Deeply Rooted
For 35 years and counting, the practitioners of Gwynedd Dental Associates has been caring for the community through personalized dentistry of the highest quality.
So much has changed since 1986, when Gwynedd Dental Associates first opened its doors in the quaint Montgomery County town of Ambler.
The practice has grown to offer the continuum of dental services—from general and cosmetic dentistry to dental implants and periodontics/prosthodontics—provided by a team of highly skilled dental professionals. The office’s aesthetics have evolved, too; rather than a conventional dental suite, the office more closely resembles an upscale living room, complete with a fine art gallery, to complement the gentle ambiance of the surrounding area.
One thing that has remained the same over the years: the practice’s commitment to providing personalized, patient-first dental care of the highest quality.
Gwynedd Dental Associates has always been committed to the health and safety of its patients, now more than ever. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the office has upgraded its protocols. Patients who are anxious about coming into a dental setting can relax and obtain the appropriate care without fearing a possible infection, according to Charles H. Sacks, D.M.D., who founded the practice in 1986.
“Gwynedd Dental was designed for the busy working person or the busy stay-at-home individual, offering services that are usually done all within this office,” he says. “We have a long-term staff with low turnover, as most of our staff has been with us for over 28 years. We treat our employees well so they treat our patients well.”
Although the enduring connection between patients and staff has fostered long-term relationships, Dr. Sacks attributes Gwynedd Dental’s success to its ability to provide the continuum of high-quality dentistry in an atmosphere built around the three C’s: care, comfort, and convenience.
“Working in cosmetic and restorative dentistry fulfills my passion for health care and also allows me to be artistic at the same time,” says Dr. Sacks. “A patient can go from having a broken tooth to receiving a root canal to having a finished crown, all in the same visit. By offering this continuity of care, we’re cutting down on the amount of time patients have to come here, which means they don’t have to take off as many days from work and in the long run it ultimately costs them less.”
With every interaction, Gwynedd Dental aims to make life easier for patients, according to Carlos Mirabal, D.M.D., a native of Havana, Cuba, who speaks Spanish fluently as a convenience to Spanish-speaking patients. For example, the practice offers early morning and early evening hours to accommodate patients’ active schedules.
“Our approach to keeping patients happy is a simple one,” says Dr. Mirabal, a graduate of Temple University’s Kornberg School of Dentistry, who focuses on root canals and veneers. “We treat patients the way we would want to be treated while utilizing the most advanced dental methods of treatment for their care.”
Joseph L. Mustazza, D.M.D., M.S., is the newest addition to the Gwynedd Dental team. Dr. Mustazza was born and raised in Montgomeryville. He earned his doctorate from the Kornberg School of Dentistry at Temple University, where he completed his specialty training in periodontology and oral implantology, as well as earning his master’s in oral biology.
In his practice, he treats periodontal disease, gingival augmentation, and the replacement of teeth with dental implants, which often includes bone grafting. His goal: “to become a lifetime practitioner in this area, and to make sure all my patients feel like family.”
“Periodontal disease is not something to be ignored,” he says. “Research has shown a strong connection between periodontal disease and systemic disease. It has been linked to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s—all inflammatory processes that can cause a lot of harm. A healthy mouth goes a long way toward protecting your overall health.”
Each member of Gwynedd Dental’s team of dental professionals focuses on a specific area of dentistry, enabling the practice to offer everything from preventive and restorative care, to periodontal and endodontic care, to anti-aging dentistry. Maintaining one’s dental health is one of the keys to a long and healthy life, because the teeth and the bone that supports them also support the lips, cheeks, and chin. Dr. Sacks suggests Gwynedd Dental goes “above and beyond” to help patients maintain their natural teeth, but dental implants may be the next best thing if keeping one’s natural teeth is not an option.
“Quality of life is so very important,” he says. “That’s one of the reasons we also offer implants and full-mouth rehabilitation, which can go a long way to improving an aesthetically compromised smile. Also, most people of any age get a lot of joy out of eating. Implants are sturdy enough to eat anything you want. Nobody has to be in a partial denture anymore.
“In this economy, there are many offices that have had to ‘cut’ in order to remain competitive, but we have expanded services,” he continues. “We will not allow the quality of the dentistry being offered in this office to be affected by the economy. We’re constantly upgrading and maintaining to make sure each patient is comfortable with their procedure and with the whole experience we offer here.”
Such upgrades and maintenance certainly include technology such as an in-house CAD/CAM restorative system, which produces perfectly fitted crowns, inlays, and onlays for a patient, within a single visit. Likewise, digital radiography provides ultra-clear X-rays of patients’ mouths to aid in diagnosis and treatment, all while exposing patients to almost zero radiation. Lastly, to assist in patient education, video imagers installed in each of the dentistry suites provide digital images of a patient’s mouth so he or she can see exactly what is happening before, during, and after a procedure.
As part of its dedication to safeguarding patients’ overall health and well-being, Gwynedd Dental strives to be “a metal-free office.” This means the practice uses only biocompatible materials in the patient’s mouth; crowns are made of ceramic material, while dental fillings contain no silver or gray material. Patients are offered local anesthesia for delicate procedures, while nitrous oxide is available to soothe patients who have severe anxiety.
“This is an office that cares about its patients as individual people,” says Dr. Sacks. “We do everything in our power to make it convenient for them, which includes accomplishing as much as possible in one visit. We maintain a safe, clean, and beautiful environment here, and we keep our patients as comfortable as possible—before, during, and after their procedure. That’s true for all of our patients, whether they’re here for a routine cleaning or a complete smile restoration.”
Gwynedd Dental Associates
921 N. Bethlehem Pike
Ambler, PA 19002
(215) 646-4767
Photograph by Jody Robinson
Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Life magazine, October 2021.
