Lasting Impressions | Summer 2017

32 © NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY Alumni Impressions When Reza Ardalan, D.M.D. (’02), reached his final year as an undergraduate at the University of North Carolina, he had completed all his required courses and was looking for an elective that would be fun. He chose a theater class. Twenty years later, Ardalan, now fully in touch with his inner performer, is blowing up a pink balloon animal for a delighted young patient at his clinic in Port St. Lucie, Florida. The balloon pops, so Ardalan hikes up his jeans and tries again, this time with a yellow balloon. “What do you think this is?” he asked. “A dog?” she answered. “Yesssss!” Ardalan said. “If I made the neck too long, I would just call it a balloon giraffe.” He and his staff are known for regularly wearing zany costumes— Star Wars or Ghostbusters characters or ugly Christmas sweaters or just pajamas— and inviting patients and their parents to do the same. The festive atmosphere at Ardalan Pediatric Dentistry in Port St. Lucie even offers 15 flavors of toothpaste. Make no mistake. A lot of dental care gets done there, including working with patients who have disabilities and are on the autism spectrum. “Reza is good about getting people involved, and that is part of treating special needs patients,” said Mark Meyer, D.D.S., a North Carolina pediatric dentist who has known Ardalan for more than 20 years. Pediatric Dentist Puts Children First BY LONA O’CONNOR Reza Ardalan shows a young patient that brushing can be fun.