Zahra Hakim DDS

Zahra Hakim DDS is the dental practice of Dr. Zahra Hakim at 435 Middlefield Road in Palo Alto, which patients know by its trade name, Extraordinary Smile. The office is in the low-rise professional strip of Middlefield Road just north of University Avenue, a few blocks from downtown Palo Alto and the Caltrain station. On its social channels the practice says it has served Palo Alto for more than twenty years and presents Dr. Hakim, educated at UCSF, as its owner dentist.

A general practice with a cosmetic focus

The practice describes itself as a state-of-the-art office with a particular interest in cosmetic dentistry, and its own pages and directory profiles list a broad range beyond that: general and preventive care, restorative work such as fillings and crowns, dental implants, periodontal care, Invisalign clear aligners and treatment for sleep apnoea. The combination means a patient can have routine cleanings, a chipped front tooth and a missing molar handled in one office rather than three.

Cosmetic work in a practice like this usually starts with a consultation and photographs, followed by a written plan that sequences whitening, bonding, veneers or aligners around any health issues that need fixing first.

Before you book

Call with your insurance details and ask whether the office bills your plan directly, since cosmetic procedures are rarely covered and the split between covered and elective work should be clear before you start. Ask which procedures Dr. Hakim performs herself and which are referred out. For implants or aligners ask how many visits the plan involves, what the timeline is and what the fee covers if a case needs revision. You can confirm any California dentist's licence on the Dental Board of California website. Note that the chamber's record carries a different phone number from the one the practice publishes, so use whichever answers.

Patients from the mid-Peninsula

The office draws from Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Mountain View, Los Altos, Stanford, East Palo Alto, Sunnyvale and Redwood City. Middlefield Road runs parallel to El Camino Real through the residential heart of Palo Alto, and the office is close to the Stanford campus and the University Avenue exit from Highway 101.

The number on file with the chamber is 408-807-0752; the practice's Facebook and Instagram pages, and extraordinarysmile.com, carry its current details.