Meet the Team

Dr. Tasso Irinakis

Dr. Tasso Irinakis is a certified specialist in Periodontics and one of the current leaders in comprehensive Implant Patient Care and in Implant Education for dental professionals. He serves the community in his clinics in Courtenay, Nanaimo & Vancouver, BC. He is the former Director of Graduate Periodontics & Implant Surgery at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and currently continues to serve the Faculty of Dentistry as a Clinical Associate Professor.

Dr. Irinakis was recognized for his clinical and academic skills and served for several years as an international faculty member of the prestigious “PAADI” dental institute in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Prince Abdul Rahman Advance Dental Institute). He visited Riadh numerous times over the years to teach graduate residents and to treat VIP patients of the Kingdom.

He is a co-founder of WCI (West Coast Institute for Dental Education), which is dedicated to teaching dentists and other dental professionals, every aspect of Implant Dentistry, Bone Grafting and Periodontal Surgery.

Dr. Irinakis has been honored twice by the American Academy of Periodontology with the “2005 Educator Award” for outstanding mentoring & teaching in Periodontics and with the “2010 Educator Award” for excellence in teaching and mentoring in the field of Periodontics. He continues to serve his profession as a Reviewer of several scientific journals and has authored several papers in scientific journals on Bone Grafting, Sinus Grafting and Dental Implant Research in general. Dr. Tasso Irinakis lectures actively in study clubs, conferences and hands-on courses for dental professionals, nationally and internationally.

Tasso is known for his caring personality and enjoying his time with his wife and three children. He plays soccer, tennis and loves skiing in the winter.

Dr. Les Campbell

Dr. Les Campbell started his career in the Canadian Armed Forces, which saw him deployed twice. He completed the 2-year Advanced General Dentistry program in Fort Hood, Texas with the United States Army Dental Corps, graduating as valedictorian of his class in 2004. After becoming board-certified with the American Board of General Dentistry in 2005, he remained actively involved with the organization, serving as an instructor and examiner, and eventually President.

Dr. Campbell completed his Master of Science in Craniofacial Science with a specialty diploma in Endodontics from the University of British Columbia. He is board-certified as an endodontist by the Fellow of the Royal College of Dentists of Canada. Dr. Campbell currently serves as the Endodontics Division Head at the University of Alberta. He was awarded the 2017 Excellence in Clincal Teaching Award, voted by the U of A dental students in Oct 2017, and is the 2018 Honary Grad Class President.

Dr. Campbell has co-authored numerous articles that have been published in the Journal of Endodontics and in the International Endodontic Journal. Dr. Campbell also enjoys volunteering his dental services to less-privileged populations in the third world, having completed mission trips to both Venezuela and Cambodia.

Dr. Jonathan Bouwer

Dr. Jonathan Bouwer is a Board Certified Specialist in Periodontics. He completed his dental surgery degree in 2007 at the University of Western Cape in his native South Africa. The year after graduation, Jonathan started his career volunteering his services in remote rural communities of South Africa and completed a postgraduate diploma in implantology. He continued to work for nearly a decade in Cape Town and Johannesburg as a general practitioner providing a wide range of care, from complex restorative rehabilitation, to laser dentistry, oral surgery and implants.

Jonathan moved to Canada and completed the Graduate Periodontics Program at the University of Manitoba under the mentorship of world renowned instructors. He not only excelled in his studies, but he designed and completed his Masters research in the field of Growth Factors and Alveolar Ridge Preservation, making him one of the few experts on this topic in Western Canada.

Jonathan is currently partnered in two multi-speciality practices where he performs full spectrum periodontics on upper and central Vancouver Island and is also a part time clinical assistant professor at the postgraduate periodontics department of the University of British Columbia.

Jonathan has a special interest in skiing, biking, fishing and camping on Vancouver Island and prides himself on entertaining and cooking for his family and friends.

Dr. Simon Abbey

Dr. Simon Abbey spent most of his childhood in Rossland, BC and as an adult has lived longer in Vancouver than any other city, but he’s also lived in several other BC cities as well as spending portions of his life in the UK, Ontario, and Quebec. He’s had a varied career as a dentist and endodontist, both with the Canadian Forces Dental Services (at CFB/BFC Esquimalt, St. Jean, Ottawa, Valcartier, Kandahar, Petawawa) and in private practice in Fernie, Duncan, Ottawa, Vancouver, Burnaby, Abbotsford, Langley, Surrey, Maple Ridge, Nanaimo and now in Courtenay. He went to Queen’s University at Kingston before his dental studies at UBC, returning to UBC years later to complete his endodontic residency. His Zen moments are on the ski hill in the wintertime (on one board or two), and on a paddleboard in the summer, preferably with his three children, who live in Ontario but visit him regularly.

Dr. Aminder Verraich

Dr. Aminder Verraich completed his dental school at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry in 2009 and completed his endodontic residency at the University of Pittsburgh in 2011.

Following his residency, Dr. Verraich opened up his own private practice in Guelph, Ontario which he ran from 2011 to 2021. This practice became one of the most well-established and respected practices in Southwestern Ontario. Dr. Verraich was very active in the Ontario Dental Association. He served as president of the Waterloo Wellington Dental Association in 2019.

Dr. Verraich and his family are excited to be moving to Vancouver Island and establishing roots (no pun intended!) in our community.

Dr. Verraich takes pride in a gentle chairside manner and treating all patients with respect.

In his spare time you can find him spending time with his wife and two children.

Dr. Rashi Chaturvedi

Dr. Rashi Chaturvedi is a board certified specialist in Periodontics, a Fellow of The Royal College of Dentists of Canada and a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology. She received her dental degree and a Master’s in Periodontology from India and worked as a specialist for 8 years. In 2014, she moved to Canada and further completed a 3 yrs. Master’s in Craniofacial Sciences and Diploma in Periodontics from the University of British Columbia. During her residency, she was was recognized for both her academic and clinical excellence and received the prestigious ‘Nobel Bio-care Achievement award in Osseointegration’. She ranked in the top 4% of the North American Residents in the American Academy of Periodontology in-service examination in the years 2016 and 2017. Her keen interest in research has led to several contributions in peer-reviewed journals. She is also a Clinical Assistant Professor at UBC Dental School. In her leisure time she enjoys cooking, reading and travelling with her husband and son.

Dr. Sonia Huang

Dr. Sonia is a board-certified specialist in periodontics, and a fellow of the Royal College of Dentists of Canada. She completed her Bachelor of Health Sciences at McMaster University before obtaining her Doctor of Dental Surgery degree at the University of Toronto. She received numerous awards, including the Dean’s Honour List and the J.G. Bourassa Cup, which recognizes the most outstanding member of the graduating class on the basis of academic proficiency and extracurricular involvements. Dr. Sonia frequently volunteered in Northern Ontario and overseas to provide comprehensive dental care in rural communities.

During periodontics specialty training, Dr. Sonia worked part-time as a general dentist and was a part-time clinical instructor at the University of Toronto. She was awarded the American Academy of Periodontology Dental Student Award, Dentistry Periodontics Graduate Award, as well as the Alpha Omega Postdoctoral Education Research Grant and the prestigious Canadian Institutes of Health Research Graduate Scholarship in support of her research in oral probiotics.

Dr. Sonia enjoys hiking, painting, travelling, wine and cooking with her friends and family.

Dr Eleni Irinakis

Dr. Irinakis started her post-secondary education with a Dental Technology degree. She then completed her Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) degree in 2014 in Greece. Although enjoying her work in private practice, her volunteer work with refugees and socially marginalized groups, gave her a sense of pride that no other accomplishment could offer. During the same time period, Eleni was working as an integral member of a research team in Endodontics at the University of Thessaloniki.

Becoming an Endodontist was her ultimate dream and she decided to move to the beautiful city of Vancouver to pursue it. She joined the Graduate Endodontics Program to obtain a dual Specialty & Master’s degree in Endodontics at the University of British Columbia. Her original clinical research led to a “UBC Masters Student Clinical Award”. She has publications on different peer-reviewed dental journals including the official journal of the American Association of Endodontists (Journal of Endodontics).

Dr. Eleni Irinakis is a certified endodontic specialist and a Fellow of the Royal College of Dentists of Canada. Eleni is an outgoing personality that enjoys interacting socially with colleagues and friends. She loves pilates and outdoor activities. Her next big love after cooking is traveling and spending as much time as possible in museums and art galleries.