Health & Wellness
Top Dentists 2015
Grit your teeth every time you get an appointment reminder? Your new dentist is on this list.
Just in time to remind you to schedule another checkup, our annual Top Dentists survey is back. Now in its sixth year, our list of 150 winners reflects the dentists who their peers—that is, other dentists in the metro area—think are the best in each of eight specialties. And to complement the survey results, we take you into the future of dentistry with a look at the advances in the field that are still in the lab but tantalizingly close to reality.
HOW WE DID IT: We surveyed more than 2,000 dentists in Baltimore and the five surrounding counties over the course of several months. Assisting us was our adviser, Dr. Joanne Block Rief. Winning dentists needed to be accepting new patients. An asterisk denotes the dentist receiving the most number of peer recommendations in his or her specialty.
Our Adviser
Dr. Joanne Block RiefOur adviser for the 2015 Top Dentists survey was Dr. Joanne Block Rief, a frequent past winner of the Top Dentists peer survey. (Advisers are not allowed to be on the list in the year they serve.) Before graduating from the University of Maryland School of Dentistry in 1986 with a D.D.S. degree, Dr. Block Rief received her B.S. in dental hygiene. She started in the dental field at the age of 13, working in her father’s long-standing dental practice in Annapolis. Working her way up from assistant to hygienist, and then to dentist, she eventually bought a dental practice in Owings Mills. In addition to general dentistry, Dr. Block Rief’s practice emphasizes cosmetic dental procedures.
The List
BY REGION
*Most peer recommendations in specialty
-
Endodontist
Annapolis
Louis H. Berman
Annapolis Endodontics
200 Westgate Cir., Ste. 104
Annapolis
410-268-4770
Jeffrey O. Luzader
Chesapeake Endodontic Center
888 Bestgate Rd., Ste. 213 Annapolis
410-224-7556
Quinton W. Miner Jr.
Annapolis Endodontics
200 Westgate Cir., Ste. 104
Annapolis
410-268-4770
Frank Parreira
Chesapeake Endodontic Center
888 Bestgate Rd., Ste. 213
Annapolis
410-224-7556
Baltimore City
Howard Schunick
1030 N. Charles St., Ste. 302
410-752-0238
Timothy L. Skane
Harbor Endodontics
36 S. Charles St., Ste. 1405
410-637-3636
Bel Air
Payam Hariri
2021B Emmorton Rd.
Bel Air
410-538-3300
Carroll County
Steve Delgado
730 Old Liberty Rd., Ste. 101
Sykesville
410-549-9760
Yelena Kholodenko
Westminster Endodontics
412 Malcolm Dr., Ste. 304
Westminster
410-848-7060
Catonsville
George Delgado
1006 Ingleside Ave.
Catonsville
410-747-1707
Andrew Stanek
1006 Ingleside Ave.
Catonsville
410-747-1707
And other locations
Columbia
Richard Fein
Advanced Root Canal Specialists of Howard County
8808 Centre Park Dr., Ste. 210
Columbia
410-772-9600
S. Craig Schneider
8885 Centre Park Dr., No. 2E
Columbia
410-715-8951
Ellicott City
Lina Jarboe
6021 University Blvd., Ste. 170
Ellicott City
410-203-1800
Burton M. Waxman
5058 Dorsey Hall Dr., Ste. 102
Ellicott City
410-740-3636
Lutherville-Timonium
John M. Hyson
Endodontics Partners
1206 York Rd., Ste. 200
Lutherville
410-821-5553
And other locations
H. Kathy Lee
Maryland Endodontic Group
22 W. Padonia Rd., Ste. C-244
Timonium
410-252-3900
And other locations
Jeffrey A. Lieberman
22 W. Padonia Rd., Ste. C-244
Timonium
410-252-3900
Judy Y. Melamed
Endodontics Partners
1206 York Rd.,
Ste. 200
Lutherville
410-821-5553
And other locations
Eric R. Volk
1447 York Rd., Ste. 607
Lutherville
410-828-7668
Owings Mills
Dennis Levinson
9199 Reisterstown Rd., Ste. 102-B
Owings Mills
410-356-6500
Sean M. O’Sullivan
9199 Reisterstown Rd., Ste. 102-B
Owings Mills
410-356-6500
Pasadena
Kenneth Mangano
Endodontic Associates
8221 Ritchie Hwy., Ste. 201
Pasadena
410-647-3453
Pikesville area
Andrew Reff
Greenspring Endodontics
2650 Quarry Lake Dr., Ste. 140
410-653-0900
Bradley Trattner* (above, pictured with his daughter, Amanda)
Executive Center at Hooks Lane
8 Reservoir Cir., Ste. 102
Pikesville
410-321-1266
And other locations
Towson
Howard M. Cohen
21 West Rd., Ste. 101
Towson
410-321-1266
And other locations
Brenda K. Richardson
515 E. Joppa Rd., Ste. 106
Towson
410-321-5700
White Marsh-rosedale
Charles Herbert
Maryland Endodontics
7939 Honeygo Blvd. Ste. 227
White Marsh
410-931-0250
And other locations
Charles Mann
Maryland Endodontics
6304 Kenwood Ave.
Ste. 2 Rosedale
410-866-7004
And other locations
Gerard “Joe” Simoneaux
Maryland Endodontics
7939 Honeygo Blvd.
Ste. 227 White Marsh
410-931-0250
And other locations
- General Dentist
Baltimore City
Nicole Forel
Light Street Dental
600 Light St.
410-659-0900
Richard N. Lamb* (above)
1600 E. Fort Ave.
410-332-0555
William E. Leboe
5 E. Henrietta St.
410-659-0616
Matthew Wallengren
600 Wyndhurst Ave.,
Ste. 270
410-435-1234
Bel Air
Gregory DiGiovanni
Bel Air Smile Partners
2018 Rock Spring Rd.
Forest Hill
410-879-4444
Columbia
Eric Katkow
8600 Snowden River Pkwy., Ste. 106
Columbia
410-730-2020
Hunt Valley
Ashley L. Izadi
Valley Dental Health
10600 York Rd.,
Ste. 101 Cockeysville
410-449-2880
Lutherville-Timonium
Mark E. Ballinger
The Kelly Building
20 East Timonium Rd. Ste. 300
Timonium
410-252-3717
J. Gunnar Fisher
20 E. Timonium Rd. Ste. 210
Timonium
410-308-4880
Robert S. Minch
10751 Falls Rd.
Ste. 435
Lutherville
410-321-5777
Owings Mills
Charles Fine
McDonogh Dental Associates
20 Crossroads Dr., Ste. 110
Owings Mills
410-363-2500
Andrew Pupkin
21 Crossroads Dr., Ste. 350
Owings Mills
410-581-1411
Pikesville
Anna Finkler
Cosmetic Dental Center of Baltimore
The Executive Center at Hooks Lane
4 Reservoir Cir., Ste. 100
Pikesville
410-486–5678
H. Brett Friedman
Friedman & Friedman & Associates
1838 Greene Tree Rd. Ste. 270
Pikesville
And other locations
Mohit Virmani
Naylors Court Dental Partners
4000 Old Court Rd. Ste. 201
Pikesville
410-484-2722
Joshua Weintraub
Stevenson Smiles
10407 Stevenson Rd.
Stevenson
410-764-8500
Glen Burnie
Eugene Huang
Southgate
Dental Care
1811 Crain Hwy. South
Glen Burnie
And other locations
Towson
Devon B. Conklin
1104 Kenilworth Dr. Ste. 102
Towson
410-583-7010
And other locations
Paul Jay Shires
40 York Rd., Ste. 220
Towson
410-296-6527
Dalia Tadros
7600 Osler Dr.,
Ste. 403 Towson
410-823-5950
Charles A. Ward
1104 Kenilworth Dr. Ste. 102 Towson
410-583-7010
And other locations
- Oral Maxillo-facial Surgeon
Annapolis
Cornelius J. Sullivan
Oral Surgery Specialists
275 West St., Ste. 100
Annapolis
410-268-7790
And other locations
Clifford S. Walzer
Oral Surgery Specialists
275 West St., Ste. 100
Annapolis
410-268-7790
And other locations
Baltimore City
Robert Ord
University of Maryland Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Associates
650 W. Baltimore St. Ste. 1401
410-706-6195
Harford County
Gary Epstein
Oral Surgery Associates
2014 Tollgate Rd. Ste. 100
Bel Air
410-515-0430
And other locations
Brian Keegan
Oral Surgery Associates
2014 Tollgate Rd., Ste. 100
Bel Air
410-515-0430
And other locations
Timothy E. Simmons
100 Walter Ward Blvd., Ste. 400,
Abingdon
410-569-9613
J. Alexander Smith
136 E. Broadway
Bel Air
410-838-6222
Leonard SpectorGreater Baltimore Medical Center
615 McPhail Rd., Ste. 205
Bel Air
410-838-7301
Cockeysville
Julius Hyatt
Maryland Center for Oral Surgery & Dental Implants
Hunt Valley Medical Center 10 Warren Rd., Ste. 330
Cockeysville
410-666-5225
And other locations
Michael K. Schwartz*
Maryland Center for Oral Surgery & Dental Implants
Hunt Valley Medical Center 10 Warren Rd., Ste. 330
Cockeysville
410-666-5225
And other locations
Columbia
Domenick P. Coletti
Central Maryland Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
10710 Charter Dr. Ste. 330
Columbia
410-997-1010
Richard J. Nessif
Central Maryland Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
10710 Charter Dr. Ste. 330
Columbia
410-997-1010
Elkridge
Daniel T. Richardson
Richardson Center for Oral and Facial Surgery
6865 Deerpath Rd. Ste. 302
Elkridge
410-796-3333
Ellicott City
Paul German
Howard County Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery
5140 Dorsey Hall Dr.
Ellicott City
410-997-5826
Antoine Johnson
Ellicott City Oral and Facial Surgery
3450 Ellicott Center Dr. Ste. 104
Ellicott City
410-465-6800
Robert B. Testani
405 Frederick Rd., Ste. 9
Catonsville
410-744-4484
Lutherville-Timonium
Stephen G. Cameron
1212 York Rd., Ste. A 201
Lutherville
410-337-7755
Owings Mills
Bethany Serafin Awalt
Valley Village Oral Surgery Associates
9199 Reisterstown Rd. Ste. 209B
Owings Mills
410-581-9008
And other locations
Towson
John M. Emmett
7401 Osler Dr., Ste. 105
Towson
410-494-8687
Bernard Krupp
1220 East Joppa Rd. Building B, Ste. 314
Towson
410-583-7600
- Pediatric Dentist
Baltimore City
Douglas Clemens
Cross Key Dental Associates
2 Hamil Rd., Ste. 266 South Quadrangle Building
410-775-5027
Allan Dworkin
Cross Key Dental Associates
2 Hamil Rd., Ste. 266 South Quadrangle Building
410-775-5027
Bel Air
Diana Capobianco
Growing Smiles Pediatric Dentistry
2012 S. Tollgate Rd.
Ste. 212 Bel Air
410-569-6700
Columbia
Ximena Pareja
Kids Super Smile
8600 Snowden River Pkwy., Ste. 302
Columbia
410-953-0111
Ellicott City
Edward Ginsberg
10045 Baltimore National Pike, Ste. A-1
Ellicott City
410-203-2410
And other locations
Hunt Valley
Melena Evancho
100 Sparks Valley Rd., Ste. C
Hunt Valley
410-771-8200
Shari Kohn*(above)
100 Sparks Valley Rd. Ste. C
Hunt Valley
410-771-8200
Lutherville-Timonium
Stuart Blumenthal
2324 W. Joppa Rd.,
Ste. 430
Lutherville
410-321-0200
Tracy Bowden
2326 York Rd., Ste. 200
Timonium
410-828-5699
Owings Mills
Margaret Barry
Crossroads Pediatric Dentistry
25 Crossroads Dr. Ste. 149
Owings Mills
410-356-9191
Pikesville
Neel Satpute
2700 Quarry Lake Dr. Ste. 300
410-484-4401
Stevenson
Julie Blumenfeld
Stevenson Smiles
10407 Stevenson Rd.
Stevenson
410-764-8500
Towson
Margie Hernandez
7401 Osler Dr., Ste. 109
Towson
410-825-2878
Richard Kline
8831 Satyr Hill Rd., Ste. 200
410-713-4542
White Marsh
Hakan Koymen
5009 Honeygo Center Dr.,
Perry Hall 410-248-3384
And other locations
- Periodontist
Annapolis
Deborah Odell
2448 Holly Ave., Ste. 202
Annapolis
410-224-0500
Baltimore
Howard Fisher
1 Village Square, Ste. 130
410-532-2200
And other locations
Barbara Lesco*(above)
Harbor Periodontics
2 E. Lee St.
410-727-6190
Kevin G. Murphy
6080 Falls Rd., Ste. 202
410-372-0202
Thi Van-Dinh
Harbor Periodontics
2 E. Lee St.
410-727-6190
Bel Air
Leo Trail
Bright Oaks Courtyard 2021-B
Emmorton Rd., Ste. 118 Bel Air
410-569-8567
Catonsville
J. Fred Felton
606 Frederick Rd., Ste. 1B
Catonsville
410-455-9893
And other locations
Ari Moskowitz
6400 Baltimore National Pike, Ste. 200 B
Catonsville
410-774-5441
Ellicott City
Larry Page
5044 Dorsey Hall Dr. Ste. 104
Ellicott City
410-997-7975
Owings Mills
Mark L. Keiser
66 Painters Mill Rd.
Ste. 100
Owings Mills
410-363-3780
Bruce P. Mandel
66 Painters Mill Rd.
Ste. 100
Owings Mills
410-363-3780
And other locations
Severna Park
Richard R. Gartner
Chesapeake Periodontics 900 Ritchie Hwy., Ste. 103
Severna Park
410-647-0200
Lutherville-Timonium
Karl Zeren
9515 Deereco Rd., Ste. 308 Timonium
410-252-0871
Towson
Thomas E. Daley
Towson Periodontal Associates
521 E. Joppa Rd., Ste. 200
Towson
410-321-9477
Bryan Fitzgerald
660 Kenilworth Dr.
Ste. 103
Towson
410-821-8800
James Kassolis
Towson Periodontal Associates
521 E. Joppa Rd., Ste. 200
Towson
410-321-9477
Kathryn Mutzig
Towson Periodontal Associates
521 E. Joppa Rd., Ste. 200
Towson
410-321-9477
Melody Ward
1104 Kenilworth Dr. Ste. 102
Towson
410-583-7010
And other locations
White Marsh
Peter E. Joseph
8114 Sandpiper Cir.
Ste. 200 410-931-1000
And other locations
- Prosthodontist
Annapolis
John Davliakos
Annapolis Prosthodontic Associates
200 Westgate Cir.
Ste. 106 Annapolis
410-268-7100
Baltimore
Kevin G. Murphy
6080 Falls Rd., Ste. 202
410-372-0202
Lutherville-Timonium
Gus Livaditis
1206 York Rd., Ste. 100
Lutherville
410-337-8950
Pikesville
Martin Schwartzberg
106 Old Court Rd. Ste. 201
410-486-1133
Towson
Keith Boenning*(above)
1104 Kenilworth Dr. Ste. 104
Towson
410-828-1717
Michael Linnan
Greater Baltimore Prosthodontics
110 West Rd., Ste. 200
Towson
410-296-0136
Patrick Ousborne
21 West Rd., Ste. 104
Towson
410-828-1177
A. Mike Rostami
Greater Baltimore Prosthodontics
110 West Rd., Ste. 200
Towson
410-296-0136
Ghassan Sinada
6569 N. Charles St., Ste. 601
443-519-5293
Reading the Teeth Leaves
We beam you aboard the future of dentistry.
By Christianna McCausland
If you want to give your mouth a fright, search “ancient instruments dentistry” and check out some of the tools and methods dentists used in the past 5,000 years: Ancient Egyptians used gold wire to secure replacement teeth, which they may have borrowed from servants; they used giant forceps to pull teeth in the 14th century; and, of course, there were those famously painful dentures made for George Washington out of hippopotamus ivory and brass screws. What we’re saying is, when you go to the dentist today, you should be grateful for the huge advances of the past century. (More laughing gas, please.) So what can we expect in the next 50 years or so? The answer is, you ain’t seen nothing yet: We interviewed the best and brightest in the industry’s R&D field to find out when the next wave of technology is coming, and learned that big strides are underway that promise to not only make dentistry more effective, but also elevate the importance of dentists in health care. So open wide for some of the highlights:
IMPORTANT FACTS
Did You Know
• You should replace your toothbrush every two to three months.
• Gum disease can lead to pre-term labor and low birth-weight.
• Putting a baby to bed with a bottle of milk or juice can cause tooth decay.
• Tongue and lip-piercing can damage tooth enamel and oral tissue.
• Saliva is your primary defense against tooth decay.
• Foods like leafy greens, almonds, cheese, and eggs may benefit dental health.
Instant new teeth
For generations, everybody knew that if you needed a new crown, for instance, that meant the dentist would need to place a tray of gooey impression material into a patient’s mouth to create a mold from which the crown or other restoration could be modeled and fabricated. Then it was sent to a lab to be made, and a few weeks later, your teeth arrived in the mail—meaning another visit to the dentist to get it installed. But big change is on the horizon.
In the University of Maryland School of Dentistry “Dream Room,” Dr. Gary Hack, associate professor and director of clinical simulation, uses a digital camera to photograph a simulated tooth that requires a crown restoration. Within moments, a digital model of the tooth appears on a computer screen. As Hack explains it, the digital image can be sent to a lab that can create the crown or, as he demonstrates, the restoration can be created in the dentist’s office while the patient waits, using a milling machine. As the milling station whirs away in the pristine Dream Room, crafting a crown out of a block of ceramic material about the size of a child’s Lego piece, Hack explains that this CAD/CAM technology (Computer Aided Design/Computer Aided Manufacturing) has the potential to revolutionize dentistry.
“There’s a concept called ‘the singularity,’ which says that in 50 years, computers will have the ability to equal the mind of a human,” he says. “The future is now. The way we capture an impression will be digital, and computers will play a huge part in that.” With the in-office milling station, it’s possible a patient could get his or her tooth restored in one visit. The digital file can also be sent anywhere—to a specialist in another country, even—enabling greater collaboration between health-care practitioners.
Help, my teeth broke—again
People accept that restorations get worn, old fillings fall out, and cavities need attending to regularly. In fact, about 200 million cavity restorations are performed every year in America; between 50 and 70 percent of those are to repair old cavities. But a lot of that repetitive repair will be a thing of the past before too long.
Dr. Huakun Xu, University of Maryland professor in the department of endodontics, prosthodontics, and operative dentistry and director of biomaterials and tissue engineering, is working to change that with filling materials and bonding agents that have therapeutic properties.
There is a community of helpful bacteria, or biofilms, in the mouth that is largely self-regulated, he says. But genetics and lifestyle choices, like drinking a lot of soda, kill the benign bacteria in the mouth, making it more acidic and causing tooth decay. The answer? Fool the bacteria.
“Hopefully, we are developing the next generation of tooth-filling material that can modify and change the composition of the bacteria in the mouth,” Xu notes. “For example, when bacteria secrete acids in the mouth, that can lower pH and cause tooth decay. We can use these materials to make the bacteria population more benign and less acidic.
“New materials won’t just fill volume but will have therapeutic effects to control bacteria and acid production, and that can remineralize the tooth,” Xu explains. “Next-generation fillings will be bioactive.”
Also still in the lab is research to create toothpastes and mouth rinses, for example, that could put a film on the teeth so harmful bacteria can’t cling and cause tooth decay.
We’ll fix that in a petri dish
Imagine a modern dentist’s drill in a future museum of dentistry, with visitors a century from now asking themselves, “Really? A drill?” That’s because, 100 years from now, we may be growing the new body parts we need.
Dr. Celeste V. Kong, professor and chair ad interim of the department of general dentistry at Boston University, recalls a recent lecture at the school about genetics and their impact on dentistry. “They’re modifying mice and fish genetics to grow enamel and dentin, which are the structures that make teeth, in a petri dish,” she recalls. The technology may not be applicable in humans for decades, but it’s possible that one day, instead of a metal implant, a device could be placed in the mouth to grow a new tooth. “Eventually, with stem cell and things of that nature, we could get rid of tooth decay and regenerate teeth,” says Hack. “It’s a world beyond imagination.”
Dentists making like M.D.s
In the hierarchy of health care, the future promises a more important role for dentists because of something called collaborative care.
That’s the idea that different specialties need to work together to treat a patient more holistically. Not only is this a better approach for the patient, it has the potential to ease financial strains on the health-care system and introduce more efficiency into patient care. Dentists are in an ideal position to take on an expanded role in preventative primary care because they’re trained to recognize genetic disorders, systemic disease, and lifestyle problems. Plus, patients often see their dentist with more regularity than they see a primary-care doctor.
“There’s a huge connection between oral health and systemic health,” says Hack. “People with gum disease, for instance, have a greater chance of developing diabetes; [gum disease] increases their risk for heart disease, for stroke, for premature labor—so there is a direct, systemic connection between dentistry and total body health that has really not been appreciated in the past.”
Dentists can already screen for oral cancers, substance abuse, and eating disorders, and can often spot signs of heart disease. And if and when dentists do step in as a primary health-care resource, they have a great tool at their disposal: saliva.
That’s because spit contains biomarkers, the indicators of disease.
Dr. Gary Schumacher, director of administration at the American Dental Association Foundation’s Dr. Anthony Volpe Research Center based in Gaithersburg, sees the possibilities as endless.
“Fifty years from now, a patient could come to the office and provide a little saliva that would be spread out on an electronic chip that analyzes the proteins, and perhaps the dentist could determine the risk assessment for tooth decay or oral cancer or periodontal disease,” says Schumacher. “Eventually, we may be able to look at a library of salivary proteins and see where these biomarkers fit, and, if the predominancy is for breast cancer, for example, we would refer that patient to a family physician or oncologist for final diagnosis.”
Seems like a trip to the dentist is more important than ever.
- General Dentist