Welcome to Our Practice
Who We Are
We are a team of passionate individuals with the relentless desire to offer you the opportunity for optimal oral health. We do this with exemplary customer service and the incessant pursuit of advanced education. We create the most beautiful smiles, make the most comfortable crowns and fillings, and give the gentlest injections and cleanings. Does this sound like something you may be interested in? We would love to meet you!
Mission Statement
Our mission is to be your advocate, first and foremost, and provide each patient with superior, individualized, and comprehensive oral healthcare nurtured by a relationship based practice, between doctor and patient and staff. Through co-discovery, dialogue, respect, then admiration, the highest level of care may be experienced by all who mutually participate and share.
Our Latest News
In our efforts to continue to push the frontiers of science and service, we rolled out new programs in 2023 for our patients best opportunities to achieve their best oral health and wellness:
Salivary and DNA Testing
The science of salivary diagnostics has exploded over the last few years. It’s now possible to have personalized medicine in dentistry. We at UMDA strongly believe in optimizing your overall health. Oral health is the gateway. If we can obtain oral health, by resolving inflammation, and lowering bad bacteria you have chance at systemic health. If our mouth is not healthy nothing down the line can achieve whole body health. We will be offering ways to test for periodontal disease and can give you an idea of your genetic predisposition to inflammation. We know that inflammation is the root cause of disease. Inflammation is preventable and we are here to offer you a partnership in health so that we may all have a better quality of life and increased longevity. Please ask us about our new salivary testing methods. If we detect any increase in inflammation like bleeding gums or any stage of periodontal disease, we will be offering the salivary lab test, education, and treatment depending on your results.
Our Oral Health and Wellness Benefits Plan
We established an In Office plan for those patients who do not have dental benefits, as well as those who no longer like their plans or no longer wish to be bound by the control and limits of what dental benefits do not provide. There is no such thing as dental "insurance", though it may be sold as such. They are defined benefit plans that give the patient a stipend to help defray the costs of oral health. Please scan the QR code for more information.
David St. Ledger, DDS
At Upper Montclair Dental Associates, we believe that a dentist and patient become a team for treating an individual’s dental needs. Our dentist spend most of their time listening to understand your concerns and responding with the best treatment options for you. With the help of our professional staff, they also follow up to make sure that general pain is relieved, problems are resolved and your health improves.
We also want our patients to be informed about dental problems and treatments, because informed patients make better decisions about their health and well being. That is why we’ve included an extensive section on this web site covering the full array of topics associated with dentistry and dental diagnoses and treatments. We encourage you to look through these pages whenever you have an interest or concern about your dental needs and care.
We also know that convenience in the Montclair area is important to your selection of a dentist. In these web pages you’ll find information about Upper Montclair Dental Associates office, including our Montclair location, maps, directions, hours, insurance policies and appointment scheduling. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you have or to request an appointment. We hope you’ll find our practice offers the accessibility and personal commitment you look for from a dentist.
What makes our Office rather unique is our comprehensive approach in evaluating and in treatment. A single tooth alone cannot walk through our doors. People do. What may be perceived as a tooth problem may have started as a gum (periodontal) problem, or a bite problem, or a problem from bad habits. We evaluate the entire craniomandibular system: your teeth, gums, bone, ligaments, jaws joints, and musculature. How all of those parts work together bio-mechanically is often left as clues on your teeth and in your gums. It makes a simple treatment plan simpler, and clarifies the more complex treatment plan. All of this is done so we may educate you on your oral health, and offer you options and solutions to fit our care into your lifestyle.
Office hours are by appointment only. We are open evenings and certain weekends. Our Office is warm, quaint, and friendly. The atmosphere is jovial. We try not to take ourselves too serious. The staff is second to none. They are the most integral part of our practice. Their proficiency and expertise allow Dr. St. Ledger to spend more time with you. Simply put, we are a family. And our family extends an invitation to meet yours!