my wife.
Referring also back to Items 1 and 2 above, there seems to be a problem with communication at the office.
Furthermore, the «nurse» at the front desk indicated that she phoned me on Sept the 12^th to explain to me the breakdown of my bill. She even wrote the date and initialed on the breakdown bill she showed me in the office today, telling me that she had to have called b/​c of a date and some initials on the bill. I definitely checked my phone bill when I got home and there was no phone call from their office on Sept 12^th. Even if a phone call went to voice-​mail, it would still show up on my call-​history/​bill.
4) I e-​mailed Dr. Merlo about these issues and have not received a response back from him after a week.
Therefore, I can only conclude: AVOID THIS PLACE LIKE THE PLAGUE. I DON’T TRUST THOSE WHO DON’T VALUE MY BUSINESS, ESPECIALLY WHEN THERE ARE ALTERNATIVES WHO DO.

«Oh my god go see a dentist. Whenever I look at your face I want to vomit.» — My boss. :(
Okay — so I put off the «time to get those wisdom teeth out» conversations over and over until one day my face looked like I was a chipmunk hoarding nuts in my mouth (insert gay joke). My wisdom tooth was infected.
After nervously scanning Unilocal and using a list of covered surgeons from my employer I decided on Washington Oral Surgery. I called WOS and was set for a consultation almost immediately. I watched some video that outlined the procedure — sounds lovely. And by lovely I mean, «which lever do I pull to be crushed by a giant safe?» Dr. Gitelman then came in to answer any questions I might have. He is such a nice man — reminding me of a grandfather figure — and he put all my fears to rest.
He was concerned about the urgency and tried to get me in ASAP — pretty much whenever I got my escort selected he would see me. He also mentioned it was a wise decision that I chose to be knocked out during the procedure — call me a smarty.
I showed up for the surgery and asked how long it would take me to fall asleep… before I knew it I was waking up accusing the nice assistants of scamming me of my money because «I never fell asleep.» While my teeth sat on a tray very far away from my mouth… sup druggie?
Within a week it was like I was completely back to normal — soreness was gone and all that was left was to routinely clean out my two new mouth holes of chewed up food. Sup sexy?
As for finances, the receptionist laid out exactly what I would owe to have the procedure done. I ended up paying almost $ 500 out of pocket — which my friends said was pretty high — but that just might reflect poorly on my dental provider. In any case, that money was well worth the cost of having 4 wisdom teeth removed and a pain killer binge. Jk. But not jk.