At Downtown Dental, we pride ourselves on the level of dental care we can offer you and your family. This level of care is only possible because of the team we have. From our registered dental hygienists to our certified dental assistants each member of the team is constantly learning new techniques so we can stay at the forefront of dentistry and offer our patients the latest treatments and preventative methods.
The team is headed up by our two Doctors, Dr. Chris Zimmerman, DMD and Dr. Tyler Mead, DDS.
Your Doctors
After college, he obtained his D.D.S. from the University of Buffalo School of Dental Medicine, where he minored in Oral Diagnostic Sciences. In 2007, Tyler won the American Academy of Orofacial Pain Award while at the University Of Buffalo.
In 2008, Tyler completed a one year General Practice Residency at York Hospital in York, PA. Dr. Mead furthered his education and skill in all aspects of general dentistry, while gaining additional training in the placement and restoration of dental implants. Upon completion, he was named Most Outstanding Resident of the Year.
Before joining Downtown Dental in Syracuse Tyler practiced in Ephrata, PA near Lancaster for 2 years.
Tyler has been practicing dentistry since 2008 and offers the following services: Fillings, Crown and Bridge, (including implant and Cerec™ crowns) Veneers, Dentures, Extractions, (including some wisdom teeth), Implant placement, Root Canals, and Pediatric dentistry.
In his senior year (2002), he earned Academic All-American honors in cross-country competing at Van Cortland Park in the Bronx, which is considered the mecca of cross country in the USA. Tyler continues to enjoy running and is co-chair of the Strathmore parks run. He is very active in his local community and has been a member of the Greater Strathmore Neighborhood Association board since 2013.
Coming from an Italian family Tyler really enjoys cooking. All of his family members are excellent cooks and he grew up with an appreciation for good food and finds it relaxing to prepare different types of food for his family.
Tyler resides in Syracuse with his wife Maryellen their daughter Ainsley and son Beckett.
An Upstate New Yorker at heart, Chris graduated from Bishop Grimes High School. He received his BS in Chemistry, Cum Laude at LeMoyne College and completed his doctorate in dentistry at the University of Pennsylvania. He has been in private practice since 1993 in our office located in the Historic University Building in Downtown Syracuse.
Chris also has 10 years experience treating Geriatric and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) patients while serving at Centers at St. Camillus as a dental consultant.
He is an active member of the American Dental Association, New York State Dental Association, the Fifth District Dental Society, as well as the Onondaga County Dental Society.
In 1989 while a member of the Lemoyne Dolphins baseball team Chris was part of the greatest comeback in Division I NCAA baseball regional tournament history. Down 14 to nothing after six innings and forced to come back the next day to complete the game after a rain delay, he hit the game winning three run homerun in the top of the 12th inning completing the 18-16 miracle comeback. He was inducted into the Class of 2000 Hall of Fame at LeMoyne College for this remarkable performance in Division I Baseball.
Chris’s family have always had a strong sporting connection with Syracuse. Chris’s father Chuck quarterbacked the SU football team from 1956 to 1958. He played in the Orange and Cotton bowls handing off to arguably the greatest running back in NFL history, Jim Brown.
Chris resides in Brewerton with his wife Valerie, and their five children, Daniel, Melanie, Erica, Olivia, and Juliette.
Business Office
She has specialized training in Practice Management, Patient Financing, Business Systems as well as Insurance Benefits. Her excellent communication skills enable her to explain dental treatment plans that may at first be puzzling to patients. Tina navigates patients through the financial aspects of paying for treatment by optimizing insurance benefits and creating viable payment plans if needed. She joined our staff in 1998.
Tina is one of the most versatile employees a dental office could have. In addition to years of front desk experience, she has been a registered hygienist for over 20 years. Although her duties are mainly at the front desk, her commitment to continuing education is unmatched. Tina has great interest in educating patients on periodontal disease and how it relates to, affects and is effected by general health issues. Other interests in hygiene include prevention and early intervention along with patient education. Lastly, she is a certified dental assistant and is highly capable in assisting Chris or Tyler with any procedures they may be performing.
Tina is the mother to 3 biological children (Nicholas, Noah, and Nathaneal) and 2 adopted children (Jose and Maria). She, her husband Jerry and the kids reside in Parish.
Clinical Staff – Registered Dental Hygienists
She was able to continue working in the “downtown” environment when she joined our staff in 2004. Having worked for a few solo practices, Becki now enjoys having so many co-workers in this growing group practice.
Becki starts counting down the days in May until the MacKenzie-Childs barn sale, which is usually held in July!
She resides in Cicero with her husband Kip.
She has worked in a variety of practice settings that include: Orthodontics, Dental Public Health, Hospital Dental Clinic Administration, Nursing Home Dental Coordination and Clinician, and General Practice. She joined our staff in 2007. Currently, she is an adjunct instructor of Dental Hygiene at SUNY Canton (Rome Site). She instructs Dental Materials, Dental Public Health, Anatomy of the Head and Neck, and Pre-Clinic.
Paula is a member of the American Dental Hygienists’ Association, the Dental Hygienists’ Association of New York, the Central New York Dental Hygienists’ Association, and the New York State Public Health Association.
Paula enjoys teaching Sunday school to children at her church, and resides in Liverpool.
Clinical Staff – Certified Dental Assistants
Reyna is the third of 9 children and enjoys Sunday family dinners eating authentic Spanish food.
She resides in Syracuse with her family.