Meet Our Team! 

HOME                                                                                                   

OUR STORY

ABOUT VICTOR AVIS

MEET OUR TEAM

OUR SERVICES

PATIENT EDUCATION CENTER

ABOVE & BEYOND

WELCOME WAGON

    The Avis Team’s Philosophy

     We strive to treat each patient with respect and honesty, and provide the finest dental care in a warm, caring and comforting environment. We believe that when people come to our practice, they should be treated as if they were very important guests in our home! To create this experience, our core staff were selected because they share these same core values. 

     On a regular basis, the staff recieves customer service training. We've retained as "coach" a well known author, Allen Tappe and gone through the Ritz Carlton customer service training program.  We host patient focus groups to gather feedback on our performance, and meet weekly for two hours to celebrate exceptional service moments and discuss areas in which we could improve. It is an ongoing process to sustain and improve our service in order to create an exceptional experience for our patients. 
     With regard to providing the finest dental care, you should know that Dr. Avis has a perfectionist tendency and is driven to achieve excellence. He believes that continuing education is the foundation to exceptional dentistry. He and master laboratory technician, Paul Federico, average four to five weeks of postdoctoral education each year (more than ten times what is mandated by New York State law). Furthermore, both believe that their commitment to teaching is critical not only from the aspect of giving back to the profession, but also for their own professional development so they can provide the finest care for their patients.
     To this end, the entire Avis team is encouraged and supported in furthering their own dental education and sharing experiences with patients and the greater community.
   Finally, we believe in continually reinvesting to provide our patients with a beautiful, clean office, meticulous attention to standards of sterilization and the best technology! Our philosophy of practice is rather simple, but the effort we make to bring it to life is substantial! 

                        Dee Gramprey

Dee's first job at Avis Dentistry was sterilizing hand pieces, covering the phones for lunches, filing and making patient appointments. But soon, Dr. Ronald Avis asked her to help with insurance, which was great because she could make her own hours and be home for her daughter Tara. Dee is the 3rd generations of Gramprey's to work for the Avis family.

Now after 30 years, she coordinates patient care, facilitates financial arrangements, and oversees the smooth coordination of office staff, procedures and systems.

Dee is proud to be a native Staten Islander.  She is active in her church and community.  Dee is a member of LAOH and loves to travel.  But for Dee, family comes before everything, she loves to cook, bake and host family holiday dinners.  Dee is most happy when she is with her grandchildren James and Riley.  Dee says, “I feel very fortunate to be part of a high quality, caring and compassionate dental team.”    

       

   If you need convincing that this practice is a family, how’s this:  Tara is the fourth generation of Gramprey’s to work for the Avis family.  Tara began her work with The Avis family at age fourteen and has never left. Since the early days, Tara has completed high school, two years of dental hygiene training and multiple post doctoral educational programs.

 

Tara is Victor’s clinical assistant for all procedures, doing whatever is necessary to make it possible for him to just go in and do dentistry.  Tara prepares the chart, explains what will be done and helps put any fears aside. Tara makes the patient comfortable and the visit run smoothly.  She is delighted when she refers a patient to the practice.  She say’s “I know for a fact the patient will get the very best dentistry here.”    

 

Tara along with her husband Ian and 2 children, James and Riley enjoy vacationing at Walt Disney World Resort.  Tara and Ian love to go to the Theater and try new restaurants.  Being a member and officer in her LAOH division, she also enjoys helping out at the JCC Nursery School.

  

---

 

                         Dawn Christie 

   Dawn admits that marketing was hard to learn -- in addition to being a hygienist, she's also Director of Practice Development. There was a time when someone gave her a compliment, she'd just get red in the face. Now she turns it into a referral! And although preparing mailings and writing up brochure copy can be a "tooth-grinding experience," she really enjoys figuring out how to help make the practice grow.

Dawn enjoys listening to her patients and getting to know them on a personal level too. She also enjoys learning and strives to be on top of her profession. Dawn feels if you’re not learning you’re not growing.

 

When Dawn is not in the office she enjoys spending time with her daughter Ryann and her husband John.

 

Dawn also enjoys reading, digital photography and swimming. During the summer Dawn coaches the Village Greens Swim Team. 

 

 

 

 

                    Annette Curitore

    Annette is likely the first person you'll be in touch with on any visit to Avis Dentistry. As Director of First Impressions, she handles the scheduling of appointments, a job that requires her to know pretty much everything that goes on in the practice; she has to understand dental procedures and technology so she can explain what to expect and what your options will be. Annette enjoys dealing with people, putting them at ease, and playing a part in the transformation she sees in patients, especially those having restoration work done.

    When she's not meeting and greeting at the front desk, Annette enjoys going to the theater and visiting museums. Her husband Tom, a retired sanitation worker, enjoys building dollhouses in his spare time.

Their daughter Danielle and son in law David are physicians living in Boston. Their son Tom and daughter in law Sandra are graphic artists and co-owners of Sushi Eye in Tempe, Arizona. Annette also enjoys spending time with her two granddaughters.        

 

                      Kimberly Avis

   Kimberly is one of the creative minds behind the Avis dental marketing and practice development programs. She and Dawn work closely together to keep patients and the community aware of Avis developments.

Kim is a devoted mom to her three beautiful daughters. When not in the office or watching her girls play basketball soccer or lacrosse,

                        Edie OBrien

   Edie is a pioneer: she was the "first woman tech in dentistry" in the US, and was presented the Gold Medallion at the Hotel New Yorker for her contributions to the field. She's retired three times, but returned for the last time to work with Dr. Ronnie Avis (whom Edie describes as "just aces") in 1994.

Edie got her first job as a dental technician because of her "nice hands.” Overcoming the initial skepticism of 30 male co-workers, she went on to make dentures there for the next 47 years. Today she continues that work at Dr. Avis’ because, as she says, she “just really enjoys dentistry.” She can't stay away.