FLEMING ISLAND – Island Dentistry is a one-stop shop for all your dentistry needs and it just bolstered its ranks with two new doctors.

Island Dentistry is aware of the stigma and fear associated with dentists: people are often scared to go to dentists be it a childhood trauma associated with them, a fear of the tools used or even a sense of embarrassment they might feel about the state of their teeth and mouth. The dental office works to remove that fear and being a one-stop shop is a part of that effort.

“Island Dentistry recognizes fear is a huge issue for a lot of patients whether it be childhood trauma or embarrassment so we make a point, no matter who they’re seeing, to build a relationship with that patient so that they’re comfortable,” Island Dentistry operations director Kandi Green said. “They’re already fearful of their regular visits so we don’t want to send them off from us to specialists, which is why we offer as much as we do here in this office.”

The office is located at 4589 U.S. Highway 17, Unit 6 on Fleming Island, and with the addition of two new doctors, Xiaodan Zhang and Victor Erminy, it can offer even more.

Zhang has a long history in dentistry that stretches back to her life in China, where she went to dental school and held a residency for oral surgery. She came to the United States to further her education by attending dental school at the University of Minnesota. She practiced dentistry privately in Minnesota following college, and she moved to Florida last August with her wife and two daughters after her wife landed a residency at the Mayo Clinic here.

“I love it here,” Zhang said. “I have two daughters and they love the beach here and the weather. It’s nice that on any given day, we can go outside, which we couldn’t do in Minnesota.”

Zhang said she did a little waiting after moving here before starting the job hunt to help her family settle into their new, sunny home. She saw many openings and positions around town, but none appealed to her more than working as a dentist at Island Dentistry.

“I think they were the best fit because of the way they serve their patients and because of their philosophy to put their patients’ best interests first,” Zhang said. “That’s in line with my principles in dentistry as well. I want to serve them the best I can and give them the brightest smile and that’s what we’re about here.”

Island offers run-of-the-mill services like cleanings and cavity work, but they offer so much more. Zhang said they do regular restorations, crowns, cleanings, implants, bone grafts, bridges, full mouth rehabilitation, wisdom teeth, teeth extractions and all kinds of surgeries.

“Our patients aren’t referred to other offices often where they’ll have to pay extra dollars for service because there’s a good chance we offer the service here already,” she said.

Zhang has been with the office since mid-December and she started working as a General Dentist there a few weeks before the newest doctor arrived.

“I just started this year,” Erminy said. “Tuesday (Jan. 5) actually, so this week I’ve been focused on training and getting to know how the office operates. We want to make sure all of the associate dentists [Erminy is an associate dentist] do things in the same way so that patients don’t feel like they’re being treated in different ways between this person and that person. That’s very important to us here.”

Erminy is originally from Venezuela, where he attended dental school. He moved to the states to hold a residency at a Cleveland hospital. He was offered a job at that hospital after his residency and there, he worked as a dentist that did “basically everything you can think of” like implants, surgeries and more.

He worked in Cleveland for seven years before deciding to move to Florida last year with his family that includes two daughters. Much like Zhang, moving to Florida from a northern state that experienced harsher winters brought with it a welcome change, he said.

“When I was looking for somewhere to work, I actually went to their website and saw that they had great reviews,” Erminy said. “That was very appealing to me and then during the interviews I had here, I realized this was the place I wanted to be. They were very comfortable and friendly and I fell in love with everything about the clinic, what they were doing, how they treated patients...it was perfect.”

Erminy is just days into his Island career and Zhang is just a few weeks into it, but both new doctors are excited to serve Fleming Island and Clay County.

“The more we can do here, the better we can serve them,” Green said. “That’s what we’re all about and I think our two newest doctors demonstrate that.”