Meet the Surgeon

Dr. Benjamin Zuniga – Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Expert

What does it take to become an oral and maxillofacial surgeon?

Well, short answer is “all it takes is all you’ve got.” Effort, dedication, and the support of good people. Truly, among other things, I couldn’t have done it with these three: the guidance of my parents, the loyal support of a loving wife, and the epic, fun-loving influence of my children who reminded me every day of the many reasons why I continue to “show up.” My wife, Heidi, and I started our family when we were young. By the time I graduated from ASU in 2011, we had our first son. I graduated Summa Cum Laude, “with highest praise” or “with highest honors.” But despite this, I felt incomplete, unfinished because I told myself that my education was still in its infancy, and so the journey continued.

In 2012, with two children in tow, we started our incredible journey through dental school at the Arthur A Dugoni University of the Pacific School of dentistry in San Francisco. At the time, “Pacific” or “UOP” was the only dental school to offer a 3-year accelerated path to obtain a dental degree. This required longer academic years, shorter breaks, and evening classes and clinics. We immersed ourselves, met many good people, and loved it. I continued to perform well in school, graduating with multiple honors in the top 5% of my class. Our family continued growing too.

Now we had 4 little ones and Heidi and I were both nervous and excited to start a new, intense, 4-year training program in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Every year was intense, and every year was valuable learning and growth. Our surgical instructors, we call them “attendings”  Oral Surgeons cannot become proficient through study and practice alone. Competency and growth comes through weekends in the emergency room, long nights in the operating room, and seemingly endless weeks and months of intense, immersive, collaborative efforts with other surgeons and medical professionals. An oral surgry resident at Yale has to spend time with other medical and surgical groups, including spending months at a time as a resident in anesthesia, medicine, general surgery, and plastic surgery. Through all of this we learn by study as well as by experience what it takes to deliver careful, collaborative surgical care.

During residency, extensive training in surgery of the cranium, face, jaws, and mouth have gotten me familiar and comfortable with the anatomy and structures most people never see. This allows me a comfort level with both the complex and simple procedures – giving me a very intimate knowledge that assists my judgement and

At the end of our time in New Haven, Connecticut, my family and I returned, 5 children strong, to Arizona where we plan to engage fully with our community to offer a standard of care that includes compassion, attention to detail, and collaboration with the good doctors of our community.

Since returning, I have worked in multiple locations until finding and purchasing my office in the heart of Gilbert, near Mercy-Gilbert Medical Center.

I have loved working with everyday oral surgery that includes IV sedation, removing wisdom teeth, placing dental implants, and other surgical procedures.

One skillset I am proud to offer comes my experience in reconstructive surgery  in some of the most challenging situations to replace a full set of teeth using the all-on-x procedure and other similar procedures. I spent some years at Nuvia Dental Implant Center and collaborating with other doctors in Phoenix providing surgical care for some of these complex cases. Some of my patients were featured in a Beast Philanthropies collaboration – check it out on his youtube channel!

It has been a long and challenging journey. Through all of this, Heidi and I now have a family of 9 children. I love spending time with them. We love being outdoors and a whole variety of sports. Working in Gilbert, AZ is a dream and I am elated for the privilege to serve you and your loved ones with any care you may need.

Dr. Zuniga Biography