Annual Business Person of the Year 2009, Gene Caiafa Sr.
Park Dental Care of Astoria-Dr. Gene Caiafa, Sr.-Queens Chamber of Commerce Annual Business Person of the Year 2009
Gene Caiafa Sr., DDS, owner of Park Dental Care, received the Queens Chamber of Commerce annual Business Person of the Year award in the Medium Business Category at the chamber’s Business Person of the Year Dinner on Thursday, September 24, 2009 at Terrace on the Park.
Caiafa has been practicing dentistry in Queens since 1969. His Park Dental Care practice is noted for its use of state-of-the-art technologies combined with old-fashioned dedication to patient care and comfort. “I had a practice on Steinway [Street] and my son (Gene Caiafa Jr., DMD) and his partner (Wayne M. Seid, DMD), started in together when they graduated from Tufts University Dental School,” Caiafa said. The two joined Caiafa in practice in 1995 and after “things got crowded”, Caiafa said, Park Dental Care moved to the practice’s present home at 29-14 Ditmars Blvd., Astoria, where the latest developments in advanced cosmetic and implant dentistry are offered. The facilities, which are designed to deliver state-of- the-art dental care in offices that provide maximum comfort for patients boast operatories that can handle as many as 10 patients at the same time for procedures from simple single tooth restoration to complex full mouth makeovers. Other practioners are called in when needed. He, his son and Seid conduct their practice firm in the belief that the most cutting-edge developments can be brought cost effectively to the average patient.
Park Dental offers more than state-of the-art methodology. Caiafa’s gentle demeanor and softspoken manner in treating even the most anxious dental patient have made him known and respected by thousands of patients and their families over his years in practice. “I really like practicing here in Astoria,” Caiafa said. “I’m happy that many of my patients are also my friends.”
Caiafa attended Fordham University on a baseball scholarship. After he graduated in 1956, he was selected in the Major League Baseball draft. He played in the Philadelphia Phillies organization for three years, but decided on dentistry instead of a pro baseball career and graduated from Georgetown University Dental School in 1963. He married his wife, Marie, in 1969, the same year he began practicing in Queens, and besides his son Gene Jr., has two other children and five grandchildren.
As his practice has expanded to include a second location in Richmond Hill, Caiafa has, he said, always tried to foster growth in his local business environment. “Just as I benefited from the numerous referrals that my many loyal patients have sent to my office through the years, I always did the majority of my business with local vendors and establishments that were very instrumental in the success of my practice.”
On numerous occasions Caiafa has been recognized by his peers for his many years of service and dedication to continuing education programs on the local, state and national level. In addition to promoting the importance of dental health through speaking engagements at many community events, he has also served on the board of the Long Island City YMCA for the last three years.
This article appeared in the September 30, 2009 edition of The Queens Gazette
