Meet the Team

DeeDee

Office Manager

DeeDee is our office manager and has been a valued part of the team since 2010. With over 22 years of experience with oral surgery, both clinical and administrative, she brings a great deal of knowledge to our team. She is certified in CPR, ACLS, PALS, and has a background of surgical assisting in various medical procedures. DeeDee lives with her husband, Bryan, and together they have five children. In her free time she loves to play tennis and pickleball with her husband and enjoys spending lots of time with her kids and their activities. Her favorite thing about Surprise Oral and Implant Surgery is the overall way we interact with patients. “We strive to make sure each patient that walks through the door feels the compassion and care that only our office can provide.”

Jodi

Lead Surgical Assistant

Jodi is our back office lead and has been leading our back office team for 7 years. She is a resident of Surprise has and been active in our community for more than 19 years. Jodi is a proud mother of two boys and her beautiful granddaughter who arrived in April of 2020. With over 25 years of experience in dentistry, 14 years of oral surgery, and her additional certifications, Jodi is a very valuable player to our team. She has earned her RDA and is BLS, IV, DAANCE, ACLS, and PALS certified, but she still chooses to continue her education whenever she can. Her husband works for the Phoenix Police Department and when she’s out of the office, they are hiking and wine tasting in our beautiful state. Her favorite thing about Surprise Oral and Implant Surgery is the people, “we are all serving the same purpose: to provide the highest level of patient care."

Laura

Surgical Assistant

Laura is a South Carolina Native and has worked in the field of dentistry for over 15 years. She is a surgical assistant here at Surprise Oral and Implant Surgery and works closely with Jodi and Dr. Nguyen. When she’s out of the office, Laura is hiking or biking around Arizona with her two boys and their Husky-Rottweiler mix. You can also find her visiting craft breweries and attending sporting events. Laura is certified in IV, PALS, ACLS, DAANCE, and as an expanded function dental assistant. Her favorite thing about Surprise Oral and Implant Surgery is the working environment. She truly enjoys coming to work every day.

Tatum

Front Desk Assistant

This is our awesome Front Desk Assistant, Tatum. When she's not in the office, Tatum is continuing her education in the study of Speech Communication, hanging out with her greyhounds, supporting local community theater, and spending time with her family. Around the office, you can find Tatum checking in and out patients, coordinating appointments and helping to ensure the patients experience. Her favorite thing about Surprise Oral and Implant Surgery is our team culture, "we are like a family here."

Temo

Surgical Assistant

Temo was born and raised in Phoenix, AZ. He is certified in ACLS, PALS, IV, and BLS. Outside of the office, Temo helps with his family’s business. He also enjoys working on his car and going on hikes! His favorite thing about Surprise Oral and Implant Surgery is his coworkers!

Karen

Front Desk Assistant

Karen is our front office Assistant who joined the SOIS office in Feb 2021. She brings her warm smile to greet you when you arrive for your appointment and is the sweet voice when you give us a call on the phone. You will find her scheduling your appointments and verifying your INS benefits.

She started her dental career over 30 years ago working as a certified dental assistant in general dentistry in a suburb of Chicago until the dentist retired. She made the move to an oral surgeon's office and found it very rewarding. She first started as an Assistant and then moved to the front desk.

Making the move in 2006 from NorthWest Indiana to Sunny Arizona, she found herself in an orthodontic office working the front desk, scheduling appointments, and verifying INS. She then went on to a general dentistry office and made it back to oral surgery.

When not in the office, Karen enjoys spending time with family, friends, and her spouse, Rob, who she met in 2010. They like to go off-roading in their jeep, sporting events like hockey and football, or just hanging out at home.

Her favorite thing about SOIS is the team atmosphere, she says it is definitely like a family!

Rene

Surgical Assistant

Rene was born and raised in Orange County, CA. He has prior experience as a medic in the Army. After the Army, he went to school for dental assisting, specifically for oral surgery. Rene loves spending time with his family, going camping with his wife and son, going on hikes, spending time at the shooting range, fishing, and anything outdoors! His favorite thing about Surprise Oral and Implant Surgery is getting to know patients and helping those in need!