A little more
of my story.

01 / My story

Growing Up & Finding My Way into Dentistry

I've been interested in science and healthcare since at least middle school, but the story of how I decided to become a dentist is a little unusual.

In high school, I took a vocational class called Allied Health that introduced students to different healthcare professions. Around that time, a friend joked that I should become a dentist because my last name was Dent.

It was a pretty good joke, but it also got me curious. I started looking into dentistry more seriously and had opportunities to shadow dentists through the Allied Health program. The more I learned, the more it seemed like a good fit. Dentistry brought together science, technology, healthcare, and the opportunity to work with my hands. I also liked that it was a profession where human skills and judgment would be difficult to replace with automation—something I was already thinking about back in 2008.

Growing up on the Gulf Coast also meant dealing with hurricanes, most notably Hurricane Katrina in 2005. I was in high school when Katrina devastated much of my hometown. My family was fortunate that our home survived, but seeing the destruction throughout the community and spending the following weeks helping with cleanup left a lasting impression on me. I also remember the generosity of the volunteers and organizations that came to help people rebuild. It was one of the most significant experiences of my childhood.

After high school, I attended the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss), where I studied biology and graduated from the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College in 2012.

College was about much more than biology classes, though. I was a member of St. Anthony Hall (Delta Psi), a fraternity that became an important part of my college experience and helped introduce me to new interests and opportunities.

I'd been interested in photography for years, and through my involvement with the fraternity, I learned about opportunities at The Daily Mississippian, the university's student newspaper. I started as a photojournalist, covering everything from sports and breaking news to portraits and campus events, and eventually became photo editor. It was a great experience that gave me opportunities to meet people, explore new interests, and learn skills I still use today.

I also took advantage of opportunities to study abroad, traveling to Ecuador, Belize, the Bahamas, and South Africa. One of the highlights was doing marine biology research in Belize, where I studied the behavior of stoplight parrotfish. I eventually served as first author on a paper published in Gulf and Caribbean Research in 2013. It was a lot of work, but what I took away from the experience went well beyond learning about fish. Being involved in the research process firsthand gave me a much deeper appreciation for how scientific knowledge is developed, tested, and ultimately published. That experience has stayed with me and continues to influence how I think about science and evidence.

After college, I spent some time working with the Lafayette County Fire Department in Oxford, Mississippi. I started as a volunteer firefighter and later moved into a paid position. It was a completely different experience from anything else I'd done, and certainly made for an interesting chapter before dental school.

02 / My story

Life as a Dentist

In 2014, I moved to Arizona to attend the Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health at A.T. Still University, where I earned my Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) degree in 2018.

After graduating, I moved back to the Gulf Coast and began practicing dentistry in Panama City, Florida. Unfortunately, just a few months into my career, Hurricane Michael struck the area as a Category 5 storm. Natalia and I rode out the hurricane at the hospital where she worked, and although our house initially appeared to have escaped major damage, we eventually discovered extensive water intrusion. We spent months living in temporary accommodations while dealing with repairs and the challenges of rebuilding in a devastated community. Having already experienced Katrina as a teenager, going through another major hurricane as an adult was something I certainly hadn't expected.

In 2019, we decided to make a fresh start in Arizona. I joined Mountain Ranch Family & Cosmetic Dentistry in Goodyear, where I've worked ever since.

What I enjoy about general dentistry is the variety and the opportunity to help people take care of their health over the long term.

My approach to dentistry is pretty straightforward: I try to treat people the way I'd want to be treated. That means being honest about what I see, explaining the evidence behind different treatment options, and helping patients make their own informed decisions without feeling pressured.

I think prevention is one of the most important parts of healthcare, dentistry included. Ideally, I'd much rather help someone avoid a problem in the first place than have to fix it later. And when treatment is necessary, I believe patients should understand why it's being recommended and what their alternatives are.

03 / My story

Family & Life in Phoenix

These days, the most important part of my life is my family.

My wife, Natalia, has a background in critical care nursing, and together we're raising our two boys, Luke and Archer. Becoming a dad has been an incredible experience, and I love watching the boys grow up, develop their own personalities, and discover the world around them.

We live in the Willo Historic District in central Phoenix. I've come to really appreciate the character of the neighborhood, from its historic homes and tree-lined streets to the sense of community that comes with living somewhere people take pride in. I'm involved with the Willo Historic Neighborhood Association and enjoy helping preserve what makes the neighborhood special.

We spend a lot of our free time finding things to do together, whether that's visiting a museum, exploring somewhere new, working on a project at home, or just hanging out with the boys.

04 / My story

Traveling & Exploring

Travel has always been one of my favorite things to do. I was fortunate to visit quite a few places growing up, and my study-abroad experiences in college made me even more interested in seeing the world.

Now that we have kids, traveling has become a family activity. It's definitely more complicated with two little boys, but I love getting to share those experiences with them.

I enjoy visiting famous landmarks and museums as much as anyone, but some of my favorite travel experiences are simply walking around an unfamiliar city, exploring neighborhoods, trying local restaurants, and seeing how people live.

I'm particularly interested in urban design and what makes a city or neighborhood a pleasant place to live. I appreciate good public transportation, walkable streets, interesting architecture, and public spaces that bring people together. I find it fascinating how differently cities around the world approach these things, and I'm especially drawn to places where it's easy to get around without relying on a car for everything.

Sometimes that means spending an afternoon exploring a historic neighborhood, and other times it's riding a subway or train just to see a different part of a city.

I also enjoy spending time outdoors, especially scuba diving, which offers an entirely different way to explore and appreciate the natural world.

I enjoy planning our trips, probably more than most people. I like researching destinations and figuring out how to make the most of our time while still leaving room to explore and enjoy ourselves.

05 / My story

Other Interests

I've always had a lot of interests, and they tend to change and evolve as I discover new things.

Photography is probably one of my oldest hobbies. I was taking pictures long before I worked for the newspaper at Ole Miss, and I still enjoy bringing my camera along when we travel. These days, most of my photography revolves around family, vacations, and documenting the places we visit.

I'm also a bit of a technology enthusiast. I've been interested in computers and electronics since I was a kid, and I enjoy keeping up with new developments in technology. Electric vehicles, smart-home gadgets, artificial intelligence, and just about anything that promises to make life a little more convenient tend to catch my attention.

I also enjoy architecture, home design, and working on projects around the house. I sometimes spend an unreasonable amount of time researching and comparing different ways to do something, but I genuinely enjoy that process. More recently, that's also included tinkering with model trains as a fun activity to share with the boys.

I guess if there's a common theme to all of this, it's that I'm a curious person. I like learning new things, exploring unfamiliar places, and understanding why things work the way they do. And more than anything, I enjoy getting to share those interests and experiences with my family.