Meet the Instructors
Dean C Vafiadis, DDS
Program Director
Dr. Dean Vafiadis is the director and innovator of the Full Mouth Rehabilitation Continuing Education Course at NYU Dental College since 2008.
He received his dental degree and Prosthodontics specialty training at New York University College of Dentistry. He is currently the Director of the Full-Mouth Rehabilitation CE course at NYU. He is an Associate Professor of Prosthodontics at NYU College of Dentistry. He has lectured nationally and abroad for the NYU Continuing Education department.
Dr. Vafiadis has published and lectured on various topics such as aesthetics, Implant designs, computer restorations, ceramic materials and occlusion. He is the founder of the New York Smile Institute in NY. It is an educational center, full-service laboratory and learning facility as well as a private practice location for a multi-specialty practice for Implant and Aesthetic Dentistry. Currently, he is lecturing for the Continuing Education program at NYUCD for Dental Districts in the US, Europe and Asia.
He maintains his private practice at the Valentino Building near Rockefeller Center. Dr. Vafiadis’s primary professional mission is to educate, publish and invent new technologies that will help change the dental profession and patients’ lives. He is a Fellow of the AAED and a member of ACP, AO AAID, NGS, and ADA.
Arvind Philomin, DDS
Dr. Arvind Philomin received his dental degree from NYU College of Dentistry and was chief resident at Albert Einstein Jacobi Medical Center before opening his own office in 2004. Starting out as a small Medicaid office, he has transformed it into a thriving fee-for-service office collecting over $8 Million per year, with four specialists and three GPs.
Dr. Philomin has pursued extensive education on implantology, occlusion, and restorative dentistry throughout his career, and focuses on treating missing teeth, collapsed bites, and complex occlusion cases. He has placed over 10,000 implants and performs 10-12 full arches per month himself, so he has a wealth of experience to share in both the clinical aspects of full mouth restorations and business growth strategies to create a successful multidisciplinary practice.
Alan Smolen, DDS
Dr. Alan Smolen received both his B.S. degree in Chemistry and his D.D.S. from Temple University. He has been practicing restorative and cosmetic dentistry in the Langhorne-Yardley area for over 30 years.
Dr. Smolen has elected to continue his education at the renowned Pankey Institute for Advanced Dental Education, the Dawson Center for Advanced Dental Study, NYU Dentistry's Continuing Education Program, and the Piper Education and Research Center. In addition to his clinical practices in Yardley, PA and New York City, he is a faculty member and Educational Director at NYU Dentistry’s Full Mouth Rehabilitation Continuing Dental Education Program.
Thomas Planzos, DMD
Dr. Thomas Planzos attended The University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine and received his D.M.D. degree in 1986. In 1986-1987, he completed a PGY-1 residency at The Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY. He has been in private practice in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn for 29 years in a multidisciplinary practice along with his three daughters who are specialists in Periodontics, Orthodontics and Prosthodontics. He is a past president of The Bay Ridge Dental Society.
Dr. Planzos is the Clinical Co-Director of The Full Mouth Reconstruction Continuing Dental Education Course at New York University College of Dentistry.
Ellen Pikus-Katz, DDS
Dr. Katz was born in the Republic of Georgia. She graduated from St. John’s University followed by NYU College of Dentistry in 2002. After graduation, she completed a one-year residency program at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center. From 2015-2017 she participated in the Full Mouth Rehabilitation Continuing Education Program at NYU Dentistry under the mentorship of Dr. Dean Vafiadis and in 2018 became a faculty member.
Dr. Katz is also passionate about sleep apnea and breathing disorders and is a qualified dental member of AADSM (American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine). She is also certified in aesthetic dental medicine providing Botox and Dermal Fillers to her patients. She graduated from the Kois Evidence-Based Dental Teaching Center in 2020 and has an FMR private practice in Manalapan, NJ.
Joanna Hrymoc-Sinha, DMD
Dr. Hrymoc-Sinha received her Bachelors of Science degree from Rutgers University in 2002. In 2006, she graduated from the University of Medicine and Dentistry where she received her Doctorate of Dental Medicine.
Dr. Hrymoc-Sinha joined the FMR program as a participant from 2010-2012. She was invited to stay as a Clinical Associate and was appointed Clinical Assistant Professor in 2016. Dr. Hrymoc-Sinha brings a fresh perspective to the program and only accepts clinical excellence. She is also the Director of Social Media for the Full Mouth Reconstruction program to help educate prospective participants and give an insight into the program.
Michael Cali, DDS
Dr. Michael L. Cali is a Past-President and former Chairman of the Peer Review and Quality Assurance Committee of the Second District Dental Society, as well as a former longtime member of the Board of Governors and the Council on Peer Review and Quality Assurance of the New York State Dental Association.
Dr. Cali is currently a member of The Organization Committee of The Greater New York Dental Meeting. In addition, he has been in private practice in New York and New Jersey, delivering high quality dental care for more than thirty years, Dr. Cali is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Linhart Continuing Dental Education Department at New York University College of Dentistry. He has been part of the "Full Mouth Reconstruction; Occlusion, Implants and Esthetics" since 2008 when it began.
Mike E Calderón, DDS
After receiving his DDS Degree from the Dental School of Case Western Reserve Ohio in 1994, he moved back to Brooklyn, New York. He worked at a General Practice Residency at Kings County Hospital between 1994 to 1999. Dr. Calderón completed a 2-year program at the United States Dental Institute, where he received his certification in orthodontics. Dr. Mike Calderón also completed 2 years at New York University as an Implant Resident.
He has an extensive education and experience in implant dentistry, having placed more than 10,000 implants. He established his private practice in West Islip, New York where he provides both advanced surgical and prosthetic phases of implant dentistry for his patients.
Dr. Mike E. Calderón lectures nationally and internationally on implant-related topics. Dr. Mike E. Calderón is the founder of Calderón Institute. He is a member of the following:
Academy of General Dentistry (AGD)
Academy of Osseointegration (AO)
American Academy of Implant Dentistry (AAID)
Diplomate of the International Congress of Oral Implantology (DICOI)
Diplomate of the American Board of Oral Implantology (DABOI)
Father to 5 daughters and happily married for 20 years. Implant Mike resides in Oceanside, NY
Publio Silfa, DDS
Dr. Silfa completed his Doctor of Dental Surgery at the Columbia College of Dental Medicine and underwent an AEGD residency as the Chief Resident and an associate clinical professor at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital.
He has pursued continuing education on a regular basis since then, including NYU Full Mouth Rehabilitation training. Additionally, he has a background in research and studied the correlation between cardiovascular disease and gum disease while at Columbia. Today, he is widely considered as one of the leading dental practitioners on Long Island. He is a DSD Master & Owner of Meadowbrook Dentistry, a Certified DSD clinic. Personal hobbies include sports, fitness, high-intensity sports, cross-fit, running and riding Peloton.
Armen Akopian, DDS
Dr. Akopian received his dental degree from New York University College of dentistry and completed a one year general practice residency at Mount Sinai affiliated Queens Hospital Center. While at NYU he was inducted into the Aesthetics Honors program where a small group of students are selected to be trained by the top cosmetic dentist from the tri-state area. This gave him a unique advantage to analyze and treatment plan cosmetic cases from early point in his career.
Dr. Akopian also lectures for the NYU FMR program and teaches dental colleagues how to diagnose and treatment plan complex full mouth rehabilitation cases and anterior implants. He is currently the partner & clinical director with Dr. Dean Vafiadis at the New York Smile Institute.
Homa Faridnia, DDS
Dr. Homa Faridnia has a BS in chemistry and biotechnology at Kean University, then attended NYU Dental School to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a dentist. She graduated in 1998 and has been in private practice since. Dr. Faridnia is a member of the Academy of General Dentistry and the New Jersey Academy of General Dentistry. In 2015, she was voted one of New Jersey's Top Dentists.
Dr. Homa joined the FMR program as a participant in 2018 and now is FMR faculty. She is a member of ADA , AGD, AAFE and AACD, and has attended the Kois Continuing Educating Series. She lives with her husband and three daughters in Basking Ridge, NJ.