The Center for Cosmetic & Family Dentistry

Fewer than 400 dentists around the world can currently claim accredited membership in the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, but Dr. Dennis Lichorwic is determined to add one to their ranks. In the process, he's submitted to a multiyear system of peer review that includes written and oral exams and in-depth clinical case studies that are scrutinized by the members of the Academy.

This passion for continual education has helped make his practice the nine-time winner of Emerald Coast Magazine's Best Dental Practice award. Along with his partner Dr. Julia Sprang and their friendly staff of hygienists and dental assistants, Lichowic keeps up with new technologies to treat patients with popular new procedures such as Invisalign teeth-straightening treatments and ultra-quick Zoom! whitening.

Meanwhile, patients say aah in a pair of offices whose waiting areas, despite their stately exteriors, evoke nothing so much as a posh family room. Carafes of coffee sit atop a coffee bar in the waiting room, a flat-screen TV hangs over a fireplace that sucks pre-appointment anxieties from the air, and wooden floors lessen the institutional feel of treatment rooms.