Family of dentists has good reason to smile

They grew up in the dental office their parents built, just blocks away from the place they called home.

And so you might say that Mark and Matt and Miles and Marty and Megan were destined to become dentists, to one day run the practice that their parents, Drs. Hugh and Anne Mazzawi, started more than 40 years ago.

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Vino Wong/Staff Photographer

When the Mazzawi family wants to talk about teeth, members don’t have to go far. All are dentists. Front row: Mark Mazzawi (left), Anne Mazzawi and Megan Mazzawi. Back row: Cousin Darin Wasileski, Hugh Mazzawi, Matt Mazzawi and Marty Mazzawi. The oldest son, Michael, died in a car accident in 1994 and another son, Miles, has his own practice.

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Vino Wong/Staff Photographer

Matt Mazzawi was the second sibling to graduate from dental school. Growing up, he and his brothers and sister worked in the family’s practice so when it came time for dental school, they already knew the terminology.

MEET THE GROUP

• Hugh, 65, and Anne Mazzawi, 62, retired.

SONS

• Mark, 37. Graduated from the University of Georgia in 1993 with a bachelor of science degree in zoology; dental school in 1997. Married to Virginia. Has one daughter, Maggie.

• Matt, 35. After three years at Emory, he got an early acceptance to dental school and graduated in 1998. Married to Leigh Anne; three children, Carter, Elle, Lauren.

• Miles, 33. Graduated from UGA with a degree in microbiology in 1997; dental school in 2001. Single.

• Marty, 31. Graduated from UGA with a degree in microbiology in 1998; dental degree in 2003. Married to Zoe; has four children, Hollis, Hoake, Harper and Hugh.

DAUGHTER

• Megan, 28. Graduated from UGA with a degree in biology in 2003; dental school in 2007. Single.

COUSIN

• Darin Wasileski, 32. Graduated from UGA with a degree in microbiology; dental school in 2002. Single.

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Hugh Mazzawi opened the practice in 1967, the year he graduated from Emory’s dental school, married Anne and settled in Snellville.

Anne Mazzawi graduated two years later.

The couple talked about having a dozen children, but Anne Mazzawi said, “luckily we stopped at a half dozen.”

They didn’t set out to raise six dentists. They did, however, nudge each of their children and nephew Darin Wasileski in that direction.

“I have a sister who is a physician and a brother-in-law,” said Anne Mazzawi. “We thought dentistry was better for family life because you have more control over your time.”

As the children grew up, she said, they encouraged them to have after-school jobs. They tried their hands at typical teenage labor such as bagging groceries, waiting tables and doing yard work but discovered their work schedules interfered with family vacations and extracurricular activities — including basketball, which they and their mother played at South Gwinnett High School.

It didn’t take long for them to see the advantages of working for their parents.

Initially, said Anne, it was “sort of forced labor,” custodial duties such as cleaning toilets and vacuuming the floor on Saturdays. In middle school, they graduated to working the front desk, making and confirming appointments and pulling patient charts.

By high school, they were assisting, suctioning mouths, taking tooth impressions and cleaning operatories.

“By the time I was in college, I’d assisted 11 different dentists,” said Marty.

And by the time all of them enrolled in college, they’d pretty much done every job there was at the office. It made dental school a whole lot easier, they said, because they knew the terminology, they’d done a lot of the lab work and had learned the finer points of dealing with patients.

“That’s where I think we had our biggest advantage,” said Matt.

Michael Mazzawi, the oldest of the siblings, was the first to head to the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta. He was killed, his mother said, in a car wreck in 1994 during his sophomore year.

Mark, 37, would graduate three years later, then Matt, cousin Darin, Miles, Marty and Megan. As each graduated from the Medical College of Georgia, they joined the family practice.

Miles, who received his doctorate in pediatric dentistry from the University of Texas, practices with his fiancé, Anthea Drew, in Canton.

Hugh and Anne Mazzawi retired in 2003 and today spend time between their Buckhead apartment and the family farm in Snellville.

When they and their children aren’t working, they still indulge in extracurricular activities. Marty and Matt play softball with a city league in Decatur where they live. They all run The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race; Matt, Marty and their dad golf; Mark is a pilot; and they all enjoy Georgia football.

Their parents call them their greatest success.

“We’re proud of them,” said Anne. “We like them as people. We like the way they treat our patients who tell us what a good job they’re doing.”