Meet Advanced Dental Anesthesia
Advanced Dental Anesthesia is comprised of experienced, compassionate, and caring anesthesiologists providing iv sedation dentistry services in the comfort of your dental practice serving the NJ, NYC, and Philadelphia area.
Our company was founded on the passion our founder, Dr. Jonathan Mendia has for the special care community. With the importance of oral health and a need for a safe, familiar dental environment, he quickly facilitated for the practice to serve the special care population in the comfort of their familiar dental office. Through this, he recognized the overall need for safety and care in all populations in dentistry including pediatric patients. with nearly 10 years in practice, advanced dental anesthesia has set out to be the premier provider of sedation dentistry and anesthesia in the tri-state area.
Our priority remains in providing the safest and most comfortable patient experience. Contact Us > or Request an Appointment > today.
Our Anesthesiologists
Dr. Jonathan Mendia
Dentist Anesthesiologist and Owner, serving New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania
Dr. Mendia is a Dentist Anesthesiologist and the founder of the Advanced Dental Anesthesia Services Group. A New Jersey native, he attended Rutgers University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science and Nutrition. He then earned his Doctorate of Dental Medicine from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
Directly following Dental School, Dr. Mendia completed a rigorous postdoctoral residency program in Dental Anesthesiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine, at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). Dr. Mendia’s anesthesia training involved hospital rotations through various specialties providing general anesthesia in the areas of dentistry, general surgery, otolaryngology (ENT), pediatrics and obstetrics. Lastly, he received specialized training for office-based anesthesia.
Today, Dr. Mendia has found his niche in ambulatory anesthesia with pediatric and special needs patients. He is also a local, national and international guest lecturer who provides continuing education courses on sedation and medical emergencies in the dental office.
Dr. Mendia is a Diplomate of the National Board of Dental Anesthesiology and a Fellow of the American Society of Dental Anesthesiology. In addition, he is also a part of the following: American Dental Society of Anesthesiology, American Society of Dentist Anesthesiologists,
New Jersey Dental Association, and American Dental Association. He holds certifications in Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) and is a Basic Life Support (BLS) Provider, training local dental offices for certification.
Get to know Dr. Mendia:
Dr. Mendia resides in northern New Jersey with his wife and three children, all of which keep him very busy!
A fun fact about Dr. Mendia, is that he loves following the weather and when he was younger, he wanted to be a meteorologist!
His personal interests vary; he enjoys taking the kids to the zoo and Central Park; in the Fall you’ll find him at sporting events. He enjoys traveling to Long Beach Island and to warmer climates in the Winter.
Dr. Gina Chen
Dentist Anesthesiologist, serving eastern Pennsylvania
Dr. Gina Chen is a Dentist Anesthesiologist at Advanced Dental Anesthesia Services of Pennsylvania. She earned her Doctorate of Dental Surgery at Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry at the University of Southern California (USC).
Afterwards, she completed a postdoctoral anesthesia residency at SUNY Stony Brook University Medical Center. Her anesthesiology training included medical rotations in various specialties of medicine such as Pediatric Medicine, Cardiology, Internal Medicine and Critical Care in multiple venues including Operating Rooms, the Dental School, VA Medical Center, PACU, Stony Brook ASC and even private offices.
Her training specialized in providing general and specialty anesthesia in the inpatient, outpatient, and office-based settings to the general adult population along with pediatric, special needs, and geriatric patients. Her training provided a very special emphasis in the treatment of patients with special needs, i.e., patients with autism and the developmentally disabled.
Dr. Chen is a compassionate provider who enjoys working with the special needs population. So much so that she often presents lectures on Anesthesia Considerations for Special Needs Population to help other Dental Professionals. Dr. Chen prides herself on the amount of cases she was called in to assist when patients were in critical conditions, all while still in training!
She is a member of the American Dental Society of Anesthesiology, American Society of Dentist Anesthesiologists, Pennsylvania Dental Association, and American Dental Association. She holds certifications in Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS).
Get to know Dr. Chen:
As you can see from her credentials, Dr. Chen is a native West-Coaster! We think that’s where her love for the outdoors, hiking and nature began.
After completing her residency in New York, she not only fell in love with the East Coast but she also met her husband there, which led them to reside together in his hometown in eastern Pennsylvania.
She still loves the outdoors and frequents the Metropolitan zoos, aquariums and the Botanical Gardens.
Dr. Whitney Saarem
Dentist Anesthesiologist, serving New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania
Dr. Saarem is a Dentist Anesthesiologist at Advanced Dental Anesthesia Services of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Dr. Saarem earned her doctorate of Dental Medicine at the University of Las Vegas, Nevada and was a member of Omicron Kappa Upsilon Honors Society.
After graduating with honors, she went onto SUNY Stony Brook University Medical Center where she completed her postdoctoral Anesthesia Residency. She was the Chief Resident from 2020-2021 where she played a critical role in the involvement and education of students in the field of dental anesthesia. She also developed the “Predoctoral Dental Anesthesia Club” for all dental students at Stony Brook.
Her anesthesiology training included medical rotations in various specialties of medicine like Pediatric Medicine, Cardiology, Internal Medicine, ENT, Plastic surgery and Chronic Oral-Maxillofacial pain. She Provided anesthesia care in various venues including operating rooms, Post-Anesthesia Care Units, Stony Brook Ambulatory Surgical Center and private dental offices
Dr. Saarem’s areas of specialty training are involved with the Special Needs population (Autism, Down Syndrome, and patients with developmental delays), Pediatrics (His Favorite!), Adults with dental phobias and Oral Maxillofacial surgery (includes orthognathic surgery, zygoma implants and oral facial cancer surgery).
She is a Member of the American Society of Dental Anesthesiologists, American Society of Dentists Anesthesiology and the American Dental Association. She is certified in Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS).
Get to Know Dr. Saarem:
Dr. Saarem is a Reno/Lake Tahoe, Nevada native who loves the outdoors, her cowboy boots and going to the rodeo! She is an avid long-distance runner who also loves to ski, hike and go camping.
Although a Nevadan at heart, she fell in love with the east coast. After her residency, she decided to settle down in New York where she now enjoys spending time with her husband, daughter and their furbaby!
Our IV Sedation Dentistry Team
Lisa A.
Regional Team Leader, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania
Lisa first joined the team as a part-time employee with an eagerness to learn the field and deliver exceptional service. She did just that! She has since then become the Office Manager and the direct liaison to Dr. Mendia. She has worked diligently to understand both aspects of an ambulatory anesthesia practice: patients and practices. She is always looking to improve work flow and her ideas never cease to fail. Despite Lisa overseeing the entire schedule and office staff, she meets the perfect balance of getting the job done and keeping the morale high.
Fun facts about Lisa: She's a fanatic of "The Office" & "Schitt's Creek", her laugh is contagious, and on the weekends she works at her family's Italian Deli.
