Our patients are central to our practice, and each member of our team is passionate about looking after patients’ oral health and smiles. We love to see the look on our patients’ faces when they walk out of the dental practice with a smile that enhances their lives and confidence.
Developing a long-term relationship with members of our community fuels our passion for our work. We value the role we play when it comes to helping Alhambra families enjoy better overall health by providing quality dental care.
Take a moment to learn a little about our team. We look forward to seeing you in the office.
Arlen Vartanian, DDS
Principal Dentist
Our principal dentist, Dr. Arlen Vartanian, started life in San Francisco with his three older brothers before the entire family relocated to San Mateo when Dr. Vartanian was eight years old.
Dr. Vartanian attended Hillsdale High School before he earned his undergraduate degree from the University of California San Diego, where he graduated Cum Laude.
To earn his degree in dental medicine, Dr. Vartanian attended the University of Southern California (USC) Ostrow School of Dentistry and graduated at the top of his class, achieving high honors.
To round out his dental education, Dr. Vartanian completed a rigorous General Practice Residency at the West Los Angeles VA Hospital in association with the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) where he served our nation's veterans and heroes, which to this day, was one of the most rewarding experiences of his life.
In September of 2018, Dr. Vartanian acquired the dental practice from Dr. Robert Foss. Dr. Foss started his practice 34 years ago, and Dr. Vartanian is committed to upholding the tradition of providing our patients with the highest quality dental treatment with a personal touch.
Dr. Foss and Dr. Vartanian both share the same conservative treatment philosophies in dentistry and always place our patients’ best interests at the forefront.
“I enjoy the field of dentistry because it provides me with a platform to help people in a medical standpoint, but it also allows me to do so in a personable manner. As a dentist, I enjoy interacting with people from all walks of life and forming a personal patient-doctor relationship. I firmly believe that the bond a dentist forms with his or her patients is just as important as the dental work that is being done.” – Dr. Arlen Vartanian
Dr. Vartanian is an avid learner and regularly attends continuing education courses and certifications to advance his professional skills.
“Dentistry provides me with the opportunity to combine my scientific interests with my genuine wish of wanting to enhance the quality of people's lives.” – Dr. Arlen Vartanian
During his time away from the office, Dr. Vartanian stays active by playing basketball and coaching youth teams to maintain a healthy and well-balanced lifestyle. He enjoys the camaraderie, life lessons, and values that one obtains through team sports.
Dr. Vartanian’s family is extremely important to him. He loves spending time with his three nephews and niece.
Michele Thompson
Office Manager
Michele is an excellent fit as an office manager due to her knowledge and passion for dentistry. She is service-focused, empathetic, passionate, and compassionate. And busy! Michele loves that she gets to use both her front and back office skills. She orchestrates all areas of the office including accounts receivable and payable, posting, scheduling, financial arrangements, decision making, payroll, staging, insurance coordination, and general flow of office traffic. Michele appreciates our incredible patients – she’s known some of them for over 40 years! She particularly enjoys working with Dr. Vartanian and our dedicated team.
Michele has been involved with charitable organizations in our community for many years. She has served as President for the San Gabriel Valley Dental Assistants Society. She is involved with the San Marino Junior Alliance, which serves women with addictions, the National Charity League, and the Fall Food & Wine Festival which supports Huntington Hospital’s Trauma Center.
Michele enjoys cooking, yoga, USC football, hiking, trout fishing, skiing, body surfing, and gardening. She and her husband of over four decades have two adult children and a Golden Retriever.
Barbara McGuire, RDH
Registered Dental Hygienist
Barbara is a registered dental hygienist and has been working for 35 years in the dental field. Her passion for dentistry was born from a bad experience in a dental office, and she has worked all these years to prevent others from having a similar experience. She’s a perfect fit for her job, providing gentle and caring attention as she cleans our patient’s teeth and teaches them how to have a healthy mouth.
Barbara loves that Dr. Vartanian shares her philosophy and drive to provide the best quality dentistry in a comfortable and welcoming atmosphere.
Barbara has three children – two girls and a boy. She enjoys reading, skiing, history, and traveling.
Allison Shutt
Registered Dental Assistant
Originally from Monrovia, CA, Allison joined our team in 2012 after attending the Citrus College RDA Program and graduating with honors.
As a self-proclaimed people person, Allison loves day-to-day interactions with patients and working with such a caring and fun team to build long-term relationships.
When she is away from the dental office, you will most often find Allison traveling, painting, and spending time with her family. As a dedicated dog lover, Allison loves outdoor adventures, exploring nature’s wonders and fun activities that she can share with her dogs.
Tania Porche
Recall/Scheduling Coordinator
Tania hails from Pasadena, where she graduated from Pasadena City College with a degree for the travel industry. She has worked in dentistry for over 22 years when she initially joined our practice.
“I love the diversity of our patients and connecting with them to form long-lasting relationships. I enjoy making our patients feel at ease, comfortable, and happy when they are visiting us.”
Tania has plenty of interests that fill her free time when she’s away from the dental office. She enjoys the outdoors, often skiing, target shooting, and walking her dog. She is a long-time member of the ASPCA as part of her passion for animals and for giving back.
Aa part of her wide-ranging interests, Tania is a lifelong reader and published writer, in addition to being licensed in massage therapy.
Most of all, Tania is proud of her daughter who is a recent graduate of UCSB.
Araceli Cervantes
Dental Assistant
Araceli is a Los Angeles native and attended Pasadena City College to earn a degree in dental assisting. She joined our team in August of 2018 and assists in all types of procedures.
One of Araceli’s favorite aspects of her job is building rapport with patients and seeing how happy they are with their smiles.
Outside of dentistry, Araceli is active with her son, Jordan, in the outdoors. They enjoy hiking, going to the beach, and riding bikes. He family is extremely important to her, and you will find Araceli spending most of her free time with those she loves most.
I recently moved to Southern California from the Bay Area and needed to find a new dentist, which is never fun. I've always been openly anxious about going to the dentist, but luckily a coworker of mine referred me to Dr. Vartanian's office.
Dr. Vartanian and his entire staff were very warm, welcoming, and accommodating from the moment I entered their office. Dr. Vartanian did a great job of explaining everything clearly to me during my exam. I never felt rushed and he gave me ample opportunities to ask any questions that I had. I never felt like he was trying to upsell me on any dental treatment and he went over only what I needed to have done. He was very knowledgable, but also very fun and upbeat at the same time.
Their front desk did a great job of confirming my insurance benefits, going over my treatment plan and copays so that there weren't any surprises. I also want to give a shout out to my hygienist Barbara who was patient with me and did an awesome job cleaning my teeth!!!
- Sebastian P.