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Choosing an Oral Surgeon in New Jersey: What I’d Want to Know Before I Book
By Tiffany Slowinski
Nobody goes looking for an oral surgeon because they are having a particularly fun week.
Usually your dentist tells you that you need one.
Maybe your teenager needs wisdom teeth out. Maybe you need an implant. Maybe there is a tooth that has become a much bigger problem than you were hoping it would be.
Either way, I am probably already a little nervous before I ever start Googling.
And if it is one of my kids, multiply that by about 100.
So when I am choosing an oral surgeon, I am not looking for the fanciest office or the person with the most dramatic before-and-after photos.
I want to know who is actually doing the procedure, what their training is, how they handle anesthesia, what recovery is really going to look like and who I call if something does not seem right afterward.
That is the information I care about.
Who is actually doing the surgery?
This is the first thing I would want to know.
Some oral surgery practices have one surgeon. Others have several doctors working across multiple offices.
If I am reading about a specific surgeon, I want to know whether that is actually the person who will be treating me or my child.
I also want to know what credentials the practice publishes and what the state record shows.
New Jersey’s public dental licensing record can show a dentist license and, when applicable, specialty and anesthesia permits. Some practices also publish board certification through the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.
Those are different pieces of information.
I am not expecting a parent to decode every credential on the internet.
That is exactly why we checked them.
What kind of anesthesia or sedation are we talking about?
This would be a very big question for me.
Especially if you are talking about my child.
Oral and maxillofacial surgeons receive hospital-based surgical training after dental school, including anesthesia training, and different procedures may involve anything from local anesthesia to different levels of sedation or general anesthesia.
I do not need to decide which one is right.
I do want the surgeon to explain what they recommend for this particular procedure and why.
What will my child experience?
Will they be awake?
How long will the anesthesia last?
What should we expect when they wake up?
Do they need to stop eating or drinking beforehand?
What medications do we need to discuss?
Who needs to drive them home?
These are not stupid questions.
They are exactly the questions I am asking.
One thing that stood out while we researched this guide is how little some practices publish about sedation on their websites.
So if anesthesia matters to you, ask.
The state record can help show who holds an anesthesia permit. The actual practice needs to tell you what it offers and what is being recommended for you.
If this is my kid’s wisdom teeth, what am I actually signing up for?
I think this is where the mom brain kicks in.
I want to know why they need to come out.
Do all four need to be removed?
Is there a reason to do it now?
What does the surgeon see on the X-ray?
How complicated does this look?
What is a normal recovery for this particular case?
I am not looking for a promise that everything will be easy.
I am looking for someone who can tell me what they expect and what would make this case different.
Then give me the practical version.
How many days should I realistically keep my kid home?
When can they go back to school?
When can they go back to sports?
What should they eat?
What should we have in the house before surgery?
What pain-control plan should we expect?
What symptoms are normal and what means I should call you?
That is the information I am going to remember.
If I need an implant, I have a different set of questions
Dental implants can turn into a much bigger conversation than I expected.
Sometimes there is an extraction first.
Sometimes bone grafting is part of the plan.
There can be a healing period before the final tooth is restored.
And the oral surgeon may be handling one part of the process while your general dentist handles another.
I would want someone to walk me through the whole sequence before we start.
Who does what?
How many appointments are involved?
How long is the process likely to take?
Will I leave with a temporary tooth?
Does the surgeon place the implant and then send me back to my dentist for the final crown?
What happens if bone grafting is needed?
I do not want to discover step four while I am sitting in the chair after step three.
Show me the roadmap.
What is this going to cost and which insurance are we even talking about?
This is another fun part.
Oral surgery can involve dental insurance, medical insurance or sometimes both depending on the procedure and the plan.
That means the sentence “we take your insurance” does not tell me nearly enough.
Before surgery, I want an estimate.
What does the surgeon charge?
What does the anesthesia cost?
Are there separate charges for imaging, grafting or anything else being discussed?
What is expected to be covered?
Is anything subject to a deductible?
Does the office submit to both medical and dental insurance when appropriate?
I understand that an office cannot guarantee what an insurance company will pay.
I do expect them to explain the financial side well enough that I am not blindsided afterward.
What does recovery really look like?
I do not want the brochure answer.
I want the answer you would give your sister.
How swollen am I likely to be?
When does swelling usually peak?
How uncomfortable is this expected to be?
How long until I can eat normally?
When can I exercise?
When can my teenager go back to practice?
What is normal bleeding?
What happens if pain gets worse instead of better?
And who answers the phone if I am worried at 8 p.m.?
Recovery is part of the procedure.
I want to know what support looks like after I leave the office, not just while I am in it.
Pay attention to how the surgeon talks to you
This may be one of the biggest things for me.
Surgery is already intimidating enough.
I want a surgeon who can explain what is happening without making me feel ridiculous for asking questions.
If this is my child, I want them spoken to too.
I want someone to tell us what they are doing, what they expect and what the alternatives are when there actually are alternatives.
I want enough information to make a decision without feeling like I need to go to dental school first.
That matters as much to me as the waiting room.
Probably more.
So how do you compare oral surgeons?
That is why Garden State Circle built this guide differently.
For oral surgeons serving Upper Freehold Township, Millstone Township (Monmouth), Allentown and Roosevelt, we did not just pull the practices that appear first in search.
We looked at the surgeons the practices publish, then checked New Jersey’s public dentistry licensing register for the dentist license and any specialty or anesthesia permits we could find under each surgeon’s name.
When we could not find something, we say that.
That does not mean a surgeon does not have it.
It means we are not going to fill in the blank ourselves.
That distinction matters.
This is also not a ranking.
The closest surgeon may be the right one for you.
The surgeon your dentist recommends may be the right one.
You may care most about board certification, anesthesia options, a particular procedure, appointment access or whether the surgeon made your nervous 17-year-old feel completely at ease.
Those are personal decisions.
What we can do is give you better information before you make them.
Because if someone is operating on me or one of my kids, “they had good Google reviews” is not enough homework for me.
I want to know who they are, what the public record shows and whether I trust them when they explain what happens next.
The Guide: Oral Surgeons near Upper Freehold Township, Millstone Township (Monmouth), Allentown and Roosevelt, NJ
Part of the Monmouth County oral surgery guide
How We Selected These Practices
This guide covers Upper Freehold Township, Millstone Township (Monmouth), Allentown and Roosevelt.
A practice appears here if it has an office you can walk into in one of those towns, and at least one surgeon identified on the practice’s own website as an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, then looked up on the New Jersey license register. That is a test, not a judgment. They are listed alphabetically.
The practices that met the criteria and are nearest to these towns are listed below, each with the town it is based in.
About This Guide
This guide is produced by Garden State Circle. Practices appear here because they meet the criteria described above — an office in the towns named above, and a named oral and maxillofacial surgeon. That is a test, not a judgment, and it is the only route onto this page. No practice can pay to be included in this guide, to be listed higher, or to change what the comparison table says about it. Practices are listed alphabetically, and every detail in the table was verified against each practice’s own website and the New Jersey State Board of Dentistry’s license register in October 2026.
Everything under the heading that begins this guide is governed by the rules above, on every guide we publish. Where a sponsor’s message appears above that heading, it is paid for and labelled, and it buys nothing in the guide. Garden State Circle is supported by the businesses that participate in it. Participation pays for our ongoing work: keeping a business’s entry accurate, re-checking its record, and publishing a page of its own details that the business maintains. There is no paid placement in this guide. Participation does not buy a place here, a position here, or anything the comparison table says. Where a row carries a verification date, that is when we last checked that business’s record ourselves. A row without one has not been checked recently — that is a fact about our work, not about the business. Nothing on this page is medical advice. Every treatment described here carries risks that depend on your own health and history, and the person to discuss them with is a licensed provider who has examined you.
Garden State Circle is published in New Jersey by Tiffany and Jake Slowinski and covers Upper Freehold Township, Millstone Township (Monmouth), Allentown and Roosevelt. Contact the publisher at jake@gardenstatecircle.com. How every guide is made, in one place: how every guide is made.
Nearby options: other Monmouth County practices, nearest first
| Practice | Surgeons | NJ licence and permits, checked October 1, 2026 | Board certification (as published) | Record checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Center for Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Based in Freehold | Brian S. Krost, DMD Jeffrey C. Elbaum, DMD Michael Steinle, DMD Nathan Ostler, DDS Daniel Krost, DMD Peter Henein, DMD Erik Anderson, DDS | B. Krost: Dentist license 22DI01725300 Active, Ocean. Specialty permit 03908 Active. Elbaum: Dentist license 22DI01885500 Active, Freehold. Specialty permit 03970 Active. Steinle: Dentist license 22DI01771900 Active, Ocean. Specialty permit 05971 Active. Ostler: Dentist license 22DI02540400 Active, Hazlet. Specialty permit 06236 Active. D. Krost: Dentist license 22DI02722300 Active, Freehold. Specialty permit: Not found by us on October 1, 2026. Henein: Dentist license 22DI02744100 Active, East Windsor. Specialty permit: Not found by us on October 1, 2026. Anderson: Dentist license 22DI02842600 Active, Ocean. Specialty permit: Not found by us on October 1, 2026. | “Diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery”: B. Krost, Elbaum, Steinle, Henein. D. Krost: “Board certified by the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery”. Ostler and Anderson: not published | October 2026 |
| Central Jersey Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, P.A. Based in Freehold | John M. McElroy, DMD Brian Paterson, DMD, MD Jared Gelband, DMD Gaurav Shah, DMD, MD, MPH, FACS Emeritus as listed by the practice: Marc Feldman, Laurence Sussman, Stuart Meyer | McElroy: Dentist license 22DI01590700 Active, Matawan. Specialty permit 03894 Active. Paterson: Dentist license 22DI02597600 Active, Ocean. Specialty permit 06399 Active. Gelband: Dentist license 22DI02499800 Active, Ocean. Specialty permit 06400 Active. Shah: two register rows returned, not resolved: Gaurav P Shah, dentist license 22DI02743100 Active, Gibbsboro; Gaurav Shah, dentist license 22DI02698800 Active, Matawan. Specialty permit: Not found by us on October 1, 2026. Marc Feldman (emeritus): Dentist license 22DI01078200 Expired, Freehold. Specialty permit 02458 Inactive. Sussman (emeritus): Dentist license 22DI01285600 Inactive, Matawan. Specialty permit 03101 Inactive. Meyer (emeritus): Dentist license 22DI01597500 Expired, Ocean Twp. Specialty permit 03439 Inactive. | McElroy: “Diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery”. Paterson and Gelband: “Board Certified in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery”. Shah: not published (FACS only). Home page: all four “board-certified leaders in oral and maxillofacial surgery” | October 2026 |
| Marlboro Center for Oral Surgery & Dental Implantology Based in Marlboro | Edward Kozlovsky, DMD Marisa Dailey, DDS Ryan Richards, DDS Victoria Hein-Spaulding, DMD Also listed on the practice’s welcome page: Joseph F. Miele, DDS; George Sandau, DMD, MD | Kozlovsky: Dentist license 22DI02185300 Active, Marlboro. Specialty permit 05709 Active. Dailey: Dentist license 22DI02807300 Active, Wall Township. Specialty permit: Not found by us on October 1, 2026. Richards: Dentist license 22DI02574800 Active, Middletown. Specialty permit: Not found by us on October 1, 2026. Hein-Spaulding: Dentist license 22DI02912800 Active, Marlboro. Specialty permit: Not found by us on October 1, 2026. Miele: Dentist license 22DI00890300 Active, Middletown. Specialty permit 02293 Active. Sandau: Dentist license 22DI02195600 Active, Marlton. Specialty permit 05852 Active, Marlton. | Kozlovsky: “Board Certified Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon”. Others: not published on this site | October 2026 |
| New Jersey Oral & Facial Surgery Based in Howell | Dr. Nick Levintov, MD, DDS Dr. Alyssa Levintov | N. Levintov: Dentist license and specialty permit: Not found by us on October 1, 2026, under the name as the practice prints it. A. Levintov: Dentist license 22DI02717500 Active, Howell. Specialty permit: Not found by us on October 1, 2026. | N. Levintov: “Board Certified Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon”. A. Levintov: not published | October 2026 |
| New Jersey Oral Surgery and Dental Implants Based in Morganville | Marten N. Ladman, DMD Igor Tarlo, DDS, MD | Ladman: Dentist license 22DI01493900 Active, Morganville. Specialty permit 03295 Active. Tarlo: Dentist license 22DI02697200 Active, East Brunswick. Specialty permit 06614 Active. | Ladman: “Diplomate, American Board of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery; Diplomate, National Dental Board of Anesthesiology; Fellow, American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon[s]” (home page also “Board Certified Oral Surgeon”). Tarlo: “Diplomate – American Board of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery”; “Fellow – American Association of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery” | October 2026 |
| Lincroft Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Based in Lincroft | Dr. John Frattellone | Dentist license 22DI01651400 Active, Lincroft. Specialty permit 03867 Active. | Not published (page lists “active member of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial surgeons, and the New Jersey Dental Association”) | October 2026 |
| Atlantic Oral Surgery Based in Tinton Falls | Dr. Justin Ponquinette | Dentist license 22DI02369900 Active, Tinton Falls. Specialty permit 05869 Active. | “board certified as of 2010” (board not named) | October 2026 |
Checked against the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs Dentistry licensee search.
License and permit status is what the New Jersey State Board of Dentistry’s public register showed on October 1, 2026, looked up by name; not found by us is a fact about our search, not about the surgeon. A register city is the city the register printed for that license. Board certification is printed as each practice states it on its own website.
A Note on Reading the Table
Board certification is printed as each practice states it on its own website. We have not checked it against a certifying board’s own list.
The Practices
Center for Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Ocean, Hazlet and Freehold
Office: 1125 Highway 35, Ocean, NJ 07712
Office: One Bethany Road, Building 4, Suite 51, Hazlet, NJ 07730
Office: 501 Iron Bridge Road, Suite 14, Freehold, NJ 07728
Named on the practice’s own site: Brian S. Krost, DMD; Jeffrey C. Elbaum, DMD; Michael Steinle, DMD; Nathan Ostler, DDS; Daniel Krost, DMD; Peter Henein, DMD; Erik Anderson, DDS.
State register, checked October 1, 2026: B. Krost: Dentist license 22DI01725300 Active, Ocean. Specialty permit 03908 Active. Elbaum: Dentist license 22DI01885500 Active, Freehold. Specialty permit 03970 Active. Steinle: Dentist license 22DI01771900 Active, Ocean. Specialty permit 05971 Active. Ostler: Dentist license 22DI02540400 Active, Hazlet. Specialty permit 06236 Active. D. Krost: Dentist license 22DI02722300 Active, Freehold. Specialty permit: Not found by us on October 1, 2026. Henein: Dentist license 22DI02744100 Active, East Windsor. Specialty permit: Not found by us on October 1, 2026. Anderson: Dentist license 22DI02842600 Active, Ocean. Specialty permit: Not found by us on October 1, 2026.
The practice’s site does not say which surgeons see patients at which office, except that Dr. Henein is described as serving its Freehold office.
Central Jersey Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, P.A., Ocean Township, Matawan and Freehold
Office: 1315 Allaire Avenue, Hwy 35, Ocean Township, NJ 07712
Office: 158 Main Street, Matawan, NJ 07747
Office: 509 Stillwells Corner Road, Wemrock Professional Mall, Freehold, NJ 07728
Named on the practice’s own site: John M. McElroy, DMD; Brian Paterson, DMD, MD; Jared Gelband, DMD; Gaurav Shah, DMD, MD, MPH, FACS; Emeritus as listed by the practice: Marc Feldman, Laurence Sussman, Stuart Meyer.
State register, checked October 1, 2026: McElroy: Dentist license 22DI01590700 Active, Matawan. Specialty permit 03894 Active. Paterson: Dentist license 22DI02597600 Active, Ocean. Specialty permit 06399 Active. Gelband: Dentist license 22DI02499800 Active, Ocean. Specialty permit 06400 Active. Shah: two register rows returned, not resolved: Gaurav P Shah, dentist license 22DI02743100 Active, Gibbsboro; Gaurav Shah, dentist license 22DI02698800 Active, Matawan. Specialty permit: Not found by us on October 1, 2026. Marc Feldman (emeritus): Dentist license 22DI01078200 Expired, Freehold. Specialty permit 02458 Inactive. Sussman (emeritus): Dentist license 22DI01285600 Inactive, Matawan. Specialty permit 03101 Inactive. Meyer (emeritus): Dentist license 22DI01597500 Expired, Ocean Twp. Specialty permit 03439 Inactive.
The practice’s site does not say which surgeons see patients at which office.
Marlboro Center for Oral Surgery & Dental Implantology, Marlboro
Office: 15 School Road East, Suite 1, Marlboro, NJ 07746
Named on the practice’s own site: Edward Kozlovsky, DMD; Marisa Dailey, DDS; Ryan Richards, DDS; Victoria Hein-Spaulding, DMD; Also listed on the practice’s welcome page: Joseph F. Miele, DDS; George Sandau, DMD, MD.
State register, checked October 1, 2026: Kozlovsky: Dentist license 22DI02185300 Active, Marlboro. Specialty permit 05709 Active. Dailey: Dentist license 22DI02807300 Active, Wall Township. Specialty permit: Not found by us on October 1, 2026. Richards: Dentist license 22DI02574800 Active, Middletown. Specialty permit: Not found by us on October 1, 2026. Hein-Spaulding: Dentist license 22DI02912800 Active, Marlboro. Specialty permit: Not found by us on October 1, 2026. Miele: Dentist license 22DI00890300 Active, Middletown. Specialty permit 02293 Active. Sandau: Dentist license 22DI02195600 Active, Marlton. Specialty permit 05852 Active, Marlton.
The practice’s home page and meet-us page list four surgeons; its welcome page lists six.
New Jersey Oral & Facial Surgery, Howell
Office: 100 Candlewood Commons, Howell, NJ 07731
Named on the practice’s own site: Dr. Nick Levintov, MD, DDS; Dr. Alyssa Levintov.
State register, checked October 1, 2026: N. Levintov: Dentist license and specialty permit: Not found by us on October 1, 2026, under the name as the practice prints it. A. Levintov: Dentist license 22DI02717500 Active, Howell. Specialty permit: Not found by us on October 1, 2026.
A directory entry lists this address and phone under the name Howell Dental Surgery Group P.A.
New Jersey Oral Surgery and Dental Implants, Morganville
Office: 87 County Road 520, Morganville, NJ 07751
Named on the practice’s own site: Marten N. Ladman, DMD; Igor Tarlo, DDS, MD.
State register, checked October 1, 2026: Ladman: Dentist license 22DI01493900 Active, Morganville. Specialty permit 03295 Active. Tarlo: Dentist license 22DI02697200 Active, East Brunswick. Specialty permit 06614 Active.
The practice’s site prints the town as Morganville and labels the office “Manalapan / Marlboro”.
Lincroft Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Lincroft and Middletown
Office: 515 Newman Springs Rd, Lincroft, NJ 07738 (main)
Office: 79 Oak Hill Road, Middletown, NJ 07701 (secondary, listed as “Alliance Oral Surgery”)
Named on the practice’s own site: Dr. John Frattellone.
State register, checked October 1, 2026: Dentist license 22DI01651400 Active, Lincroft. Specialty permit 03867 Active.
Atlantic Oral Surgery, Tinton Falls
Office: 21 Gilbert St N., Tinton Falls, NJ 07701
Named on the practice’s own site: Dr. Justin Ponquinette.
State register, checked October 1, 2026: Dentist license 22DI02369900 Active, Tinton Falls. Specialty permit 05869 Active.
Common Questions
What does an oral and maxillofacial surgeon do that my dentist doesn’t?
An oral and maxillofacial surgeon completes a hospital-based surgical residency after dental school. In practice that means impacted teeth, difficult extractions, implants, jaw surgery and deeper sedation in the office.
How do I check a license myself?
The New Jersey State Board of Dentistry publishes a licensee search. Search under Dentistry by the surgeon’s last name. The record shows the license number, any specialty or anesthesia permit, and the status of each.
How We Checked This
Every detail on this page was checked on October 1, 2026 against each practice’s own website and the New Jersey State Board of Dentistry’s license register.
Additional Resources
The county guide
The same guide for other markets
NJ Division of Consumer Affairs license verification
Something out of date?
This guide is maintained. If anything here is wrong or has changed — a credential, who is at the practice, insurance participation, or whether they are taking new patients — tell us and we will check it. Corrections are free, for every practice on this page. A practice that is not listed here and meets the criteria described at the top of this guide can write to the same address.
admin@gardenstatecircle.com
This is not a ranking.