Davis & Engert
20 Main Street in Park Ridge.
DentistInParkRidge.com
847-698-2161

The family connection to Park Ridge: Davis & Engert Dentistry was started by my mom and dad in Uptown Park Ridge in 1983, but our roots are actually much deeper than that. While my mom was a city girl growing up in Lakeview, after she met my dad in dental school and they were looking for the ideal place to open a practice and start a family, he convinced her that Park Ridge was the perfect choice.

My dad had grown up on Seminary, a few blocks from the community center in a house that my grandpa built after buying a plot of land over by the train tracks in the 1950s. So he went to Carpenter and then Lincoln and then Maine South, and actually was commuting from that same house on Seminary, taking the blue line all the way down to UIC for dental school. Years later, my sister and I almost followed exactly in my dad’s footsteps, attending Washington before going to Lincoln and then Maine South, and now it’s pretty incredible to think that my daughter is likely to take a similar path.

Finish this sentence: My Maine South experience was… amazing! Maine South is where I met my husband. It was actually in math class the first day of freshman year. Our teacher had us play a get-to-know-you game where she asked us to get in line, without talking, in order of our birthdays. My husband’s birthday is September 23 and mine is September 24… the rest is history! Well, actually, we didn’t start dating until the end of college, but had always crushed on each other. And we still hang out with our Maine South crew to this day.

The best part of cosmetic dentistry is seeing someone’s face light up — and often times even tear up — when they see the difference.

What you’ve learned from your parents: Above all else, to treat every single patient with kindness and respect. Running a business has its daily challenges, and I know this will sound cliché, but if you treat everyone with the same care and compassion as you do your family, it pays off. We work hard on our office culture to uphold the highest level of patient care that we can provide.

The most important three things to remember when it comes to dental care are:

1. Brush twice a day with fluoride toothpaste.
2. Floss once a day.
3. Limit sugary and acidic foods/beverages. Sugary and acidic foods lead to tooth issues. When you do have something sweet or acidic, try to finish within 30 minutes. Sipping on a sugary drink or grazing on candy throughout the day will increase your risk for decay.

A specialty for Davis & Engert is cosmetic dentistry. How have you seen your patients’ confidence improve by making their smile better?

I absolutely love this part of our work! It is truly amazing how improving a smile can totally boost someone’s confidence. The best part of cosmetic dentistry is delivering a case and then seeing someone’s face light up — and often times even tear up — when they see the difference.

Our philosophy is to be as conservative as possible. When planning a cosmetic case, it could be as simple as smoothing rough tooth edges or teeth whitening. Or it could be as complicated as a full mouth reconstruction. Every treatment plan is customized to the patients’ wants and needs, with the underlying goal being to deliver the smile they have always wanted.

Running a business has its daily challenges. I know this will sound cliché, but if you treat everyone with the same care and compassion as you do your family, it pays off.

You’re a social media star. How has technology and social media helped you grow and connect with people?

Ha, yes! When I graduated dental school and joined my family’s practice, I took over the marketing for Davis & Engert. I have always tried to share our practice culture through social media on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Then when we had to shut down for COVID 19, I used social media to connect with the community and our patients to let them know how our office would be handling it. We took precautions very seriously and implemented many changes due to the pandemic. I had multiple patients let me know they really appreciated all the information I was sharing, which made the time I was spending marketing even more worth it.

During the shutdown I also thought I would go on Tiktok to answer questions that I often got in the office, thinking it would be a fun way to connect with people and share some dental tips and tricks. But I honestly had no idea it would take off the way that it did (165k followers)!

Walking in the door at Davis & Engert, we want you to… receive dental care with an exceptional level of personalized service. We strive to inform and educate our patients about their dental treatments, home-care needs and overall health. As a team, we exhibit honesty and integrity, we treat everyone with respect, and we deliver the highest quality dental care possible.

I am so proud of the team we have at Davis & Engert. Everyone works hard and we have fun doing it!