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.
OUR EXPERTS

Your Doctors

Image

Dr. Tyler Mead, DDS

Partner

Image
Dr. Tyler Mead is a graduate of LeMoyne College, where he received his B.S. in Biology, with a minor in chemistry. While at LeMoyne, he was named to the Beta Beta Beta National Biological Honor Society for excelling in Biology.
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.

Dr. Chris Zimmerman,
DDS

Partner

Image
Dr. Chris Zimmerman is committed to staying current in the ever-changing dental and orthodontic fields. Laser dentistry, Cerec™ crowns, dental implants, and Invisalign™ are just a few of the areas that Chris specializes in and that we offer at our practice in Syracuse.
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.
Image
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.

Our Team

Business Office

Image

Tina Galluzzo

RDH-Office Manager

Image
Tina oversees the day to day operations of the practice as our office manager. She has in-depth knowledge in both managerial and clinical aspects of a dental practice. She received her certificate in Dental Assisting in 1984 at Oswego BOCES. She worked a number of years as a regional practice manager/developer. In 1992, she received her associate’s degree in Dental Hygiene at Onondaga Community College. She worked a number of years as a Dental Hygienist in general practice and a rehabilitation facility setting.
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 a 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 of 3 biological children (Nicholas, Noah, and Nathaneal) and 2 adopted children (Jose and Maria). She, her husband Jerry and the kids reside in Parish.

Jayme Pyle

Certified Dental Assistant/ Treatment Coordinator

Image
Jayme has been a certified dental assistant since 2007. She is cross-trained in most facets of the office and continues to serve her patients as best she can.
Image
Clinical Staff

Registered Dental Hygienists

Image

Becki White, RDH

Registered Dental Hygienist

Image
Becki has been a practicing dental hygienist for over 35 years. She earned her associate’s degree in Dental Hygiene at Onondaga Community College. She has work in general practice throughout her career. Becki states that she “grew up” in the State Tower Building working for Dr. Letizia for 20 years.
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.

Paula Maggio, RDH, BS

Registered Dental Hygienist

Image
Paula has been a practicing dental hygienist for over 30 years. She earned her associate’s degree in Dental Hygiene at Erie Community College and her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing at Columbia College. She graduated cum laude. She is also is certified in Dental Hygiene Local Infiltration Anesthesia. This is utilized as pain management during nonsurgical periodontal therapy. Paula also took advanced training in laser periodontal therapy.
Image
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.
Image

Nancy Stone

Registered Dental Hygienist

Image
Nancy has her B.S. in Biology from LeMoyne and then continued her education at Hudson Valley for her hygiene degree. She has been in the dental field for 6 years. If she isn’t working she is probably reading or eating.
Clinical Staff

Dental Assistants

Image

Reyna Rosa, CDA

Certified Dental Assistant

Image
Reyna received her certification in Dental Assisting from OCM BOCES in 2008 and joined our staff immediately upon graduation. Reyna is also CEREC-certified in Staining and Glazing.
Reyna is the third of 9 children and enjoys Sunday family dinners eating authentic Spanish food.
She resides in Syracuse with her family.

Tiffany Shaver

Dental Assistant

Image
Has 5 years of experience and before getting in the dental field completed her bachelor’s degree in psychology from U.B. She loves being outdoors and hanging at home with her cat Colby.
Image
Image

Tracey

Dental Assistant

Image
Has over 15 years of experience. She enjoys traveling and spending time with family and is a proud grandmother of grandson Elliot.