Dr. Kuras is the founder and CEO of Nurture Family Dental. She attended the University of Michigan, receiving her Bachelor of Science degree in Dental Hygiene in 2006 and her Doctor of Dental Surgery degree in 2013. She loves being a dentist to patients from over 75 cities and five states as it allows her to meet so many new people and help them achieve their oral health goals.
She has been heard on WHMI 93.5FM, is a member of the American Dental Association, the Michigan Dental Association, the Academy of General Dentistry and has contributed to the dental assisting curriculum for Ross Medical Education Center.
A native of Westland, Dr. Kuras has been providing patients with exceptional care specialized in a private practice setting for the past nine years and has volunteered in Dentistry from the Heart events multiple times.
In her free time, Dr. Kuras enjoys trying new recipes (whether for dinner or dessert) and staying active by spinning and running (she finished her first half-marathon in 2020). She is thrilled to be able to spend time with her daughters, Claire and Ellie, and sons, Ben and Jack, who make her laugh. Dr. Kuras and her husband of 15 years, Dustin, enjoy trying new restaurants, cheering on their Wolverines and very much enjoy raising their children in Brighton.
Dr. Dunbar has been practicing in private practice for over 14 years. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry from Saint Mary's College in 2002. After graduating from the University of Michigan with her Doctor of Dental Surgery degree in 2006 she practiced in Chicago for 5 years. Since returning to her home state of Michigan, Dr. Dunbar has enjoyed working in local private practices.
She has a great passion and dedication to serving patients with the utmost care. Dr. Dunbar strives to take care of patients' needs while ensuring their comfort. Patients always feel at ease with Dr. Dunbar's warm and friendly personality.
Dr. Dunbar enjoys spending time with her husband, Patrick, and their three daughters, Mikayla, Meghan and Mackenzie. As a family, they love the outdoors. The Dunbars can often be seen going on hikes, biking, skiing and enjoying Up North adventures. They proudly call Brighton their home!
Melissa received her Bachelor of Science degree from Western Michigan University and then went on to earn another degree in dental hygiene from Lansing Community College. With over 15 years of hygiene experience, Melissas attention to detail and enthusiasm to maintain high standards in the profession of periodontics are truly appreciated by her patients and dental team. She brings an extensive knowledge and a caring passion for dentistry through health and wellness to all of her patients, making them feel at ease by building personal relationships, confidence, and trust. Along with her gentleness and understanding nature, she is extremely devoted to educating patients on their individual needs.
Joining Nurture Family Dental in January of 2017, Melissa quickly made a large, positive impact on the practice. Using her keen eye for interior design, she helped transform our practice into the comfortable and welcoming place it has become by designing a vast majority of the space within!
Together with her husband, Dave, Melissa enjoys spending time with their seven children, traveling north to Michigan's many wineries, gardening and using her artistic touch in restoring furniture and freelance interior design projects.
Ashley received her bachelors degree in dental hygiene from the University of Michigan, and joined Nurture Family Dental in late February, 2017. Since joining the practice, Ashley has received many compliments from our patients on her compassionate care and friendly, outgoing personality. She enjoys meeting new people each day and making sure you are receiving the best care possible. As clinical lead, Ashley guides the clinical team and its processes that make your visit friendly, comfortable and smooth, while planning out the future of the department.
Maureen ('Mo')received her degree in hygiene from Mott Community College and is such a joy to be around. It 's easily seen that Mo genuinely cares for each patient and loves meeting new people.Her warm, caring personality exudes the great attitude that Nurture Family Dental is proud to provide its patients.
Mojoined Nurture Family Dental in October, 2019. She and her husband, Britt, are proud parents to their daughterAndrea and their 'adopted' Emma, whom they welcomed into their home as a foreign exchange student.She greatly enjoys yoga, great food, and spending as much of her summers on the water as she can!
Kerrie brought her 20+ years of dental experience to Nurture Family Dental in February of 2018. She has expertise in handling patients of all ages, as well as deep knowledge of orthodontics. Her joyous and fun demeanor brings even more happiness to our practice. She has helped streamline many of the background operations that keep the office running even more smoothly!
A native to the area, Kerrie knows Brighton and the surrounding community very well. She quickly became comfortable with the practice, as her personality and work ethic are a perfect match for the type of care we strive to provide.
Amiebrought her 23 years of dental experience to Nurture Family Dental in March of 2020. She attended Oakland Community College and has taken numerous CE courses over the years (Temporalmandibular Disorder and pain management being her favorites). She is always laughing, has plenty of great stories to tell and has been a great fit in the NFD family!
Saleenajoined Nurture Family Dental in January of 2022. She has over five years of dental experience and has been such a bright spot since joining the team. She quickly jumped on the NFD train and has assimilated herself right into our culture!
Saleena has been married to her husband Geoff for 22 years and together they have four children and live in Howell. As a family they attend Northridge Church where she is the childrens director and Geoff the campus pastor. In Saleenas free time, she loves to travel and spend time with her family.
Brittneyjoined our team in August 2021. She comes to us with over five years of dental administrative experience, including managing a practice. What she enjoys most in the dental field is changing the perspective of dentistry by creating a warm and friendly atmosphere for patients. As NFD's Administrative Team Lead and a member of our leadership team, she creates and maintains processes and best practices for the NFD admin side that help our patients feel welcomed, listened to and cared for.
Brittney and her husband Matt are now raising their two daughters Briella and Matison in Livingston county, where she grew up. They love spending time at home in the country with their two huskies while soaking up the sun poolside or on the lake with friends and family.
Lindseybecame a part of Nurture Family Dental in October 2021, bringing three years of dental experience and 16 years experience in the medical field. Lindsey graduated from Ferris State University with a degree in business administration and a certificate in marketing. As our Patient Scheduling Coordinator, she ensures our schedule hums along and enjoys establishing relationships with our patients with her outgoing personality and great sense of humor.
Kimcourageously jumped into a new industry andjoined Nurture Family Dental in August 2021 after devoting much of her career to medical administration for 18 years. As our Patient Services Coordinator Kim focuses on what happens after your services with NFD are completed. She works with specialist referrals, coordinating future treatment and the proper billing of services to insurance.
Kim grew up in Howell, lived in Byron and enjoys the country life with her husband of 30 years, George. Kim also enjoys time with her two adult sons and two granddaughters. In her free time, she loves kayaking, camping, and traveling to new destinations and experiences.
Jenjoined Nurture family dental in May of 2021 with over 20 years of dental experience. As our Patient/Team Liaison, she wants to make your visit as fun and comfortable as possible, ensures communication between the administrative and clinical teams is flawless and is our oral surgery point-person. Jen is also a problem-solver, helping the entire team jump out of our comfort zone in order to grow! Her glowing, fun personality is contagious and helps to make everyone's day better.
Kaylabecame an instrumental part of our team in August 2021 and has been part of the dental industry for 7 years. As our Insurance Specialist, she brings the skillset and tenacity required to navigate the open waters of insurance. She enjoys helping the patient get the most out of their benefit plan and explaining the nuances of insurance coverage.
Valerieattained much success in the corporate world for over twenty years before deciding to make a career change, joining Nurture Family Dental in December of 2021. As our HR Lead, she joins our leadership team in planning our long-term goals for the practice, focusing on the timely and efficient onboarding of new team members, administering our team member programs and benefits, and ensures our compliance with numerous licensing and regulatory agencies. She also acts as an agent on behalf of Dr. Kuras and Dustin, providing support behind-the-scenes to ensure the practice's growth and improvement.
Valerie grew up in Westland and moved to the Whitmore Lake area in 2015. She loves being on the water and enjoys spending the majority of the summer boating with family and friends. In her free time, she also enjoys attending concerts, sporting events, and cheering her nieces on with all their sports and activities.
Dustingraduated from the University of Michigan-Dearborn with BBA degrees in both Marketing and Management. As our Chief Operating Officer, he takes pride in ensuring our team has all the tools and processes to afford our patients a uniquely enjoyable experience! Whether it be our accounting, payroll, marketing, equipment, supplies, expansion and many other areas, Dustin loves managing our operations and creating long-term goals and visions for the practice.
In his former decade-plus career as a Sales and Supply Chain Manager for the steel and aerospace industries, Dustin learned the value in establishing lasting relationships with people and that his customer service to others was paramount. He is very excited to utilize his experience to better your visit to our office!