A restorative dentist who designs smiles.
Dr. Atassi received his Doctor of Dental Surgery in 2011, completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in 2012, and spent two years in residency at the UCLA Center for Esthetic Dentistry, where his training focused on smile design and full-mouth reconstruction. He received his certificate in Advanced Esthetic and Restorative Dentistry in 2015.
He has practiced in Lakeshore East since 2017. He plans every case himself, designs every smile himself, and still follows patients from his residency more than a decade on.
How he plans treatment
“I wanted something between art and engineering. I wanted to be a dentist or an architect, but I also liked science, so I leaned toward dentistry. I took the decision very early, when I was 17, 18 years old, and stuck to it since then.”
Dr. Rohi Atassi
The interest began earlier still: a childhood injury to a front tooth, and the years of treatment that followed.
Trained by the Best in the World.
Ceramics and smile designUCLA · Edward McLarenTwo years in residency at the UCLA Center for Esthetic Dentistry. The craft of the visible tooth: shape, color, translucency.
Treatment planningKois Center, Seattle · John KoisReading the whole case: the bite, the mouth, the health behind it, so the plan fits the person and the teeth last.
Biomimetic dentistryMagne Education · Pascal MagneRestoring a tooth the way it was made: bonded, conservative, the natural structure recreated rather than covered.University of Kalamoon
2011
Northwestern Memorial Hospital
2012
UCLA
Residency, 2013 to 2015
gIDE
2019
Kois Center
Seattle
Magne Education
Pascal Magne
After his residency, UCLA asked him to teach the clinical-skills course in the esthetic residency. In 2022 he returned to give the alumni address at the program’s graduation.
The excellent way, or not at all.
He was raised in a family where excellence was the expectation, not a compliment. His grandmother, his father and his uncle held everything to the same line. He runs every case, every material and every appointment by it, and keeps a list on the wall of the office that everyone there calls the non-negotiables: the things that have to be true for every person who sits in the chair.
The least dentistry that will do the job.
Where another dentist reaches for a drill, he will often reach for whitening and alignment first, because a tooth moved into its right place and brightened to its natural shade may not need a veneer at all. He keeps as much of your own tooth as possible, involves as few teeth as necessary, and settles the bite before anything visible is built on it.There is no treatment plan that fits all. Everyone needs their own teeth, that fit their own face and their own health. Every person is a different case.
Outside the office.
Giving back
After his residency, UCLA asked Dr. Atassi to join the faculty of the Center for Esthetic Dentistry, where he taught the clinical-skills course in the residency he had just completed. In August 2022 he returned to give the alumni address at the program’s graduation.
He supports Operation Smile, which provides free surgery to children born with cleft lip and palate, and he serves on the dental committee of the Syrian American Medical Society. Several times a year he travels with SAMS to refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon to provide emergency dental care to Syrian families.
“It is healing for us much more than healing for them.”
Family life
Dr. Atassi is married to Samia, who has run Chicago Dental Boutique since the day it opened. They live in Lakeshore East, a few minutes from the office, with their two sons: Dean, born in March 2022, and a baby brother who arrived this year.
Dean has been a regular at the office since before he could walk, and most of the team knows him by name too.
“I’m a dentist myself, and I trust Dr. Atassi as my dentist.”
Sara Rifai · Google Review
500+ 5-Star Google Reviews
“Attention to detail and exceptional skill with perfection”
“Dr. Atassi is one of the finest dentists I have ever met. When you combine attention to detail and exceptional skill with perfection, you get Dr. Atassi!”
Steven AirhartGoogle Review“Dr. Atassi gives his honest opinion, which doesn't always mean drilling your tooth”
“Great place to have your dental work done. Doctor and staff are all very welcoming. Office is up-to-date, state of the art, and most importantly clean. Dr. Atassi gives his honest opinion, which doesn't always mean drilling your tooth...big plus.”
Hashem RifaiGoogle Review“He very calmly and professionally explained a roadmap to me”
“Dr. Atassi was great to talk to. He very calmly and professionally explained a roadmap to me after the initial x-rays and cleanings (I have neglected proper dental care for some time), and printed out an estimated cost from now until my last visit.”
Isaac AskewGoogle ReviewRequest a Consultation
A consultation with Dr. Atassi is a conversation about what you need, including the possibility that you need very little.
Prefer to call? (312) 868-0301