By Christie Vogt
Contributing Writer

“I fell in love with dentistry because dentistry is an art and science,” Dr. Ali Almaawi shares. “When you combine art and science together, you get medicine.” Almaawi, the owner of Ashland Family & Implant Dentistry on 37 Main Street, speaks with passion about his craft and his team, noting that their shared goal is to “provide the finest quality dentistry possible in the most comfortable, caring environment.”

After years of practicing as an associate and gaining extensive clinical knowledge, Almaawi felt ready to set off on his own. “There’s a side of me that really likes to grow things and bring ideas to fruition, and I felt that owning a business would allow me to do that. I’ve been able to create a vision and grow the practice with my team.”

Ashland Family & Implant Dentistry, which Almaawi acquired in 2021, offers more than 30 services, including dental cleaning, whitening, implants, veneers, dentures, sealants, Invisalign, bite guards, bonding, root canals, tooth extractions, crowns, bridges and more.

The practice places a strong emphasis on continuing education, Almaawi says, to ensure the team stays up-to-date on new techniques and the latest developments in the field. 

The office’s use of advanced technology and equipment is one of the things that sets it apart, Almaawi adds. Such tools include the CEREC machine (same-day crowns), CBCT (3D imaging for computer-guided implants), digital panoramic radiographs, diagnostic photographs, digital radiography and ZOOM! teeth whitening. The CEREC machine, for example, “allows us to create crowns and bridges at the office, so there’s no second visit needed for the patient,” Almaawi explains.

In addition to its cutting-edge technology, Almaawi says his staff is key to providing an exceptional and comfortable experience for patients. “Our office has a great reputation because of our entire staff, not just my work,” he says. “What we have here is true teamwork; from our front desk team to our dental assistants, we work as one team focusing on one patient at a time.” 

“Coming to the dentist can be challenging,” Almaawi acknowledges. “It could be the cost, it could be fear, it could be because of a previous experience a patient has had, but a lot has changed in dentistry in recent years,” Almaawi explains. He says new techniques have “nearly eliminated” the pain of many dental procedures.

As for the cost of dental care, Almaawi says the team “works to find ways to take care of patients without breaking the bank” by exploring payment plans and working within patients’ budgets to make treatments as affordable as possible. He also notes that regular, twice-yearly visits are a way to save money because proactively maintaining oral health is more cost-efficient than remedying unattended dental issues.

Referring to the artistic side of dentistry, Almaawi says: “When a patient comes to me for a smile makeover, I have to have a vision of the end result. In this profession, you have to have an artistic capability.” He recalls one patient, a college professor, whose teeth positioning was affecting her pronunciation and confidence — and hence her job performance as a lecturer. 

“She came to us and said, ‘I need to get my smile and pronunciation back,’ and over the course of eight months, we were able to get her where she wanted,” Almaawi shares. “At her final appointment, she sat in the chair crying and gave hugs to everybody in the office because of how happy she was with the results.”

Almaawi says that “at the end of the day, that’s what makes us happy — changing and improving lives. It’s life-changing work we do here.”

To make an appointment at Ashland Family & Implant Dentistry, call 508-881-7700 or visit familydentistryinc.com.

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