Dr. Ian Bernard was born in Oxford England and raised in Bealeton, VA until graduating from High School and moving to southern Illinois where he attended Rend Lake college for two years, before joining the U.S. Army. There he attended basic training in Ft. Leonard Wood, MO and became a combat medic at FT. Sam Houston, TX where he went on to serve in South Korea for a year with the 1-72 Armored Brigade and was promoted to specialist. He fell in love with dentistry and decided to go into the Army reserves and return to Illinois to attend college full-time with the goal of becoming a Dentist. At Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville he earned his bachelor’s in biology focused on biomedical sciences and attended Midwestern University for dental school. He then moved to Virginia and became a Fellow with the American Academy of General Dentistry in 2020; this prestigious award is held by less than 10% of all general dentists.
When asked why he became a dentist, Dr. Bernard’s response was: “ I’ve always loved to work with my hands and found my passion for healing in the Army. During that time I fell in love with dentistry because it allows me to combine those things every single day. A person’s smile is one of the first things that people notice and a significant part of their visual first impression. I love that I get the privilege to enhance and create beautiful smiles. Making people feel good about their smile makes me feel good. I’ve been told that if you love what you do you will hardly work a day in your life. Working with fantastic teams making smiles, I know it to be true.”
– Dr. Ian Bernard, DMD, FAGD
Life & Hobbies In his free time, Dr. Bernard enjoys spending time with his two children Kaleb and Grace. He loves traveling, learning history, making puns, spending time outdoors and a great many sports including Mixed martial arts, paintball, hiking, biking, kayaking, target shooting, hunting and fishing to name just a few.