Meet Our Team
Dr. Derrick Cantu – Board Certified Pediatric Dentist
Dr. Cantu is a proud father. He lives in San Antonio with his wife Aubrey, daughter Landry, and dog Bertie. Dr. Cantu graduated from Texas A&M University and is proud to be an Aggie! He graduated from dental school at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. After graduation, Dr. Cantu continued his specialty education in the pediatric dentistry residency program at the same institution. As a dental student and resident Dr. Cantu participated in research in dental trauma and dental caries and presented this research in Toronto, Texas and New York, New York respectively. Dr. Cantu is board certified with the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry.
When Dr. Cantu is not at the office treating patients he enjoys spending time with his family, playing golf, playing guitar and performing magic. Your child may have seen Dr. Cantu perform at his or her elementary school. Dr. Cantu has a dental education for children magic program that is performed at many elementary schools around San Antonio and if you ask nicely he will be more than happy to perform a magic trick for you here in the office!
Dr. Cantu is extremely proud of making dental care for children his life’s work. He is devoted to promoting dental health to the city of San Antonio and is dedicated to creating an enjoyable dental experience for his patients and their parents. He is committed to being an integral part of the team for your child’s health!
Dr. Ben Taylor – Board Certified Pediatric Dentist
Dr. Taylor’s dental career started in 1971 as a preventive dental assistant in the Air Force. After leaving the service in 1975 he attended Del Mar College in Corpus Christi where he received a associates degree in Dental Hygiene. He then moved to Nacogdoches Texas close to where he grew up in East Texas. In Nacogdoches Dr. Taylor worked as a dental Hygienist while attending Stephen F. Austin State University where he completed his pre-resquites for dental school and received his Bachelor’s degree in Dental Hygiene Technology. In 1983 he moved to San Antonio for dental school graduating in 1987, he immediately started the pediatric residency program he graduated from that program in 1989. Since that time he has been in the private practice of pediatric dentistry in San Antonio.
During his career Dr. Taylor has held many positions in dental organizations including the Texas Dental Hygiene Association, The Texas Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, and the San Antonio District Dental Society. In May of 2009 Dr. Taylor will become president of the 800 member San Antonio District Dental Society. Along with being involved in his professional organizations Dr. Taylor, a board certified pediatric dentist, is also involved in education. He takes many hours of continuing education yearly and has given courses and lectures to pediatric dentists, general dentists, dental hygienists, and whole dental teams.
Dr. Taylor is married; he has four children and three grandchildren. He values and enjoys his time with his family. His hobbies include magic, bicycling, and woodwork. Many of the unique features of the office were designed and built by Dr. Taylor. He also makes the staff and his family wooden Christmas gifts each year.
Dr. Taylor loves his career in pediatric dentistry where prevention is emphasized. He especially loves watching his patients grow to be healthy happy people. When asked by a person applying to dental school, ‘How do you measure success in practice?’ His reply was when a preschooler comes into the office with many problems; those problems are addressed. Then the child continues as a patient through high school without ever having another dental problem; that is success!
The Staff
Parker – Business Manager
Parker was born and raised in San Antonio. Parker has over fourteen years dental experience. He has been with our team since 2001 and after working for over ten years as an assistant he received his Bachelors in Business Management and is now the Business Manager of the office. Parker loves working with children and uses the skills that he has learned through the years to not only make the patients feel comfortable with their dental visits, but their parents as well. Parker and his wife live in Cibolo with their three children Kaitlynn, William, and Ella. Parker enjoys playing with his kids and he loves to travel.
Sara – Business Assistant
Sara has been working for Pediatric Dentistry since March of 2007. She truly enjoys working with parents and children, as well as other staff members. Each day, she dedicates time to helping busy parents keep up with their children’s dental appointments. She also helps prepare new parents for what to expect on their child’s first dental visit.
She has lived in Texas her whole life and rarely leaves the state. In her spare time, she spends time with her daughter. She likes to stay active and enjoys running and lifting. During the summer, you can find her at the lake!
Erin – Business Assistant
Erin grew up in Maple Grove MN, a suburb of Minneapolis. She moved to San Antonio in 1992, and says she doesn’t miss the snow! Erin joined our team as a business assistant in 1999, and specializes in hospital cases and Medicaid. One thing she enjoys most is helping patients and families feel comfortable with treatment. In her spare time, Erin enjoys spending time with her boyfriend, friends, family, her cats, and her dogs. In March 2017, she made a trip of a lifetime to Tokyo, Japan, where she had dreamed of going for over 10 years! While in Japan she collected more items for her Hello Kitty collection, ate great food, rode a bullet train, and saw a whale shark! Erin loves sloths, traveling ,and going to rock concerts.
Misty – Business Assistant
Misty is a business assistant and specializes in processing insurance claims. She enjoys helping people understand their insurance benefits and listening to children as they share their various stories. She is bilingual in both English and Spanish. She has worked in the dental field since 1999, and became a member of our team in April of 2001. Prior to working in the dental field, she worked for an optometrist. Misty was born and raised in San Antonio where she and her husband have raised their son. In her spare time, Misty enjoys spending time with her family and friends, and traveling.
Krystyn – Business Assistant/ Registered Dental Assistant
Krystyn joined the Pediatric Dentistry team in June of 2016, and has since become a registered dental assistant. She also schedules appointments for new and existing patients. She is very outgoing and loves talking to patients. When scheduling appointments, she feels it is important to put a new patient at ease by discussing what they can expect as a patient in our office, especially when scheduling a child’s first dental appointment. It is important to her that a patient’s experience in our office is as comfortable and stress free as possible! Krystyn loves children and plans on pursuing a degree in dental hygiene in the future.
Imelda – Registered Dental Assistant
Imelda was born in Laredo and moved to Chicago with her parents and nine brothers and sisters when she was six years old. She became a dental assistant in 1984 and moved back to Texas in 1986 with her husband. Imelda and her husband have two daughters and four dogs at their home. She started working in pediatric dentistry in 1995 because of her love of children. Imelda is certified in dental x-rays, nitrous oxide, CPR, and sealants. Imelda plans on returning to school to become a sign language translator. She does sign as a result of having deaf family members, and is also fluent in Spanish and English.
Laura – Registered Dental Assistant
Born and raised in San Antonio, Laura is married and has one daughter. She enjoys arts and crafts as well as watching movies. Laura graduated from San Antonio College’s dental assisting program in 1987 and has worked as a dental assistant since that time. Laura started in this practice in September 1995; she says she enjoys the choice of pediatric dentistry because she gets to help the children learn about good dental health and have fun at the same time.
Flor – Registered Dental Assistant
In 2007 she graduated from Dental Assisting school at Everest college dental assisting program in Reseda, CA. Flor and her husband moved to San Antonio in 2008 and she started work at pediatric dentistry soon afterward. She enjoys reading and listening to music. Flor says she was attracted to this office because everyone is very friendly and energetic.
Krystal – Registered Dental Assistant
Krystal was born in San Antonio, however she moved to California with her parents and siblings when she was three years old, she moved back to San Antonio as fast as she could and enjoys the life that living in San Antonio offers. Krystal has been a dental assistant since November 2005 and joined our team in June 2011. Even though she is not married and doesn’t have any kids, she said she was attracted to our office because of her love for helping kids and the friendly and energetic atmosphere. In her free time Krystal enjoys spending time with her boyfriend and godson, playing softball, camping and fishing.
Carmen – Registered Dental Assistant
Carmen is a San Antonio native and has over 20 years of experience in the dental field. She is a dedicated dental assistant and is often known for singing to her patients! Carmen is devoted to working with our patients, and as a mother to a special needs child, her passion for the care and treatment of our special needs patients is unmistakeable. She enjoys camping, spending time with her family, and is an active member of her church. Carmen is fluent in both Spanish and English, and is married with two children.
Stacey – Registered Dental Hygienist
Stacey is a part-time dental hygienist at pediatric dentistry. She graduated from the University of Health Science Center Dental Hygiene program in 1987. Stacey has always lived in San Antonio and when not working she is a busy wife and mother of two. Stacey says she enjoys working in this office because it is happy place to work.
Taylor – Registered Dental Hygienist
Taylor is from Austin, Texas, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Dental Hygiene at the University of Texas Health Science Center of San Antonio in 2017. Soon after graduation, Taylor joined our team at Pediatric Dentistry. Taylor loves working with kids and teaching them how to care for their smiles, and is passionate about helping children create good oral hygiene habits. In her free time, Taylor loves spending time with her family and friends, going to the beach, and floating the river.