 Mona Garger, Director of Business Services
Hi, my name is Mona Garger. Upon coming to America from Korea when I was in Jr. High School, my career aspiration was to become a nurse like “Florence Nightingale.” Subsequently, this vision lead me to Loma Linda University and later, California State University of Long Beach. During the first two years of the nursing program, I realized, though I liked the patient care aspect of the healthcare, I much preferred the administration and financial part of the business. Therefore, I transferred my last two years of school to CSULB and changed my major to Political Science/Public Administration. My passion and understanding of the healthcare business landed me with numerous financial management career opportunities. The majority of my career had been spent managing and directing the financial offices, managed care contracts, admitting offices, and Business Development of several major acute hospitals in Los Angeles and Orange County areas in So. California.
A golden career opportunity to do some hospital financial consulting work brought me to Bakersfield in 2001. While I loved living in Naples in Long Beach, I moved to Bakersfield and, “yes,” it is at this point in my life that I met Dr. Garger! In July of 2002 we got married and my career got shifted from hospital healthcare to dental healthcare management. Although the procedures are vastly different between these two industries, the principle of the business of serving the clients and meeting their needs to the best of our abilities and making the process affordable and pleasant are still identical. I consider myself extremely fortunate to be involved in the dental healthcare business and be a part of the family at Gentle Family Dentistry.
I have so many passions in life but some of the primary ones are, reading, writing, hiking, downhill skiing, and if not the most, definitely cooking, “yes” cooking; trying out different recipes and “yum…” savoring the byproduct as well.
Most importantly, I am here at Gentle Family Dentistry to support Dr. Garger’s motto, “to deliver the highest standard and quality of dental care at the state-of-the-art facility where we offer the latest modern technology with “Trusted, Caring Dental Excellence!” Please feel free to contact me if you have any concerns regarding the finances or any exceptional cases that our regular staff may not be able to assist you with. I am here to serve you in any way I can!
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 Valerie Grigsby, Registered Dental Assistant/ Supervisor
Hello, I’m Valerie Grigsby and I have been a registered dental assistant since 1973.
I am a Bakersfield native and graduated from North High and Bakersfield College.
I have been with Dr. Garger since he purchased the practice in 1999. I do anything and everything in the office. I thoroughly enjoy working chairside but am equally at home talking with patients about their concerns. I never want to see any patient in pain.
I do my best to keep things running smoothly in the office and never have patients waiting longer than is absolutely necessary. I look forward to personally greeting every patient and take great pride in their dental education and health.
I’ve been married to my husband, Joe, for 25 years. I enjoy camping at the beach, the mountains, or the desert. I love NASCAR almost as much as my granddaughter, Lily.
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 Megan McLain - Treatment Co-ordinator
Hello, my name is Megan McLain and I am Dr. Garger's Treatment Coordinator. I was born and raised in Palo Alto, California, and have two beautiful children now out of college and on their own-needless to say, I am a proud mother! I have just returned to California after having lived in the Houston, Texas area for 7 years~and it feels great to be back in my home state!
I have been in dentistry for over 25 years. I began as a Registered Dental Assistant in the clinical part of a dental practice but found that I really enjoyed the business part of dentistry. I enjoy accommodating patients' schedules, solving their financial or insurance issues, making them feel at home and marketing the wonderful aspects of our practice. I also find that my clinical training is an asset when helping patients to understand their treatment needs.
In my free time, I enjoy travelling, reading my Kindle, taking my dogs to the park or the beach and visiting family and friends. I look forward to getting to know each of Dr. Garger's patients and am grateful to be working with such a professional and fun group!
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 Nikki Jo Watkins - Registered Dental Hygienist
Hi. My name is Nikki Jo Watkins, I was born and raised in Bakersfield California where my family professionally trained horses for team roping and my father was a Professional Rodeo Cowboy. Although life on the ranch was a wonderful one, Dad wanted something more than long hot days and manual labor for his only daughter. By the tender age of nineteen, I had accelerated through college and was the youngest to have ever been accepted into the Taft College Dental Hygiene Program. After graduating in 2007 I traveled to Texas where I lived and worked for a couple of years until life brought me back home to Bakersfield and here with Dr. Garger.
As a Registered Dental Hygienist I take pride in my work and my ability to provide thorough and comprehensive treatment as pain free as possible. My main goal is as an educator in dentistry. I hope to decrease anxiety and increase consistency by providing you the patient with information that you can understand and with the education you need to make better decisions for your oral and overall health.
When I'm not in the office, I’m still living life on the ranch, caring for all the critters, roping, riding and competing in events. I also enjoy doing research in science, medicine and dentistry. My treasured time is that spent with my family, my animals and my God.
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 Kendra Ross - RDH (Hygienist)
My name is Kendra Ross. I was born and raised in Bakersfield, CA and graduated from Centennial High School. After high school I started my education at Taft College where I knew I wanted to pursue my goal of being a dental hygienist, which was realized after graduating in 2010! I was inspired to become a hygienist by my Aunt Kelly who is also a dental hygienist in San Francisco.
During my time in college I gained my initial experience in the medical field working as a vet tech for my grandfather, who is a veterinarian. I feel that experience was invaluable in my career as it taught me compassion and understanding of the various concerns and fears patients have on a day to day basis.
I have a passion for my career and plan to extend my knowledge and to educate my patients to my fullest abilities. I am honored to be working for Dr Garger and his amazing staff. Here at Gentle Family Dentistry we work as a team and care about our patients!
In my free time I love traveling, being outdoors, spending time with my friends and family, and watching plenty of movies. I owe my deepest gratitude to my friends and family who provided encouragement and support necessary to make me who I am today.
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 Renee Hanoski - Registered Dental Assistant
Hello! I was born and raised in Vancouver, WA. After graduating high school, I moved to California and made Bakersfield my home in 1986. I began my career as a dental assistant in my senior year of high school and I became an R.D.A. in 1991. What I enjoy most about my career is the patients that I get to connect with. I enjoy conversations with people. I take time to get to know patients, allowing me to hear their concerns and answer questions. This helps a patient feel less anxious and allows me to educate them in the process.
I have 3 children Kayleigh, Kyle, and Michael. I have 1 grandchild by my daughter Kayleigh. I am so proud of all of my children and am super excited to have become a grandma. In my spare time I really enjoy reading and shopping. Lets not forget spoiling my new grandchild!
I can honestly say that I truly enjoy working with this team at Dr. Garger's. It doesn't any get better. This team will take care of all your dental needs. My number one priority is patient care and it is apparent the first time I introduce myself.
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 Ronda Schnee - Certified Dental Assistant
Hello! My name is Ronda Schnee. I was born and raised in Bakersfield, CA. I graduated from San Joaquin Valley College in 1998 and have been in the dental industry for over 20 years. I enjoy working in the dental field very much; it has become a passion of mine. It’s the patient’s that make my job so rewarding. Being able to assist and educate patients with all their dental needs and concerns, is foremost in my job.
I have 3 wonderful children, Joshua, William, and Sara. I am also a grandmother to 2 children, Noah and Isabella. I enjoy spending quality time with my family and friends. My days off are spent enjoying all of my various hobbies such as, cooking, camping, computers, and trying my best to learn something new every single day!
I joined Dr. Garger and his team this year and what a great group we have here. It has become my second home!
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 Christopher Coleman - Assistant
Hello, my name is Christopher Coleman. I was born in Riverside and raised in sunny Southern California. Computer technology always fascinated me so upon finishing high school, I went off to Westwood College in Anaheim and studied “Computer Technology” specializing in Graphic Art. After moving to Bakersfield, I attended New Horizons Computer Institute to obtain a license to become a Microsoft Certified Technician.
In the past decade or so I found another passion in my life. Initially what started off as just doing the maintenance work on my cars turned out to be going as far as custom modifying and building import race cars. Yes, I do have “One” in my garage that is what you call, “work in the process.” My other hobbies include scuba diving, baseball (currently in an Adult Baseball Team in Bakersfield), Broadway shows, classical music and marksmanship.
I am so honored to work for Dr. Garger as an IT and Sterilization Technician and be a part of his wonderful team! Every one of his team members are true professionals and caring human beings and it is a privilege to be here. Aside from my work, I am currently aspiring to become a Police Officer and taking some classes at Porterville College to achieve this goal.
Most importantly, I am so excited to meet all our patients and to serve each and every one of you in any way I can.
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