Dan Davidian graduated from Chapel Hill High School in 1991, having attended Hill School for three years. He went on the East Carolina University and earned a BA in business and human resources. Dan graduated from UNC School of Dentistry with his Doctorate of Dental Surgery, completed additional training in Advanced Life Support Skills at UNC, received his sedation training with the American Dental Society of Anesthesiology, and has done additional study at Ohio State University and the Medical College of Georgia. Dan is the Founder of Anutra Medical that neutralizes and delivers dental anesthesia. He has been awarded America’s Top Dentist for 2003 -2014 and was honored with an induction into Strathmore’s Who’s Who in July 2005. He and his wife Tracy are in practice at Raleigh Smile Center.
Dan’s rewarding career has not come easily. “My learning disability is the best thing ever. It made me work harder to learn. It taught me persistence and a work ethic.” As a middle school and high school student, Dan never felt like he performed at the level where he was really capable of performing. He believes his three years as a student at Hill School gave him the confidence he needed to excel. He began to see his hard work pay off. “If I hadn’t attended Hill, life definitely would have been different. Would I have even gone to college?”
While his professional life is important, family comes first. Dan and his wife Tracy have two sons, and homework is often a family affair. Dan works with his sons, sharing the skills he learned at Hill and used all through his academic career – organization of time and materials, study strategies for tests, flashcards. “Because of my experiences, I have the words to tell my sons when they struggle.”
Dan’s dedication to family is also reflected in the Helene Foundation, a nonprofit founded in honor of his mother, Helene Davidian, who died from cancer in 2009. The Helene Foundation is dedicated to providing assistance to North Carolina families with mothers actively undergoing cancer treatments. The focus is on immediate, practical support and services for mothers and families fighting cancer. The assistance provided includes, but is not limited to, meals for the families delivered to the home, housecleaning, child care, tutoring services if needed, and assistance with arranging transportation to medical appointments. Each family and situation is unique and their services are based on the mother’s requests. The Helene Foundation strives to help families keep as normal an environment as possible while engaged in their cancer fight. Dan and Tracy are the co-founders, and Tracy serves as President of the Board of Directors. To date, they have served over 160 mothers with more than 335 children in the greater Raleigh area.
Dan’s advice to current and future Hill students is, “Work hard; believe in yourself; try new things; maintain a healthy balance of support and skepticism. And one more time…be confident in your own abilities.”
Dan was awarded the 2019 Hill Learning Center Road Less Traveled Award.