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Awoman enters Dr. James Vito’s dentistry practice in Wayne at theend of her rope.As she sits in an examining chair holding its arms as tightly as she

holds out hope, Dr. Vito listens as this woman, who requires extensivedental work, explains her dilemma. A tangle of frayed emotions, shetells him how she wishes her outward smile could match the one shefeels straining to get out, and how she wants to stop covering her mouthwith a hand when laughing in a crowd, and how she wants to stoppressing her lips together when posing for family photographs, how shewants to stop being a dental cripple.

“I just want a nice smile,” she tells Dr. Vito, with more than a hint ofpleading in her voice and a tear in her eye. “I just want to smile.”

In much the same way legendary composer Harold Arlen blendedYip Harburg’s lyrics for “Over the Rainbow” with his own unforgettablenotes to create music history, Dr. Vito blends the woman’s hopes with hisunparalleled skills to help her find that pot of gold over the dental rainbow.

“Being able to give a patient exactly what they want so they not onlylook better but feel better about themselves is very rewarding,” Dr. Vitosays.

“It’s probably the closest thing to being a plastic surgeon—to takewhat a patient verbalizes and create a new look for them that meets orexceeds their expectations.”

James Vito D.M.D. has been making his patients’ dreams come trueat his current location in Wayne since 2000. Prior to that, he practicedhis unique brand of dentistry in Princeton, N.J., for 13 years prior toreturning home to the Main Line.

In practice for 25 years, he is noted for and recognized by his peersfor his accomplishments in general, cosmetic and advanced restorativedentistry. As a periodontist, he diagnoses and treats gum disease. As aprosthodontist, he specializes in making replacements for missing teethand other structures of the mouth. Dr. Vito was trained and certified inboth areas at the prestigious Periodontal Prosthesis-Fixed Prosthodon-

Making Dreams ComeTrueWayne-based Dr. James Vito gives patients many reasons to smileBy Phil Gianficaro | Photography by Felicia Perretti

profile

42 Suburban Life JUNE 2011

Dr. Vito’s extensive training enables him to take a comprehensive approach togiving each patient a “million-dollar smile.” Above, Dr. Vito works on a case withRubin, the practice’s ceramist; and, at right, he checks a patient.

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tics program at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Dental Medi-cine, where his late father, Anthony, himself a dentist, taught and servedas associate dean of clinical affairs.

“My father would take me down to the dental school when I was inhigh school,” says Dr. Vito, “where I was exposed to and allowed toattend advanced dental seminars conducted by the leading authoritiesin dentistry and periodontal prosthesis. These authorities, who I grewup with because of my father, became my friends, my teachers and mymentors pushing me to excel in everything I did.

“The Periodontal Prosthesis-Fixed Prosthodontics program is sounique because of its multidisciplinary approach to dental problems,”he continues. “One of the unique talents imparted to us is to understandwhy things happen or aren’t working, so that when we rebuild some-body’s mouth, we’re not rebuilding in the same failures that brought thepatient in originally.

“We take a very comprehensive look at a patient’s entire dentalproblem, because even though only one tooth may be broken, there’sa reason it happened and we need to understand why.”

‘Doing It Right’Dr. Vito is also an implant specialist, skilled in the surgical place-

ment of dental implants as well as their restoration. He holds threefellowships and is dual board-certified in implant dentistry through theInternational Congress of Oral Implantologists and the AmericanBoard of Oral Implantology/Implant Dentistry. He also is certified as aMaster in Implant Prosthodontics through the International Congressof Oral Implantologists.

“When someone is missing teeth or has broken teeth, especiallyback teeth, it causes the face to collapse and causes the face to developfine lines and wrinkles,” he explains. “When we restore the teeth,sometimes the wrinkles don’t fill out. Enough people asked if I could dosomething about these lines and wrinkles so about four years ago I gottrained in the art of Botox and dermal fillers to eliminate these lines andwrinkles and maximize the aesthetics of the mouth and face.”

Dr. Vito also offers intravenous sedation for apprehensive and fear-ful patients, administered by a board-certified anesthesiologist.

“We’re a very unique practice, a very boutique-y practice, in that wecan offer so many different procedures and do so many different proce-dures proficiently and well in our office,” Dr. Vito says.

Dr. Vito’s sterling reputation throughout Philadelphia, and specificallyalong the Main Line, attracts patients who live more than an hour away.

“Sometimes it’s taken me even longer to get to Dr. Vito’s officebecause of traffic, but it’s definitely worth the drive,” says Lisa George ofLevittown, whose daughter is also the office manager of Dr. Vito. “Ineeded a lot of work done—root canals, extractions, jaw-bone recon-struction, full dental bridges—so I had to drive back and forth a lot.

“But it was worth it. Dr. Vito did a fantastic job. I can’t believe howgreat it all looks. I’d recommend him to anyone who wants a great smile.”

Dr. Vito says that the quality of his work, and that of his staff, is whatbrings patients to his practice.

“A patient came in for a consultation recently,” he says. “Then hewent to five or six other dentists for consults. In the end, the patient saidhe came back to us because of the level of comfort and confidence hehad in us and the plan that we outlined for him. That tells us we’re doingit right.”

A patient comes to see Dr. Vito because he or she is self-consciousabout their smile. They tell him their hopes and dreams—and he deliv-ers by giving them a million-dollar smile.

And you can’t put a price on that. n

Dr. James Vito, D.M.D.523 E. Lancaster Ave.,WayneOffice: 610-971-2590Website:www.jamesvito.comE-mail:jamesvito@verizon.net

PHIL GIANFICARO is anaward-winning writerbased in Doylestown.FELICIA PERRETTI is a free-lance photographer basedin Philadelphia.

Dr. Vito credits the quality of his work andthat of his staff for building such a strongbase of patients. Here, clockwise from topleft, Dr. Vito takes a moment to pose withstaff members Barbara, Justine and Christina.

JUNE 2011 Suburban Life 43

Dr. James Vito has been practicing his unique brand of dentistry for 25 years. His many accomplishments in general, cosmetic and advanced restorative dentistry haveearned him recognition from his peers and patients.

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