Our Doctor

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Dr. Gus Khalifa grew up in New Jersey, thirty minutes from the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He received his Bachelors degree in Biology with a minor in History while attending LaSalle University in Philadelphia. Thereafter, he received his Masters of Science in Immunology from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. During that time he focused on discovering viral causes for the onset of multiple sclerosis.

After completion of his Masters of Science, Dr. Khalifa attended Columbia University School of Dentistry in New York city. While attending dental school, he became involved in student leadership roles. During his second year at Columbia University he began his leadership as the class government representative. His third year, he acted as Vice President of the student body for the dental school. His fourth year, Dr. Khalifa became the student body president were he received a leadership award recognizing his service to his peers.

Following dental school, a one year hospital general practice residency at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia was completed. While attending his residency, Dr. Khalifa successfully completed training in Emergency Medicine, Oral Surgery, Plastic surgery and Internal Medicine as well as General Hospital Based Dentistry.

Dr. Khalifa thereafter completed a two year post-graduate program in the specialty field of Endodontics at New York University. This two year program focused exclusively on “Root Canals” and surgical procedures in Endodontics. During this time, he met Dr. Tom Lammot, who would become his partner in Canyon Ridge Endodontics.

After graduating from NYU School of Dentistry with post-graduate training in Endodontics, Dr. Khalifa moved to Chicago where he practiced Endodontics with a multi-specialty dental practice for two years. In 2005, he relocated to Phoenix to open Canyon Ridge Endodontics with his partner Dr. Lammot and the practice began treating patients from all over the valley and will continue to do so for years to come. Dr. Khalifa has been recognized by Phoenix magazine as one of the valley’s top endodontists every year since 2007. Dr. Khalifa can be found on TopDentist.com since 2009. He was also recognized by the consumer research council of America as one of the country”s top endodontists every year since 2007.

Outside of his professional career, Dr. Khalifa enjoys the outdoor life here in Phoenix as well as traveling outside the valley. His other hobbies include, spending time with friends and family, enjoying good food and wine and football.

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Dr. Thomas Lammot spent the formative years of his life in Southern California enjoying the beach, sun and surf. Education was foremost important and when the time came he attended the University of San Diego for his undergraduate Bachelors degree. While at the University he majored in English and minored in Chemistry and Biology to fill his prerequisites for applying to Dental School. Also while at the University of San Diego, Dr. Lammot met his wife Stacey Dobbins. They have been together since and have lived in Los Angeles and New York City along the way. Phoenix is where Stacey was raised and the Lammot family chose to settle here to enjoy family and friends.

Following college, Dr. Lammot attended the University of Southern California School of Dentisry in Los Angeles. Extracurricular activities filled his free time and leadership was always particularly important to him. While at USC he became a student leader and was the Associated Student Body President, The California Dental Association class representative, the Ethics Committee Chair, and a member of the Delta Sigma Delta dental fraternity. Several of the significant awards that Dr. Lammot achieved were the Lewis E. Ford Scholarship, Induction into Omicron Kappa Upsilon Dental Society, and the Dental Foundation of California award for student leadership. Dr. Lammot graduated in the top ten percent of his class allowing him to further his training in the competitive specialty fields.

Following dental school a one year General Practice Residency at Martin Luther King/ Drew Hospital in Watts, California was completed. While at Martin Luther King, trauma, Oral Surgery and General Medicine were the focus. Dr. Lammot received the “Resident of the Year” award from the faculty, highlighting his year at the hospital.

Dr. Lammot thereafter was accepted into the post graduate training at New York University College of Dentistry for specialty training in Endodontics. This two year program focused exclusively on “Root Canals” and surgical procedures in Endodontics. During this time he met his business partner Dr. Gus Khalifa and the decision was made to practice together in Phoenix. Canyon Ridge Endodontics was founded by both Dr. Lammot and Dr. Khalifa and they take incredible pride in the office and the manner in which they treat their patients. The office began seeing patients in April of 2005 and will continue to treat patients for years to come.

On weekends you will find Dr. Lammot enjoying the outdoors here in Phoenix and spending time with his wife, daughter and son. Occasionally, he sneaks a trip to California to enjoy the surf and beach where he grew up.

​​​​​Dr Zachs is a periodontist/surgical specialist and is very excited to be working with the great team at Canyon Ridge. Growing up in New England, he attended the University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine and graduated from there with his DMD Degree in 1992. He then went on to a 3 1/2 year Surgical Specialty Residency at the University of Nebraska. While there, in conjunction with the University of Texas at San Antonio, he also completed his Master of Science (MS) degree in Maxillofacial Radiology. He was the first at the time to complete a 3-year longitudinal study looking at the Association Between Estrogen and Alveolar Bone Density Changes in Postmenopausal Women. His study was published in the Journal of Periodontics.

After his surgical residency, he went on to a 21 year private practice career in New Jersey growing his office to the largest oral surgical specialty practice in his 3 county area. In private practice, he performs all types of hard and soft tissue grafting techniques along with traditional procedures aimed at bone preservation. Dr. Zachs frequently uses PRF (Platelet Rich Fibrin) which is a method of aiding bone growth/regeneration by using the patient's own growth factors. He has placed over 15,000 implants in his career and is proud to have used CT technology (3D Imaging) for enhanced diagnosis and treatment planning for his entire practice career. He also performs guided surgery which uses CT Technology and Scan Technology in order to complete a particular surgical procedure with more precision. He is also one of few specialists in this area that is certified in the Chao Pinhole Surgical Technique which is a scalpel-free, suture-free procedure for correcting soft tissue defects.

During his private practice career in the East, Dr. Zachs was also an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgical Periodontics and Oral Medicine at The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ). He is now credentialed with the University of California system and is currently an attending doctor teaching surgical residents at UC San Francisco.

​​​​​Dr. Thomas Helvey was born and raised in Michigan where he grew up skiing, sailing, playing sports, and developing a love for travel.

He earned his undergraduate degree from Michigan State University and then graduated from the University of Michigan School of Dentistry in 1991 (he cheers for both schools!). Dr. Helvey decided to give back by going into public health dentistry and went on to provide care for underserved populations. First as a general dentist in the Four Corners region as a Lieutenant in the US Public Health Service-Indian Health Service and then the East Coast with the US Public Health Service-National Health Service. Dr. Helvey then returned out West where he worked as an associate in private practice in Spokane, Washington, and Breckenridge, Colorado before opening his own dental practice in the beautiful resort town of Sandpoint, Idaho.

Over the next 10 years, Dr. Helvey grew a successful practice focusing on cosmetic and restorative dentistry, married his wife Magdalena, and had their son Aleksander. Eventually, Dr. Helvey decided to pursue his goal of specializing as an endodontist and was accepted to the highly competitive endodontic program at the VA Long Beach Medical Center. Dr. Helvey sold his practice in Idaho and the family moved to California where he graduated with his Certificate in Endodontics in 2012. The Helvey’s then settled in Denver, Colorado where Dr. Helvey practiced as an endodontist until they moved to Arizona in the spring of 2020.

Dr. Helvey brings vast experience in dentistry in a variety of settings and is excited to have found a home with Canyon Ridge Endodontics. The shared attention to quality, integrity, and the ability to collaborate so closely with colleagues sets the practice apart. The Helvey’s are a skiing family that also loves mountain biking, hiking with their Polish Mountain Sheep Dog named Ani, traveling, and sharing in good food and drinks with family and friends.

​​​​​Dr. James Perman is a native of Northern California. He completed his undergraduate studies at California State University, Sacramento and received a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences. 

He then attended the University of Michigan School of Dentistry. While in dental school, he held numerous leadership roles including on the student council and honor council. It was also during this time that he was selected for the US Air Force Health Professions Scholarship Program. 

After graduating from dental school, he completed an Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) residency and served a total of four years as a general dentist in the Air Force. While in the military, he developed his skills in endodontics and an interest in furthering his education with specialty training. After being honorably discharged, he completed an endodontics residency at the University of California, San Francisco. He is excited to call Arizona home and enjoys all that the state has to offer.

​​​​​After moving from South Africa, Dr. Johan Kritzinger spent most of his younger years in central Alberta, Canada. He attended the University of Calgary, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in science with a major in Psychology.
 
Immediately after completing his degree, Dr. Kritzinger was accepted into Loma Linda University School of Dentistry in California. While in dental school, he became heavily involved in volunteer activities, facilitating and providing dental services at free clinics in the community. He was part of a select group that organized these clinics for fellow student’s multiple times each week. Additionally, he visited Nicaragua several times with the Foundation for Worldwide Health, where he offered free dental services alongside local dental students at the University of Nicaragua.
 
Following dental school, Dr. Kritzinger remained in Southern California, spending four years in private practice as a general dentist providing a wide range of dental treatments. Recognizing his passion for endodontics, he decided to pursue specialty training. He was accepted into the 27-month post-graduate program in Endodontics at Loma Linda University, focusing exclusively on root canals and surgical endodontic procedures.
 
During his specialty training, Dr. Kritzinger conducted research on disinfection solutions used in endodontic procedures. His efforts earned him a Master of Science in Dentistry degree in addition to his specialty certificate in Endodontics.
 
After graduating from Loma Linda School of Dentistry with his postgraduate training, Dr. Kritzinger relocated to Phoenix to work at Canyon Ridge Endodontics. Outside of his professional career, he enjoys spending time with his friends and family.

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Dr. Erin Schwoegl was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She developed a passion for learning at a young age and became interested in dentistry during eighth grade when she got braces. To pursue her dream of dental school, Dr. Schwoegl moved to Columbus, Ohio to attend The Ohio State University, where she majored in Biology and minored in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. During her undergraduate studies, she became involved in research, working in laboratories at both Ohio State and the University of Pittsburgh. She was awarded a scholarship for her research on inhibiting signaling pathways related to chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer. Additionally, Schwoegl was selected for the Dr. Rudy Melfi Research Fellowship through the Ohio State College of Dentistry, which is given to one undergraduate student annually. Aside from her research, Dr. Schwoegl was actively involved in BuckeyeThon, a dance marathon raising funds for children and families affected by pediatric cancer, as well as Operation BeYoutiful, a nonprofit providing wigs to individuals facing medically-induced hair loss.

After graduating magna cum laude from Ohio State, Dr. Schwoegl moved back to Pittsburgh to attend dental school at the University of Pittsburgh where she received the Haines Academic Scholarship. Dr. Schwoegl became interested in periodontics the summer before starting dental school when she was awarded the Dean’s Summer Research Scholarship. She worked in the periodontics department on a project titled "Reflective Journaling by Second‐Year Dental Students During a Clinical Rotation." For this research, Dr. Schwoegl presented at the ADEA Annual Session and Exhibition, earned the Pitt Dental Dr. O. Jack Penhall award, and was later published in the Journal of Dental Education. During dental school, Dr. Schwoegl was co-chair of the ASDA Diversity Committee, a member of Delta Sigma Delta dental fraternity, and a volunteer at Our Clubhouse, an organization serving families impacted by cancer.

After graduating from dental school, Dr. Schwoegl moved to New Orleans, Louisiana for specialized training in periodontics at Louisiana State University. During her residency, Dr. Schwoegl was appointed chief resident, due to her exceptional leadership and organizational abilities. Along with earning a certificate in periodontics, she also obtained a Master of Science in Dentistry for her research, "The Effect of Toothpaste Tablets on the Viability and Proliferation of Gingival Fibroblasts," which won first place in the Advanced Education Research Day Competition.

In her free time, Dr. Schwoegl enjoys staying active by running, practicing yoga, and going to the gym. She loves the outdoors and spends time hiking, camping, and swimming. Dr. Schwoegl is the proud owner of an ever-growing plant collection. You will often find her with her equally active ten-year-old dachshund, Ridge.

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Dr. I Robert Matloff has been an Endodontic Specialist in Phoenix since 1980. He was raised in Phoenix.  After attending Sunnyslope High School, he went to Arizona State University where he graduated Summa Cum Laude. He then went to the UCLA School of Dentistry where he received his Doctor of Dental Surgery (D.D.S.) degree. He completed his advanced training in Endodontics at the University of Minnesota. At the same time, he pursued a Master of Science Degree (M.S.) in the field of Endodontics. His published research on “A Comparison of Methods Used in Root Canal Sealability Studies” has been cited over 135 times. Dr. Matloff is a member of the American Association of Endodontists, Arizona Endodontic Association, American Dental Association, Arizona Dental Association, and Central Arizona Dental Association. He is past president of the Arizona Chapter of Alpha Omega. He has been honored by his colleagues being voted Top Endodontist in "Phoenix Magazine."

Dr. Matloff volunteers at the St. Mary’s Food Bank, St. Vincent DePaul, and Special Olympics. Dr. Matloff loves spending time with his wife Natalie and their three children, Alexandra, Will, and Daniel. He enjoys tennis, swimming, bicycling, and hiking.