About Your Dentist
Meet Dr. Kambez Shukoor
A Navy dental assistant who became a dentist. Today he plans, places, and restores implants himself in one Washington, DC office — DDS, FAGD, FICOI, MICOI.
- U.S. Navy veteran with enlisted, technician, and officer-level dental experience — including sedation and anesthesia for anxious patients
- Completed an Advanced Education in General Dentistry residency covering preventive and cosmetic dentistry
- Fellow and Master of the International Congress of Oral Implantologists — he plans and places dental implants and full-mouth restorations in-house
- Speaks English, Hindi, and Persian with patients across DC, Maryland, and Virginia — see our Connecticut Ave location
Credentials & Affiliations
Google Rating
4.9 · 303 reviews
Availability
Same-day consults
Payments
Financing available
Origin
A Different Path Into Dentistry
Most dentists start in a classroom. Dr. Shukoor started in a U.S. Navy dental clinic, holding the suction.
He enlisted in the Navy as a dental assistant, and the work stuck. Assisting meant seeing dentistry from the inside out long before he ever held a handpiece of his own — how a patient breathes when they're nervous, how a treatment plan actually unfolds chairside, what separates careful work from rushed work.
He went on to become a dental prosthetic technician, fabricating the crowns, bridges, and dentures other dentists prescribed. That technical stretch is unusual among practicing dentists, and it shows in how he approaches restorative cases: he has built the things he now designs, so he knows what a lab needs to deliver a result that fits and looks right.
While still on active duty, he enrolled at Old Dominion University, earning a Bachelor's degree in Biology with a minor in Psychology in May 2005 — coursework fit around service obligations. From there he went to the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical College of Virginia School of Dentistry, graduating with his DDS in 2009.
Enlisted service member, dental assistant, lab technician, dentist — in that order. It's the reason the tone in this office is closer to a workshop than a sales floor.
Training
Training & Credentials
Dr. Shukoor's education and post-doctoral training, in order — plus what each set of letters after his name actually means.
- Enlisted service
U.S. Navy dental assistant
Dr. Shukoor began his dental career in uniform, enlisting in the U.S. Navy as a dental assistant and learning chairside dentistry from the assistant's stool first.
- Active duty
Dental prosthetic technician
He advanced to dental prosthetic technician, fabricating the crowns, bridges, and dentures he now designs and places for patients — a lab background few dentists have.
- May 2005
Bachelor's degree, Old Dominion University
While still on active duty, he enrolled at Old Dominion University and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Biology and a minor in Psychology.
- 2009
DDS, VCU / Medical College of Virginia
He earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery from the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical College of Virginia School of Dentistry.
- Post-doctoral
AEGD residency
He completed a residency in Advanced Education in General Dentistry, a hospital-style year of additional training across surgical, restorative, and complex care.
- Military practice
Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center
He practiced general dentistry at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center, treating service members and veterans.
- 2017
Founded the practice
After his Navy service, he founded Connecticut Ave Cosmetic Dentistry — today DC Implant & Cosmetic Dentistry — on Connecticut Avenue NW.
What the letters mean
- DDSDoctor of Dental Surgery
- His dental degree, earned at VCU / Medical College of Virginia School of Dentistry in 2009.
- AEGDAdvanced Education in General Dentistry
- A post-doctoral residency covering surgical, restorative, and complex full-mouth care beyond dental school.
- FAGDFellow, Academy of General Dentistry
- A fellowship awarded for hundreds of hours of continuing education and a comprehensive examination.
- FICOIFellow, International Congress of Oral Implantologists
- Recognition of documented experience and continuing education in implant dentistry.
- MICOIMaster, International Congress of Oral Implantologists
- The ICOI's advanced tier, reflecting a further level of implant training and case experience.
Service
Serving Those Who Served
As a Veterans Day community initiative, Dr. Shukoor provided a full smile makeover — including dental implants and implant-supported dentures — at no cost to a military veteran in need. Local news covered the case.
He has said he hopes to keep helping veterans in the future. Having served himself, and having practiced general dentistry at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center, it isn't an abstract cause for him.
If cost is what's standing between you and treatment, our financial information page lays out insurance, payment plans, and financing options plainly.
A free full smile makeover — implants and implant-supported dentures — given to a veteran in need, with the hope of doing it again.
Philosophy
His Approach to Care
Treat every patient like family, and do the best dentistry possible every time — that's the only way to provide care.
In practice that means comfort-first care: sedation offered without you having to ask twice, appointments scheduled with enough time that nothing is rushed, and anesthesia handled carefully because most dental fear is really fear of pain.
It also means honest case planning. You see your own photos and 3D imaging, you get the alternatives — including doing nothing — and you get written costs before treatment starts. Because Dr. Shukoor both places and restores implants himself, there is one plan and one person accountable for the result rather than a hand-off between two offices.
Personal
Beyond the Office
All-Navy soccer
Dr. Shukoor played for the All-Navy soccer team while on active duty and through his undergraduate years at Old Dominion.
Hindi and Persian
In addition to English, he speaks Hindi and Persian — useful if you would rather discuss treatment in one of those languages.
Patients
What Patients Say About Dr. Shukoor
A sample of the reviews behind our 4.9-star Google rating.
Dr. Shukoor placed two implants and the fit is perfect. The whole team explained every step and the cost up front — no surprises.
I came in for veneers and left with the smile I had wanted for years. The office is spotless and the scheduling is genuinely easy.
Best dental experience I've had in DC. They handled my out-of-network insurance paperwork for me and maximized what was covered.