Meet the Doctors

“My short-term goals change daily, but my long-term goal is to be a skilled health care provider in dentistry and to be an equally upstanding person. I believe my greatest accomplishment is that throughout my life I have been able to keep the values I hold so dear: hard work, faith, and perseverance.”

As I was asked to provide a short biography for this website, I pulled out my dental school essay on why I wanted to become a dentist and this is the quote that resonated with me. This quote is truly the best insight into who I am.

I was born and raised in Tallahassee, Florida. There I attended Leon High School and graduated in 1996. I played softball, and guitar, and was a founding member of Youth Alive, a Christian Club, as well as a place holder of multiple honor awards and societies. My real education occurred though on our family farm in Bonifay. My father called it, “character building.” In the 1800s my great grandfather started the farm, and here my chores were tough, but I learned about earning a sense of accomplishment and that seeing a finished product makes the extra effort worthwhile.

After Leon, I attended Florida State University. Upon graduation in the spring of 2000, I had earned a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences and a Minor in Chemistry. Here I was also a member of a National Honor Society, on the Dean’s List, and still continued to play co-ed softball. While at Florida State, I began working for a local endodontist who peaked my interest in dentistry. He mentored me throughout my tenure at Florida State while letting me work as an assistant. Here, I cultivated my compassion and care for patients as well as my dental skills.

Then, from 2000-2001, I completed a Master of Public Health degree specializing in Community Health Education from the University of Florida. Who knew a born and bred Seminole could manage in the swamp!

Finally, I earned my Doctor of Dental Medicine degree from the University of Florida, College of Dentistry in the Spring of 2005. During dental school, I was a member of a Dental Missions team that visited Merida, Mexico in 2003 to treat children in the Yucatan area. I was also a volunteer at the Acorn Dental Clinic, a reduced fee for service dental clinic in Brooker, Fl., a volunteer at Give Kids a Smile hosted at UFCD, and a volunteer at We Care, a reduced fee for service dental clinic at Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville, Fl. I also placed Second in the 13^th Saul Kamen Scientific Report Award Contest given by the American Society for Geriatric Dentistry. I also was presented with the Ethics and Professionalism Award from the University Florida and the American College of Dentists Public Health Services and Research.

After Dental School I began working in Callaway in 2005. During my time there I learned a lot about dentistry and achieved a bunch of lifetime milestones. One of them was getting married in 2011. My husband was born and raised in Bonifay Florida and is a General Physician. He truly appreciates being from a small town and likes to feel as if he is giving back to his community and therefore works in many rural ER’s in the Panhandle area. I think he is pretty amazing! So, after seven and a half years in practice, we made the big decision to open our own practice, North Florida Dental Care. We hope to see you as a patient, and as the years continue so does my goal to be a skilled healthcare provider in dentistry and to be an equally upstanding person keeping the values I hold so dear: hard work, faith, and perseverance.

Dr. Dudley has joined the North Florida Dental Care team and will be here on Tuesdays. Alexander J. Dudley, D.M.D. is a clinical dentist with 24 years of experience. During that time he has worked at various Florida Department of Health locations in Gulf, Jackson and Bay Counties as well as providing dental care to residents at numerous retirement/convalescent centers in the surrounding areas near Marianna, FL. Dudley is a veteran of the USAF Reserves at Eglin AFB/Duke Field and served at the 919th Special Operations Wing Medical Squadron as Dental Officer and ended his US military career there as Chief Dental Officer with rank of Major. He currently freelances here at North Florida Dental Care in Panama City, FL. He also joined the North Florida Medical Center dental staff in July 2020. Dudley recently closed his private dental practice in Marianna, FL after serving 20 years as a solo practitioner in order to devote more time to foreign and domestic mission fields.