Searching for a great dentist? Look no further. New Jersey Monthly’s annual Jersey Choice Top Dentists list is here.
To compile this year’s rundown of excellent practitioners in the state, we polled dentists around New Jersey and asked them whom they would want to treat their own families. Their responses make up this list of 605 dentists in ten specialties. All dentists on our list were chosen by their peers.
Below, we present additional information about this year’s list and how it was compiled.
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METHODOLOGY
For this year’s list of Jersey Choice Top Dentists, New Jersey Monthly commissioned an independent survey of the state’s dentists by K. Dale Associates, a Ringwood-based research firm.
Here’s how the survey was conducted: On October 13, 2023, one-page questionnaires were mailed to all 6,715 New Jersey-based dentists who have been licensed in the state for at least five years (but less than 50 years). The mailing list, which is used by the Board of Dentistry for licensing purposes, was obtained from the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs. Respondents could either return the original paper questionnaire or complete the questionnaire online. Web survey participants were required to enter their dental license numbers to avoid duplication. Each printed ballot had a unique code number to further protect against duplication.
A total of 1,175 ballots were received by K. Dale Associates (204 by mail and 971 online). After checking for duplication, a total of 1,044 ballots were accepted, for a response rate of 16 percent.
Once all the eligible ballots were tallied, dentists with sufficient votes were placed on a preliminary list. A handful of dentists were then excluded because of significant prior disciplinary actions. Only dentists treating patients at the time of this issue’s publication were eligible for inclusion. Finally, the preliminary list was submitted to our advisory board of 21 dentists (see section below) for professional review. The dentists on the advisory board were chosen from among the top vote getters in last year’s survey.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How do dentists get on the Jersey Choice list?
There are two ways: They are either voted onto the list by their peers (as explained above), or they are nominated by our professional advisory board (see section below).
How many votes does a dentist need to appear on the list?
It depends. Most specialties have a standard threshold based on the number of dentists responding to the survey. We lower the threshold for certain specialties and for regions of the state with fewer practitioners.
Many dentists advertise in this issue. Does that help them get on the list?
Absolutely not. Only after the list has been finalized are dentists notified. At that point, they can choose to purchase advertising to promote the achievement. Many of these ads appear in the Special Advertising Section that begins on page 65 of the print issue. For clarity, all of the pages in that section are identified as Special Advertising Section.
I have a great dentist. How come my dentist is not on the list?
Unlike some online professional directories, we do not add dentists to the list based on reader suggestions. The Jersey Choice list is based purely on balloting by licensed New Jersey dentists and the professional advisory board. Our advice: If you are happy with your dental practitioners, stay with them.
Why do some areas of the state have so few dentists on the list?
Eight of the state’s 21 counties—including five thinly populated southern counties—have only 2 percent or less of the state’s licensed dentists. That makes it difficult for dentists in those counties to get a statistically significant number of votes. However, by lowering the number of votes needed in those areas, we’ve enabled the eight southern counties to place 110 dentists on the list, 18 percent of the total number.
I see some of the same names on this list every year. Does it change?
Yes! This year’s list has 107 names that were not on last year’s list. That’s 18 percent of the total 605 Top Dentists.
PROFESSIONAL ADVISORY BOARD
The following 21 dentists comprise the professional advisory board for this year’s Top Dentists survey. Members of the board reviewed the preliminary results of the survey and were asked to make suggestions for improving the final list.
John J. Archible III
Endodontics • Phillipsburg, Annandale
Philip S. Engel
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery • New Brunswick, East Brunswick, Middlesex
Joshua Z. Epstein
Orthodontics • Manalapan, Hightstown, Freehold
Marian Farag
General Dentistry • Hoboken
Robert Griggs
General Dentistry • Old Bridge
Purnima Rathi Hernandez
Pediatric Dentistry • Fair Lawn
Sebu Idiculla
Prosthodontics • North Haledon
Baqir Jaffrey
General Dentistry • Turnersville
Shahin Kazemi
Periodontics • Cherry Hill
Daniel Kubikian
Periodontics • Sewell
Michael Lateiner
Pediatric Dentistry • Newton, Cedar Knolls
Jonathan L. Nicozisis
Orthodontics • Princeton, West Windsor
John R. Nosti
General Dentistry • Mays Landing, Somers Point
Anna K. Park
Endodontics • Mullica Hill
Naren Rajan
General Dentistry • Mendham
Jay S. Schuster
General Dentistry • Morristown
Robert M. Stern
Orthodontics • Cherry Hill, Vineland, Bridgeton, Pennsville
Jason M. Suss
General Dentistry • Bergenfield
Richard P. Szumita
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery • Little Falls
Brian P. Trava
Endodontics • Hawthorne, Ho-Ho-Kus, Wayne
Elisa J. Velazquez
Pediatric Dentistry • Toms River, Cream Ridge, Manahawkin
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