Matthias Stamm, D.D.S. PH.D
Dental Council of NZ ID: 14049
Areas of interest:
General Dentistry
Oral Surgery
Periodontology
Implantology
Qualifications:
Doctorate of Dental Surgery, University of Freiburg
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Matthias’s story
EARLY LIFE AND CAREER
Matthias was born in the German city of Wuppertal as the second child of Gertrud and Anton Stamm. He was a sports kid for sure, with a love of football, volleyball and table tennis in particular, even going on to become a very successful ballroom dancer (a passion he now shares with his wife Susi, winning several tournaments together).
In 1987, Matthias left high school to pursue study as a dental technician, finishing his apprenticeship three years later at the top of his class – and becoming a fully licensed dental technician to boot. This was Matthias’s first brush with prosthetic dentistry and he says it thrilled him, guiding him on the way to the rest of his education. He attended dental school at the University of Freiburg (completing a Doctorate of Dental Surgery), and working on his PH.D – which he was awarded in 1996.
But while this was the beginning of Matthias’s dental career, it wasn’t the end of his studies. In fact, while working as a dentist his teacher and a friend of his father, Professor Christian Foitzik, encouraged Matthias to keep going and become a fully trained oral surgeon. So, Matthias went back to school and earned himself qualifications in dental implantology and periodontology, concluding 11 years of training.
His training was over, but not his time at university. Matthias began to give lectures on dentistry, building a strong reputation in Germany as a young and thriving dentist with a profound scientific background. In 1999 he was promoted to junior professor (Oberarzt) at Heinrich-Heine University Department of Oral Surgery.
DENTIST AT HOME, WORLD-RENOWNED LECTURER ABROAD
Despite enjoying his time at university, and developing his reputation as a lecturer, Matthias was looking for a position which would allow him to explore both the practical as well as the theoretical aspects of his craft, treating actual patients in order to benefit his community.
In 2000 he purchased a private clinic in the township of Overath, and grew himself both as the lecturer he already was and as a dentist people could trust. In this time he also began travelling the world giving talks at conferences. He was invited all across Germany, plus the US, UK, France, Hungary, India, Thailand, Switzerland, Columbia and Spain – just to name a few places! He was also certified as a lecturer at the Zimmer Institute in California.
Matthias continued to jet set around the world for many years, contributing to dentistry as a global practice, helping other dentists, and running his private clinic in Germany at the same time. But staying so busy gave him a realisation that he was losing the balance between his dedication to dentistry and spending time with his wife and two children, Chiara and Jorrit. So, in 2016, after nearly three decades working in Germany and travelling the globe, Matthias and his family decided it was time to travel once more – this time to New Zealand.
MOVING TO NEW ZEALAND
Matthias, Susi, Chiara and Jorrit settled into Whangārei after 18 months of paperwork and some very long flights. Matthias joined Jeff and the Kowhai Dental team in 2018, inspired by Jeff’s vision to improve the quality and affordability of oral health care in Northland, and the problems many Kiwis face in getting to the dentist regularly.
These days, in his spare time Matthias enjoys golf, fishing and the relaxed Kiwi way of life – he’s even taken up kiteboarding! After an incredible journey all over the world, Matthias says that Whangārei represents the pinnacle of his family’s dream of living an enjoyable, fulfilling life.