The Better Dentist Project
70th Annual Scientific Meeting

David Turok, DDS, FAGD

Dr. David Turok received his Undergraduate degree at the University of Virginia and his DDS from Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry. Dr. Turok then completed a post-graduate AEGD at the University Of Florida School Of Dentistry.

Dr. Turok has completed extensive Continuing Education programs including courses at Spear Education- where he is a Faculty Club member, the Dawson Academy, Piper- Mckee TMJ Education, The American Academy of Implant Dentistry, 3D Dentists, Invisalign training amongst many others. Dr. Turok is a Fellow of the Academy of General Dentistry a member of the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine, and the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He serves as a board member, committee chair and as a Director of AES (American Equilibration Society), an organization focusing on Occlusion, TMD, and Comprehensive Care.

Dr. Turok’s passion is Facially-Generated Cosmetic Treatment Planning with Digital Smile Design. He is one of the only few in the Chicagoland area with a Smile Designer Certification through the Smilefy Academy. He recently gave a presentation on Digital Smile Design at the 2022 American Academy of Restorative Dentistry meeting. Dr. Turok enjoys sharing his passion with other dentists and helping them improve their esthetic results through digitally designed planning and communication.

Charlie Ward, DDS

Dr. Charlie Ward graduated from University of Maryland Dental School in 2008. He is a member of the visiting faculty of The Pankey Institute in Key Biscayne, Florida where he teaches the Mastering Aesthetic Restorative Dentistry and Dental Photography courses. He also presents for Align Technologies and is on the editorial advisory board for Dental Economics. He practices restorative dentistry in Baltimore, MD with his partner Dr. Devon Conklin and his wife and periodontist Dr. Melody Ward. He is a member of the Academy of General Dentistry and the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry.

Ed Zebovitz, DDS

Dr. Edward Zebovitz, a Diplomat, American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery since 1996. He spends his time in private practice, Lecturing nationally and Executive Director and Founder of Surgeons for Smiles, a Not for Profit conducting international Cleft Surgery Missions. To date 55 missions under his belt. This private practice is limited to Reconstruction of Jaw and Facial Deformities and the Relationship of Temporomandibular Disorders, Facial Esthetics, Airway and Occlusion. His philosophy is based on achieving stable and predictable results by means of Comprehensive Diagnostic Protocols and Innovative Treatment Modalities in a caring and compassionate patient centered care. His passion for his profession, education and caring for patients is well known to his peers.

Alice Lam DDS, AIA Fellow

Dr. Alice Lam graduated from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio School of Dentistry and has been practicing for 25 years. She owns a relationship-based practice that offers a whole-health approach to dental care in the West Houston area. Through her love for creating beautiful smiles, she began working in the craniofacial pain and airway world and found her purpose. Her love of patient care and her own personal journey with TMD and chronic pain led her to more-deeply explore the world of human kinetics and the interrelated orofacial issues. Today she brings to her practice, a team of masterful practitioners --- movement specialists, Mike Cantrell MPT, PRC, and James Anderson MPT, PRC, and James Guzman, DPT, CSCS, PRC and postural vision neurooptometrist, Dr. Heidi Wise, OD --- to provide a total body approach to restoring the body’s symmetry, balance, alternating function, and breathing patterns.

Mike Cantrell, MPT, PRC, AIA Fellow

Mike is a professional movement and performance consultant with over 35 years’ experience working with a variety of patients and athletes in all manner of settings across the country and around the globe. Mike is a partner with James Anderson MPT, AIA Fellow and lead performance consultant with Applied Integration Academy®, which has impacted patients and athletes across the US and throughout Europe, Australia and Asia. Mike’s area of expertise centers on helping individuals with chronic pain and enhancing sport performance through integration of neuro-respiratory dynamics. Of particular interest is the emergence of his skill with orofacial management of AIA®-based principles. This has led to specific programs coupling respiratory function with dental management of the human body.

James Anderson MPT, PRC, AIA Fellow

James Anderson, MPT, PRC is a professional movement and performance consultant with over 20 years of experience working directly with all types of sports performance, rehabilitation and fitness professionals both nationally and internationally. He currently resides in St. George, Utah and is a partner and lead performance consultant with Applied Integration Consulting (AIC), providing expert consultation in both amateur and professional settings across all parts of the United States, Canada and in both Europe and Asia. His areas of expertise include Respiration, Neurology and Biomechanics, with special emphasis on Sports Performance, Spine Rehab and difficult Chronic Pain cases. His work integrating respiration and neurology includes regular collaboration with professionals in dentistry, podiatry and optometry.

Gary Heir, DMD

Dr. Heir is a Past-President and a Diplomate of the American Board of Orofacial Pain and Past President and a Fellow of the American Academy of Orofacial, He is a Fellow of the American College of Dentists. He holds the position of the Carmel Chair in Algesiology at the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine, the first professorship in the nation in algesiology dedicated to orofacial pain. New Jersey Monthly Magazine named him as a New Jersey Top Doctor for two consecutive years.

Dr. Heir is a Professor, Program and Clinical Director of the Center for Temporomandibular Disorders and Orofacial Pain of Rutgers University School of Dental Medicine and Director of the Post Graduate Advanced Education and Masters Programs. Dr. Heir is Past Chair of the Written Examination Council of the American Board of Orofacial Pain, served on the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) as a member and Commissioner of the Review Committee and continues to serve as a CODA orofacial pain site inspector. He is a member of the Review Committee of Advanced Dental Education of the ADA Council of the Commission on Dental Education and Licensure (CDEL) and the Section Editor of the Orofacial Pain Neuroscience Section of The Journal of The American Dental Association. He serves on numerous editorial boards for many other peer reviewed journals. Dr. Heir is a member of many professional organizations devoted to the study and diagnosis of pain disorders, has published numerous papers, chapters and abstracts on topics related with the field of temporomandibular disorders and orofacial pain. Dr. Heir was appointed to the New Jersey Governors Council for Lyme Disease and served for twelve years in that position, and one term as its vice chair. He is the primary author of the nationally accepted Post Graduate Core Curriculum in Orofacial Pain.

David Dunning, PhD

David Dunning is Professor of Psychology at the University of Michigan focusing primarily on the psychology underlying human misbelief. His most cited work shows that people hold flattering opinions of their character and competence that cannot be justified from objective evidence, work supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Science Foundation, and the John Templeton Foundation. An author of over 150 journal articles, book chapters, and general interest pieces, he is half of the team responsible for describing the infamous Dunning-Kruger effect. In 2016 he was awarded the Distinguished Lifetime Career Award from the International Society for Self and Identity, and has been a fellow at the Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences. In 2023 he received (with Justin Kruger) the Grawemeyer Award in Psychology. He holds a BA from Michigan State University and a PhD from Stanford University, both in psychology.

Nick Holton, PhD

Dr. Holton is an international consultant, coach, speaker and author. He has directed Positive Education or education for flourishing initiatives at multiple schools around the United States and has worked with professional and collegiate athletes, Fortune 500 business leaders, schools and thought leaders from around the world.

His work focuses on human flourishing or the scientific research that supports optimal functioning, a synergistic development of both optimal performance toward meaningful pursuits and overall well-being & satisfaction. He is particularly interested in the interplay between well-being, human potential and antifragility, the ability to thrive under and grow from adversity.

Brianne Novaes, CPT

Brianne Novaes has been a Certified Personal Trainer for 10+ years and has various certifications including corrective exercise specialist. She has worked in multiple areas of fitness including personal training, semi-private training, group fitness, medical fitness, corporate wellness, and fitness center management. Her expertise is in correcting muscular imbalances through strength training modalities to avoid pain and prevent injury. She also has vast knowledge in mobility, flexibility, and stability training. She is the Founder of Built by Brianne, a company that provides specialized strength programs for Dental Professionals.

Erin Elliott, DDS

Dr. Erin Elliott grew up in Southern California but went away to a small NAIA school in Western New York where she played collegiate soccer and graduated summa cum laude from Houghton College. After graduating Creighton Dental School in the top 5 in 2003, she settled in North Idaho to begin her general dentistry career. She has a special interest in DentalSleep Medicine and technology. She has lectured extensively on this topic and loves to help general dentists extend this life-saving service to their patients. She is an active member of her local American Dental Association, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, and the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine. She teaches a 2 day Sleep Apnea Implementation Course with 3D-Dentists and Dr. Tarun Agarwal.

Dean Morton, BDS, MS, FACP

Dean Morton completed his dental training at the University of Sydney (Aust.) and his MS and Postgraduate Certificate in Prosthodontics at the University of Iowa. He serves as the Indiana Dental Association (IDA) Distinguished Professor in the Department of Prosthodontics at the Indiana University School of Dentistry and as the Director of the Center for Implant, Esthetic and Innovative Dentistry.

Dr. Morton is an Honorary Fellow, past member of the Board of Directors and past Chair of ITI Section USA of the ITI. He is an Honorary Professor, Queen Mary University, London, United Kingdom, and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons (Edinburgh). He is a diplomate, examiner and President of the American Board of Prosthodontics. Dr. Morton is a member of the Board of Councilors of the International College of Prosthodontists (ICP) and is an active fellow or member or many other organizations. Dr. Morton has published more than 120 peer reviewed articles in addition numerous research abstracts, books and chapters. He lectures nationally and internationally on Prosthodontics, Implant and Esthetic Dentistry.

Prof. Ziv Mazor

Prof. Ziv Mazor is one of Israel’s leading periodontists. He graduated from the periodontal department at the Hadassah School for Dental Medicine in Jerusalem, where he served as a clinical instructor and lecturer for undergraduate and postgraduate dental students.

Since 1993, Prof. Mazor has been engaged in clinical research in the field of Bone Augmentation and Sinus Floor Elevation. He is currently participating in the quest for improving and evaluating new grafting materials, using various growth factors as well as researching “osseodensification”- a paradigm shift in dental implantology.

Prof. Mazor is a renowned author in dental implantology, and is known worldwide for his innovative approaches in cutting-edge procedures and technologies. He is a world known speaker and has lectured extensively both nationally and internationally. This year was his 25th consecutive year speaking at the AAP.

Prof. Mazor is part of the continuing education faculty at the New York University and an Associate Professor at Titu Maiorescu University in Bucharest, Romania. He conducts and moderates advanced international implantology courses and workshops. He is the past President of the Israeli Periodontal Society.

Prof. Mazor maintains a private practice limited to periodontal and implant dentistry in Tel Aviv &Ra'anana, Israel.

Shavonne Healy MSDH, RDH, ICP

Shavonne is a skilled public health advocate with over two decades of experience in clinical care as a dental assistant and dental hygienist. She earned her master's in dental hygiene from the University of Bridgeport: Fones School of Dental Hygiene, the world's first dental hygiene school, cementing her status as a true industry leader. She was recognized as a subject matter expert in the prevention and treatment of periodontal and peri-implant diseases when Dimensions of Dental Hygiene named her one of the Top Six Dental Hygienists you should know in the nation for her work as an Implant Care Practioner working collaboratively with Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Shavonne is a globally recognized expert in dental hygiene, dedicated to introducing innovative techniques and technologies to enhance dental care worldwide.

August deOliveira, DDS

August de Oliveira graduated from dental school in 1997 from the University of Washington and completed his General Practice Residency in Los Angeles in 1998. Dr de Oliveira has been lecturing on 3D technology since 2004, when he started as a CEREC Basic trainer. Since 2008 he has been involved with Implant Direct’s R and D department developing Guided Surgery Software and Hardware and testing their CAD Milled Bars and Substructure Department.

Dr. de Oliveira has written three books on Dentistry: Implants Made Easy, Dental 3D Printing Made Easy and Guided Implantology Made Easy. He has been involved with beta testing Sirona’s Sidexis Program, as well as developing the Opti and CEREC Milled Surgical Guides, Sprintray's Printers and Resins, VHF's chairside mill, and helped develop Exocad Chairside and 3Shape Chairside and Implant Design Studio. Dr de Oliveira is on the board of directors at Sprintray and beta and alpha tests numerous 3D printers and 3D printing software. Dr de Oliveira has completed over 300 digital hybrid arches and teaches Digital and Analog Restorative at Implant Pathway, on live patients. Dr de Oliveira teached 3D Printing and Exocad design at The MOD Institute and is the Director of MOD West.

Dr de Oliveira is a certified Unity VR and AR Software Developer and is currently developing Virtual Reality simulations in dentistry and Mixed Reality 3D diagnostic tools for Augmented Reality Headsets.