The best dentists in Raleigh and Wake Forest

Most dental practice websites read more or less identically. Everybody is gentle, everybody is family-focused, everybody uses the latest technology. None of that can be checked by anyone, so none of it counts here.

What can be checked is narrower, and considerably more useful. Does the practice name the dental school and the graduation year of its dentists? Does anyone hold a board-recognized post-graduate credential, such as a Fellowship in the Academy of General Dentistry or the International Congress of Oral Implantologists? Is there a named sedation certification, or only a vague reference to sedation dentistry? Is there a BBB rating, and an accreditation behind it? And how long has the practice actually existed at that address?

Across all ten practices, only three hard credentials turned up: two FAGD fellowships and one FICOI. Everything else is continuing education at Spear, Pankey, Dawson or the Las Vegas Institute, which is worth having but is not the same thing. That is the honest state of the field, and it explains why the top of this list looks the way it does.

Two practices we researched are not here. One carries a public disciplinary action. The other holds a D- BBB rating for failing to respond to five complaints.

Before the list starts, one thing to be clear about. We have not hired any of these businesses, and we are not telling you they do good work, because we have no way of knowing that. What is ranked below is ranked on facts you can check yourself: license number and status, years in business, published credentials, BBB rating and accreditation, service area and published hours. Where a business publishes nothing, we say so instead of filling the gap. Get more than one quote, and look the license up yourself before you sign anything.

Hours below come from each business's own published information and change without notice. Call ahead if you are making a special trip.

Barker, Rohner and Hunt DMD

This Falls of Neuse practice opened in 1985, and it publishes more that can actually be verified than any other dental office we looked at in Raleigh. All three dentists list their school and graduation year. The founder holds a Fellowship in the Academy of General Dentistry and has taught in UNC's advanced general dentistry residency since 1987. The youngest partner is certified in IV moderate conscious sedation.

Hours: Mon-Thu 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Friday through Sunday.

Address: 7610 Falls of Neuse Rd., Suite 250, Raleigh, NC 27615

Why they made the list

• Dr. Bruce Barker holds FAGD, a Fellowship in the Academy of General Dentistry, and completed a residency in oral medicine at NC Memorial Hospital in Chapel Hill.
• He has been an adjunct professor in UNC's Advanced Education in General Dentistry program since 1987 and directs its aesthetic dental curriculum. A teaching appointment at a dental school is something almost no private practice in the area can claim.
• All three dentists publish school and year: Fairleigh Dickinson 1983, Tufts 2006, University of Louisville 2013. Most practices publish neither.
• Dr. Brandon Hunt is certified in IV moderate conscious sedation, which is the only specific sedation credential named by anyone on this list.
• BBB rated A+, though not accredited, and same-day appointments are published for dental emergencies.
• The catch: four days a week. If you need a Friday appointment, this is the wrong practice.

See the full directory listing

Wainright and Wassel, DDS

The oldest practice on the list, established on Falls of Neuse Road in 1972 and still trading under the founding name fifty-four years later. Dr. Mark Wainright earned his Fellowship in the Academy of General Dentistry in 2020. The practice publishes 24-hour emergency care and makes same-day CEREC crowns in house, which nobody else here does.

Hours: Mon-Thu 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday 7 a.m. to noon. Closed weekends.

Address: 6837 Falls of Neuse Rd., Suite 100, Raleigh, NC 27615

Why they made the list

• Established 1972, and confirmed twice over: the practice's own site and the BBB record, which gives a start date of July 19, 1972.
• Dr. Mark Wainright holds FAGD, awarded in 2020. Both dentists trained at West Virginia University.
• BBB rated A+, though not accredited. The BBB profile notes that the practice has not sought accreditation, which is a choice the profile spells out, and not a black mark.
• Publishes 24/7 emergency care, and it is the only practice here doing same-day CEREC crowns on site.
• The earliest start on this list at 7 a.m., but also the earliest finish. Nothing after 3 p.m., and nothing at all on Friday afternoon.

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Adams & Cheek Family Dentistry

A Raven Ridge Road practice open since August 1987, and the one to call if your problem is scheduling and not clinical. It runs weekday evenings to 6 p.m. and takes patients two Saturdays a month, which nothing else here manages. Both dentists publish their school and graduation year, and both hold adjunct faculty appointments.

Hours: Mon 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tue 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wed 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thu 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fri 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Two Saturdays a month, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The site lists two different Thursday closing times, so confirm that one when you book.

Address: 11001 Raven Ridge Rd., Suite 101, Raleigh, NC 27614

Why they made the list

• Founded August 1987 by Dr. Craig Adams, and the BBB start date of July 28, 1987 backs it up. Thirty-nine years.
• Both dentists publish school and year: University of Kentucky 1987, graduating top clinician, and UNC 2006 with honors.
• Both hold adjunct faculty appointments, at UNC and at the University of Kentucky schools of dentistry.
• The only practice here with weekday evening hours and regular Saturday hours. Five full weekdays plus two Saturdays a month.
• BBB rated A+, though not accredited, and same-day emergency appointments are published where possible.
• Their own site gives two different Thursday closing times, 3 p.m. on one page and 6 p.m. on another. Worth a call before you rely on the later one.

See the full directory listing

Gentle Family Dentistry

Dr. Tran Nguyen graduated from UNC Chapel Hill with honors in 1999 and opened this Wake Forest practice in 2002. It is the only entry on the list where the lead dentist's school, graduation year and honors are all published and all line up with a stated founding date. Twenty-four years at one address under one owner counts for something.

Hours: Mon, Tue and Thu 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wed 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Fri 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Closed weekends.

Address: 304 Capcom Ave., Wake Forest, NC 27587

Why they made the list

• Dr. Tran Nguyen, UNC Chapel Hill School of Dentistry, DDS 1999, graduated with honors. All of that is published by the practice itself.
• She established the practice in Wake Forest in 2002 and still runs it.
• Advanced training is published with a named institution in every case: the International Congress of Oral Implantologists, The Dawson Academy, and the UNC Chapel Hill dental sleep medicine mini residency.
• BBB rated A+, though not accredited.
• Four dentists now, which for a Wake Forest practice usually means you can get seen inside the week.
• One inconsistency: the BBB start date of 2000 does not match the practice's stated 2002. We have gone with the date the practice gives for itself.

See the full directory listing

Davis Family Dentistry

A South Main Street practice in Wake Forest where Dr. Tyler Davis holds Fellowship in the International Congress of Oral Implantologists, completed in 2013. UNC 2009. Across all ten practices in this guide, only three hard post-graduate credentials turned up, and this is one of them.

Hours: Mon-Thu 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday by appointment. Closed weekends.

Address: 814 S. Main St., Wake Forest, NC 27587

Why they made the list

• Dr. Tyler Davis holds FICOI, Fellowship in the International Congress of Oral Implantologists, completed in 2013.
• UNC Chapel Hill, 2009, published by the practice.
• Dr. Christina Longo trained at Creighton University and practiced in Nebraska and Iowa before joining, which is an unusual amount of detail to publish about a second dentist.
• Dental sleep medicine appears as a service line, so the implant work is not the whole offering.
• No BBB profile exists, which means there is no third-party rating to check. We would rather flag that than quietly leave it out.
• Friday is by appointment only, with no published schedule, and no emergency or same-day availability is published anywhere on the site.

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Emerald Family Dentistry

Four dentists at Gateway Commons in Wake Forest, three of them with a named hospital or university residency behind them, including a chief resident at UT Health San Antonio. It is also the only practice in this guide with genuine published evening hours, running to 7 p.m. twice a week.

Hours: Mon and Wed 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tue and Thu 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Fri 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Closed weekends.

Address: 941 Gateway Commons Circle, Suite 109, Wake Forest, NC 27587

Why they made the list

• The only practice in this guide with real evening hours, to 7 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday. Everything else closes by 6.
• Three of the four dentists publish a named residency: a general practice residency at the Cleveland Clinic, a one-year residency at St. Luke's-Roosevelt in New York, and a two-year AEGD at UT Health San Antonio where the dentist was selected chief resident.
• Two dentists publish school and graduation year, both Nova Southeastern, 2005 and 2012.
• Four dentists at one Wake Forest address is more depth than most practices this side of the county have.
• There is no BBB profile, and the practice publishes no founding year at all. Both are gaps worth knowing about before you call.
• Hours appear only on the contact page. The homepage and the practice pages publish none, so do not go looking for them there.

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Earwood Dentistry

A Paverstone Drive practice in north Raleigh doing cosmetic work, with advanced training through the Las Vegas Institute and a sedation dentistry certification. BBB rated A+. The founding year is the one thing we could not settle, We have printed both and explained why.

Hours: Mon 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tue 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wed 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thu 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Fri 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Closed weekends.

Address: 900 Paverstone Dr., Suite 100, Raleigh, NC 27615

Why they made the list

• BBB rated A+, though not accredited.
• Dr. Amy Earwood publishes advanced training at the Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies, Invisalign certification, and a sedation dentistry certification, although no permit level or number is given for the last one.
• Dr. Matthew Garcia trained at Boston University School of Dental Medicine and served three years as a US Army officer.
• Consistent 7:30 a.m. starts five days a week, which suits anyone trying to get seen before work.
• The founding year does not reconcile. Their own site says since 1984; the BBB record gives a start date of September 1, 1998. We could not resolve it, so both are here.
• The lead dentist appears in public records under two surnames, Banks and Earwood. If you go to the state board to check her license, search both.

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Lake Boone Dentistry

A Forestview Road practice that has been doing this work since 1971, now run by a University of Tennessee graduate and a member of the very first class to graduate from the East Carolina University School of Dental Medicine. Strong history, thinner published credentials than the practices above it.

Hours: Mon-Thu 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fri 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Closed weekends.

Address: 3708 Forestview Rd., Suite 103, Raleigh, NC 27612

Why they made the list

• Practicing at this address since 1971, published on the practice's own site. Fifty-five years.
• Dr. Stephanie Doughton was a member of the inaugural class at the East Carolina University School of Dental Medicine, which is a matter of record, not a claim.
• Dr. Matt Ricke is a certified Invisalign provider and publishes continuing education through the Spear Institute, the Dawson Academy and McCracken Implant Education.
• The practice says it will see emergency patients right away.
• No BBB profile exists, so there is no third-party rating to look at.
• The site markets evening hours in its emergency copy, but the published schedule closes at 5 p.m. We could not make those two statements agree.

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Scanlan Family Dentistry

The only BBB accredited dental practice in this set, accredited on July 30, 2026 with an A+ rating. It is also the newest situation on the list: Dr. Abigail Scanlan bought the practice in 2026 and renamed it from Galligan Family Dentistry, so the reputation and the ownership are not the same age. Read the entry before you read the reviews.

Hours: Mon-Thu 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Friday through Sunday.

Address: 11420 Falls of Neuse Rd., Raleigh, NC 27614

Why they made the list

• The only BBB accredited practice in this guide. A+ rated, accredited July 30, 2026.
• Dr. Abigail Scanlan trained at the University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine and publishes continuing education at The Pankey Institute and Spear Education.
• The underlying practice has operated at this address since 2006 according to the BBB record, so the location has nineteen years behind it even though the name is new.
• Read that accreditation carefully. It is about two months old, and it is filed under Abigail W. Scanlan, DDS, PLLC and not the trading name, so searching BBB for Scanlan Family Dentistry will not find it.
• Ownership changed in 2026. Any older review history you come across online belongs to Galligan Family Dentistry, not to the current owner.
• Four days a week, no Friday.

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Gover and Gover Dentistry

The longest unbroken lineage in the guide: founded on Ed Drive in July 1969 and taken over by Drs. David and Susan Gover in 1999. Both trained at the University of Kentucky. It publishes fewer credentials than anything else here, which is why it sits at the bottom of this list. It is also the only practice open five full weekdays.

Hours: Mon-Fri 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Closed weekends.

Address: 3840 Ed Dr., Suite 120, Raleigh, NC 27612

Why they made the list

• The practice dates to July 1969, founded by Dr. Dan Averett and Dr. Riley Pleasants. Fifty-seven years of continuous operation.
• Both current owners have practiced in Raleigh full time since 1999, and both trained at the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry.
• Five full weekdays, which only two other practices in this guide manage.
• No post-graduate credential is published at all. No FAGD, no FICOI, no sedation permit, no Invisalign tier. Longevity is the entire case for this one.
• No BBB profile exists, so there is no third-party rating.
• No emergency or same-day availability is published. The contact page simply asks you to phone.

See the full directory listing

Frequently asked questions

Who is the best dentist in Raleigh, NC?

On published credentials, Barker, Rohner and Hunt on Falls of Neuse Road. Dr. Bruce Barker holds a Fellowship in the Academy of General Dentistry, has been an adjunct professor in UNC's Advanced Education in General Dentistry program since 1987 and directs its aesthetic dental curriculum, and all three dentists publish their dental school and graduation year. Dr. Brandon Hunt is certified in IV moderate conscious sedation.

How do I check a dentist's license in North Carolina?

Use the NC State Board of Dental Examiners verification search at portal.ncdentalboard.org. It is a form, not a link, so you have to type the name in yourself. The board also posts disciplinary actions, but only for three months, with the exception of revoked licenses which stay up indefinitely. For anything older you have to ask the board directly.

What does FAGD mean, and does it matter?

Fellowship in the Academy of General Dentistry. It requires hundreds of hours of continuing education and a comprehensive examination, and fewer than one general dentist in fifteen holds it nationally. Two dentists in this guide have it: Dr. Bruce Barker and Dr. Mark Wainright. Continuing education at places like Spear, Pankey or the Dawson Academy is genuinely worthwhile, but it is not a board credential and should not be read as one.

Which dentist in Raleigh has evening or Saturday hours?

Adams and Cheek Family Dentistry is open to 6 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday and takes patients two Saturdays a month, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. In Wake Forest, Emerald Family Dentistry runs to 7 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday, which is the latest published finish of any practice in this guide.

Which Raleigh dentist sees emergency patients the same day?

Barker, Rohner and Hunt publishes same-day appointments for dental emergencies, and Adams and Cheek publishes same-day emergency appointments where possible. Wainright and Wassel publishes 24-hour emergency care. Lake Boone Dentistry says it will see emergency patients right away.

Is there a good dentist in Wake Forest?

Three are in this guide. Gentle Family Dentistry on Capcom Avenue, run since 2002 by Dr. Tran Nguyen, UNC 1999 with honors. Davis Family Dentistry on South Main, where Dr. Tyler Davis holds Fellowship in the International Congress of Oral Implantologists. And Emerald Family Dentistry at Gateway Commons, four dentists with named hospital and university residencies, and the only real evening hours in the guide.