About Our Doctors

Dr. John Gerstenmaier

John.jpgDr. John Gerstenmaier is a Northeast Ohio native. He graduated from Cuyahoga Falls High School, received his bachelor’s degree from Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) and attended Northwestern University Dental School.

After graduating from Northwestern, Dr. John worked for the Indian Health Service – a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services agency that provides healthcare to Native American and Alaskan Native peoples. During this period, he began to make connections that would shape the foundations for his own practice.

After spending two years treating children in the Indian Health Service, Dr. John decided the time had come for him to pursue further education on treating children. He completed a two-year CWRU pediatric dentistry program. In 1975, he founded Gerstenmaier Pediatric Dentistry to provide dental care to children, adolescents, families and adults with special needs throughout Northeast Ohio.

Dr. John was named Ohio Dental Association’s Distinguished Dentist of 2005. He has maintained membership in a number of prominent organizations, including: the American Dental Association, American College of Dentists, Academy of Dentistry for the Handicapped, Pierre Fauchard Academy, International College of Dentists and the Ohio Dental Association. He also served as chairman of the Ohio Dental Association Foundation and the Steering Committee of Dental Options. Dr. John is the Director of the Pediatric Dentistry Division of Akron Children’s Hospital.

Dr. John volunteers with the Beacon Journal Charity Fund to give back to the community. He enjoys golf, sailing and old cars. Now joined by his son, Dr. Jack Gerstenmaier, Dr. John and his team are committed to giving children positive dental experiences from day one.

Dr. Jack Gerstenmaier

Jack.jpgJack H. Gerstenmaier graduated from Walsh Jesuit High School in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. After completing his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, he began working for SRU Biosystems, Inc. – a global provider of label-free detection tools used in drug discovery and life sciences research. But after four and a half years, he began to feel the need for something more meaningful.

Jack previously helped his father, Dr. John Gerstenmaier, on the weekends as a dental assistant. He quickly realized there had to be something satisfying for his father to be practicing for so long. Influenced by the level of satisfaction he saw his father receive from working with patients, Jack knew he wanted more than just a job – he wanted an opportunity to change lives.

Jack returned to his father’s practice, not as a dental assistant like when he was younger, but as an equal. And the transition into this new partnership was surprisingly smooth – a father and son sharing ideas and coming up with the best solution for each patient, together.

Jack has been heavily involved in numerous dentistry-oriented research projects throughout his academic and professional careers. Jack has also participated in several community-focused initiatives. From 2010 to 2012, he served as a Pediatric Dental Resident providing dental care on the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile. During that same time, he provided dental screenings through the Head Start Outreach Program. In June 2008 and 2009, Jack volunteered for the Special Smiles Program, in which he provided oral examinations to athletes participating in the Special Olympics.

In October 2008, Jack was an ASDA representative in the “Boo Bag” Project, in which he presented dental-friendly gift bags to children in Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital. He has also been a participant in the annual Give Kids A Smile Day event from 2009 to 2012.

Jack received his Certificate in Pediatric Dentistry and Doctor of Dental Medicine degree from the School of Dental Medicine at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) in Cleveland, Ohio, where he served as a Dental Simulation Teaching Assistant. He also served as a Pediatric Dental Resident and Chief Resident at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital at CWRU.