Meet Your Gilbert, Arizona Dentists!

Dr. Justin Frost

I grew up in Mesa, AZ. I come from a family filled with dental professionals. My dad is an endodontist, my uncle is an orthodontist, my grandfather was a general dentist with his office right across the street from my high school. I have an older brother who practices general dentistry in Idaho and a younger brother in dental school at Midwestern university in Glendale.

 

I went to college and received a bachelor’s degree in Idaho. I went to an accelerated dental school program: the University of the Pacific in San Francisco. I graduated from UOP June 2022. I Have been married to my wife Annika Safsten for 7 years. We have one daughter, Lucy, who is five years old. We have two dogs: a Cockapoo named Cozy who is 2 years old and an Australian Shepherd named Ollie who is one year old. I love to watch movies with my wife and daughter, go fishing at a river, work on computers, or play some videogames in my free time.

 

I love nerdy things including the science stuff behind dentistry and medicine. I really enjoy teaching and love to teach my patients about how teeth work any chance that I get. I believe all patients have the capacity to understand, and the right to know how teeth work. I believe patients should be able to explain why treatment was recommended and necessary before they get it done. I believe people with anxiety should be accommodated and cared for with empathy so they can get the care for their teeth that they need. I am a friend/ally to ALL and love living by the golden rule to treat people as I wish to be treated. Finally, my principal mission as a dentist is giving high quality, outstanding, and lasting work to my patients.

Dr. Matthew Gotaas

Dr. Gotaas was born and raised in Alberta, Canada. He studied physiology and economics at the University of Alberta before moving to Southern California for dental school at Loma Linda University. It was at Loma Linda University where Dr. Gotaas met his wife. Together, they moved to the valley in 2024 and are happy to call Arizona home. Dr. Gotaas keeps up to date on all current dental technology and techniques through a commitment to continuing education. He is an associate fellow of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry as well as a member of both the American and Arizona Dental Associations. Outside of the office, Dr. Gotaas enjoys spending time with his family, walking his dogs, travelling, golfing, watching sports and trying new restaurants.

In Loving Memory of Dr. Spencer Torgerson

Dr. Spencer Torgerson brought a unique perspective to dentistry that came from his years of experience in other professions. Before finding his passion in the dental field, he built custom homes for a number of years in the East Valley. The experience he gained being able to see a project from an idea all the way through to completion was a valuable asset to practicing dentistry. He was able to relate with patients on a personal level across a variety of backgrounds.

 

Dr. Torgerson’s desire to pursue a career change to dentistry was fueled by a combination of personal medical issues and lack of empathetic doctors, as well as a desire to follow in his grandfather’s example as a selfless physician. He always remembered a line from a poem which his grandfather wrote that was hanging in his medical office: “Help me that I may listen patiently, diagnose carefully, prescribe conscientiously, and follow through faithfully.”

 

Dr. T (as he was affectionately called by his patients) earned his Doctor of Dental Medicine degree from the University of Louisville. He was an active member of the American Dental Association. He loved to learn and stay on the cutting edge of technology. He has developed and improved several advancements in the dental field and held two patents on dental devices. Nothing gave Dr. T more joy than being able to help patients completely change their lives through improving when their oral health has been improved.

 

Outside of the dental office, Dr. T enjoyed spending time with family and friends, golfing, being outdoors, woodworking, and remodel projects. He was pretty handy and there were few things he couldn’t fix or repair.