Hi there! I’m Dr. Jonathan Nutt. I also go by “Dr. J." I’m a board-certified general dentist and the proud founder of Integrity Dental in Yarmouth, Maine. Most importantly, I’m your dentist!
Maybe you’re an existing patient, or perhaps you’re new to our practice. Either way, I’d like to take the opportunity to share with you a little more about myself!
Let's Go Way Back . . .
Okay, maybe not that far back! But how could I resist sharing this photo?!
Who would've thought this kid enjoying cake just a little too much would one day turn out to be your dentist?!
About Me
I was born in Massachusetts and grew up in the beautiful little town of Londonderry, New Hampshire.
I'm very lucky to have a wonderful family, including my mom, dad and three siblings.
Growing up with a bigger family was a lot of fun, and to this day always keeps things exciting!
I’m very proud of my family and where I come from.
I learned from my parents and grandparents the value of hard work and perseverance.
I noticed how each generation before me worked as hard as they could and faced struggles I can only begin to imagine, not just to build a better life for themselves but for their family and future generations.
I realize that I wouldn’t be where I am today if it hadn’t been for them.
My mom's father had to leave school in 6th grade to help support his siblings. He worked as a carpenter and mason. He later served in World War II and was never the same after he returned home.
Her mother had to leave school in 8th grade, also to support her siblings. She worked making wooden shoe heels at a mill in Lawrence, Massachusetts.
They both lived through The Great Depression, and it wasn’t until my grandmother turned 50 that she finally earned her high school diploma.
My dad's father was a truck driver. He was a proud Marine and served during the Korean War.
His mother was a housekeeper at a local hospital while also raising her 6 children.
I watched my own mom and dad always work hard to provide for my siblings and I, and only as an adult can I now appreciate just how much they sacrificed.
All this to say that I feel incredibly lucky to be where I am today, and to have had the opportunity to pursue my own dream thanks to all those before me who made it possible.
So What Made Me Want to Be a Dentist?
I knew from a very young age that I wanted to be a dentist. I think I was in either the 3rd or 4th grade at the time.
I loved going to my dentist, Dr. Wingate, and seeing my hygienist. I’m proud to say that I’ve never had a cavity, so I was lucky enough that I only needed to go every 6 months for my regular checkups and cleanings.
Dr. Wingate and his team were amazing, and I always thought that their office was just right. It was a smaller office with maybe three or four treatment rooms and a small team of maybe four or five people.
I loved looking at the cross-stitched art framed on the wall that read “Only floss the teeth you want to keep.” Dr. Wingate’s wife’s initials were stitched at the bottom corner.
I loved this little cutout from a calendar that hung in my hygienist's room. It was a picture of maybe 20 or so chocolate labs (my favorite dog breed) with the caption “Assorted Chocolates.” That always made me smile!
I especially loved playing with this little puppet of a dog with oversized plastic teeth that I could brush with an oversized toy toothbrush while I waited during a family member’s visit.
Oddly enough, I also really liked the smell of the office. I always thought it smelled really clean!
As I write this, I realize that I probably sound a little funny! How many people, let alone children, actually like going to the dentist?!
As I reflect on this, I realize that the main reason I loved going to the dentist then, and still do now, is because of the amazing dental experiences I had growing up.
This taught me a thing or two about how important it is to treat people the right way and make them feel comfortable at the dentist. Do that, and they’re more likely to want to come back.
Those earliest experiences at Dr. Wingate’s office stayed with me and served as a source of inspiration as I grew older and got closer and closer to achieving my dream of becoming a dentist and having my own practice.
In many ways, I’ve modeled my own practice after Dr. Wingate’s. Although the dental landscape has changed a lot since my earlier years going to the dentist, with dental offices getting bigger and bigger and dental care less and less personal, my idea of what a great dental office should look like hasn’t changed.
I’m glad that I got to have the dental experience I did growing up, and I hope to be able to offer a very similar experience to my own patients for years to come.
College
Flash forward to my early twenties when I attended Rivier University (then Rivier College) in Nashua, New Hampshire.
I spent four years earning my Bachelor of Science in Biology, and graduated in 2012.
While in college, I organized a senior research project where I studied the effects that different toothpastes had on the germs in our mouths.
It probably wasn’t the most well-designed study and I had a lot of help from faculty, but it was a lot of fun and taught me a lot about the importance of research and gathering evidence to support what we do.
Little did I know just how important this would be when I one day practiced evidence-based dentistry.
Mission Trip to Jacsonville, Haiti
I took a year off after college to work on my application to dental school while saving some money in preparation for dental school.
During this time, I went on a mission trip to Haiti with my younger sister, Alie, and a team of biology students.
We worked together to test sources of drinking water to help make sure they were safe for the families who lived in those communities.
My trip to Haiti was the first time I’d ever left the U.S., or New England for that matter. It was extremely eye-opening and gave me some perspective on life.
Most of all, just how lucky we are to have access to quality healthcare.
Even something as incredible as being able to see a dentist to keep our smiles healthy and free from pain is often taken for granted in our country.
Let’s be honest - when’s the last time any of us actually looked forward to a healthcare visit or thanked our doctor or dentist for helping to keep us healthy?
I can’t tell you how often I have someone tell me “I hate the dentist!”
I wish everyone had the opportunity to travel to a third world country, if only to see just how lucky we all really are.
I feel very fortunate to have had this opportunity myself, and I think it helps me to better appreciate what really matters in life.
Dental School
In late 2013, I was accepted to the University of New England College of Dental Medicine in Portland, Maine after anxiously waiting to hear back on the results of my application and interview.
I was about to join the second ever class of students in the history of the U.N.E. College of Dental Medicine.
Needless to say it was an incredibly exciting moment and a huge relief.
I remember seeing my whole future flash before my eyes. It was finally happening! I was actually going to dental school! It was truly a dream come true!
I moved to Portland in early August 2014, and walked onto the U.N.E. campus just a few weeks later.
In what seemed like no time at all, I was already practicing “drilling” plastic teeth on a mannequin.
Three years flew by and I was already starting to see my very first patients in the Oral Health Center clinic and on externship at Mid-State Community Health Center in Bristol, New Hampshire.
While at UNE, I had the privilege of taking part in the Old Port Fest (who remembers that?!), the Maine Deaf Culture Festival on Mackworth Island, the Special Olympics Special Smiles programs in Orono and Vermont, Give Kids A Smile Day in Ellsworth, and various other community outreach programs through local schools and the Greater Portland Y.M.C.A.
I’m also proud to say that I helped organize UNE’s first ever Miles for Smiles 5K and served as the co-founder and first President of UNE’s Aesthetic Dentistry Organization.
I graduated in May 2018 and moved back to New Hampshire to start my career in dentistry.
I wanted to be closer to my family, who I really missed.
I was torn since I’d also come to really love Maine, and not to mention my incredible other half who I’d met while in school, who grew up in Maine and was still living in Portland.
I worked in New Hampshire for about two and a half years, but during that time I spent at least every other weekend back in Maine!
How Integrity Dental Came to Be
The world abruptly changed around March 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic was causing global panic, and caused all of us to look at our lives in an entirely new light.
Like most people, I was unable to work for a period of time, but that time allowed me to reflect on my own life and career and which direction I wanted to go.
It was during this time that I realized what I really wanted was to start my own dental practice, back in southern Maine, and practice dentistry in my own way.
My dream had always been to have a practice where I could offer affordable, high quality dental care in a relaxed and comfortable setting.
I decided to make that dream a reality, and began looking into different options.
During my search for opportunities around Maine, I came across a wonderful little office in Yarmouth.
It had previously been owned by another dentist who planned to open during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic but decided against it.
This office was just the right size and exactly what I’d always envisioned for myself. It was also located in the most wonderful little community.
Here I was with this incredible opportunity to purchase an existing dental office, albeit without any patients, and build my dream practice from the ground up.
It was hard to say no. So, after a lot of thought, I decided to say yes!
I founded Integrity Dental in December 2020 and happily welcomed our very first patients in January 2021.
One of my main goals through Integrity Dental has been to bring back the personal and quality touch that I feel all patients deserve from their dental experience, but unfortunately seems to have been lost somewhere along the way.
Two years have already flown by, and what an incredible journey it’s already been!
I’m extremely grateful for this opportunity and proud of all of the progress Integrity Dental has made so far.
Most importantly, I’m truly looking forward to continuing to build up our little practice even more so we can continue providing our patients with an exceptional dental experience for many years to come!
~ Dr. Jonathan Nutt / "Dr. J"
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