Debbie Apiheiress

Debbie Apiheiress, Vice President of Marketing at Coast Dental & Orthodontics

About Debbie Apiheiress

Debbie is a dynamic and results-driven marketing executive with a strong focus on data, analytics, and digital marketing strategies. As the Vice President of Marketing at Coast Dental & Orthodontics, she plays a pivotal role in driving growth and expansion for the company's more than 100 locations.

With her extensive experience in both B2B and B2C marketing, Debbie excels at developing innovative marketing strategies that comply with industry regulations while maximizing impact. She has a proven track record of successfully growing multisite healthcare practices through effective marketing campaigns.

At Coast Dental, Debbie oversees all aspects of the marketing department, including digital and social media, demand generation, customer retention, and community outreach. Her hands-on, scrappy, and grassroots marketing style strategies have consistently delivered measurable results.

Debbie has a keen eye for analyzing internal performance metrics and monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs) on a daily, weekly, and yearly basis. This ensures that the marketing team remains agile and adaptable, making data-driven decisions that drive success.

In addition to her core responsibilities, Debbie is well-versed in regulatory compliance, including HIPAA and OSHA. She ensures that Coast Dental maintains the highest standards of quality and patient protection throughout all marketing activities and initiatives.

Debbie's leadership and strategic vision have been instrumental in transforming and inspiring the brand architecture of Coast Dental. Her forward-thinking approach has guided the company's expansion into teledentistry and other digital solutions, positioning them as a leader in the ever-evolving dental industry.

With her diverse skill set, industry expertise, and a proven ability to drive growth, Debbie continues to propel Coast Dental & Orthodontics towards continued success in delivering exceptional dental care to patients across their extensive network of locations.

Blogs

• Routine dental care may prevent severe COVID-19 complications, study finds: Successful control of periodontal inflammation can be beneficial to the lungs and potentially decrease severity and risk of COVID-19 respiratory problems, according to a study published by the Journal of the California Dental Association.


• COVID-19, flu, strep or common cold? How to tell the difference.: Cold and flu season is approaching during an ongoing pandemic, At the first sign of any symptoms, you may ask yourself: “Do I have COVID-19? Common cold? The flu? Understanding your symptoms can be a challenge. Not everyone with the same illness experience the same symptoms.


• Bone Grafting: What It Is & How It Helps: A great smile requires more than just healthy teeth. It also requires healthy gums and a healthy jaw bone. If you have a tooth or several teeth extracted, the jaw bone will begin to recede. That's a problem if you want to replace the missing tooth or teeth with a dental implant, a denture, or a partial. Bone grafting is a common procedure that reconstructs the bone. Here's a quick look at how it works.


• 10 Reasons to use MI Paste: MI Paste is like vitamins for your teeth. It provides minerals such as calcium and phosphate that strengthen teeth and protect the enamel from cavities. Here are 10 reasons your dentist might suggest you add it to your daily routine.


• 10 Tips for Dealing with Dental Anxiety: Do you know somebody who hates going to the dentist? The answer is probably yes. More than 80 percent of American adults have some fear of the dentist, a study by the American Association of Endodontists discovered in 1999. Nearly 25 percent of Americans are so fearful, they avoid their dental check-ups unless they’re in pain, a Wall Street Journal article reports.


• 5 Things to Consider When Choosing a Dentist: It’s a simple fact: if you like your dentist and the office staff, you are more likely to return for your check-ups, follow their advice and keep your beautiful smile.


• 5 Ways Dental Lasers Help Patients: No one knew how the discovery of lasers in the 1960s would revolutionize the way we live. Laser technology allows us to play CDs and DVDs, scan bar codes at the store, and use laser pointers during presentations. LASIK eye surgery uses a laser to reshape the eye and improve vision, laser angioplasty is used to save heart attack victims, laser technology is being used in brain surgery and dermatologists have been using lasers for years to remove tattoos and birthmarks.


• 5 Ways to Keep Smiling in the New Year: January is National Get Organized Month! It’s the perfect time to take these simple steps to get your oral health on track.


• Bit lip? Split Lip? How to Treat Mouth Injuries in Children: Do you know what to do if your child injuries his mouth? Whether it's a bit lip, a split lip or an injury from a fall, it's important to take action immediately. Here are five tips that help ensure the child receives the care he or she needs.


• Bleeding Gums Are Never Normal: If eating, flossing or brushing with a gentle-bristled toothbrush is causing your gums to bleed, then you need to see your dentist. Many people think a little blood is normal; that’s not the case. Bleeding along the gum line is a sign of periodontal disease, which can lead to bone loss and tooth loss if left untreated.


• Can Kids Get Periodontal Disease?: A woman just diagnosed with Chronic Periodontitis was not thinking of her own health as she sat in the dental office. Instead, she wanted to know if her children were at risk too.


• Bone Grafting: What It Is & How It Helps: A great smile requires more than just healthy teeth. It also requires healthy gums and a healthy jaw bone. If you have a tooth or several teeth extracted, the jaw bone will begin to recede. That's a problem if you want to replace the missing tooth or teeth with a dental implant, a denture, or a partial. Bone grafting is a common procedure that reconstructs the bone. Here's a quick look at how it works.


• Choosing the Right Crown for You: If you’re like most people, you’ll probably need a crown at some point. A crown is a type of dental restoration that covers an existing tooth, improving the appearance of your smile while protecting your teeth. A crown can restore a tooth, cover badly-shaped or discolored teeth, attach bridges, attach to dental implants, support fractured teeth and improve the way your bite fits together.


• Coast Dental Hygienist Provides Smiles Far From Home: A television show inspired Tampa dental hygienist Johnathan Lawson to travel 10 hours to help a group of strangers in June. He was part of a team of volunteer dentists, hygienists, doctors and nurses who set up a makeshift clinic at Cleveland High School in Cleveland, TN, during the first weekend in June to help hundreds of patients who couldn't afford dental or medical care.


• Dental X-rays Are Safe - and Necessary: Dental x-rays have gotten a bad rap this year and a lot of people are asking, "Are x-rays really necessary?" The answer is yes. Dental x-rays are used for diagnosing and treating problems that can't be seen with the naked eye. X-rays reveal cavities between the teeth or hidden by fillings, infections in the bone, fractures, gum disease, abscesses, cysts, and tumors.


• Don’t Make These 10 Mistakes When You Brush Your Teeth: Everyone knows you should brush your teeth. But many people don’t know there is a right way and a wrong way to do it.


• Don't Smoke? You Could Still Get Oral Cancer: The face of oral cancer is changing. Meet one woman who doesn't fit the profile: a non-smoker who has no history of cancer in her family and none of the known risk factors. Now she's sharing her story to inspire others to get an oral cancer screening - even if you don't think you need it.


• Early Orthodontic Treatment for Children: When you think of big milestones in your child’s life, you may think of the day your baby got his first tooth, or years later when he lost a tooth and would carefully place it under the pillow for the Tooth Fairy. But there is another milestone many parents don’t realize. The American Association of Orthodontists recommends children visit an orthodontist by age 7 to see whether early orthodontic treatment could correct or prevent problems.


• Five Reasons You May Have Stained Teeth: Having yellow or brown stains on your teeth can be embarrassing. Fortunately, it’s within your control to eliminate most kinds of tooth stains and prevent them from coming back.


• Flossing 101: The Right Way to Floss: We took an informal poll and it turned out about half of our friends and family members did it one way, and the other half did it the other way. Does it make a difference?


• Gum Disease Linked to Heart Disease and Stroke: Can brushing and flossing actually save your life? Researchers are asking that question as they learn more about the link between periodontal (gum) disease and heart disease.


• Have Cancer? Why Your Doctor Wants You to See Your Dentist: One of the first recommendations by your doctor may surprise you. Many oncologists recommend cancer patients see a dentist to correct any problems with your teeth or gums before you start radiation or chemotherapy treatments. More than one-third of people treated for cancer have side effects that affect the mouth, the National Institutes of Health reports.


• How Dental Implants Help You: Nothing can make you look older as quickly as missing teeth. Once a tooth is lost, you begin to lose bone as well. That bone loss can cause your facial structure to collapse, your lips to sink and your chin to point upward. Severe bone loss also can lead to pinched nerves between dentures and bone, which can be painful.


• How Dental Insurance Works: If you have dental insurance, you may think you’re covered when you go to the dentist. Unfortunately, that's not always the case. It depends on the type of insurance plan your employer has designed with the insurance company.


• How Diabetes Can Affect Your Teeth and Gums: Diabetes affects almost 26 million Americans, which is more than 8 percent of the U.S. population. The condition often requires them to make lifestyle changes, including what they eat, how they exercise and the medications they take. It also requires them to change the way they take care of their teeth and gums.


• How High Blood Pressure Medication Could Cause Swollen Gums: If you have high blood pressure, your medical doctor may prescribe calcium channel blockers to help control it. However, that can have a side effect of sore, swollen gums that can be disturbing if you don't expect it.


• How to Care for Braces: Getting braces is a huge milestone. You dream of the day when the braces will come off and you will have a beautiful, straight smile. However, there are five steps you need to take at home to ensure you have a healthy smile at the end of your treatment. Skipping these could lead to ugly white spots and cavities. Here's how to care for braces.


• How to Care for Dentures: After weeks, months, maybe even years of missing teeth, you now have a new set of dentures and you can eat, smile and kiss again with ease! Now you just need to take care of your new teeth so they will last for years.


• How to Choose the Right Mouthguard: There are some things that are just common sense. If you're going to play football, you need shoulder pads, a helmet and a mouth guard. But did you know the majority of oral injuries happen in sports other than football?


• How to Get Your Kids to Brush Their Teeth: Sometimes, it can be frustrating to be a parent. It’s the end of the day, your kids are tired and it’s time to get ready for bed. But when you tell them it’s time to brush their teeth, they clamp their jaws shut and shake their heads with that look that clearly says, "No way!" Here are some tips to help you win the brushing battle and keep your children smiling.


• Intra-Oral Cameras: A Picture's Worth A Thousand Words: Have you ever had this happen? You're leaning back in the dental chair and the dentist says, "I see a cavity here," or "Hmm, this tooth has a little crack in it," or "Your crown needs to be repaired." You ask to see, and the dentist holds up a mirror and points to the problem spot. Unfortunately, no matter how wide you open your mouth, you can't see the area.


• Orthodontic Terms Explained: It can feel like you’re learning to speak a different language when you’re talking to any kind of medical or dental specialist. Here is a quick primer on some of the terms commonly used by orthodontists.


• Ouch! Toothaches Caused by a Cracked Tooth: Do you have any pain or sensitivity when you eat something hot, cold or sweet? You may have a cracked tooth. Wesley Chapel dentist Diaa Ghabbour, DMD, explains what can cause a tooth to crack, what are the symptoms of a cracked tooth, and how a dentist can fix the problem.


• Protecting Our Patients' Health: Dentists follow strict state and federal guidelines to ensure their patients' safety. The risk of your health being affected because you skip your dental appointments is far greater than the risk of cross-infection. The best advice is to talk to your dentist so you feel comfortable with receiving the treatment you need. In the meantime, here are some of the ways we protect our patients while providing quality dental care.


• Tetracycline Teeth Stains: A Smile Makeover: About one in 10 Americans have yellow, brown or grey teeth caused by a type of medication called tetracyclines that doctors used to prescribe for ear infections, acne and other common conditions. Teeth whitening can't hide the stains. Here's how one patient transformed his smile - with incredible results.


• Think Oral Cancer Can't Happen To You? Two Survivor Stories: When your dentist suggests you have an oral cancer screening test, it can be a shock. You might think, "But I don’t smoke," or "No one in my family has ever had oral cancer. I don’t need that."


• Tooth Knocked Out? What You Should Do: You hope it won't happen to you, but millions of people accidentally knock out a tooth each year. More than five million teeth are lost each year just from sports-related injuries. Other causes of accidental tooth loss include falling, fighting, car accidents and biting something hard. Lakeland dentist Dr. Shelly Prakash outlines the steps you should take if you or someone you know knocks out a tooth:


• Top 10 Things Pregnant Women Should Know About Visiting the Dentist: There are many things to worry about while you're pregnant, but your dental visit should not be one of them! Annual dental exams and routine cleanings not only safe during pregnancy, they're recommended.


• Top 10 Ways to Keep Kids' Teeth Healthy: The number of children with cavities is on the rise. One out of four toddlers and preschoolers have tooth decay, and half of children in their early teens have at least one cavity. If the decay is allowed to spread, the child may need to have a baby root canal or have the tooth pulled.


• Tori - AKA "Mouth Bumps": Do you have hard, bony bumps on the roof or the floor of your mouth? They may be tori. Here's what they look like, what may cause them, and what you should do if you have them.


• Treating Dental Injuries: Would you know what to do if you or someone you loved knocked loose a tooth - or worse? Coast Dental's Field Guide to Dental Injuries explains what you should do immediately, when you should seek care within six hours, and when you may be able to wait longer. Print out this guide and keep it in your car, on your refrigerator or anywhere else where it will be readily accessible!


• Veneers: Fix Your Smile With Less Drilling: If your smile is less-than-perfect, you don't need to undergo a ton of drilling to get it fixed. Whether your teeth are yellowed or stained, chipped or crooked, your dentist may recommend veneers to give you the smile you always wanted.


• Ways to Remove Stains and Whiten Teeth: Are your teeth yellow, grey, or stained? Don't worry. There are many ways you can remove stains and whiten your teeth. Here's a look at the different methods, the benefits and drawbacks of each, and how much teeth whitening costs.


• Ways to Treat Gum Disease: If your gums are puffy, tender or bleed when you floss, then you may be among the 75% of American adults who have some form of gum disease.


• What Causes Bad Breath?: Has this ever happened to you? You lean in for a kiss with your significant other, and suddenly all you want to do is back away! Your loved one's breath could make skunks cry, it's so bad.


• What Happens When You Wait 35 Years to Visit the Dentist: It took a long time and a lot of pain before Nancy Williams finally went to the dentist. It has been 35 years since her last visit. There was always a reason to justify putting it off: She had three kids to raise, she had a job and it was tough to take time off, plus, like many people, she was afraid to go to the dentist. Finally, she couldn’t put it off anymore.


• What is a Root Canal?: Ever wonder just what is a root canal? These pictures and simple explanations explain the procedure, why it's needed, and how it helps alleviate tooth pain.


• What Is Dry Socket? The Symptoms and Treatment: For most people, having a tooth pulled may not be the most pleasant experience in the entire world, but at least the pain is bearable. However, some people develop a condition called dry socket that can be extremely painful.


• What Is Mouthwash?: You know that you should visit the dentist every six months or even more often if you have gum disease. But did you know it's your daily home care routine that makes the biggest difference in keeping your mouth healthy?


• What to do with all that Halloween candy!: How do you keep your kids from eating too much Halloween candy? Here are six ideas that parents shared on our Coast Dental Facebook page. Plus, check out our Dentist's Guide to Halloween, which contains more ideas on how to keep your teeth cavity-free!


• What?! I Have Gum Disease?: It's a goal we all have: We want to walk into the dentist's office, hear that our teeth look great, get a routine cleaning, and then not have to think about going to the dentist again for another six months.


• Who Needs Premedications for Dental Treatment?: If you have had an artificial joint replacement or heart surgery, you need to let your dentist know before your appointment. The guidelines determining who needs to take an antibiotic before having certain dental procedures have changed, and the changes could affect you.


• Why Athletes Should Wear Mouthguards: One Player's Story: Athletes are 60 times more likely to suffer an injury to the mouth when they are not wearing a mouthguard, according to the American Dental Association. Here's the story of one basketball player who never thought she'd be a fan of custom mouthguards - until this happened.


• Why Do I Need Fluoride?: Your teeth are constantly under attack. Bacteria attach to the enamel and erode the hard surface through demineralization, which causes calcium and phosphorus to leave the enamel and will lead to cavities if not stopped. Fluoride is often referred to as nature’s cavity fighter.


• Why Does My Tooth Hurt: It can happen suddenly: One minute you feel fine and the next minute you suffer from a toothache that is causing you agony. Your tooth may be sensitive to hot or cold foods, the area around the tooth may be swollen, and the pain could range from a dull throbbing to sharp, unbearable pain.


• Why It's Worth Buying a Power Toothbrush: Chances are you’ve bought your toothbrushes from your grocery store or local pharmacy for as long as you can remember. You have a brand that you love, a manual toothbrush that fits well in your mouth, has the kind of bristles that you like, and costs less than $5.