It had been a dream of Dr. Lev Yusupov’s, since he was a student at New York University’s College of Dentistry, to one day open his own private practice.
Upon accepting an attending position at Woodhull Medical Center as part of the NYU-Langone Medical Center team and practicing at several other offices in the tri-state area, Yusupov finally got his chance in August, with the opening of Lourdes Dental at 1185 Northern Boulevard in Manhasset.
“I knew I wanted to be on Long Island,” he said, noting he and his wife Mila had been shopping several locations. “I just didn’t know where.”
The facility seeks to offer a one-stop shop for dental needs, from general check-ups to implants and prosthetics to orthodontics, Yusupov said.
Though the experience has been the culmination of Yusupov’s “the ultimate goal,” he said the transition from dentist to first-time business owner has had its share of challenges.
‘Now it’s not only about treating patients, it’s everything else around it,” he said.
Yusupov was born in Russia and emigrated to Israel at age seven before moving to the United States for good when he was 19.
While working for his uncle in Huntington as a barber, Yusupov attended York College, part of the City University of New York system, and earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 2008.
He then went on to study dentistry at NYU, following the footsteps of his uncle, Dr. Gregory Yusupov, who is also a dentist.
Lev Yusupov said he had always admired dentistry as a potential career, and likes that it is a field in which he has to use his hands to solve problems.
“There’s a satisfaction in seeing results right away,” said Yusupov, who lives in Fresh Meadows, Queens. “Bringing smiles to people’s faces is very rewarding. It always has been.”
