Lasting Impressions | Fall 2017

NSU COLLEGE OF DENTAL MEDICINE © 41 40 © NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY Alumni Impressions Practicing dental procedures across a typodont for eight hours a day may not conjure the beginnings of a great romance, but it worked for Dean E. Kois and Tara Lawson. As class of 2005 students at the NSU College of Dental Medicine, the pair was thrown together by virtue of their last names—he was a K; she was an L. They can thank the alphabetical proximity of their last names for them ending up as half of a four-student team in the Simulation Lab. “Once we were together, we were pretty serious right away,” Dean Kois said. “There wasn’t an ‘ah-ha’ moment. It was just great from the start, and we never looked back.” More than a decade later, the now-married dentists are well on their way to living and practicing happily ever after. Dentistry always was a part of the life of Dean Kois, D.M.D., M.S.D., the son of a practicing dentist and nationally and internationally known lecturer. John C. Kois, D.M.D., M.S.D., has a 40-year practice in Tacoma, Washington, and is the founder and director of the Seattle-based Kois Center, which promotes continuing clinical dentistry education. “Growing up in a dental household, I got exposure to what a wonderful profession it is getting to help people. I like that dentistry combines science, art, and people skills,” Dean Kois explained. As a teenager, he began working in his father’s practice as a technician, making the bleach trays and night guards, as well as doing diagnostic waxing and fabricating provisionals. Dental school was a natural progression. The interest in dentistry for Tara Kois, D.M.D., M.S.D., started a bit later in life, and her path was a bit more circuitous. Growing up in Tallahassee, Florida, she wore braces as a teenager. During her senior year of high school, she partici- pated in a work-study program that allowed her to work in her orthodontist’s office as a dental assistant, providing care for pediatric and orthodontic patients. From there, she attended dental hygiene school and graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Florida State University. She practiced as a hygienist in both Tallahassee and in Zurich, Switzerland. Tara Kois was drawn to the NSU College of Dental Medicine by its proximity to home and its newness in 2001 when she enrolled. Dean Kois jokes that he chose NSU because the “best dental school in the country is the one you get into.” Then he gets serious and explains that he, too, was drawn by the CDM’s newness, as well as his familiarity with some of its faculty members. THRIVING PRACTICES IN THE SEATTLE AREA The pair graduated in May 2005 and married that November. With Dean Kois’ family hailing from the state of Washington, Seattle was a natural choice for setting up practice. They now have two offices—one in the Kois Center in the South Lake Union area and a second in downtown Seattle. Tara Kois practices general dentistry primarily in their South Lake Union office; Dean Kois splits his time between the two offices. After graduating from the CDM, Dean Kois decided to specialize, receiving a Certificate in Prosthodontics with a Master of Science degree from the University of Wash- ington School of Dentistry. He also completed a two-year surgical implant fellowship at New York University College of Dentistry. “I want to treat my patients entirely and not have to refer them to other practices for individual procedures,” Dean Kois said. “I want to care for my patients from start to finish.” The Kois’ practice strives to be a preventive model rather than a reparative one, but they can handle anything. To further their one-stop philosophy, they recently added an orthodontist to their South Lake Union office. Their offices also have a significant web presence at koisdentistry.com. “The Seattle area is a very tech-driven market,” Tara Kois explained. “People here visit websites to educate themselves before they make a decision about where to go.” Their website offers full bios, videos, a blog, a before-and- after patient gallery, plenty of educational information, and much more. “We want prospective patients to feel like they met us before they meet us. We want the website to be a patient resource opportunity and a nice user experience,” Dean Kois said. “We want it to represent us, to reflect the kind of dentistry we practice. We want patients to have a CDM Jump-Starts Couple’s Professional, Personal Partnership BY SANDI DRAPER Tara Kois practices general dentistry primarily in the couple’s South Lake Union office in the Seattle area. Tara and Dean Kois were members of the CDM’s class of 2005.