You might not expect a former gymnastics national champion or a University of Illinois Cheerleader to have been dreaming of being a dentist since kindergarten, but thats exactly what she did. Leslie Flahaven, DDS, chose her path in grade school and didnt look back. Her interest in dentistry started with her mother and her childhood orthodontist and the fascination grew from there.
Being the first person to go to college on her mothers side, she knew her path was long and hard. She earned her first degree, a Bachelors of Science, from the University of Illinois @ Urbana-Champaign where she graduated with honors in 2001. She was then accepted into the University of Illinois @ Chicagos College of Dentistry and graduated with a Bachelors of Dental Science in 2004 and a Doctor of Dental Surgery in 2005.
After dental school, she connected with a General Practice Residency program here in NJ at the West Jersey Virtua Hospital in Camden. She came here to sharpen her skill and spend more time in the private practice and emergency room setting. It was at this program in the West Jersey Virtua hospital that she met Dr. John Horn. He was a faculty member in this hospital that would come in to lecture to the residents. She graduated the residency program in 2006 and has been living local with her husband and 3 sons ever since.