Natalie is originally from Santa Fe, New Mexico but comes to us from Albuquerque, NM. She graduated at the age of 14 through Aztec Home School. She continued her education at the Santa Fe Community College, where she received her Dental Assistant Certification and License, as well as Emergency Medical Technician License. She comes from a “dental family”, as her mother and sister are also in the dental field, and this is where her love for dentistry began. She has a broad range of dental knowledge, from front office experience, to Dental Assisting in a variety of specialty areas to include Pediatric, Ortho, and Oral Surgery. She also works as a government contractor, providing her dental services to our soldiers on the weekends for the National Guard. She has 11 years of experience in the dental field.

Since working with Dr. Lirio, she has started mentoring future Dental Assistant interns from the Manatee Technical Institute. She enjoys teaching the students as well as learning herself. Recently, she has broadened her dental knowledge scope by learning to design and print 3D porcelain crowns. She likes being able to do this, because she enjoys helping make the patients have beautiful smiles!

Natalie enjoys spending time with her partner Megan and going home to NM to visit family. She also likes to spend days at the beach and in the ocean snorkeling. During football season, you will find her cheering on the Michigan Wolverines and Oakland Raiders.

Dara is originally from Pittsburgh, PA and has lived in Sarasota since 2012. After graduating with a degree in education, Dara accidentally found her way into dentistry over 11 years ago and has been loving it ever since. Dara is very dedicated to her career and prides herself on being a hard worker. She has worked in a variety of dental practices ranging from pediatrics to dentures and has enjoyed each aspect of the dental field. In her free time, Dara enjoys cooking and baking, listening to music and spending time with family and friends. She is also a huge fan of sports and can regularly be found cheering on her hometown Pittsburgh Pirates, Steelers and Penguins.