Call Us Today!
(847) 282-4958
"I love Dentistry"
Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that I would be in my mid-career thoroughly fulfilled with what I do for my work. I enjoy dentistry because it affords me the ability to be an artist within the health care model. It is an art and a science. I also enjoy the people that I get to know along the way. Having spent years learning with the most intelligent dental professionals in the world, I find enjoyment sharing my knowledge with other dentists seeking to improve their skills.
Dentistry is fun because I enjoy helping people solve a problem. I believe that most dentists feel fulfilled when they can help someone smile. This sense of fulfillment can only happen when dental procedures are predictable, and the result creates happiness for my patients. Healthcare as I have come to know it, can be a problem focused profession that treats the specific problem while often the cause of that problem remains unresolved. My passion for creating sustainable smiles adapted into an integrative dental model over the past few years. Following many years of post-graduate training, while collaborating, when needed, with the medical community, I now get satisfaction helping my patients design and maintain their healthy smiles. Technology has become a commodity in healthcare and in dentistry. My goal is to introduce my patients to the latest technological advances while spending the necessary time to help them choose a pathway to health centered dental care. I have come to know that the learning never ends. I am honored to be part of a profession that has an ability to elevate the human spirit. I believe “smiles change lives”.
My Dental Partnership and Team
Dr. John McNerney and I have a unique vision for our practice that is founded on life-long learning and many years refining our leadership principles. Sandy Point Dental invests 150 hours per year into onsite total team training. This includes the introduction to the new technologies in our field of practice, advancements in dental materials, new diagnostic measures and patient-care improvements. This has helped us grow our practice that is on the leading-edge of the dental profession. We believe that our patients choose us because of our “one-of-a-kind approach”. We invite all looking for predictable dental care customized to their unique needs and wants.
Sandy Point Dental is Exceptional
My experience at Sandy Point Dental has enabled me to provide the best that dentistry has to offer in a calm and comfortable atmosphere. I believe that my patients trust me and our team because we have a genuine approach to dental care. We listen to our patients’ questions and concerns so that we can deliver dental care that meets and exceeds their expectations. The smile is a window into my patient’s wellbeing. This is a great way to make a living.
Art meets Science and Digital Smile Design (DSD)
Technological advancement has provided an opportunity to create predictable results with durable materials that match nature. I continue to enjoy minimally invasive techniques that include the use of new generation dental materials and minor tooth movement. I have been blessed by being invited to comprehensively restore many patients. Our facially generated diagnostic approach uses digital photography to set a plan for success. Cosmetic dentistry in my practice utilizes a digital scan of your teeth and same day fabrication of your dental restoration with CEREC technology. This is the age of 3-D printing with unmatched accuracy, with more accuracy than the use of impression materials. I use a digital smile design (DSD) process that helps my patients see their smile before choosing it! Of course, this required 100’s of hours of learning at Spear Education and Cerecdoctors.com. The joy of learning this new technology and the ability to compare notes with other striving dental professionals continues to be a gift.
Co-Diagnosis
Through an educational process called co-diagnosis, patients become the decision-maker and artist as I guide them through a smile design process. We often learn that there was an unknown cause to their worn or broken teeth. When we discover this, my patient often chooses the most predictable and esthetic treatment which may include improving their health as well as creating a smile that they will enjoy forever! I am part of a team that includes our staff, a periodontist, orthodontist, otolaryngologist, myo-functional therapist, oral surgeon, endodontist and a sleep physician. My patients include children and teachers, mothers and fathers, retirees and satisfied professionals that show their trust by referring their extended families, co-workers and friends to Sandy Point Dental.
Education and Experience
I graduated from Loyola University Dental School. Initially, my practice focused on pain management and restorative dental techniques. Following the creation of Sandy Point Dental with John McNerney DDS, optimizing the patient experience became our focus. This has required us to participate in an average of 150 continuing education hours per year. This includes completion of the continuum and membership with the Faculty Club at Spear Education, the most renowned post graduate dental education platform in the world. I am a credentialed fellow at the Academy of General Dentistry (FAGD).
Completed the Breathe Course, a Sleep and Breathing course including a functional approach to frenuloplasty workshop with the Breathe Institute. The Breathe Institute is the global pioneer in bringing airway support to sleep and breathing related healthcare and education. We help great providers offer whole health for the whole family. Our team is focused on the precision diagnosis and comprehensive treatment of nasal obstruction, snoring, obstructive sleep apnea, breathing disorders, and its multidisciplinary approach is at the forefront of airway management. The Breathe Institute is proud to be advancing the standards of care through top-tier clinical education programs, pathfinding research endeavors, and most importantly, superior patient care.
Affiliations and Treatment Focus
I am a Qualified Dentist with the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine. The AADSM is a chosen institution by the AMA integrating the dental profession into the treatment and care of flow limited breathing issues. We believe that this has reached epidemic proportions; dentistry is strategically positioned to help patients that suffer from sleep breathing issues. I am experiencing that this affects children as well as adults and sometimes whole families. It is our new passion to help our patients and families find a resolution to the devastating effects of oral-breathing and flow limited breathing.
I am a member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. The AACD is the credentialing institution for the cosmetic dental specialty. This affiliation is a good fit with providing the best that dentistry has to offer to my cosmetically orientated patients. The pursuit of oral-facial esthetics is diagnostic as well as pleasing to the eye. This is a subjective discussion where I learn as much as a patient learns about their options. This is a creative endeavor that fits well with my passion for the artistic and precise elements in cosmetic dental restoration.
I have completed extensive training within the Airway Prosthodontic Training Program at Spear Education. This program’s goal is to develop a comprehensive approach evaluating the use of oral appliances and their possible relationship to the management of Upper Airway Resistance chronic inflammation, functional somatic syndrome, oxidative stress, and metabolic disorders. Dentists are uniquely positioned to observe these biomarkers, sometimes, before they are known by the patient! I have helped create a team of Medical and Dental specialists in an interdisciplinary effort to help people through this confusing labyrinth of care.
I am committed to the treatment of TMD and oral and facial pain. My training and experience is extensive, having completed the inter-disciplinary workshops and symposiums in coursework not limited to Temporal Mandibular Disorders, Occlusion, The Worn Dentition, Complex Treatment Planning, and Anterior Restorative Design at the prestigious Spear Education. My outcomes have been most successful when a plan is understood by all parties involved in the clinical care of my patients.
I look forward to getting to know you during your new patient examination at Sandy Point Dental
