Growing up in a family where my Dad was in the Navy, we use to live in various places around the country, until we settled in Virginia. I grew up in Suffolk, Virginia, a small rural town back then. When I graduated high school, I went to college in NYC. As a southern boy, I enjoyed all that the city had to offer. I stayed in New York City, graduated from NYU Dental School in 2001 and completed a General Practice Residency at Woodhull Hospital in Brooklyn prior to starting work in various private offices. In 2008, I purchased my own Dental practice in Linden, NJ and now I have merged my practice with Dr. James Smith.
I have three daughters Rachel 18, Talia 16 and Ariella 8, all of whom are my biggest treasures. I am married to my beautiful wife Lisa for 21 years. I cannot say enough about her support in my life and as she constantly jokes, she feels as if she went to dental school along with me. We currently reside in Edison and have lived here for over 12 years.
I am an active member of the New Jersey Dental Association, Middlesex County Dental Society and the Raritan Valley Study Club. Pursuing Continuing Education is extremely important to me in order to provide the best care for all of my patients.
I was born in the beautiful island of the Dominican Republic as the 5th of 10 beautiful and healthy children. I finished high school at the age of 16 and I came to The United States with the plans of starting college. However I needed to improve my english skills before attending college. I worked hard to improve my comprehension of the english language and I started to work at my local church and in the food service industry. While I worked my way up to management level, I met my husband and started a family. We have three beautiful daughters named Gabriela 22,Leah 18 and Rachel 16.
I needed a career change and I started working in the dental field as a Dental Assistant. After 6 months, I was told that my personality was wasted behind the mask and I was positioned as the front desk coordinator. I worked hard and after a year, I became the office manager. In 2015, I moved to New Jersey and brought my enthusiasm to Dr. Menashas office.
I look forward to meeting all of you and helping you through this transition period. I am here to answer any questions that you may have and I will do my best to make you feel as comfortable as possible.
I was born in Bergen County New Jersey and raised in a family with two brothers and a twin sister. Dentistry must have been in our genes as my twin sister and I both went to Bergen County Vocational Technical High School where we studied to become Dental Assistants. After earning my diploma, I further advanced my education to become a Certified/Registered Dental Assistant and pursued a career working chair side in private practice for over 20 years. I then returned to school, attending Middlesex County College where I earned my Associates Degree in Dental Hygiene. I have now been working as a Dental Hygienist for over 15 years. My academic pursuits were not over though. I went on to UMDNJ- Rutgers and graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Health Sciences. This has allowed me the opportunity to also work as an Adjunct Professor teaching Dental Hygiene at both Bergen Community College in Paramus, and Eastern International College in Jersey City. I have been teaching concurrently with my private practice work for 7 years. The experience of teaching the next generation of Dental Hygienists is very rewarding and a great way to round out my career. I hope that as an instructor I am instilling a good work ethic in my students and inspiring them to work with determination to reach their goals and be successful.
Outside of work I enjoy traveling, playing golf, bicycling, dancing, playing/listening to music, and spending time with friends and family. I have two fun loving cats, Mollie and Abbie, who keep life interesting and warm my heart every day.
As this new chapter begins in my private practice work, I look forward to continuing to work with the patients I have come to know through Dr. Smiths practice and also to meeting and welcoming Dr. Menashas patients to our office. I am excited about this transition and want you all to know I am committed to providing you the best care.
I grew up in Edison with my 3 siblings, Lisa, Sue and Scott. I graduated from JP Stevens high school and went to Middlesex County College. In 2006, I married my husband Jim and we have a daughter Jessica who is now 12 years old and a rescue dog Tater Tot who is 7 years old.
I have worked as a dental assistant in the same practice for almost 27 years. Knowing the patients for so long, I feel like they are more like friends and family. When people ask what I like about working at a dental office I say we make peoples days / lives better. We can improve something about a persons smile that they dont like about themselves. If you are having a tooth pain, who but a dentist can relieve your ache.
I enjoy working with people and I excel in making the patients feel comfortable in the office. Now I am using my communication skills to learn about Dr. Menashas patients as he transitions his practice into our practice.