About Ricardo J. Hernandez, DDS
Dr. Hernandez was born and raised right here in Sunny San Diego, where his passion for dentistry began early in life. Since childhood, he held a dream of becoming a dentist. During high school, Dr. Hernandez was active in school theater and music productions and, for a short time, envisioned changing his course to pursue a career in acting. With loving encouragement from his parents, however, he remembered that his first love was, and always would be, dentistry. Dr. Hernandez studied dentistry at Creighton University School of Dentistry in Omaha, NE., where he graduated in 1991. Immediately after graduation, he headed back to his favorite city, his hometown of San Diego, where he began providing care in the Clairemont and Pacific Beach areas 22 years ago. From the beginning, Dr. Hernandez was determined to provide the utmost in oral health care to his patients, making use of innovative technology and state-of-the-art equipment. Still today, he maintains a strong belief in preventative approach to oral care. At our Pacific Beach dental office, Dr. Hernandez visits with patients of all ages. Long ago, he developed a special interest in encouraging children to take care of their teeth after consulting with two young patients who had never been to the dentist. Struck by their situation, Dr. Hernandez felt the strong desire to write a children’s book that would show children the benefits of dental care, and paint dentistry for what it could be – a pleasant experience. To go along with this children’s book, Dr. Hernandez also created a music CD for his young patients, on which he sings about dental related topics, further teaching children the positive side of dental care. Concerned with the appearance of his patients' smiles as well as their oral health, Dr. Hernandez also offers a number of cosmetic treatments at our Pacific Beach Smile Studio. He believes that cosmetic dentistry is highly rewarding to both the patient and to the dentist, as there is nothing like seeing a patient's confidence transformed along with his or her smile, first not wanting to smile, and then not being able to stop.
