I knew that I wanted to be a dentist since early high school. A family friend acted as a mentor steering me toward the dental field. This friend is long gone, but I continue to be grateful to him for leading me to a career that I have great passion for.

I am passionate about helping my patients and providing them with the best care available. My focus is to help my patients not need dental work. I take great pride in providing excellent care to multiple generations of patients. I am committed to a lifetime of learning so that I am always providing my patients with the most up-to-date treatment options available.

I graduated from Michigan State University in 1982 and The University of Michigan Dental School in 1986. Since that time I have continued to educate myself, averaging 100 hours of continuing education per year, far exceeding the 20 hours required to update my license. My post graduate training includes:

I am a graduate of the Schuster Center for Professional Development. The Schuster Center is the leading business and development school for dentists. The Schuster Center helped me build a comprehensive, patient centered practice. I have now been asked to mentor other dentists as they build their practices.

I have been married to my wife Kris for over 20 years. We have three children: Sam is our oldest and he is an engineering student at Michigan State University. Jane is a senior in high school and she is looking forward to following her brother to MSU. Grace is in the fourth grade and she is doing her best to keep her parents young.

We enjoy spending time together as a family. Some of our best memories are from our travels. We began traveling as a family when we adopted our daughter Grace from China. Since that time we have had many adventures including several dental mission trips to Africa.

Kristin always wanted to work in the health care field. After high school she decided to go to Ferris State University to become a Dental Hygienist. She started working for Dr. Balasz right after she graduated in 1999. In the years since she has come to appreciate the ongoing relationship that she has with her patients.

Kris graduated from Michigan State University with an English degree. She was introduced to the dental field through her husband Jay. Through the years she has assisted her husband on weekends and helped out behind the scenes. This past year she began working at the front desk.

Sandy graduated from Iowa Wesleyan University with a BA in Education . She is a veteran in the dental field. She is the office insurance expert as well as the dental software guru. If there is a front desk question, Sandy has the answer.

Sandys sunny personality brings a lift to all of our days. She cares about our patients and it shows in her interaction with them in person and on the phone. Sandy says that she wants to do what she can to make each patients visit as pleasant as possible.

Ellen is the newest addition to our office. She attended Northwood Institute studying business and marketing. She started working part-time for Dr. Balasz and found that she enjoyed the dental field. Ellen spends most of her time at the front desk answering phones and maintaining the schedule. She is also being cross-trained as a chair-side assistant.