After 32 years of dental practice, Patrick Murray not only knows a thing or two about taking care of people’s teeth, but has developed a strong value for his community.
“I love dealing with all the different people who come in,” he says. “It’s a cross-cut of Americana, and that’s fun.” The Kensington native earned his DDS from the University of Maryland Dental School and is one of only a handful of Maryland dentists to have earned his accreditation from the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry.
He takes joy in his family-centered practice—his 3 year-old grandson and 3-monthold granddaughter are frequent guests in the office—and enjoys using the latest technology to give his patients healthy smiles in a virtually pain-free experience. But he also enjoys using his training and experience to help others, and provides pro bono care for victims of domestic violence through the Montgomery County Victim Assistance and Sexual Assault Program.
After 9/11, Dr. Murray joined the Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team, part of the National Disaster Medical System. Since then, he has worked to help identify victims of Hurricane Katrina and the Warwick, R.I., nightclub fire. Dr. Murray is also a team leader and training officer with the team.
“People kind of scratch their heads with that,” he says with a laugh. “They can’t get the correlation between cosmetics and forensics. But they’re related, believe it or not.”