The friendly staff of Farina Orthodontic Specialists. (All photos by Charmaine George) 

I have known Mark Farina, D.M.D., pretty much since even before he opened his office in Tampa Palms a quarter of a century or so ago. At that time, his only office was on N. Habana Ave. in Tampa (Note-That office has now been moved to South Tampa).

Since then, not only has Dr. Farina opened his third Farina Orthodontic Specialists office on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. (just north of the Shops at Wiregrass), he just celebrated his fifth anniversary in that uniquely cube-shaped building with a packed Open House and anniversary party on Apr. 26.

To me, Dr. Farina is more than just an outstanding orthodontist. He’s a most likable guy who did the braces for both of my sons (who consistently receive compliments for their dazzling smiles) and he also has always stayed on the cutting edge of dental technology.

As one example, Farina Orthodontic Specialists may have been the first dental office in our area to offer in-office gaming systems so young patients wouldn’t mind having to wait a few minutes for their appointments. 

And, although both of my sons (just two of Dr. Farina’s more than 10,000 patients), who are now in their 30s, had no choice but to have metal braces, Dr. Farina also was one of the first in the New Tampa/Wesley Chapel area to embrace Invisalign clear aligners, which have become an industry standard alternative to traditional metal braces. In fact, Dr. Farina is today one of the top Invisalign providers in the Tampa Bay area.

And, Introducing…

At the Open House event, which featured outstanding food and beverages and more than 100 people in attendance, Dr. Farina not only introduced his two new associates — Dr. Undine Davis and Dr. Pedro Franco — he also showed off his favorite new dental “toys,” Remote Dental Monitoring through the Smile Doctors Anywhere network of orthodontists and the full-mouth-scanning device known as the ScanBox (see photo, left, and info below).

“We are really excited about the addition of our two doctors, Dr. Davis and Dr. Franco,” Dr. Farina says. “Dr. Davis comes to us from Stanford University and is a University of Florida graduate in Orthodontics, and Dr. Franco comes from a family of dentists and graduated from the Georgia School of Orthodontics. We are happy to have three doctors here to take care of our patients’ needs.”

If you become a patient of Dr. Farina’s, you could have access to the ScanBox digital imaging device and the remote ScanBox app

In addition, Remote Dental Monitoring provides patients with a portal system that minimizes visits to the office, resulting in less time missed from school and work.

“This cutting-edge AI (artificial intelligence) technology connects the doctors and clinical team to the patients to help answer questions and resolve issues more quickly,” Dr. Farina says. “Patients have access to the portal 24/7 and can also manage things like payments and appointment scheduling through it.”

The ScanBox allows patients to continue their monitoring on the go, from anywhere in the world, and helps remove the “nagging parents” responsibility so kids can be involved in their own orthodontic progression. The system will even let them know if there are spots that need better brushing or flossing.

“We’re very excited about Smile Doctors Anywhere dental monitoring for our patients!,” Dr. Farina says. “It connects them to our office virtually so they’re able to ask questions and send photos, so they are always connected and can reach out to us. This also saves missed time for the parents from work and the kids from school. We are so thrilled to have this technology and to be one of the first to have it in the Tampa Bay area.”

Farina Orthodontic Specialists has three offices, including at 15303 Amberly Dr. in Tampa Palms and 2370 BBD Blvd., Suite 100, in Wesley Chapel. For more information, including how to get $1,000 off your traditional braces or Invisalign aligners, call (813) 972-2929 or visit FarinaSmiles.com

SPOTLIGHT ON: The Original New Tampa Dentists!

Our editor has known almost everyone in this photo —(l.-r.) Dr. Tom Frankfurth, Dr. Rob Taglione, Dr. Mark Farina, Paul Gigante, Dr. Lou Cerillo & Dr. Greg Stepanski — for 25 years or more. (Photo by Charmaine George)

As I said in the story on this and the previous page about Farina Orthodontic Specialists, I have had the privilege of knowing Dr. Mark Farina for nearly 25 years. 

On the other hand, I have known a few of the other gentlemen in the photo above even longer than I have known Dr. Farina. I asked my photographer, Charmaine George, to shoot this picture of the “original dentists of New Tampa” to illustrate not only how long I’ve been serving the New Tampa and Wesley Chapel areas, but also how many of these folks also have been serving our areas.

In the photo above, I have known Dr. Tom Frankfurth of Sage Dental, Dr. Lou Cerillo of Cerillo Family Dentistry (see ad on pg. 10) and Dr. Greg Stepanski of Children’s Dentistry, as well as local photographer/DJ Paul Gigante of Gigante Productions even longer than I have known Dr. Farina. The three dentists mentioned all began advertising in the Neighborhood News even before Dr. Farina did, and I remember when Gigante, Cerillo and Farina became the three founding members of the New Tampa Italian Club.

The only dentist in the photo that I haven’t known as long is oral and maxillofacial surgeon Dr. Roberto (Rob) Taglione, who also has been practicing in this area for more than 20 years.

Yes, they came out to enjoy Dr. Farina’s party, but to me, it was so meaningful that all of these gentlemen came to support their friend and colleague, just as I did.

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