Meet the team

The people behind the calm.

Three dentists and four hygienists, all trained in anxiety-aware care. Between them, 62 years of narrating each step before it happens — because the worst part of the dentist is usually not knowing what comes next.

Your dentists

Three dentists, one philosophy

Nobody leaves this chair confused, rushed, or in pain. That's the whole rule — everything else is detail.

Dr. Anita Patel smiling warmly in her white clinic coat

Dr. Anita Patel, DDS

Founder · Family & Restorative

Special interest: dental anxiety

Eighteen years in practice, and she still books an extra ten minutes for anyone who says they're nervous. Founded BrightSmile in 2014 after a decade in a practice that ran on eight-minute appointments — she wanted the opposite.

  • DDS, University of North Carolina (2008)
  • Certified in dental-anxiety management, UNC
  • Member, American Dental Association
  • State-licensed DDS
Dr. Chidi Okafor in his white coat with a stethoscope, arms confidently folded

Dr. Chidi Okafor, DMD

Implants & Emergency Care

Special interest: implantology

Has placed more than 1,200 implants with 3D-guided planning. Runs the Saturday emergency clinic and answers the after-hours text line himself — if you crack a molar on a Friday night, he's the one who replies.

  • DMD, Tufts University School of Dental Medicine
  • Fellow, International Congress of Oral Implantologists
  • Advanced trauma & emergency dentistry certification
  • State-licensed DDS
Dr. Sofia Marchetti smiling in her clinic coat

Dr. Sofia Marchetti, DDS

Cosmetic & Invisalign

Special interest: smile design

An Invisalign Platinum provider who will not start a case until you've seen the 3D preview and said yes to the result. Also our whitening lead, which means she is very serious about managing sensitivity.

  • DDS, New York University College of Dentistry
  • Invisalign Platinum Provider (2023, 2024, 2025)
  • Accredited member, cosmetic dentistry academy
  • State-licensed DDS
Hygiene & care team

The people you'll actually see most

You'll spend more time with a hygienist than with a dentist. Ours are the reason patients keep saying it was the most relaxed cleaning they've had.

Marco Silva, lead dental hygienist, smiling in his white clinic coat

Marco Silva, RDH

Lead Hygienist

Twelve years of scaling, and a gift for the gentlest possible touch around sensitive gums. He is the one people ask for by name.

RDH, licensed 2013 · Periodontal therapy certified

Priya Nair, RDH

Hygienist · Kids' specialist

Runs our under-tens clinic on a strict "show, tell, do" rule: nothing touches a child's mouth until they've held it, named it, and agreed to it.

RDH, licensed 2017 · Paediatric hygiene certification

Jordan Webb, RDH

Hygienist · Gum health

Our deep-clean specialist. If your gums have been quietly bleeding for years and you've been told to "brush better", book with Jordan instead.

RDH, licensed 2019 · Advanced periodontal scaling

Elena Ortiz

Practice Manager

The one who verifies your insurance, explains the gap before you're in the chair, and finds the Saturday slot everyone says doesn't exist.

Handles insurance, plans & scheduling

Take a look around

See the room before you sit in it

No mystery doors. This is exactly what you'll walk into at 420 Maple Avenue — light, quiet, and nothing sharp on display.

BrightSmile Dental's bright, calm treatment room with a comfortable teal patient chair
Room 1 — the quiet one
Open treatment bay with two teal dental chairs and daylight through wide blinds
The open bay
A dentist showing a patient her X-ray on the chairside screen during a consultation
Every scan, explained
How we work

Three rules everyone here follows

They're on the wall of the staff room. They're also why a third of our patients came to us specifically because of dental anxiety.

Narrate before you touch

Every instrument gets named and explained before it goes anywhere near you. Surprise is the thing that actually hurts.

The hand goes up, we stop

Raise your hand at any moment and everything stops — no "just one more second". You hold the pause button, not us.

The price is written down first

You get the number in writing before we begin, and it doesn't move. If we find something mid-treatment, we stop and ask.

☀ Saturdays open · 8am–1pm

Pick your dentist. Pick your day.

Tell us who you'd like to see and when suits you — we'll confirm by text within the hour. Nervous? Say so on the form and we'll book the long appointment.