Meet The Staff

Dental Assistant

Gail

Gail is a Cedar Rapids native.  She is a 1997 Kirkwood Dental Assisting graduate and has been with River Ridge Dental for 24 years. She is certified as an expanded function assistant.  Gail is married and has two sons.  In her spare time she enjoys spending time with family and friends.

Vanessa

Vanessa is a 2013 graduate of the Kirkwood Dental Assisting program and has experience in chairside assisting, front desk and orthodontics.

Cheering on the St. Louis Cardinals, along with playing sand volleyball and spending time with her two fur babies, Rex and Bear, are what Vanessa enjoys in her free time. Vanessa was married May 2019.  She and Max are expecting their first child in 2022.

Jill

Jill is married and has two adult children.  Jill recently gained a son-in-law and became a grandma.  She has been a dental assistant for 40 years, 38 ½ of them at River Ridge.  Jill has recently retired from chairside assisting.  Her knowledge and expertise and generosity will be missed at River Ridge.  Jill will continue working part time to do bookkeeping/payroll and accounting as well as filling in assisting our docs as needed.

In her free time, Jill enjoys following her husband, Ron, who plays the drums in the Compass Rose and Detour bands.

Deb

Deb has been with River Ridge for 27 years and a dental assistant for 39 years.  She is a wife, mother to two grown sons and grandmother to Rory, Micah, Sadie, Porter and Grace.

When not at work Deb especially loves being with her grandchildren, cheering on the Iowa Hawkeyes and Chicago Cubs, running and spending time in her yard, taking care of the garden and flowers. 

Hygienist

Kendra

Kendra is a full time hygienist.  She is married and has three children.  Kendra enjoys spending time with family and friends, being outdoors, gardening and crafting.  She enjoys the relationships she has built during the 21 years she has been with River Ridge.

Beth

Beth grew up in Northeast Iowa and obtained her Applied Science degree in dental hygiene from Hawkeye Institute of Technology.  She lives in Marion and has been with River Ridge Dental for 34 years.

Beth enjoys going to concerts and especially loves visiting Nashville.

Lisa

Lisa has been with River Ridge for 23 years.  She received her education at Briar Cliff College and Hawkeye Community College. 

Lisa is married and has three children.  She loves the ISU Cyclones and enjoys supporting them in football and basketball.

Front Desk

Judy

Judy and her husband Dave have two grown sons and five grandchildren.  She enjoys spending time with her family and Aussie doodle, Mr. Barkley.

She has been making people feel welcome for over 33 years and has truly enjoyed getting to know everyone.

Debbie

Debbie is a Cedar Rapids native and has been with River Ridge for 21 years.  She is our expert insurance coordinator and receptionist.

Debbie is married and has a daughter, Grace.  She enjoys reading, cooking, gardening and spending time with family.  She loves the relationships she has made during her years at River Ridge.