Maidu Dental

Dr. Luminita Markham

A PASSION FOR DENTISTRY AND MY PATIENTS

I love getting to know my patients as individuals. We form strong bonds, and it’s a pleasure to make them feel comfortable and excited about receiving painless dental treatment. I love applying my knowledge and skills to their particular situation, helping them understand the options, and answering their questions. I know an informed patient is best suited to making healthy choices about their dental care and their oral health, so I strive to communicate clearly and directly.

I’ve found that in the process of educating my patients, they also educate me. I learn so much from them, about their lives, their passions, and their dreams. We share stories about who we are and in doing so we move beyond being dental provider and patient – we become friends.

EDUCATION AND CONTINUING EDUCATION

I have been practicing in California since 1999 and I have founded Maidu Dental with my husband, Dr. David Markham, in 2005.

Oral healthcare is a constantly evolving field. From emerging technologies to new treatment materials and processes, staying current and continually educated enables me to provide ever better and more comfortable care to my patients.  As a professional, I owe it to my patients to remain informed of the changes in the dental field, so I’m able to continue providing them with the best treatment and patient experience possible.

In order for me to provide the highest quality of care for my patients, each year I pursue many hours of continuing education, going above and beyond the state-required level of continuing education coursework. This gives me the ability to offer a comprehensive approach to each patient’s dental health because I’m able to see the “big picture,” rather than just treating one tooth at a time.  As such, I have attended the Pankey Institute for Advanced Dental Education and the Spear Educational Continuum. Pankey and Spear Institutes focus on intense multi-course programs and seminars that educate dentists on the best ways to treat patients with complex dental needs. Dentistry is not just about making crowns and veneers that look realistic and esthetic. It is equally as critical to make sure that the dental treatment we provide respects your jaw joints (TMJ), your gingivae (gum tissues) and the adjacent and opposing teeth. Only a handful of dentists in the country have attended these programs and even fewer have attended both.

I’m particularly interested in restorative and cosmetic dentistry, sedation options for fearful patients, dental implants, treatment for TMJ/TMD, dental sleep medicine and Invisalign®.

One of the other important aspects of dentistry that these programs focus on is interdisciplinary coordination with other dental providers. While some dentists provide all services on their own, I believe that specialists play a critical role in the delivery of dental care. For example, there are circumstances where we could meet a patient’s esthetic goals by preparing additional teeth or by using orthodontics. Both approaches have advantages and disadvantages and it’s my ability to understand, differentiate and offer these options that I believe makes me a better dentist for my patients.

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

 

PERSONAL LIFE

I grew up in Constanta, Romania, on the coast of the beautiful Black Sea, home to the country’s largest seaport and the idyllic seaside resort, Mamaia. For the last 16 years, I have lived in Auburn, on a small mandarin farm. I’m married to my soul mate, Dr. David Markham, who is an orthodontist. We work and play together, and we enjoy traveling for recreation and also for continuing education. We share our lives with a clutter of field cats.

             

I love to listen to music and I like singing. I am an avid reader, especially about dentistry. My husband and I love the outdoors: hiking, backpacking, cross-country skiing, rock climbing and mountaineering. We have achieved the summits of Mount Whitney, Mount Shasta (five times on five different routes), Mount Rainer, Mount Hood, Mount Kilimanjaro and we also enjoyed a high altitude trek in the Himalaya Mountains (in the Annapurna region).  Our last adventure was summiting Mount Matterhorn in Switzerland in august 2019.

 

Please contact our office to schedule an appointment at (530) 823-8771.