Dr. Chen attended the University of Washington for her dental studies, followed by advanced education and training at the University of California at San Francisco. When she wasn't working with migrant farm workers in Eastern Washington, or co-publishing dental research papers on scintillating topics as 'sedation in dentistry,' you found her lost in the Seattle underground music scene, playing bass guitar and keyboard. Other times, you found her showing slides about volunteer dentistry overseas, and showing slides of her amazing cultural, as well as dental experiences in Guatemala and Honduras.

Before settling here at Mission Terrace Dental, in San Francisco's Outer Mission district, Phyllis provided expert dental care at Embarcadero 4 Dental, spent time at Oakland's Highland Hospital where she worked with dentist residents from UCSF in providing care for many medically complex patients, and encouraged others such as the students of King Middle School in Berkeley to join the fascinating world of dentistry.

Phyllis's love of art and science has brought her from the field of Architecture, which she studied with honors at UC Berkeley, to the world of dentistry, where she continues to join aesthetic form and function, but on a much smaller scale, your mouth! A formal background in interior design, photography, and structures has undoubtedly helped her restore many smiles. She loves technology and feels that constant learning and investigating is essential to keeping up with the ever-changing field of dentistry.

Besides attending international dental research conferences, Dr. Chen enjoys spending time with her 2 kids. She and her husband also enjoy teaching snowboarding classes in the winter, and rafting in the summer.

Doctor Michael Nguyen

Doctor Michael Nguyen grew up in Seattle where he attended the University of Washington and received a bachelor degree in Chemistry. Shortly after graduating from the University of Washington, he moved to Philadelphia to attend Temple University School of Dentistry. In 2000, Dr. Nguyen received his doctorate degree. Consequently, he was accepted to the Philadelphia V.A. Hospital residency program, an affiliate of the University of Pennsylvania. He was chief dental resident of the Philadelphia V.A. Nursing Home. Upon completion of the residency, Dr. Nguyen practiced dentistry in a private practice in the suburbs of Philadelphia for nearly four years. In 2004, Dr. Nguyen moved to San Francisco to be closer to his family. Prior to joining Dr. Phyllis Chen and the staff at Mission Terrace Dental, he worked at Cohen Dental Care in South San Francisco. He has also been a general dentist on staff at San Mateo County's CARE Clinic which is a non-profit organization providing care to HIV-positive patients.

First and foremost, Dr. Nguyen enjoys general dentistry due to the on-going patient-doctor relationship the profession offers. He loves children and enjoys working with young families as well as older adults. He believes that a patient's nervousness and apprehension to dental care can be eased through patience, compassion, and education from an experienced dental team. His residency training and knowledge gathered from working at the CARE Clinic have given him an appreciation of team-work among healthcare providers in caring for medically compromised patients. Dr. Nguyen believes in making the best dental care available to all patients. He applies the knowledge shared among colleagues and techniques learned through Continued Education courses to provide the most up-to-date dental care to his patients.

As a resident of San Francisco, Dr. Nguyen is making the most of this wonderful city and the mild climate of the Bay Area. He can be found running the hills of the Presidio, or through Golden Gate Park under the cover of its shady redwoods. He admits to a restraint obsession for British motorcycles and enjoys day rides to Napa County on his Triumph Bonneville in favorable weather. Dr. Nguyen enjoys San Francisco's art and music culture which reflects the city's eclectic and liberal-minded community. He can be found mingling with local artists at arts and crafts fairs in the city or enjoying a night out with friends at Davies Symphony Hall. In the near future, he hopes to become more involved in San Francisco's LBGT community though outreach programs for youths.