I grew up in Lakewood and after graduating from Lakewood High School, then went on to Stanford University, playing baseball all four years. From there I came back to UCLA Dental School, graduating in 1978 and then completing a General Practice Residency at the Wadsworth VA Hospital in West LA. My father was a high school and college Political Science teacher, and was Mayor of Lakewood in the late 1960's and also served in the U.S. Congress representing the Long Beach area from 1974-1978.
When I was in 8th grade, Dad sat me down for one of those father-son talks (maybe the only one I remember when I wasn't in trouble), and asked what I'd like to be when I grew up? If I got asked that now, I'd say I want to be the batting practice pitcher for the All Star Homerun Derby competition, but at the time it seemed my attributes and interests were such that dentistry was a better fit. I feel fortunate that I had the right teachers, coaches, and luck to fulfill that goal.
In 1980, I started practicing in Long Beach Belmont Heights with Dr. Bill Pangborn. In 1996 when he retired, Karen and I moved my practice to our current location here in Los Alamitos. My three children grew up in Rossmoor and went to Los Al High School. I enjoyed coaching them in sports up until they got to high school. Los Alamitos was a perfect community to grow my practice and raise my family.
Karen has been with me since our office was in Long Beach. The hygienists have been with us since 2005; Lezlie works on Monday and Thursday, Linda covers Tuesday, and Mary works Wednesday and every other Monday. Jamee has been running the back office since 2014.