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.
Reviews
Rating 4.2 out of 5 based on 12 reviews
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newest oldest highest lowestKathy Sebey
3 years ago
Both of my daughters had their wisdom teeth extracted by Mr Whitney. The down time was amazing. Both had little pain or discomfort. I'm very impressed with the knowledge and care of the staff. I would recommend this dentist and staff to anyone!!!! Excellent care thank you so much as a mother it takes alot of stress off me.
Zachary Lee
3 years ago
They are the most professional and friendly practice I have ever been in! They also take the time to make you comfortable and explain your aftercare very well.
Cameron Owen
3 years ago
Awesome service! They got me in quickly and took care of everything, kept me well informed, and were so helpful with my post op!!! These guys rock!!
Rick Hofer
3 years ago
This place is amazing was a little nervous but had good music my wisdom were removed before it even got started. Healing was 100 percent. It's the place to go steve and his staff thanks
Rick Hofer
4 years ago
This place is amazing was a little nervous but had good music my wisdom were removed before it even got started. Healing was 100 percent. It's the place to go steve and his staff thanks
Kathy Sebey
4 years ago
Both of my daughters had their wisdom teeth extracted by Mr Whitney. The down time was amazing. Both had little pain or discomfort. I'm very impressed with the knowledge and care of the staff. I would recommend this dentist and staff to anyone!!!! Excellent care thank you so much as a mother it takes alot of stress off me.
Zachary Lee
4 years ago
They are the most professional and friendly practice I have ever been in! They also take the time to make you comfortable and explain your aftercare very well.
Cameron Owen
4 years ago
Awesome service! They got me in quickly and took care of everything, kept me well informed, and were so helpful with my post op!!! These guys rock!!
Kate Anne
4 years ago
CLIFTON removed 2 of my wisdom teeth 2 days ago and it was a NIGHTMARE! A year and half ago, Dr. Whitney did remove my lower left wisdom tooth and he had asked me if I wanted my lower right and upper left removed as well. I said no because it wasn't bothering me at that time and it was the worst mistake I have ever made in my life. I should have said yes! Dr. Whitney was very kind and professional compared to Clifton. Fast forward.. Now my lower right and upper left wisdom had started bothering me a month ago. I had called the office and explained the situation. This guy named Brian said "Oh we got your x-ray here and see you are a patient of ours so I'm gonna go ahead and schedule you to see Dr. Whitney on JULY 1st." July 1st, I arrived to that place, waited almost an hour in the waiting room just to find out I was seeing a different doctor. I thought I was getting my wisdom removed that day. WRONG! I was misinformed. It was only a freaking consulation! Why? I don't know! I was already a patient. Why do I need another consultation? Oh by the way, consultation costs 90 dollars. So yeah I met this guy clifton and he started telling me about what to expect blah blah blah.. Fast forward.. The day of my surgery, July 10th, Clifton yelled at me in the middle of him yanking my tooth out, just because I felt pain when he was drilling my tooth or whatever he was doing in there. I FELT EVERYTHING! I felt the nerve under my tooth. I raised my hand cause obviously I couldn't talk, right? His tone was very rude and started yelling at me saying "DID THAT HURT? I ASKED YOU IF YOUR LIP AND GUMS WERE NUMB AND YOU SAID YES THAT'S WHY I WENT AHEAD AND STARTED." WTF! Yes my lip and gums felt numb! I would say NO if they weren't numb. This is my mouth we are talking about! Not only that he yelled at me in the middle of the surgery, when I got home that day, I noticed that I have a cut in my right lip. If I could give ZERO stars, I so would! Here's one star for his nurse, who was very nice to me. 0 star for the Dr who was very unprofessional and RUDE! If you are a military family like us, I'd say just wait until your next station to get your wisdom teeth removed or buy a plane ticket and get it done at your home state. Unless you will be seeing Dr. Whitney then you should be fine.
Pyriel Danna
4 years ago
Very respectfully and nice ppl. Did an amazing job on my tooth hope future experiences are the same for all
Danielle Munyan
4 years ago
This place is absolutely horrible! First they tried saying all my claims were paid. Showing I owed over $800. I called my insurance company and the office did not send x-rays like my insurance asked. They kept lying about dates and what happened. They owe me money and it has been a couple weeks and still nothing. My daughter needs her teeth out and I will go somewhere else. The office manager is absolutely horrible to work with. I told her today I'm turning them in to better business bureau and her answer was "go ahead and do it" if I didn't call my insurance company they would have got an extra grand out of us. Do not go there... not worth the headache!
Nicholas Lovato
4 years ago
Had my wisdom teeth removed recently with no problems whatsoever. Was very stressed prior to but the staff was super friendly and helpful
Renee McKey
4 years ago
I went in for a tooth extraction. Last time I had a tooth pulled I had a horrible experience at a different dental office. so I was apprehensive how it would go with a different dentist. Dr. Whitney's son in law sensed my nervousness and was very calming. And the extraction went so smoothly. Hardly realized he had pulled the tooth.
Luke Stahl
4 years ago
Dr. Whitney took my wisdom teeth out yesterday. Did an amazing job, I'm in no pain at all and haven't had to take any pain meds at all, keep in mind it's been over 24 hours. The only pain I have is some soreness of my jaw, and I'm sure that's from having my jaw forced open for an hour, but even the soreness is no problem at all. Over all I would recommend him!!!
Danielle Munyan
5 years ago
This place is absolutely horrible! First they tried saying all my claims were paid. Showing I owed over $800. I called my insurance company and the office did not send x-rays like my insurance asked. They kept lying about dates and what happened. They owe me money and it has been a couple weeks and still nothing. My daughter needs her teeth out and I will go somewhere else. The office manager is absolutely horrible to work with. I told her today I'm turning them in to better business bureau and her answer was "go ahead and do it" if I didn't call my insurance company they would have got an extra grand out of us. Do not go there... not worth the headache!
Pyriel Danna
5 years ago
Very respectfully and nice ppl. Did an amazing job on my tooth hope future experiences are the same for all
Nicholas Lovato
5 years ago
Had my wisdom teeth removed recently with no problems whatsoever. Was very stressed prior to but the staff was super friendly and helpful
Renee McKey
5 years ago
I went in for a tooth extraction. Last time I had a tooth pulled I had a horrible experience at a different dental office. so I was apprehensive how it would go with a different dentist. Dr. Whitney's son in law sensed my nervousness and was very calming. And the extraction went so smoothly. Hardly realized he had pulled the tooth.
Kate Anne
5 years ago
CLIFTON removed 2 of my wisdom teeth 2 days ago and it was a NIGHTMARE! A year and half ago, Dr. Whitney did remove my lower left wisdom tooth and he had asked me if I wanted my lower right and upper left removed as well. I said no because it wasn't bothering me at that time and it was the worst mistake I have ever made in my life. I should have said yes! Dr. Whitney was very kind and professional compared to Clifton. Fast forward.. Now my lower right and upper left wisdom had started bothering me a month ago. I had called the office and explained the situation. This guy named Brian said "Oh we got your x-ray here and see you are a patient of ours so I'm gonna go ahead and schedule you to see Dr. Whitney on JULY 1st." July 1st, I arrived to that place, waited almost an hour in the waiting room just to find out I was seeing a different doctor. I thought I was getting my wisdom removed that day. WRONG! I was misinformed. It was only a freaking consulation! Why? I don't know! I was already a patient. Why do I need another consultation? Oh by the way, consultation costs 90 dollars. So yeah I met this guy clifton and he started telling me about what to expect blah blah blah.. Fast forward.. The day of my surgery, July 10th, Clifton yelled at me in the middle of him yanking my tooth out, just because I felt pain when he was drilling my tooth or whatever he was doing in there. I FELT EVERYTHING! I felt the nerve under my tooth. I raised my hand cause obviously I couldn't talk, right? His tone was very rude and started yelling at me saying "DID THAT HURT? I ASKED YOU IF YOUR LIP AND GUMS WERE NUMB AND YOU SAID YES THAT'S WHY I WENT AHEAD AND STARTED." WTF! Yes my lip and gums felt numb! I would say NO if they weren't numb. This is my mouth we are talking about! Not only that he yelled at me in the middle of the surgery, when I got home that day, I noticed that I have a cut in my right lip. If I could give ZERO stars, I so would! Here's one star for his nurse, who was very nice to me. 0 star for the Dr who was very unprofessional and RUDE! If you are a military family like us, I'd say just wait until your next station to get your wisdom teeth removed or buy a plane ticket and get it done at your home state. Unless you will be seeing Dr. Whitney then you should be fine.
Luke Stahl
5 years ago
Dr. Whitney took my wisdom teeth out yesterday. Did an amazing job, I'm in no pain at all and haven't had to take any pain meds at all, keep in mind it's been over 24 hours. The only pain I have is some soreness of my jaw, and I'm sure that's from having my jaw forced open for an hour, but even the soreness is no problem at all. Over all I would recommend him!!!
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