Brunswick Orthodontics celebrates opening new space with ribbon-cutting ceremony

BRUNSWICK — Brunswick Orthodontics celebrated a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new physical space on Thursday. Dr. Milton Ntragatakis is a pediatric dentist who started Brunswick KiDDS at 1824 Pearl Road in 2010. He came to the area after Tim Smith, who was the economic development director for the city, said Brunswick is a great community. "I love to work with my hands and make a difference," Ntragatakis said. "I found dentistry the most rewarding for my skill set. I had my first rotation in the pediatric clinic of Case Western (Reserve) University, and I fell in love with the dynamic, short appointments, and how much the kids expressed their gratitude immediately following the appointment." In 2021, Advanced Dentistry opened next door to service the parents of the children they were seeing on the pediatric side, he said. That led to the need for orthodontics. "We started doing orthodontics of kids only to find out the parents were also asking, 'Can you also take care of us?'" Ntragatakis said. "That led to us developing a plan for Brunswick Orthodontics so that can treat both kids and adults." Dr. Zachary Lawrence is the first full-time orthodontist at Brunswick Orthodontics. He is a fourth-generation dentist who spent time in his dad's practice when he was growing up. "I really liked that in orthodontics, I could have a connection with my patients where I got to know them," he said. "I got to understand their journey and meet them where they were. A lot of times these young adolescents struggle with confidence and don't want to smile, and by the end of treatment, they are a completely different person." Lawrence was working at another location part-time and building his startup practice when he connected with Ntragatakis. "When Dr. Milton (Ntragatakis) and I met, there was just such a strong synergy," he said. "He helped open my eyes to what the possibilities were on how beautiful a marriage between a pediatric dental office and an orthodontic office could be for supporting patients and the community and really servicing all of their needs." Lawrence was brought on in September 2023, and Brunswick Orthodontics opened its own physical space at 1818 Pearl Road, next to Brunswick KiDDS and Advanced Dentistry, in April. "Positive energy is a very important influence in my life, and you can just feel it when you walk in the door here," he said. "It made me gravitate so much here that I actually closed my startup office on the east side and committed full-time here in Brunswick, and I've never looked back." Brunswick Orthodontics is a full-time orthodontics office that offers services including braces, clear aligners and expanders. Lawrence said it is a holistic airway-focused practice. "We want to create beautiful smiles for our patients, but we also care about their systemic health," he said. "We have a big emphasis on seeing patients at a younger age and doing what we call early treatment where we're assessing how well patients can breathe and sleep. It's helping them to grow and thrive and then turning that into beautiful smiles at the end." Ntragatakis said his goal for the expansion is to continue to serve the community and to do it really well. "It's not about the numbers," he said. "It's about the quality of care. It's not about how much we will grow. It's about how well we can do what we can do. I have gained more in the last 15 years from the community than I have possibly given back, so I'm really grateful to be here." Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.