Oral Surgeon Sacramento

Dr. Ehssan Ghassemi

Oral Surgeon

Dr. Ehssan Ghassemi was born and raised in Sacramento, California. He received both his undergraduate degree in Psychology and Master’s Degree (M.S.) in Comparative Pathology from the University of California, Davis. Continuing his education in Southern California, he then earned a D.M.D with honors at Western University of Health Sciences. Following his interest in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, he then returned to Northern California where he competed a four-year residency in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of the Pacific and Highland Hospital Level One Trauma Center in the Bay Area. During this time, he and his colleagues were responsible for all adult and pediatric facial trauma surgery. He gained further surgical training at Kaiser Oakland, one of the top orthognathic (corrective jaw surgery) centers in California as well as Children’s Hospital of Oakland.
With extensive training in all facets of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and clinical practice focused on outpatient sedation, pathology, dentoalveolar and implant surgery, Dr. Ghassemi is committed to providing the highest quality of care, ethics and compassion to his patient’s and community. Dr. Ghassemi is an American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons candidate. He is also a member of the American Dental Association, California Dental Association and Sacramento District Dental Society. He is certified in Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS).
Dr. Ghassemi is happy to return to his hometown of Sacramento. In his free time, he enjoys the outdoors with his wife, tennis, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and spending time with his family.

Dr. Sheldon Sealey

Endodontist

Dr. Sealey grew up in the Caribbean on the beautiful twin island of Trinidad and Tobago. He moved to the United States to attend college and completed his undergraduate degree in South Carolina, where he earned a B.S. in Biology. During his time at college, he was awarded the Presidential Scholarship Award for outstanding academic achievement and was also inducted into the Golden Key International Honor Society. In college Dr Sealey participated in numerous research projects involving nanoparticles and osteoblast differentiation. His research project was published In the Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry.

Dr. Sealey attended dental school at the University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine where he earned his D.M.D. Afterwards, he completed a one-year Advanced Education in General Dentistry program at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

After completing his training, Dr. Sealey practiced dentistry in Upstate NY for 2 years. During that time, he completed additional continuing education that furthered his love for the specialty of Endodontics. This passion led him to pursue an advanced degree in Endodontics at Virginia Commonwealth University where he earned his certificate in Endodontics, in addition to, a Master of Science in Dentistry. Dr. Sealey is a member of the American Dental Association and the American Association of Endodontists.

In his free time, Dr. Sealey loves traveling with his family. He is an avid sports fan and enjoys the outdoors.

Dr. Austin Eckard

Oral Surgeon

Dr. Austin Eckard graduated with honors from the University of California, Berkeley. He enrolled at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, where he graduated magna cum laude. He returned to the Bay Area for his residency in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Highland Hospital/ Alameda County Medical Center, Children’s Hospital and Kaiser Hospital in Oakland, California.

Following residency, Dr. Eckard joined a group practice in Southern California before joining Sacramento Valley Dental Specialists. His practice focuses on wisdom tooth removal, dental implants and bone grafting, and outpatient anesthesia. His goal is to ‘treat you like family.’

Dr. Eckard is a board certified Diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, and a fellow of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons.

In his free time, Dr. Eckard enjoys getting outdoors as much as possible and enjoys adventures with his wife, and two children.

Dr. Christopher Fries

Dr. Fries received his undergraduate degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and his DDS degree from the University of Nebraska Medical Center School of Dentistry in 2010. He then went on to complete an Advanced Education in General Dentistry 1-yr. program at Langley Air Force Base, VA, followed by his residency in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery from David Grant Medical Center at Travis Air Force Base. Upon completing his residency, Dr. Fries had the opportunity to live overseas for 3 years while serving in Okinawa, Japan as an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon.  Dr. Fries recently moved back to the states and now holds a teaching position at the Air Force Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery residency program at Travis AFB.

Dr. Fries strives to provide a relaxing environment for patients while delivering high quality care. He practices full scope care to include, but not limited to: surgical extractions, deep sedation, dental implants, ridge preservation/augmentation, sinus augmentation, biopsies, and orthognathic surgery.

Dr. Fries is a Board Certified Diplomate of American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery as well as a Fellow of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. In addition, he is certified in ACLS, PALS, and BLS. When not working, Dr. Fries enjoys exercising, trying out new restaurants, wine tasting, and many other outdoor activities in the local area. Dr. Fries looks forward to providing care to the greater Sacramento community for a very long time.

Dr. Darin T. Johnston

Oral Surgeon

Dr. Johnston received a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Biology from Brigham Young University and Doctor of Dental Surgery (D.D.S.) degree from the University of Colorado at the Anschutz Medical Campus. He then pursued surgical training in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of Tennessee Knoxville Medical Center. While in residency, he focused on the surgical and non-surgical management of facial trauma, head and neck cancer, benign pathology of the face and jaws, dentofacial deformities, obstructive sleep apnea, and temporomandibular joint disease. He also received training in general anesthesia, intravenous sedation, dental extractions, bone grafting, and dental implant placement. Following residency, he completed one year of fellowship training in Craniomaxillofacial Trauma and Reconstruction at the Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina.

Dr. Johnston is currently stationed at Travis Air Force Base where he is an attending surgeon for the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residency Program. He is actively involved in education as an Assistant Professor in the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and contributing author to numerous journals and textbooks. He is a member of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and holds certifications in BLS, ACLS, PALS, and ATLS. Dr. Johnston earnestly strives to provide evidenced-based care that is ethical and compassionate. As a parent and spouse, he understands the importance of clear communication before and after surgical procedures to minimize anxiety and confusion while maximizing comfort and healing. He and his wife enjoy living in California where they seek adventure with their four energetic boys!