Dan Whitney, DDS
Oral Surgeon
Dan Whitney, DDS,
Oral Surgeon
Dr. Dan Whitney graduated from Brigham Young University in
2004. He then attended the University of Iowa, School of
Dentistry where he received his training and graduated with
his dental degree in 2008. He completed a four-year surgical
residency in oral and maxillofacial surgery at the University
of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, Iowa in 2012. Dr.
Daniel Whitney joined his father, Dr. Steven Whitney, at
Northern Montana Oral Surgery in the summer of 2012. Dr.
Steven Whitney has since retired, but Dr. Dan Whitney
carries on the family connection. Being raised as a military
dependent, Dr. Whitney lived many places while growing up. He
met the love of his life while working on his undergraduate
studies at BYU. They were married and, after finishing their
studies at BYU, moved to the Midwest. There they spent eight
years in Iowa City, Iowa to study dentistry and oral surgery.
Upon completion of his surgical training, they decided to move
closer to their extended family roots in the West. They have
settled into life in Great Falls, and are now happy to call it
home. Dr. Whitney is a member of the American Dental
Association (ADA), American Association of Oral and
Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS), the American Dental Society of
Anesthesiology (ADSA) and the International Association of
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (IAOMS). He is a diplomate of
the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (ABOMS).
Dr. Whitney is very active in his church and with community
service. His interests are in spending time with his wife and
7 daughters. They enjoy music, sports, reading, and spending
time in the great outdoors.
Trent Clifton, DMD, MD
Oral Surgeon
Trent Clifton, DMD, MD,
Oral Surgeon
Dr. Trent Clifton is from Utah, where he learned to love the
outdoors. He met his wife, Emily, while working on her dad’s
farm; they have seven kids. Dr. Clifton has worked with the Deaf
and Hard of Hearing community for over two decades, including
serving a mission for his church for two years in California
speaking American Sign Language. Dr. Clifton graduated
with a BS in Biology from BYU and then attended the Arizona
School of Dentistry and Oral Health, where he earned his DMD.
He and his family then moved to Lexington, Kentucky, where he
graduated from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine
with an MD and where he finished his oral and maxillofacial
surgery residency. Dr. Clifton enjoys treating children
and uses the full scope of his training to alleviate their
anxieties. He is experienced in replacing missing teeth with
implant-supported dentures. In addition to routine
dentoalveolar surgery and dental implants, he has experience
treating patients with temporomandibular joint dysfunction, as
well as orthognathic surgery, facial trauma, and skin
cancer. When he’s not in the office or treating
patients, Dr. Clifton can be found building or renovating
something, gardening, camping, and photographing the small
details of life.
Derrick Zech, DDS, FACS
Oral Surgeon
Derrick Zech, DDS, FACS,
Oral Surgeon
He joined NMOS after having completed a twelve-year active duty career
in the United States Air Force as an oral surgeon, completing
his service as Lieutenant Colonel. During his career in the
Air Force, he served in multiple locations, including in
northern Japan in a joint US-Japanese Airbase. He also had the
opportunity to serve for two years in the San Antonio Military
Medical Center as a staff surgeon, where he trained oral
surgery residents as well as general dentists. Dr. Zech
attended Creighton University where he earned his dental
degree. After dental school, he joined the United States Air
Force, completed a one-year residency in general dentistry,
and practiced as a general dentist for three years before he
went back to residency to become an Oral and Maxillofacial
Surgeon at the University of Texas Health Science Center in
Houston. During his residency, he had the opportunity to
work at the busiest trauma center in the nation, experience
ablative and reconstructive difficulties from a busy head and
neck cancer center, as well as be trained in one of the
busiest jaw corrective centers in the nation. His experiences
during residency instilled in him a love and desire to serve
his patients in all aspects of oral surgery including
dentoalveolar surgery, implant reconstruction, facial trauma,
obstructive sleep apnea, corrective jaw surgery,
temporomandibular joint dysfunction, and pathology. Dr.
Zech grew up in a small town in southern Idaho. After high
school, he served a two-year mission for his church in
Guatemala, where he learned Spanish and gained a love for the
Latin community. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in
Spanish, Music, and Zoology from Brigham Young
University. Dr. Zech and his wife have four children and
love living in the mountain west and being a part of the Great
Falls community. His hobbies include spending time with
family, cycling, reading, singing and listening to music,
antique cars, serving in church, and woodworking. He is often
found attending his kids’ soccer games, gymnastic events, and
band and choir concerts. Through his years of community
service and collaboration with other specialties, he has been
awarded the title of Fellow in the American College of
Surgeons. Fellows are board-certified surgeons whose
education, training, professional qualifications, surgical
competence, and ethical conduct are reviewed and consistent
with the high standards of the American College of Surgeons.
Not all surgeons are accepted as Fellows, and he is the only
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon in Montana with this
achievement.
