The talented team of Smiles in the Garden is trained and experienced with many of the most advanced and effective dental procedures available. Our dentists are members of several accredited dental organizations and are committed to providing you with personalized care and a beautiful, healthy smile.
Dr. Etheredge grew up right here in Palm Beach County. After graduating from dental school at the top of his class at The University of Florida he moved to the beautiful Palm Beach Gardens area to start his career.
Practicing in Palm Beach Gardens since 2001, he has created some of the areas most beautiful smiles. He performs all facets of dentistry including placing and restoring dental implants, Invisalign® and Six-Month Smiles® (orthodontics), root canals (endodontics), cosmetic dentistry and rehabilitative dentistry.
Dr Etheredge completes extensive hours of continuing education to stay current with the ever changing technology as it relates to dentistry. His practice philosophy is to create a warm and caring atmosphere where his patients feel comfortable and at ease.
Dr. Laszlo was born and raised in the suburbs of Detroit, MI alongside his older sister and younger brother. He received his dental degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry, where he served as class Vice President for all 4 years. Upon graduation, he began working with the best mentor that he could have asked for, his father. Dr. Laszlo immersed himself in his father’s 30+ years experience in all phases of dentistry and continues to expand his knowledge through continuing education courses.
He believes that dentistry and the responsibility of a patient’s oral health are a sacred privilege, such that he treats every procedure as if it were his own smile or one of a family member.
Dr. Laszlo believes in the importance of giving back to those in need and has already completed two mission trips in his dental career; one in a rural Guatemalan village where he provided dental extractions, and another in an underserved Dominican Republic area where he provided dental implants. By the end of his career he hopes to have helped build and raise funding for multiple health clinics around the world where access to care is a challenge.
In his free time, you can probably find Dr. Laszlo on a bike, in a pool, or on a trail training for a triathlon. He has also played piano for 17 years and enjoys learning pieces from his favorite jazz artists John Coltrane, Thelonius Monk and Miles Davis. He is active in his church and is looking forward to his new home, faith practice, and service to all smiles here in Palm Beach Gardens.
Dr. Omar Nijem graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. He then received his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine. He went on to train at the prestigious Weill-Cornell Medical Center at New York Presbyterian where he successfully treated complex surgical and restorative cases.
Dr. Omar is known for his kind heart, his gentle touch, and his passion for enhancing the oral health and beauty of his patients. He believes that quality of life can be significantly improved through comprehensive advanced dental care.
In his spare time Dr. Omar loves to travel, stay fit, and be outdoors. He also enjoys staying up to date on the latest advancements in dentistry by frequently engaging in continuing education.
Dr. Omar has practiced in both the New York and Miami area prior to his move to Palm Beach County.
Dr. Lafoca received his Fellowship and Diplomat Status in The International Congress of Oral Implantology. He attended the University of Scranton and graduated from Temple University Dental School in 1990. While attending dental school, Dr. Lafoca participated in an oral and maxillofacial externship at the University of Miami Jackson Memorial Hospital.
The curriculum included hours of operating room surgery assisting and hands on experience with complicated surgical extractions. Dr. Lafoca was also part of the Endodontic Study Club, The Oral Surgery Honor Society, FoxChase Cancer Society, and served as Vice President of the Professional Dental Fraternity Delta Sigma Delta.
Dr. Lafoca’s commitment to continuing education is exemplified by his completion of the year long Misch Implant Institute program. The Misch Implant Institute is among the most prominent implant teaching facilities in the United States. Upon completion his implantology program Dr. Lafoca earned the prestigious honor of becoming a Fellow in the International Congress of Oral Implantologists.
In June 2007 Dr. Santo Lafoca graduated with honors from the esteemed cosmetic dentistry program facilitated by the Hornbrook Group. He performs all types of Dentistry including Crowns, Bridges, Veneers, Fillings, Root Canals, Extractions, Implants.
With Smiles in the Gardens since 2014
Nicole is a native to the South Florida area. She enjoys helping nervous patients feel comfortable and improving their overall health with improved oral health. Outside of the office, Nicole enjoys spending time with family and friends, travelling and anything outdoors. She loves barbequing, watching football games, and playing volleyball. While Nicole is terrified of flying, there’s nothing she’d rather do than jump on a plane and see what’s out there!
With Smiles in the Gardens since 2015
Kristen loves educating and connecting patients, having the ability to comfort those with dental axiety during their treatments and watching them leave feeling comfrotable and happy at the end of their appointments. Outside the office she enjoys spending time outdoors with her dog, kayaking, snorkeling, yoga, biking, hiking, exploring new restaurants, transforming old furniture, routing for New England sports teams and enjoying time with family and friends. Kristen has a large extended family from and living in Greece. Her goal is to master the Greek alphabet and speak the language.
With Smiles in the Gardens since 2016
Maggie loves biology, anatomy, and physiology. Everyday at the office she gets to apply these scientific rules to real human situations! Outside of the office she is enjoying rediscovering everyday wonders with her new grandson. Maggie also enjoys experimenting with different types of cooking and baking. She is also a butterfly gardener!
With Smiles in the Gardens since 2021
Nika earned her Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene from St. Petersburg College. She enjoys helping patients to build a confident smile through gentle yet thorough care and education. It also makes her happy to be able to build trust and ease anxieties of those who may feel nervous about dentistry. In her free time she enjoys weight training, going to the beach, and spending time with her family which includes two daughters who keep her very busy! A fun fact about Nika is that she loves adrenaline rushing activities, so much so that she has jumped out a plane once to go sky diving.
With Smiles in the Gardens since 2022
Lisbet has had a passion since she was a kid for rerstoring and creating smiles. She has been fascinated with the dental world and seeing patietns enjoy their smiles. Outside of the office she enjoys spending time with family, especially her son. She also loves finding new restaurants and is known to make spontaneous plans on the spot to travel with her family to a new destination. Lisbet is our resident stylist and enjoys styling everyone in her home.
With Smiles in the Gardens since 2022
Sara enjoys building trusting relationships with patients to help them achieve a healthy mouth by providing a fastidious cleaning and teaching them how to properly care for their oral health. When she’s not in the office she can be found spending time outdoors with her family, watching her two kids play sports, serving at church, or reading a good book. Sara homeschools her two children and is a native Floridian!
With Smiles in the Gardens since 2004
Freda enjoys helping people feel better about their smiles. Outside of the office she loves working out, speed walking, and spending time with her husband Larry and their daughter Hannah. Freda loves monkeys!
With Smiles in the Gardens since 2013
Diana is a native of Colombia. Her favorite thing about dentistry is being a part of helping someone smile again after a cosmetic reconstruction. Diana is a globetrotter, enjoying traveling around the world, meeting new people, trying new foods, and enjoying new cultures. She is also a total chocoholic.
With Smiles in the Gardens since 2017
Bethany hails from Ocean City, MD. She considers herself to be a patient advocate. For her, it is the best feeling to help someone in pain or with fear to go through their procedure and end up with a gorgeous, happy smile. Outside of the office you can find her on the water, either surfing or fishing. Bethany used to play roller derby with Dub City Roller Girls!
With Smiles in the Gardens since 2021
Angela enjoys helping patients overcome there bad experiences from years ago and creating better ones. She enjoys every part of each individual patient experience she sees, whether it’s a filling, crown, or placing implants. Giving someone their smile back means the world to her, making a difference one smile at a time. Angela enjoys cooking, party planning, crafting and serving in her church. Angela is originally from Smyrna, Tennessee. She is married to her best friend Adam and they have two daughters, Kaiya, and Alyssa.They also have four cats. Angela grew up on a farm and would love to have more animals one day.
With Smiles in the Gardens since 2022
Antonia loves seeing the patient leave happy with a new smile. Outside of the office she can be founding spending time with her family and at church. Antonia knew she wanted a career in dentistry since she was little!
With Smiles in the Gardens since 2023
OFFICE MANAGER
with Smiles in the Gardens since 2013
Sherry loves that we get to make people feel better about themselves by giving them healthy, beautiful smiles. Outside of the office she loves spending time with her family, both immediate and extended. She loves walking, taking short trips, singing and going to musicals. Sherry LOVES decorating for the holidays. She puts up multiple large Christmas trees and they can be found up VERY early (think Halloween!)
INSURANCE COORDINATOR
with Smiles in the Gardens since 2008
Lorraine was born in Barbados. She is married and has two sons. Her favorite part about working in dentistry is constantly learning new things. Her hobbies include reading, traveling and dancing. Lorraine is trying to become trilingual– English, Spanish and French! She can speak all three, but her goal is to be fluent.
TREATMENT DIRECTOR
with Smiles in the Gardens since 2011
Originally from Upstate NY, Terre loves changing the lives of patients by creating the smile enhancement they desire. Outside of the office she loves everything Harley Davidson. She can be found on the weekend riding, spending time with friends and family, participating in charity work, and doing any outdoor activity here in beautiful South Florida.
MARKETING DIRECTOR
with Smiles in the Gardens since 2013
Heather was born in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and has been in the dental field since 2013. Her favorite part about working in dentistry is easing nervous patients’ fear and hearing them say they aren’t afraid of coming to the dentist anymore. She loves that her job is different every single day and she is always learning. Outside of the office you can find Heather spending time with her husband Frank and their new son FJ, attending any Philadelphia sporting event, or reading a good book. Heather has been to Hawaii twice and would love to live there one day!
PATIENT COORDINATOR
with Smiles in the Gardens since 2021
Brecken is one of a few proud Michiganders on the Smiles in the Gardens Team. She loves the opportunity to make people feel comfortable in our office and enjoys seeing them love their smile. Outside of the office, Brecken can be found spending time with her husband Al and their son Easton. They have 2 dogs, Axel & Rokie and love spending time at the beach and being outdoors in the sunshine!
INSURANCE COORDINATOR
with Smiles in the Gardens since 2019
ACCOUNTS ADMINISTRATOR
with Smiles in the Gardens since 2021
IMPLANT TREATMENT COORDINATOR
with Smiles in the Gardens since 2021
PATIENT COORDINATOR
with Smiles in the Gardens since 2022
TREATMENT COORDINATOR
with Smiles in the Gardens since 2022
TREATMENT COORDINATOR
with Smiles in the Gardens since 2022
