Meet our Team
Our aim is to provide an exceptional dental experience each and every time you walk through our door, and that begins with our incredibly talented and compassionate team.
Have questions about your visit or financing options? Nervous about seeing the dentist? Overwhelmed and not sure where to begin?
Our team is here to walk you through every step!
Get to know us below….
Justin Padgett
Office Manager
Day-to-day, you’ll find Justin tending to the daily office operations and assisting where needed. While you may not always see him at the front desk, he enjoys contributing behind the scenes and making sure that Sugarloaf Smiles is staying connected with our patients. Although being new the office, management, operations and providing proper support is not. Before joining our team, Justin was an operations support manager for another family Practice for 6 years. In his spare time, Justin enjoys attempting and mastering home renovations and quality time with friends. He values trust, family environments and being a support to those in need.
Karen Fox
Insurance Expert
Karen is a graduate of Alterius College for dental assisting. After several years working in the field Karen desired to learn more than just the back office, she was eager to learn as much as she could about the dental field. She studied the in’s and out’s of the business office with a special focus on insurance. Karen is now what some may refer to as an insurance specialist. In her spare time, Karen enjoys spending quality time with her husband and going fishing
Janet Ruddick
RDH
Janet graduated from Clayton State University with an associate of Applied Science in dental hygiene in 2002. This is Janet’s second career following a 28 year career in nursing. She enjoys the family atmosphere of our office and likes establishing relationships with patients that build trust and respect.
Kathy Fraser
RDH
Hello from Kathy Fraser. She has been a local hygienist for over 25 years. She is very passionate about caring for her patients in a comforting, compassionate, and educational way. She resides in Gainesville Georgia with her husband and two children.
Lidia Valero
Lead Dental Assistant
Lidia graduated from Lanier Tech. in 2000. She has worked 12 years in general and 5 years in pediatric hospital sedation. Lidia enjoys expanding her knowledge and learning new procedures that benefit our patients. But, most of all keeping a family atmosphere.
Kathy Fripps
Scheduling Coordinator
Hello, my name is Kathy and I am the Hygiene Coordinator at Sugarloaf Smiles. I love the dental field, and I work with a wonderful group of people. After attending Georgia State University to study nursing, I left college, and the country, and lived in Dubai, UAE for ten years. I came back home and decided to go into the dental field and attended the Dental Staff School for dental assisting. I am back in college part-time to complete my degree in Health Administration. I am a extrovert and a “people person”. I love working with, and helping, people and the daily interaction with the public. I love to travel, ride my bike, swim and paint, as I am an artist. I enjoy spending time with my children, my mother and family.
