Meet Our Dentists
Dr. David Gibson, DDS
Dr. Gibson has practiced dentistry since 1967. He opened a home office in Woodbridge in 1969 after serving with the U.S. Public Health Service from 1967 to 1969 on an Indian reservation in Arizona.
Dr. Gibson received both his Bachelors and his DDS degree from the University of Maryland.
Dr. Gibson is a member and past President of the New Haven Dental Association. Dr. Gibson is a member of the Connecticut State Dental Association, the American Dental Association, and he has achieved lifetime member status in the Academy of General Dentistry. Dr. Gibson routinely participates in continuing education; in 2007 Dr. Gibson attended the Lumineer™ course and is certified in Lumineer™ porcelain veneer restorations.
Dr. Dean Cloutier, DDS
Dr. Cloutier received his dental degree from the University of Illinois and went on to do a general practice residency at Yale New Haven Hospital where he currently teaches as an adjunct faculty member.
Dr. Cloutier is a Fellow of the Academy of General Dentistry and is currently pursuing his Master’s level. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Dentistry and a member of the Pierre Fauchard Society, OKU (National Honorary Dental Society), and Connecticut’s Horace Wells Society.
Dr. Cloutier is past president of the New Haven Dental Association and the Connecticut State Dental Association. He has represented Connecticut at a national level on many occasions. Dr. Cloutier provides volunteer service for Yale New Haven Hospital, Hill Health Center and Columbus House. He has also participated in foreign dental mission work and was voted one of Connecticut’s top dentists in the 2008 Connecticut Magazine survey of Top Doctors.
Dr. John Plachtyna, DDS
Dr. Plachtyna has been in private practice with the New Haven Dental Group since 1984. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from Merrimack College and his DDS from Northwestern University Dental School.
Dr. Plachtyna is a Fellow in the Academy of General Dentistry and is a candidate for the Mastership level. The Academy promotes continuing education in all areas of General Dentistry. Dr. Plachtyna has invested more than 1100 hours in continuing education in an effort to provide the utmost in patient care.
Dr. Plachtyna has taught at the Yale New Haven Hospital Residency Program as an adjunct faculty member. He is currently on leave from this position.
Dr. Plachtyna is a member of the New Haven Dental Association, the Connecticut State Dental Association, the American Dental Association and is a Fellow in the Academy of General Dentistry.
Dr. Diana Hede, DDS
Dr. Hede has practiced dentistry since 1984. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from Manhattan College and her DDS from the Medical College of Virginia. She has proudly served in the U.S. Navy.
Dr. Hede is member of the New Haven Dental Association, the Connecticut State Dental Association, the American Dental Association, the Academy of General Dentistry, the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, and the Fairfield Dental Study Chapter.
Dr. Harvey Cedarbaum, DDS
Dr. Cedarbaum has practiced dentistry since 1953. He received his Bachelor’s Degree from Yale University, his DDS from the University of Pennsylvania, and completed his residency at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston.
Dr. Cedarbaum has taught dentistry since 1973 at Yale University School of Medicine. He is co-director of the General Practice Residency program at Yale New Haven Hospital. He is a Fellow at the Academy of General Dentistry. He belongs to the New Haven Dental Association, the Connecticut State Dental Association, and the American Dental Association.
Dr. Milton Wallack, DDS
Dr. Wallack has practiced dentistry since 1968. He received his Bachelor’s Degree from Brandeis University, his DDS from Temple University School of Dentistry, and his Specialty Degree in Periodontology at Boston University School of Graduate Dentistry.
Dr. Wallack has taught at Yale University School of Medicine and the Connecticut School of Dental Medicine as an adjunct faculty member. He serves as President of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, has served on the Board of Governors at the University of New Haven, and currently sits on the Board of Governors for the State of Connecticut Stem Cell Research Advisory Committee.
Dr. Wallack belongs to the New Haven Dental Association where he served as past President, the Connecticut State Dental Association where he served as past Vice President, and the Connecticut Society of Periodontists where he served as past President.
Dr. Ivelina Dean, DMD
Dr. Dean received her Doctor of Dental Medicine degree from the University Of Connecticut in 2007. She received the 2007 American Academy of Periodontology Dental Student Achievement Award as well as the 2007 Academy of Osseointegration Outstanding Dental Student in Implant Dentistry Award.
Following completion of her dental degree, Dr. Dean pursued advanced training in periodontics and dental implants at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis. Her Master's degree was based on her research on bone physiology of various statin medications and won her a second place in the Billy M. Pennel Research Competition by the Southern Academy of Periodontics.
Dr. Dean is a diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology and is also a member of the American Academy of Periodontology. In her spare time, Dr. Dean enjoys reading mystery novels, hiking, fishing and swimming.
Dr. Kevin T. O'Brien DMD
Dr. O'Brien has practiced dentistry since 1983. He received his Bachelor’s Degree, Cum Laude, from The University of Pennsylvania and his DMD from The University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine. While attending Dental School he was invited to serve as a part time faculty member. In addition, he received both The Henry B. Robinson Award and The Caleus Award, which are presented to the school’s top clinicians.
Dr. O'Brien is a member of the American Dental Association, the Connecticut State Dental Association, the New Haven Dental Association, OKU (National Dental Honor Society), and recently received an Associate Fellowship in Laser Dentistry. He has participated in over 1000 hours of continuing education during his career in an effort to provide the highest quality of care for his patients.
Dr. Henry Rapp III, DMD
Dr. Rapp has practiced dentistry since 1996. He received his DMD at Case Western University School of Dental Medicine located in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Rapp continued his dental education as part of a general residency program at New York Cornell’s St. Barnabus Hospital in Bronx, New York.
As an attending doctor at the Continuum Health Care Partners/Beth Israel Medical Center, Dr Rapp both established and headed the dental clinic at The Peter Kreuger Center.
Dr. Rapp has a holistic philosophy that dentistry is not just about dental health but has a a significant impact on general health and the well-being of each and every patient.