Smiling wasn't always easy for Izabela (lzzy) Fisher. Difficult childhood experiences with dentists led to a deep fear that kept her away from dental care for years, leaving her feeling self-conscious about her smile.
“Even at my wedding, I didn’t want to smile,” recalls the 50-year-old Allentown woman. “I had suffered a psychological trauma from my early experience at the dentist.”
Born in Poland, Izzy developed this near-crippling fear in early life brought on by the physical pain and emotional abuse she often received as a patient. This worsened as she aged as did the terrible condition of her teeth.
“I panicked and cried when I tried to call to make an appointment,” she says, her anxiety still evident as she told her story. Her oral health thus suffered the consequences of this neglect.
That changed when she moved to the Lehigh Valley from New York and found family dentist John Salivonchik, DMD, PC, in Coplay, who she grew to trust as he provided basic preventive care. Because she needed much more extensive dental work, he referred Izzy to Wayne Saunders, DMD, at St. Luke’s Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery (OMS) in 2021. The practice, which specializes in a wide range of oral and facial surgeries at locations throughout the Greater Lehigh Valley, was voted Best Oral Surgeon by Morning Call readers in 2025.
With Dr. Saunders, she felt calm, cared for and understood as he treated her with kindness from the moment she met him. He assessed her dental health and offered Izzy several treatment options for her to consider.
She chose full arch dental implants, a revolutionary solution that restores an entire arch of teeth using as few as four or five strategically placed implants. During Izzy’s full-mouth restoration, Dr. Saunders removed her teeth and replaced them with natural-looking, permanent dental implants
This was life changing for Izzy, who today beams brightly from ear to ear as she praises Dr. Saunders.
“He boosted my confidence immediately when he gave me a new smile. I felt so good as his patient that I joined the practice.”
Izzy’s positive experience is a testament to St. Luke’s overall excellence. This past fall, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ranked St. Luke’s #1 – ahead of Houston Methodist and Mayo Clinic, two of the nation’s most prestigious institutions – as the nation’s top health system for quality, safety, and patient experience. This objective recognition, based on public data reported to the government, reaffirms St. Luke’s preeminent position among the leading health systems in the country.
Today, as a dental assistant at St. Luke’s OMS, Izzy draws on her own experiences, advising patients who have questions or concerns about their upcoming treatment or suffer the same dental phobia she’s still overcoming from. Sharing her story with its happy outcome always brings a smile, something that was a long time coming and for which she is overwhelmingly grateful.
After celebrating her birthday in June, Izzy looks ahead to finally conquering her own fear as she helps others do the same.
“I’m so grateful to Dr. Saunders for his compassionate care and expertise,” she says, her sparkling teeth a beacon of hope for patients who are just beginning their own journey toward their new smile at St. Luke’s OMS.
