Welcome to the Dental Board of California

Member Profiles

Board President, Lewis Turchi, DDS

Lewis Turchi, D.D.S., was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in July 2005 to the Dental Board of California. He is a graduate of the Arthur A. Dugoni, School of Dentistry, University of Pacific where three of his children are also alumni. He is a member of the American Dental Association, California Dental Association, Western Los Angeles Dental Society, Federation Dentale International, International College of Dentists, Pierre Fauchard Academy, National Academy of Practice, Xi Psi Phi, American College of Dentists, and California Dental Foundation. Dr. Turchi served as President of Western-Los Angeles Dental Society, President of the California Dental Association, and 13th District Trustee to the American Dental Association. (Term: 1/05 through 1/09)

Board Vice President, VACANT


Board Secretary, Suzanne McCormick, DDS

Suzanne McCormick, DDS, was appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger in January 2006 to the Dental Board of California. She is an Oral and Maxillofacial surgeon in private practice who is an active staff member at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside, California. She has been affiliated with many hospitals including, but not limited to, Health North Medical Center, Loma Linda University Medical Center, Riverside Medical Center, Metropolitan Medical Center, St. Vincent's Hospital and Medical Center, and New York University Medical Center. Dr. McCormick has served as an Assistant Professor for various academic institutions in New York and California, then as Professor and Chair of the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Loma Linda University. She has lectured nationally and internationally and has authored numerous scientific publications on bone regeneration. She is a currently a member of the following professional organizations: California Dental Association, American Dental Association; the San Diego County Dental Association, American Dental Association; Prytanean Honor Society, University of California, Berkeley; American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association; American Dental Society of Anesthesiology; American Association of Women Dentists; Alumni Association of Student Clinicians of the American Dental Association; Delta Sigma Delta, American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons; International Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons; the International Craniofacial Society, and has served on the Continuing Education Committee for both the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons and the California Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. She holds fellowship in the Omicron Kappa Upislon Honor Society, the Academy of Dentistry International and has served as Trustee from District I, of the Board of Directors, International College of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons.(Term: 1/06 through 1/10)

Luis Dominicis, DDS
Luis R. Dominicis, DDS, was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in November 2005 to the Dental Board of California. Dr. Dominicis is a general dentist in private practice in the City of Downey, California since 1993. He also serves as the Pro-bono Dental Director for the Firebaugh Children's Free Dental Clinic which provides gratuitous dental treatment to indigent and poor children in the Southeast area of Los Angeles County. Dr. Dominicis is the President of Los Angeles Dental Society, Past President of the Latin American Dental Association; he has also served in various Councils in the California Dental Association such as Council on Legislative Affairs, Council on Community Health and in the Reference Committee for the House of Delegates. Dr. Dominicis is presently a member of the Dental Forum, which represents the ethnic dental societies in California. Dr. Dominicis is married to Sonia and together they have 5 children. (Term:1/04 through 1/08)

Stephen Casagrande, DDS
Stephen Casagrande, DDS, was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in January 2006 to the Dental Board of California. Dr. Casagrande has been a dentist in private practice since 1974. He was previously the director of the Sacramento District Dental Society, a past member of the peer review committee, an advisor to the Sacramento City College Dental Hygiene Program Advisory Board Member to Hi-Tech Institute, a Proprietary School for Dental Assistants. Dr. Casagrande is a member of the American Dental Association, California Dental Association, and Sacramento District Dental Society. (Term 1/06 through 1/10)

Michael Lew, DDS
Michael W. Lew, DMD, FAGD, was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in January 2006 to the Dental Board of California. Dr. Lew has been a dentist in private practice since 1986. He has served as President of the Marin County Dental Society, Trustee for the California Dental Association, and as a member of the Examination Committee for the prestigious Academy of General Dentist. Dr. Lew is a member of the American Dental Association, the American College of Dentist, the California Dental Association, the International Congress of Oral Implantologist, the Academy of Cosmetic and Adhesive Dentist and the Academy of General Dentist. He is married to Vivian and has three children. His hobbies include reading history, watching movies, and fishing. (Term: 1/06 through 1/10)

Joyce Yale, RDH
Joyce Yale, RDH, was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in February 2006 to the Dental Board of California. She is from Chicago, graduated from Northwestern University School of Dentistry, Department of Dental Hygiene, in 1961. She joined ADHA then and is retired. She is divorced with one daughter, lives in Hermosa Beach, and has been the editor of the Newsletters for both Los Angeles and South Bay Dental Hygienists Societies for more than 10 years. She has 5 patents for dental devices and manufactures one of them: the ProTracker, which cleans the tracks of the PeriPro 8-track dental x-ray developing machine. (Term: 2/06 through 2/10)

Harriet Seldin, DMD, MBA
Harriet Seldin, DMD, MBA was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in August 2005 to the Dental Board of California. Dr. Seldin is a member and past Chair of the County of San Diego's Health Services Advisory Board, and Chair of the Professional Advisory Committee of Healthy San Diego. A past-president of the American Association of Dental Editors, Dr. Seldin is the editor for the Southern California Section of the American College of Dentists. Dr. Seldin has a private general dental practice in San Diego. She is a past-delegate to the American Dental Association, a past-councilmember (Dental Care) of the California Dental Association, and a past-president of the San Diego County Dental Society. She also serves on the Board of the San Diego Dental Health Foundation, and on the Advisory Board for Palomar College's Dental Assisting Program. (Term: 8/05 through 1/09)

William Baker
Bill Baker was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in July 2006 to the California Dental Board and the Committee on Dental Auxiliaries for the Board of Dental Examiners. From March 2005 to January 1, 2007 he served as a member and President of the Board of Directors of the West Basin Municipal Water District. Prior to that he served for 35 years as a member of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, retiring as a Division Chief. He holds Masters Degrees in Criminal Justice and Public Communications from California State University Los Angeles and Pepperdine University respectively. (Term: 1/06 through 1/10)

John Bettinger, DDS
Dr. Bettinger was appointed to the Dental Board of California by Governor Schwarzenegger in February 2007. He graduated from the first class of Dentistry at the new UCLA School of Dentistry in 1968. He was a Commissioned Officer on active duty in the United States Public Health Service, Division of Indian Health providing dental care for American Indians from 1968 to 1970. He returned to the Los Angeles area in 1970 and began the private practice of dentistry while serving as a faculty member at the UCLA School of Dentistry. Dr. Bettinger is a member of the American Dental Association, California Dental Association and Western Los Angeles Dental Society. He is a Life Member with Fellowship status in the Academy of General Dentistry. He served on the Western Los Angeles Dental Society Peer Review Committee for 10 years, and on the Diversion Evaluation Committee of the Dental Board for 2 years. Dr. Bettinger has been affiliated with Saint John's Hospital and the UCLA/Santa Monica Hospital and Health Care Center (formally the Santa Monica Hospital) and has provided charity dental services to children for over 35 years. Dr. Bettinger is married with three children and three granddaughters. (Term Expires: January 1, 2011)

Larry Sheingold
Larry Sheingold was a staff member in the California State Legislature for 37 years. During that time, he helped enact a wide variety of legislative reforms, advised Assembly Speakers and Senate President Pro Tems and served on the Executive Committee for the National Conference of State Legislatures.
He began working for Assembly Majority Consultants in 1971 for Assembly Speakers Bob Moretti and Leo McCarthy. He served as press director and legislative director.  In 1980, he joined the staff of Senator Henry J. Mello as Assistant to the Senate Majority Whip and Mello's staff member to the Senate Rules Committee where he researched the background of gubernatorial appointees facing Senate confirmation, helped lay the ground work for the televising of Senate floor sessions and committees meetings to the public and assisted in the development and adoption of legislative reforms regarding California housing elements, restoration of California urban waterfronts, improvements in the California Coastal Act and conversion of Fort Ord from a military base to the home of California State University at Monterey Bay. 
In 1996, Sheingold joined the staff of Senator Jim Costa, helping him win approval of legislation to assist local school districts deal with state regulations, and to gain equalization funding for rural special education services and county offices of education.  He also assisted Senator Costa in successful efforts to help protect abused children, including legislation to improve child abuse prevention training and to fund programs to prevent child abduction and assist clinics serving runaway and battered children.  In addition, Sheingold served as Senator Costa's staff member to the National Conference of State legislatures during the Senator's four-year tenure as an NCSL officer of the organization representing America's elected legislators and legislative staff.  In 2002, Sheingold joined the Staff of Senator Betty Karnette and in that capacity assisted her with formulation of her legislative packages and with press and speech writing and served as her staff member for the National Conference of State Legislatures.  Two years later, during his service with Senator Karnette, he was elected to serve on the NCSL Executive Committee, becoming one of only 19 legislative staff members nationwide at that time to serve in that position. In 2005, he joined the staff of Senate President Pro Tempore Don Perata and in that capacity served as a policy advisor. He left the Legislature in December, 2006.
(Term Expires: January 1, 2010)