The dentist who got obsessed with sleep.

I'm Dr. Marlene Shaw — a dentist in Washington, DC. Sleep, snoring, and TMJ disorders aren't a side service I offer. They're something I deeply care about, that I've gotten advanced training for, just so that I can help more people like you. I pour my heart into every patient I treat.

I'm a third-generation dentist — my father and grandfather were both dentists, though neither practiced in the US. I was born and raised in Haiti, came to New York for college, and earned my bachelor's in computer science at Queens College before Howard University's College of Dentistry took a chance on me (class of 2003 — the only school that said yes). That combination — dentistry in my blood, technology in my training — shapes everything about how I practice.

I did dental informatics research at Columbia University's College of Dental Medicine, and when I started seeing how many of my patients were exhausted, snoring, clenching, and waking up in pain, I went deeper: I completed the sleep mini-residency at the University of Utah School of Dentistry and earned my Q-ABDSM credential in dental sleep medicine.

Here's what I believe: nobody should have to choose between sleeping with a machine strapped to their face and doing nothing. There's a middle path — comfortable, custom, dental — and most people have never been told it exists. That's why I'm here.

I personally design every treatment plan and stay involved in your care at every step. Some visits may be longer, others shorter — but your care always has my personal touch, because you're family to me here, not a number.