Daniel Whitney, DDS; Trent Clifton, DMD, MD; and Derrick Zech, DDS are board certified oral and maxillofacial surgeons who practice a full scope of oral surgery with expertise that includes dental implants, corrective jaw surgery, and wisdom tooth removal.

The surgical staff at Northern Montana Oral Surgery are experienced oral and maxillofacial surgical assistants, who assist with the administration of IV anesthesia or outpatient general anesthesia in our state-of-the-art office setting. We also have trained surgical assistants to assist in surgery. All staff are informed administrative personnel, well-versed in health and insurance policies, and are CPR certified.

Dr. Daniel Whitney graduated from Brigham Young University in 2004. He then attended the University of Iowa, School of Dentistry where he received his training and graduated with his dental degree in 2008. He completed a four-year surgical residency in oral and maxillofacial surgery at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, Iowa in 2012. Dr. Daniel Whitney joined his father, Dr. Steven Whitney, at Northern Montana Oral Surgery in the summer of 2012. Dr. Steven Whitney has since retired, but Dr. Daniel Whitney caries on the family connection.

Being raised as a military dependent, Dr. Whitney lived many places while growing up. He met the love of his life while working on his undergraduate studies at BYU. They were married and, after finishing their studies at BYU, moved to the Midwest. There they spent eight years in Iowa City, Iowa to study dentistry and oral surgery. Upon completion of his surgical training, they decided to move closer to their extended family roots in the West. They have settled into life in Great Falls, and are now happy to call it home.

Dr. Whitney is a member of the American Dental Association (ADA), American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS), the American Dental Society of Anesthesiology (ADSA) and the International Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (IAOMS). He is a diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (ABOMS).

Dr. Whitney is very active in his church and with community service. His interests are in spending time with his wife and 7 daughters. They enjoy music, sports, reading, and spending time in the great outdoors.

Dr. Trent Clifton is from Utah, where he learned to love the outdoors. He met his wife, Emily, while working on her dads farm; they have 6 kids. Dr. Clifton has worked with the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community for more than two decades, including serving a mission for his church for 2 years in California speaking American Sign Language.

Dr. Clifton graduated with a BS in Biology from BYU and then attended the Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health, where he earned his DMD. He and his family then moved to Lexington, Kentucky, where he graduated from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine with a MD and where he finished his oral and maxillofacial surgery residency.

Dr. Clifton enjoys treating children and uses the full scope of his training to alleviate their anxieties. He is experienced with replacing missing teeth with implant-supported dentures. In addition to routine dentoalveolar surgery and dental implants, he has experience treating patients with temporomandibular joint dysfunction, as well as orthognathic surgery, facial trauma, and skin cancer.

Dr. Zech is joining NMOS after completing a twelve-year active-duty career in the US Air Force as an oral surgeon, completing his service as a Lieutenant Colonel. During his career in the Air Force, he served for two years in northern Japan in a joint US-Japanese Airbase. He also had the opportunity to serve for two years in the San Antonio Military Medical Center as a staff surgeon, where he trained oral surgery residents as well as general dentists.

Dr. Zech attended Creighton University where he earned his dental degree. After dental school, he joined the United States Air Force, completed a one-year residency in general dentistry, and practiced as a general dentist for 3 years before he went back to residency to become an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. During his residency, he had the opportunity to work at the busiest trauma center in the nation, experienced ablative and reconstructive difficulties from a busy head and neck cancer center, as well as being trained in one of the busiest clinics in Texas focusing on corrective jaw surgery.

His experiences during residency instilled in him a love and desire to serve his patients in all aspects of oral surgery including dentoalveolar surgery, implant reconstruction, facial trauma, obstructive sleep apnea, corrective jaw surgery, temporomandibular joint dysfunction, and pathology.

Dr. Zech grew up in a small town in southern Idaho. After high school, he served a 2-year mission for his church in Guatemala, where he learned Spanish and gained a love for the Latin community. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish, Music, and Zoology from Brigham Young University.

He and his wife have four children and are excited to live in the mountain west and become part of the Great Falls community for years to come. They look forward to experiencing all aspects of the natural beauty that makes up the Treasure State. His hobbies include spending time with family, cycling, reading, antique cars, serving in his church, and woodworking.