Meet Our Dental Team – Lawrence, KS

Kelsey
Dental Hygienist

Kelsey began her career as a dental assistant, and she became a dental hygienist after attending Ozarks Technical Community College. In addition to having over a decade of experience in the field, she has additional certifications in nitrous oxide, lasers, local anesthesia, and more! For her, getting to know each patient and improving their overall oral health through quality dental care is extremely rewarding.

Outside the office, Kelsey loves spending time with her husband and their young son and daughter. Fishing, walking on nature trails, playing board games, and having movie nights are some of their favorite things to do as a family. On the weekends, you’ll often find her on the sidelines of her son’s soccer games cheering him on.

Lauren
Dental Hygienist

Lauren is a native of Lawrence, KS, and attended the University of Kansas for her Bachelor of Science in Engineering in Community Health. She then moved on to earn her Dental Hygiene Associates Degree from the Johnson County Community College. During that time, she became certified in local anesthesia, administering nitrous oxide analgesia, and dental laser therapy. Thanks to all her training, she gets to help make a positive difference in our patient’s lives by educating them on dental hygiene and making them feel confident about their pearly whites.

When she isn’t at the practice helping to keep smiles healthy, Lauren is spending time with her family, loved ones, and her dog, Riley. She enjoys being outside, gardening, going on long walks, and is a whiz at operating outdoor equipment (due to her years helping with her father’s landscaping company). She also loves to cook, try new restaurants, listen to her favorite podcasts, and travel around the U.S.!

Marsha
Dental Hygienist

Marsha has been working in the dental field for almost 30 years, and she loves everything about being a part of our team – the environment, the patients, the team members, and more! She studied at Johnson County Community College and has her extended care license along with certifications in laser dentistry, local anesthesia, and nitrous oxide.

Marsha is from Indiana, and she and her husband have two adult children as well as two Labradors. She has many personal passions outside of work! She does a lot of portrait/landscape photography and sews and knits regularly. She loves to exercise, so over the years, she’s completed five marathons, three triathlons, and countless 5k’s and 10k’s. On top of this, she is a certified yoga instructor. She’s also always up for going to the lake and riding her stand-up paddleboard or kayaking with friends. One of her biggest hobbies is going to National Parks – she wants to visit as many as possible!

Sierra
Registered Dental Hygienist

Sierra has been a part of our team for nearly five years so far. A Lawrence native, she studied dental hygiene at Concorde Career College and is trained in BLS/CPR, OSHA, local anesthesia, and nitrous oxide/oxygen sedation administration. For her, the best part of this job by far is getting to help people! She loves educating patients on their oral health and how to care for their teeth and gums, as well as how oral bacteria connect to the rest of the body and influences systemic disease.

At home, Sierra loves spending time with her husband Tanner and their Samoyed puppy Luna. Her favorite hobbies include baking, running, crafting, reading, and enjoying a good cup of coffee. She’s also an avid movie watcher and a lover of anything Disney-related! She even did an internship at Walt Disney World while she was in college.

Blake
Dental Hygienist

Blake was born in Valley Falls, where he worked as an assistant for his hometown dentist during his time in college. He was later accepted into Johnson County Community College’s Dental Hygiene Program in 2014. After graduating in 2016, he worked as a dental hygienist while continuing his education at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He earned his bachelor's degree in Dental Hygiene, became certified in CPR, and is trained in laser dentistry. He has several years of experience and has been attending the Midwest dental conference in April every year.

Whenever he isn’t at the office connecting and helping patients with their oral and overall health, Blake is at home with his lovely wife and their pet dogs and cats. He enjoys playing softball, golfing, and playing board games and video games. He’s also a major Star Wars fan and has an entire room at home dedicated to the franchise!

Ameliea
Dental Assistant

These last few years, Ameliea has been working as one of our dental assistants. She does an excellent job of it, too, given her education at Mercy University and Dr. Beshore’s School of Dental Assisting. Her training even extends to nitrous oxide, Zoom Whitening, CEREC technology, and more! With that background, she’s well-equipped to build trust with patients for successful treatments.

All that said, Ameliea has plenty going on outside the office too. For starters, she has a sizable family that includes four siblings and 13 nieces and nephews. She also pursues many outdoor hobbies – soccer, biking, camping, paddleboarding, etc. Finally, much of her free-time is also spent with her church community at Free City Church.

Anjelica
Dental Assistant

Anjelica’s dental career spans over a full decade so far, with around half of that time spent right here at Heck Family Dentistry. She studied at Central Wyoming College and has advanced training in conscious sedation and phlebotomy. As one of our dedicated assistants, she’s always ready to go the extra mile for our patients!

At home, Anjelica is married with two sons, one daughter, and two dogs. Away from work, she enjoys spending lots of quality time with loved ones, cooking and fishing alongside her husband, and watching the latest crime shows. She has a lifelong love of French Bulldogs and George Strait.

Betsy
Dental Assistant

Originally from Brooklyn, NY, Betsaida completed her studies at the Pinnacle Career Institute. Since then, she has undergone training in nitrous oxide, CEREC® technology, and CPR. She has been an integral member of our team for more than three years now. Year after year, her favorite part of her job continues to be bringing smiling back!

When she isn’t serving our patients, Betsaida enjoys spending every moment she can with her husband and three beautiful children. Together, they love going on long walks and trying new foods! One thing you may not know about her is that she loves making people laugh and smile.

Caitlyn
Dental Assistant

Born and raised in Atchison, KS, Caitlyn grew up wanting to be a WNBA basketball player before finding an interest in teaching. Years later, she found that she had an unexpected passion for dentistry, and has enjoyed working in the field ever since. She became a dental assistant through on-the-job training and is also First Aid and CPR certified! Her favorite thing about what she does is getting to watch a patient’s face light up when we help them achieve a brand-new smile.

If you don’t see her at the office, Caitlyn is most likely hanging out with her family. She truly enjoys spending quality time with loved ones as well as binge-watching her favorite reality TV shows. She also likes watching the sunset at Clinton Lake and is always up for a road trip, especially when it comes to sipping on slushies!

Jessica
Dental Assistant

Jessica has almost two decades of experience in dentistry. She studied at Flint Hills Technical College and has certifications in nitrous oxide and supragingival scaling. Today, what she enjoys most about her role is working with patients and learning all about their lives. Being able to help someone overcome anxiety to get the smile they’ve always wanted is an amazing feeling!

Jessica is from Burlingame and has an amazing husband and three beautiful girls at home. Away from the office, her family loves being outside, doing various activities like hiking, fishing, and hunting during regular camping trips. She also has a passion for cooking/baking and is currently teaching her girls how to make her favorite dishes. She has served in the volunteer fire service for decades, starting as a teenager in the cadet program, and she is an EMT with certifications in Firefighter Levels I and II.

Sherry
Dental Assistant

Born and raised in Topeka, KS, Sherry has been working in the dental field for well over two decades. During her years in dentistry, she’s become certified in various skills, including subgingival scaling, administering nitrous oxide sedation, and CPR. As a Dental Assistant, you’ll find her helping the dentist with multiple kinds of treatments while educating patients on how to improve and maintain their pearly whites. Her favorite thing about her job is being able to always learn something new!

If she isn’t at the office, Sherry is likely spending time with her loved ones, including her three adult boys, three daughters-in-law, four grandchildren (two boys and two girls), and her pet cat named Lil Gemini. She also truly enjoys walking, exploring, and adventuring outdoors. Her greatest passion has always been taking care of others.

Gay
Accounting Manager

Gay has been a part of our dental office for almost a full decade so far. She has her Bachelor of Science in Human Resource Management/Personnel Administration from Bartlesville Wesleyan University. Today, she finds it such a joy to come into the dental office each day. Dr. Heck has been such a dream to work with ever since she first started! He has put a great group of people together, and their awesome team simply can’t be beat.

Gay hails from Coffeyville. She and her husband Skip have three grown children and three grandchildren (all boys), as well as three four-legged children named Nellson, Lolli, and George. In her spare time, she enjoys sewing, playing golf, camping, and relaxing in the sun by her pool. She’s also passionate about tackling various home projects and is never afraid to tear something up and redo it to her liking.

Lauren
Office Manager

Lauren’s history with our dental office spans a full decade so far, and she always looks forward to seeing patients. Hearing all about their vacations, their kids’ various activities, their holiday plans, and more is so much fun, and patients know her family really well in turn because they’ve spent years sharing stories. She truly loves and appreciates the relationships she’s built over the past ten years! As for education, she studied at Kansas State University and has additional training through the American Association of Dental Office Management.

Lauren hails from Lawrence and is married to Jamelle. They have boy/girl twins named Melle and Brooklyn, and her parents are close by to help out with the kids. Most of her free time is spent running after her twins and keeping up with their constant curiosity. Jamelle is a basketball coach, so the sport is a HUGE part of their lives, both in the gym and on TV. One of her biggest passions is staying active in anti-racism groups and fighting racism in her local community through discussions, events, research, and much more.

Hunter
Hygiene Scheduling Coordinator

An Elk City native, Hunter studied at the University of Kansas and Independence Community College. She says that each patient is just as unique as our team members, and as our dedicated coordinator, she loves playing a part in pairing people with the perfect provider.

At home, Hunter has a lovely fiancé, Chris, as well as two male cats named Barbosa and Bobo. They’re super sweet but quite a handful! To relax, she enjoys a good pickleball match, but one of her biggest hobbies is painting colorful animal portraits with acrylics. She’s a true amateur and paints only for stress relief. If you couldn’t tell already, she’s a BIG animal lover, so please don’t hesitate to share every detail about the shenanigans of your household pets. She wants to see photos and videos!

Heather
Front Desk Coordinator

Heather likes to say that she has been in the dental field her entire life, and it’s true! Her dad was a dentist in St. Louis, and her first job was filing paper charts for him starting at age seven. She quickly moved up the ranks and became a dental assistant while in high school. After spending a few years in England administering for a Bible school, she went back to work for her dad as a Front Desk Coordinator. Today, she has over a decade of experience.

Heather moved to Lawrence in 2016 with her husband and their two boys. They quickly became Jayhawks fans, but they will never let go of their deep love for the St. Louis Cardinals!

Kameron
Front Desk Coordinator

As a native of Lawrence, Kameron enjoys meeting and connecting with all of the patients that come to our practice. She also appreciates the dental staff and feels she is working alongside a truly amazing and supportive team. She studied at the Johnson County Community College and is now going to school for nursing.

At home, Kameron loves spending time doing fun activities with her wonderful daughter. She also enjoys playing with their four dogs, doing anything outdoors, reading her favorite genre of books, and watching movies. One interesting thing about her is that people don’t really believe her last name is Teehee—like the laugh!