About us
A small practice that stayed small on purpose
We could have opened three more locations by now. We didn't, because the thing people like about Hazelbrook is that the person cleaning your teeth in 2026 is the person who cleaned them in 2019.
Hazelbrook opened in 2011 in a leased suite off Hazelbrook Way with one chair, one hygienist and a second-hand X-ray unit that Dr. Rahmani still refuses to throw out. It sits in the storage room with a sticker on it.
The practice grew the boring way — one family telling another. By 2016 there were three operatories, by 2022 six, and a full rebuild of the suite that added windows to every treatment room. That was the one expensive thing we insisted on. It turns out lying flat under a skylight is meaningfully less awful than lying flat under a ceiling tile.
What hasn't changed is the arithmetic we run the place by: longer appointments, published prices, and a hard rule against selling treatment nobody needs. It's slower than the alternative. It's also why more than half our new patients arrive because a neighbour sent them.
Today Hazelbrook looks after roughly 6,200 people across Salem, Keizer and the small towns south of us — kids on their first visit, grandparents on their fortieth year, and a healthy number of adults who hadn't seen a dentist since the Bush administration and were braced for a lecture that never came.
Since 2011
Same building. Same team.
How we run it
Four rules, no posters
These aren't values on a wall. They're the actual operating rules, and every one of them costs us money on purpose.
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Say the number first
Nobody should find out what dentistry costs on the way out. Prices go on the website, on the plan, and in your hand before you agree to anything.
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Under-treat before over-treat
If a tooth can safely wait, we say wait — and note it so the next hygienist checks it. We would rather lose the revenue than sell you a crown you didn't need.
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Nobody gets rushed
Our appointments are longer than the industry average on purpose. That's the whole reason anxious patients stay with us for a decade.
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The same faces, every time
You'll see your hygienist, not whoever's free. Continuity is how small problems get caught while they're still small ones.
The people
Four of us do the talking
Plus four more hygienists and assistants who do at least as much of the work and will absolutely tell you if you're flossing wrong.
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Dr. Nadia Rahmani, DDS
Founder · Family & restorative
Opened Hazelbrook in 2011 with one chair and a second-hand X-ray unit. Fifteen years later she still does every new-patient exam herself. Ask her about the hazelnut orchard the practice is named after.
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Dr. Sam Okafor, DMD
Cosmetic & clear aligners
Planned more than 600 aligner cases and can tell you in about ninety seconds whether yours is a good fit — or whether you'd be better off with a specialist. He'll say the second one out loud if it's true.
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Priya Vela, RDH
Lead hygienist
Gentle hands, zero judgement, and the flossing pep-talk that finally worked on about half of Salem. Runs our gum-therapy programme and trains every hygienist who joins us.
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Jo Brandt
Patient care & insurance
The person who calls your insurer so you don't have to. Jo pre-verifies every plan before your first visit, which is why our quotes match our invoices.
We live here too
Three of us grew up in Marion County and all four of us drive home through the same construction you do. Being the neighbourhood dentist means showing up when there's no chair involved.
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Free school screenings
Two mornings each spring at three north-Salem elementary schools. No forms, no bill, no sales pitch.
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Give Kids A Smile day
One Saturday every February we close the schedule and treat uninsured kids at no charge.
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Youth soccer sponsor
Two under-12 clubs, going on nine seasons. Yes, our logo is a tooth. The kids love it.
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Mouthguards for the high school
Custom-fitted, free, every August for anyone on a contact-sport roster.
Come meet us.
Bring your questions and your last set of X-rays if you have them. First visits are $89 cash, and usually covered outright by insurance.