Dr. Castro is a 2011 graduate of the University of the Pacific School of Dentistry. He grew up in San Pablo, attended Juan Crespi Junior High School and De Anza High School before going to the University of California, Davis for his undergraduate degree. He has been very active in the community, participating in service projects through San Pablo Rotary to bring food to the homeless, books to underserved children, and help to patients at the RotaCare Clinic in Richmond.
In addition, Dr. Castro serves on the leadership council of the Health Academy at De Anza High School.
He lives in Pinole with his wife, Lindsey, a Kaiser nurse, and enjoys videogames, guitar, and barbecue competitions. He writes and draws for the webcomic, Buttersafe, and variety of other art projects.
Dr. Castro has been the owner of the practice since January 2016.
Dr. van Dyk is a graduate of the University of the Pacific School of Dentistry in San Francisco. He participated in a general dentistry residency at Madigan Army Medical Center at Ft. Lewis, Washington, before opening a practice in San Pablo in 1976. He has taught continuously at the University since returning to the Bay Area and is a noted lecturer traveling around the US sharing information related to the successful practice of dentistry.
He participates in many community organizations including the Contra Costa College Foundation, the San Pablo Rotary, the San Pablo Chamber of Commerce, and Brookside Foundation.
He lives in Pt. Richmond with his wife, Margi, and enjoys travel and regular exercise, often together, including climbing to the top of Mt. Whitney and Mt. Kilimanjaro, and walking across England.
Originally born in Southern California, Dr. Jill Alderfer grew up on the North Carolina coast. She received her bachelor's degree from North Carolina State University and immediately moved to Mongolia for two years as a member of the Peace Corp. Following this, Dr. Alderfer volunteered at an orphanage in Uganda before coming back to the United States and pursuing her dental dreams in California.
Dr. Alderfer earned her doctorate from the University of California, San Francisco School of Dentistry. While in dental school, Dr. Alderfer excelled in many areas and received the George Hughes Award for excellence in Prosthodontics. She completed the Advanced Education in General Dentistry residency at UCSF where she treated patients with complex medical and dental needs.
In her free time she enjoys exploring the many vegetarian restaurants around the bay and hiking with her dog and husband.
Ayako has been building a following of very happy patients for 19 years at the office. She graduated from Sacramento City College Dental Hygiene Program. In addition to part time practice at the office she is also trained in Jin Shin Jyutsu, a form of Acupressure, and works closely with hospice patients. She is also a fan of frequent trips to Hawaii and other exotic places.
Anne has been in dentistry her whole life. Her dad was a dentist nearby for many years, and that's where she got her start. She ran the front desk of Dr. Jerrilee Doss' office in Rodeo for 20 years, up until Dr. Doss' retirement. That's where she met Wendy, our hygienist. Now Anne brings her wealth of experience and joy for quality patient care to our office. In her spare time, she enjoys stage performanc, spending time with her kids and grandkids, and learning a little bit about everything.
Ericha joins us with more than 10 years of experience in the dental & medical fields. She grew up in Rodeo, went to high school at John Swett, and got her dental assisting training at Western Career College. She's great at both chairside assisting and managing patient care at the front desk. You might recognize her from her many times on the show, Dance Party, on KOFY TV! In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family out by the pool.
Gina graduated from the Diablo Valley College Dental Hygiene Program in 2012 after earning a bachelor’s degree at Sacramento State. She started with our office after graduation and immediately demonstrated the compassion and excellence which we strive to achieve. She lives in Vallejo with her husband, Taylor. Her other career is as a singer and actor in local productions.
Starr came to us with Dr. Castro and has become an integral part of our dental practice family. She graduated from the College of San Mateo Dental Assisting Program after receiving a bachelor’s degree from Sonoma State University. You’ll notice her because of the phenomenal amount of energy she puts into her teamwork and patient care. She lives in Vallejo with her husband, Mike, and son, Mike Jr. She spends her spare time following Mike Jr’s baseball career.
Wendy joined our office while at the Middle College High School as Marlene’s assistant. While continuing to work for us she earned an Associate Degree from Contra Costa College and went on to Western Career College for her dental hygiene degree and license. We’ve enjoyed watching her progress in her career and at the same time meet the needs of the practice and our patients. She lives in Oakley with her husband, Luis, and two girls, Julianna and Isabella. By the way, she is a huge Giants fan!
Stephanie has been a part of our dental family for over 3 years. She started as a pre-dental college student, simply interested in dentistry as a profession. As her interest in dentistry grew, she took the initiative to both help our patients and improve her understanding of the profession by becoming a Patient Care Coordinator at our office. She is here to help explain treatment plans, schedule appointments, and manage insurance claims. She recently graduated from San Francisco State University and continues to take classes at CSU East Bay in pursuit of her ultimate goal of getting into dental school. Outside of the office, she spends time eating out with her boyfriend, Ben, and walking their dog, Carmelo.
Marlene retired from her position as office manager in January 2017. Marlene was with our office for almost 20 years in her over 35 year career in dentistry. She graduated from Contra Costa College’s Dental Assisting Program. In addition to greeting every patient by name, she handled staffing, scheduling, financial and insurance assistance, and overall management of the office. Now with a lot of free time, she enjoys traveling and chasing a golf ball around local courses.