Department: Meet Your Team

Amber has always had a deep passion for healthcare, whether it be with humans or animals, working as a vet technician for 8 years before getting her start in dentistry. Her journey started in pediatric dentistry where she learned just how rewarding it could be. She vividly remembers working with a young patient, who had a few teeth that never formed correctly. After assisting with a procedure that would restore the little one’s teeth, the reaction from the patient is something that she will never forget. In that moment, she saw her gain her smile back, as her eyes became sparkly and she beamed with confidence she hadn’t had walking into the office. It was at that moment that she knew she was in the right place!

Amber works hard at helping people feel better about themselves and their health through dentistry, providing a judgment free and caring environment for every patient she sees. After 6 years at a pediatric office, she took a leap of faith into general dentistry wanting to learn and build upon her skills. Having over nine years of dental assisting under her belt, she brings a substantial collection of knowledge and experience.

She makes it her purpose to cultivate an environment where our patients feel supported, comfortable, informed and empowered about their oral health. She started working as Dr. Dobracki’s main chair assistant in ‘22, providing a variety of holistic treatments and services. Amber said she felt at home in our office from day one, genuinely enjoying the ability to help and care for our patients while working with one of the best teams in the city.

Outside of work, Amber has been committed to her own holistic health care journey. Taking time to enjoy cooking different whole foods to experiment with their vast benefits. She also loves to make her own natural body products. Being an earth sign, you can often find her enjoying anything that puts her in nature. If it is summer, you can put money on the fact that she will be on a beach enjoying our beautiful lakes. Amber’s caring soul doesn’t stop at work, spilling over to her four rescued fur children, three cats ranging in age from 9 to an impressive 17, and her puppy Money Man Jones, who is just over a year old.

Victoria discovered her love for dental health care in high school, when she did a co-op program at a dental lab. From there, she jumped straight into the field and never looked back, starting with an orthodontics office after finishing her dental assisting program back in 2019. Victoria began to explore the different branches of dentistry, searching for one that felt just right. She quickly learned that family dentistry was a favorite. Loving the ability to connect to her patients and build a trust based relationship with all members of a family.

Her family has always led a holistic lifestyle, giving her the understanding of how important the ingredients of products can be. She was still looking for her home in dentistry when she found us, loving how much thought we put into everything we use with our patients. Knowing our biological and holistic standpoint, she very quickly became just another member of the Ann Arbor’s Dentist Family.

We love just how much care and energy Victoria puts into each patient, making sure that everyone feels safe, comfortable and at home. We are excited to watch her blossom as she grows with our office.

Like most of us here, Victoria has a love for all things. Spending time with her family, her beloved puppies, or just enjoying the beauty of nature. She has a true appreciation for the world around her, taking joy from the happiness of others.

Carmen is one of our assistants. With a bright happy smile and a thirst for knowledge, we are excited to watch her grow in the dental community. Carmen currently works for us as a dental assistant while studying dental hygiene at the University of Michigan. Although she is new to us, she already has an impressive 6 years of assisting experience as well as an extensive educational background.

Carmen started her dental journey with Western Michigan University, studying Biomedical Sciences, where she learned just how deep her passion went for oral health care education and preventive care. She wanted to help teach the world how to better care for their teeth and to help with the causes of dental concerns, not just fixing them.

Right now, a lot of her free time is diving deep into a book to help her continue her education in the field, letting her constantly learn something new. She strives to take great care of not only her oral health, but her entire body. Spending time exercising in the gym or hiking to calm her mind while working her muscles, or feeding her body with great food. She has a running list of 150 restaurants she has either tried or will try here in the near future. She does still find time to spend with her family, including her dogs, Peaches and Bernie.

We love Carmen’s drive towards constantly learning and bettering herself, as well as her time management skills. She is always willing to jump in and help when she sees it is needed.

Jess graduated from Washtenaw County Community College dental program in 2012, while also earning her associates degree in applied sciences. After entering the dental world, she made it her mission to help patients become comfortable working through their dental anxiety in a calm gentle manner. She leads with her warm and welcoming demeanor, focusing on compassionate and understanding patient care, making her a wonderful fit for our office. She helps to meet every patient where they are on their dental health journey without judgment.

Jess has just moved past the ten year mark of dental care, joining our team in early 2021. We could not be more proud of watching her learn and grow with us, learning about holistic and biological dentistry, using a hands on approach and embracing the family feel of our office. Not only is she kind and gentle, she is knowledgeable in her craft, making her the best of both worlds.

Jessica and her husband Carlos recently welcomed a beautiful baby girl in March of ‘23 after being in love for over a decade. Family is one of the most important things in Jessica’s world, building a love of exploring restaurants and movies with her husband, something she is excited to share with their daughter, who although too young to try all the new foods, did already make it to her first movie at just 6 days old. She may have slept through her first movie, but we have no doubt she will grow to love them just as much as mom.

We love that, even behind her mask, we can see Jess’s smile coming through her eyes and living through her voice. She puts her heart into everything that she does. Whether that is time with her family, or taking care of you and your family.

Jenny is currently studying for her Masters in Dental Hygiene at the University of Michigan, while seeing patients at our office, having moved into the graduate program after she previously received her BS from the University of Michigan. She is also studying Holistic Dentistry, taking her time to learn as much as she can from both school and her work here with our doctors. We are grateful to have such a dedicated and hardworking teammate with us.

She is a loving mother to two daughters, both in high school, who still finds the time to help them with their education, and create beautiful memories. In her spare time, she enjoys staying active with yoga, biking and spending time outdoors, or relaxing while she lets her creativity flow through painting.

Jenny joined our team after working with us for a while as a temp. Our atmosphere was one she truly enjoyed and could see herself being part of. She finds her teammates to be both friendly and easy to work with, all coming to help each other when needed and always in support of our patients. Her beliefs and studies aligned well with the practices of the office, finding her a natural home here.

Chantel is one of our hygienists. She brings an impressive 30+ years of experience to the Ann Arbor’s Dentist team, going all the way back to graduating on the Dean’s list from Mott’s back in the 1990’s. 
She strives to make every patient feel comfortable, while providing excellent oral health care. Chantel has thrived here, growing to love the holistic and family atmosphere that we work so hard to achieve. This has given her a dental home, something she has longed for her entire career.

Chantel has a thirst for knowledge and is quickly learning about what makes us stand apart, taking every bit of information she learns on a daily basis about how our bodies impact our oral health and vice versa. She has plans in the near future to shift her continued educational focus onto the more holistic side of dentistry.

When she is not here in the office, you can find her, like most of our employees, enjoying nature. Whether this is camping, hiking, or just spending time with her adorable puppy, Pumpkin, you can often find her smiling face grounding herself outside.

Tammy is an administrative member of the team, bringing her over 25 years of experience to the table. She is an amazing asset to our team with a deep understanding of dental stemming from her 10 years as a certified dental assistant before transferring over to the non-clinical side of dentistry, working her way through different positions from the front desk all the way up to practice management. This gives her an understanding of each part of our office family, helping us all learn ways to work together more effectively.

She takes pride in the part of her work that allows her to help our patients on a daily level. Like the rest of the team, she takes joy from seeing our patients smile and knowing we helped them get their smile back, or keep it healthy.

Outside of work Tammy is just as caring, living on a small chicken farm with her husband. When you don’t find her tending to her flock of chickens, you can catch her enjoying some family time on the water. They take trips out to Lake Erie on their boat, to soak up the sun and recharge their batteries.

Tammy’s favorite part of the office is how it feels like one big family. We work hard to make sure everyone feels welcome and supported. This includes both our staff and our patients. We want you to feel at home from the moment you step through our doors.

Chris has had a passion for helping people for as long as he can remember. Leading him to a love of working in an environment where he feels that he can assist people on a true path to better health. Looking at people as more than just a patient, but as individuals with their own needs and goals, he takes the time to listen to our patients, learning about their stories to help build the family atmosphere that Ann Arbor’s Dentist works so hard to maintain for each patient.

Chris recently received his masters degree as an MBA with a concentration in marketing. This gives him the leadership skills needed to lead our team of friendly and engaging staff members. He uses his understanding of marketing to learn the best ways to promote communication between both staff and patients while building a genuine helpful caring environment.

He also strives to find time outside of work to enjoy life, taking time to spend with his wife and son, who arrived at the beginning of ‘23. The growing family loves to take time to go on outdoor adventures watching their newest member take in the world. Chris has a diverse set of hobbies that keep him busy with both relaxing and bettering himself. Whether that is taking cooking class, or scaling an indoor rock climbing wall, he puts his everything into what he is trying to accomplish. He has made it a goal to one day bowl in a professional bowling event, and coach the sport.

Allyssa joined our office coming from a background in customer services from both retail and banking perspectives. She always wanted to work in a field that allowed her to help make a difference in peoples’ lives. One of her personal goals is to make at least one person’s day better every day, especially understanding that sometimes a smile or simple but true compliment can make a world of difference. She is our new patient liaison, taking the time to get to know new patients’ needs and provide them with the best start to their dental journeys. She knows that the first step is usually the hardest and she provides support and knowledge to help all our patients.

Allyssa loves to spend time with her two young children, playing video games, or working with plants. She is teaching her children to respect the earth and provide care and nurture to both nature and people.

When asked what her favorite thing about the office was, we got this in response: “I love that we make a difference in people’s lives, that we look beyond just fixing the problem to preventing it from recurring in the future. Giving people more control of their oral health without passing judgment on their pasts.”

Mary works hard to keep up with the team’s needs. She is our organization and chart file master. She is one of the kindest humans we know and she loves to put a smile on others’ faces. She loves being our office grandma.

Miss Mary has a large family that she loves to spend time with, having raised two sets of twins and two other children. This led to 15 grand kids and 5 great grandchildren who she spoils with love whenever possible. When not spending time with her lovely family, she can be found cooking food, sewing, crocheting, or just about any other crafts. She has been known to save many staff members from a lost button or zipper.

Mary’s favorite part of the office is that she feels like she is working with family. Loving everyone she works with and what they bring to the table for our little family practice that cares for everyone like family.

What we love about Mary, we love that she puts thought and care into everything she does with everyone’s best interest in mind.