From Bishop Ludden to Le Moyne to the NYU School of Dentistry: Meet Andrew Goss ’05, D.D.S
Goss Uses Empathy, Medicine and Humanity to Shape His Community – One Smile at a Time
When a child rings the “No Cavities” bell at Salt City Dental, Andrew Goss ’05, D.D.S., cannot help but smile. Goss established his practice 15 years ago out of a desire to help others. Today he and his team treat an average of 30 to 40 patients – of all ages – every day in his Liverpool, New York, office. As Goss sees it, they are not just caring for the people who walk through their door. They are shaping how those individuals perceive dentistry. They are building relationships, establishing trust and earning credibility, one exam- or waiting-room encounter at a time.
When patients come to you and you are able to treat them and allay their fears, that is incredibly rewarding. You go from being someone whom they may have dreaded to being someone to whom they feel incredibly loyal over the course of a single appointment. That is pretty special.”
Born and raised in Syracuse, Goss uncovered an aptitude for biology at an early age, but was unsure exactly where that would take him. Among the mentors he turned to was his uncle, Robert Fangio ’78, a dentist with his own practice in Liverpool. Goss spent time shadowing him, and something clicked. Goss noticed something. A patient could come into the office with an issue, receive treatment and leave feeling better. You don’t always find that immediacy in other fields of medicine. Beyond that, Goss came to appreciate the freedom that dentists have to infuse their values into their practices, for example, by mentoring other young dentists, working in underserved areas, or innovating in order to make care affordable to as many people as possible.
Doing good is important to Goss. As a student at Bishop Ludden High School (now known as Bishop Ludden-Grimes), his teachers Tom and Sue Pietropaolo showed him that “people could lead with kindness and compassion,” while coaches Mike Rogers and John Cosgrove taught him that people could “be tough without sacrificing their values.” That focus on service continued during his time at Le Moyne, where, in addition earning a bachelor’s degree in biology, Goss was a resident adviser and member of the Student Government Association, cultivating interpersonal skills that have been essential to his work today. His undergraduate years helped him to grow as a scientist, but to cultivate his interpersonal skills. That served him well throughout his time at New York University College of Dentistry, where he earned his D.D.S. and his residency at Saint Joseph’s Hospital Health Center, where he completed his residency.
Now that he owns his own practice, Goss is a clinician, office manager and human resources generalist all rolled into one, and keeping up with the near daily advancements in the field, such as laser-assisted dentistry, is almost a job in and of itself. He often finds himself pulled in multiple directions. However, he never loses sight of the lessons about humanity that were instilled in him at Bishop Ludden and Le Moyne.
No matter what else is happening, my most important task is to take care of the person in front of me, and to give that individual my undivided attention.”
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Inspired by His Story?
Andrew’s story shows that at Le Moyne, future healthcare professionals build a strong foundation in science while developing the empathy, communication and critical-thinking skills essential to caring for others. Explore the experiences that prepare Dolphins to make a difference in healthcare and in their communities.
