Dr. Steven Freeman diagnoses and treats all of his guests the way that he would treat his own family. He knows that a great smile makeover can change the way people feel about themselves and strives to give each guest the healthiest and most beautiful smile possible with advanced dentistry services.

Dr. Freeman earned a degree in biology from the University of Illinois, and his Doctor of Dental Surgery from the Ohio State University College of Dentistry. His continuing education, which consists of post-graduate training from the prestigious Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies (LVI), allows our dentist to offer up-to-date technology and techniques. Dr. Freeman completes over 100 hours of continuing education a year.

Dr. Nicole Dunn is a native of Kingston, Jamaica. After graduating from Wesleyan College with a B.A. in biology, Dr. Dunn subsequently embarked on her dental career by earning her degree at the University of Maryland, Baltimore College of Dental Surgery. She then completed her general practice residency at Bronx Lebanon Hospital Center in New York, where she focused on comprehensive dental treatment including preventive, restorative and aesthetic dentistry.

Dr. Dunn remains committed to expanding her knowledge by regularly attending continuing education courses. She strives to educate her patients by being informative and attentive to their individual needs while providing optimal dental care in a stress-free environment.

He then moved to the Big Apple and completed his DDS at New York University College of Dentistry. Immediately after dental school, Dr. Hoppe was commissioned as a dental officer in the United States Navy and proudly served for 10 years at Parris Island, South Carolina, the USS Iwo Jima, Great Lakes, Illinois, and NAS Jacksonville, Florida. He continues to serve our country as a commander in the U.S. Navy Reserves.

Dr. Amber Suns work philosophy is Give patients my heart, lift spirits and improve smiles from the start. Dr. Sun received her Bachelor of Science in psychology at Kennesaw State University and Doctor of Dental Surgery from The Ohio State University College of Dentistry, where she was awarded the prestigious OSU Deans Scholarship. Early in her dental career, Dr. Sun discovered her interest in child psychology, passion toward community services and determination to end childhood tooth decay. Dr. Sun completed two years of additional training and received her certification in pediatric dentistry from Case Western Reserve University in conjunction with Rainbow Babies & Childrens Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio. A myriad of factors led Dr. Sun to the path of becoming a pediatric dentist and providing smiles to young children and teenagers.

Dr. Sun and her husband have two daughters. In her spare time, Dr. Sun enjoys playing ukulele, practicing power yoga and cuddling with her Frenchie. On sunny days, she loves riding her Harley to work.

Did you know that your oral health is closely connected to your overall health? In his book, Dr. Steven Freeman explores the role of your dental treatments and oral health in your overall health and wellbeing.

February 24, 2014 Bullying has taken center stage in St. Augustine over the course of the last few years. Its awareness has grown greatly due to the media and the advent of social media. Social media, while a weapon to fight bullying, has also become a new source of bullying in Jacksonville. And its not just kids who get bullied. Workplace bullying occurs to adults. Recently, there was the disturbing incident with the Miami Dolphins and players being bullied by teammates. Even players in the NFL get bullied, which means we are all susceptible to it and its effects on our loved ones.

So what does this have to do with St. Augustine cosmetic dentistry? A very fair question. The American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) recently completed a study that showed the No. 1 reason for bullying is a persons smile. We have discussed in the past how the No. 1 thing someone looks at when they first meet you is your smile. Right or wrong, strangers make snap decisions about us based upon our smile. The first impressions during a first date or a job interview, and the potential to be bullied all occur with your first smile to a stranger.

The AAO focuses on braces and the position of your teeth. The position of your teeth affects not only your smile but your facial features, known as dental-facial features, and airway. The AAO found that the four most common dental-facial features that were a target of bullying were spaces between teeth, missing teeth, the shape or color of teeth, and prominent front teeth or buck teeth. The purpose of the study was to look at how bullying effected self-esteem, school performance, and school attendance.

As has already been mentioned, bullying is not isolated to the school yard. These same results can and have been extrapolated to the workplace. Attendance at work decreases. Productivity at work decreases. A big part of the reason this continues is because bullying is not yet illegal in the United States. But other countries are starting to outlaw such acts: Canada, Australia, and France, just to name a few. Some cities have looked into it, but not Jacksonville or St. Augustine. Sexual harassment was not illegal in the workforce either prior to landmark cases that changed that. One would have to assume bullying will take a similar course before it becomes illegal.

Bullying is never the victims fault. No one is perfect or without flaw. And bullying will never stop. Even if laws are enacted, the number of incidents may decrease, but there will still be bullying. We cannot simply say deal with it. Shedding light on the problem will help and decrease its occurrence, but it will still exist because bullies will never change. So, if the No. 1 cause of bullying is a smile and you had the chance to change the leading cause of bullying, would you? And how could you change things like spacing between teeth, missing teeth, the shape and color of teeth, or buck teeth? They can all be changed if you want, faster and easier than you think, and that is what your World Golf Village dentist will discuss in hisblogsthis week.