FYI

Each quarter, we highlight dental professionals and office staff who have been nominated by their peers in recognition of their exceptional work for both their patients and their communities. We’re proud to announce our latest winner, Dr. Justin Perdichizzi.

Dr. Perdichizzi is a dentist in Henderson, Nevada. We talked to him recently about his background, practice and community work.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I'm originally from New York — born and raised in Long Island. My family moved to Las Vegas when I was in high school. I ended up going to UNLV for undergraduate work. I did a fast-track program that got me through undergrad quickly and into UNLV dental school. I graduated from UNLV with my DMD in 2013.
 

Why did you decide to become a dentist?

There are a few reasons. First, I had congenitally missing laterals, so I went through a lot of dental work as a kid. I went through orthodontics. I had Maryland bridges bonded on, had them fall out during football games and fall out during wrestling meets. But the dentists helped me out, even coming in over the weekends to put teeth back in so I could go to school Monday. I think a lot of that had an impact on me.
 
I also love the hands-on aspect of it. When I was younger, a lot of time was spent doing things around the house with my dad — fixing things, electronics. I think I always wanted to be able to do something with my hands versus medical diagnoses. In undergrad, I knew it was either going to be medical school or dental school. UNLV runs a clinic for undergrad students, and I got to go in and wax up a tooth and cut on plastic teeth. I enjoyed it. I think that that definitely pushed me to want to do dentistry.

What does a typical day look like for you?

It's different every day. I'm a general dentist. I do a little bit of everything and so I could be coming in to dentures. I could be coming in to a bunch of root canals.
I could be coming in to full mouth crowns or veneers or implants. And then throughout the day it can obviously change — emergency patients that need to be seen. We always try to accommodate that.
 
I think that's why I love being a general dentist. I don't want to be stuck doing one thing all day. I enjoy doing root canals, but it's not something I want to do all day, every day. I like the variety — not being stuck in the same mold.
 

Tell us a little bit about your community service work.

I enjoy helping Veterans. We used to run a clinic in dental school, Sgt. Ferrin’s Veterans Clinic. Now in my practice, I do work with two organizations: Donated Dental Services and Adopt a Vet. Both of those help Veterans that are in need. They screen the patients and send them to me and see if it's something I can help with.
 
We usually do a couple cases a year, depending on the patients that they get in my area. We've done dentures, crowns, root canals, bridges — we give the patient the treatment they need and there's no cost for them. It's a great way to give back to the community and it's something that my staff and I enjoy doing — being able to change people's lives in that way where they couldn't get it before.

The Veteran community is important to me. I have a lot of respect for those who have served. And so I think it's important to help them out when we can.

What do you like to do when you’re not working?

I've been married for 14 years. My wife and I have two daughters, so they keep us pretty busy. We like to do things around Vegas — go to shows and plays at the Smith Center. We’re big hockey fans, so a lot of times we're at those games.

I've recently gotten into 3D printing — printing toys for the kids and printing stuff for the house. That's been a lot of fun lately.
 

What do you think the future holds for the dental industry?

I think a lot of dentistry is going digital. We've incorporated AI into our practice.
We've used digital scanners for years, but they just keep getting better. We're doing 3D printed dentures, and there's a future for 3D printed crowns as well. We’re getting great fits with the printed dentures. We're getting accuracy. And we're getting results quickly where we didn't have it available before. So I think technology is definitely having a huge impact on dentistry right now.
 

What's some advice you would give to somebody who's just graduating from dental school?

I think coming straight out of dental school, the most important thing is to have a good community around you. Have mentors around you — people who have had experience so they know what they're doing and can help you through certain situations where you might not know any better.

Also, be open to taking that advice, because if they're telling you something, they probably have seen what works, what doesn't work. A lot of times when we come out of school, we think we know everything, but there's a lot more going on out there than you learn in dental school.

The other thing I would say is to make sure you're taking care of your team. Because that staff that surrounds you, they're what make you better. Without good support, you can't do this on your own. Build a good team around you and you'll be successful.

Thank you, Dr. Perdichizzi, for taking the time for an interview and for all that you do for your patients and your community. Congratulations on being chosen as a Smile Star.

You can visit the website for Dr. Perdichizzi’s practice for more information.

Do you know someone who should be a Smile Star? Email us at smileaward@delta.org with their contact information and the reason your nominee should win this award.