N. WAYNE HIATT RISING STAR AWARD: DR. ZACHARY CHRISTOFF
Dr. Zachary Christoff is the 2025 recipient of the Ohio Dental Association N. Wayne Hiatt Rising Star Award
Dr. Zachary Christoff has been involved with organized dentistry since his time in dental school and is dedicated to educating the next generation of dentists. In recognition of his efforts, he will receive the Ohio Dental Association N. Wayne Hiatt Rising Star Award on Friday, Sept. 26 at the Callahan Celebration of Excellence, held in conjunction with the 159th ODA Annual Session.
“Ever since I have known Zach Christoff, he has been a leader,” wrote Dr. Brian Gallagher, secretary/treasurer of the Greater Cleveland Dental Society in his nomination letter. “This fact goes back over 10 years ago to when we were in dental school at Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine. While in school he was the class president and at the top of his class, but it has been after school that his leadership and commitment to the profession has been even more evident. The recipient of the N. Wayne Hiatt Award is supposed to demonstrate outstanding leadership and initiative. Dr. Christoff embodies this mindset and it can be seen in his commitment to his community and organized dentistry.”
Christoff said it’s awesome to receive the award after seeing so many mentors and role models receive the award.
“I’ve known a lot of people that received it and they were role models on a lot of councils I’ve served on,” he said. “It’s pretty amazing to then receive it after them.”
Christoff said he decided he wanted to become a dentist because he enjoys working with people.
“I’ve always found health care fascinating and I had the opportunity to shadow a dentist in high school, and it seemed like a really good fit,” he said. “I saw that they had experience with patients over their lifetime treating them and their families, and seeing how comfortable patients were with them.”
Christoff earned his DMD from Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine in 2016 and completed a General Practice Residency at Summa Health System in Akron in 2017. After completing his residency, he worked at two private dental practices for six years and was an attending at the Summa Health System General Practice Residency Program. Since 2023, he has served full-time as the associate program director of the General Practice Residency at Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital.
“It is well known that new dentists are the lifeblood of the profession, but it takes an unselfish individual to actually work to foster their growth,” Gallagher said. “He was recently named the associate program director of the General Practice Residency at Mercy Hospital. That means he is not only practicing dentistry on his own patients, but also formatting curriculum, educating the residents, and providing ‘over-the-shoulder’ guidance as they work through procedures. Young dentists are lucky to have an instructor such as Dr. Christoff, a professional with real world experience, to help them as they prepare for the first steps in their career.”
Christoff said his favorite thing about being a dentist is the people.
“I enjoy getting to work with patients, getting to know them over time and their families, and working with my team and co-workers. They make it a lot of fun throughout the day,” he said. “I like to interact with other dentists and specialists, vendors and ODA staff. Dentistry can be isolating at times, but I’ve been fortunate to be surrounded by great people in the chair and supporting me otherwise.”
Christoff has served as a delegate to the ODA with the Akron Dental Society and currently is an alternate delegate with the Stark County Dental Society. He has served on the ODA Council on Membership Services and has served as a member and vice chair of the ODA Subcouncil on New Dentists.
With the Subcouncil on New Dentists, Christoff has helped organize and facilitate several events for new dentists, including “Night at the Ball Park” at the ODA Annual Session, new dentist events at the Leadership Institute, as well as “Life in the Real World,” a panel discussion for young dentists and residents.
Christoff said that organized dentistry has influenced pretty much every aspect of his professional life, starting with receiving an ODA Foundation scholarship in dental school.
“It was just pretty amazing to see that dentists were interested in trying to help the next generation. I really got hooked after that,” he said.
He said the advocacy efforts and being able to connect with other dentists are the best parts of organized dentistry.
“The ODA has helped keep me connected to other dentists and connected to what’s going on advocacy wise in the legislature,” he said. “The Subcouncil on New Dentists has been really helpful to me my first 10 years out and introduced me to a lot of great mentors. I’ve gotten to work with a lot of dentists who have become role models.”
Christoff received the ODA Foundation’s Callahan Memorial Student Award for graduating first in his dental school class at Case Western in 2016 and the Academy for Advancing Leadership’s Institute for Teaching and Learning (AAL/ITL) scholarship from the ADA in 2024. He is a member of the ADA, ODA and Stark County Dental Society, as well as the Academy of General Dentistry, American Dental Education Association and Special Care Dental Association.
Outside of dentistry, Christoff enjoys spending time with his family cooking and hiking, as well as playing golf.
Christoff said he’s appreciative of his parents, who sacrificed a lot for him, gave him opportunities and have always been in his corner. He’s thankful to his wife and kids for giving him the coolest job of being a dad and always supporting him.
The Rising Star Award recognizes a young leader in dentistry with outstanding leadership and initiative and a strong commitment to volunteerism within the community and the profession. This person must demonstrate promise for continued and future accomplishments within the dental profession, and must have been in practice for 10 years or less.
