“I come from a family of doctors who influenced and inspired me early on. I understood the importance of education and how it can affect an entire generation,” says Dr. Lara Bakaeen, ’98, who practices in Jordan and recently won her second award from the American College of Prosthodontics (Shown here after winning her first ACP award in 1995).
THE PIVOTAL POINT, says Dr. Lores, was an art class in high school. That’s when he decided working with clay to form a human skull reminded him of dental casts he had seen his mother, uncle, and grandfather create. With so many family members in the field, he says, “Dentistry was in my blood.” Yet,...
“IT’S NOT ALWAYS ABOUT the money,” says Dr. Rasul Albazi, BDS, MS, OHS, AEGD, ’25. “It’s good to help others.” When you love a place and don’t want to leave, what do you do? Stay, of course. That was the case for Dr. Rusul Albazi when she decided to pursue an oral health master’s degree....
IN PAKISTAN WHERE Dr. Thobhani grew up, his grandmother always had trouble at meals. The situation wasn’t unusual in a country where healthcare, especially oral care, wasn’t the highest priority. Her issue was dentures, full ones, top and bottom. Of course, she was fortunate that she could eat at all. But Dr. Raheel Thobhani remembers,...
HIS BUSINESS MODEL WOULDN’T work everywhere, admits Dr. Paul Melchiorre. But in Palm Beach, Florida, where the clientele want high accessibility, he’s grateful that they’re looking for what he is ready to deliver. It’s the concierge structure, so personalized that Melchiorre does almost everything himself. “It’s me and one employee who handles the front...
UPON GRADUATION FROM TEMPLE DENTAL in May of 2024, Dr. Ryan Bydalek proudly followed in the footsteps of his father (Dr. Michael Bydalek, ’89) and joined the family practice. His grandfather (Dr. Ray Bydalek) served as a Past Associate Dean and Director of Clinics at Kornberg and his uncle, Dr. Mark Bydalek, graduated in 1988....
CAN YOU IMAGINE GIVING birth just before clinical training and managing the rigors of the Temple program as a single parent (her husband had moved to Chicago to begin his residency). Amazingly, Dr. Rima Modi did just that; she credits the Temple Dental community for its extraordinary support, understanding and flexibility which allowed her to...
DR. MARY GRACE RIZZO-FRYZEL did not set out to become a real estate developer, but when an opportunity presented itself, she took a leap of faith. Working as an independent contractor for a few private practices after graduation, Dr. Rizzo-Fryzel soon realized that their service models did not align with her own and that she...
IN A FAMILY WITH SEVEN SIBLINGS, why would seven of them choose dentistry as a profession? In the Lee family, time spent in their father’s clinic seems to be the answer. When he was only six or seven years old in Korea, Dr. Lee ’97, recalls that he started watching his father at work. “And...
THEY WERE THE WORDS that changed her life, prefaced with: “What are you doing?” Recalling the moment, Dr. Abiodun Oni still can’t quite believe how Dr. Josh Bresler, associate professor of pediatrics, turned around her confidence and the direction of her career. It was August 17, 2023—she’ll never forget the day—when she came in for...
