Patience, Faith Bring Smile to Greenfield Dentist's Face

Dr. Tony Cigno admits there were days over the last few years when he wasn’t sure how much more he and his family could take.

Six years ago, he and his wife Kathy purchased a plot of land on Layton Avenue with the hopes of building their own family dentist office. Over the years, they also purchased expensive dental equipment.

Just a few years ago, they were gearing up to finally build their dream office, but like several home and business owners like them, those dreams were quickly put on hold.

“We had a banking situation where we were supposed to close and the banking world collapsed a week before,” Tony Cigno said. “Everybody backed out on us.”

Cigno said he and Kathy, the practice’s business manager, had to take everything out of their savings “to be able to hold onto things” like the land and their equipment.

They also held strong to their faith.

“I believe the good Lord has a different calendar than we do,” Tony Cigno said. “Certain things had to happen before we were ready for this. I really believe (the economic collapse) was God’s way of saying, ‘We’re not ready.’”

The Cignos were finally ready this year. In February, construction began on their , 7940 W. Layton Ave., between and , and in August, the clinic opened.

“We did take some financial risks, but this is bigger than us,” Tony Cigno said. “This is a journey that we’ve been put on earth for, to care for people properly. It’s not about the money; it’s about the care that we give. … This was no mistake; we were meant to be here and to do this.”

Kathy and Tony Cigno met in St. Louis when Kathy was a dental assistant for Tony’s father. The Cignos eventually moved from St. Louis to Greendale 20 years ago and operated their dentistry out of an office building on 76th Street in Greendale for 19 ½ years. Tony Cigno, a second-generation dentist, said it was important to him to keep the practice in an area that had treated his family so well for so long.

“We moved up here 20 years ago and didn’t know a soul,” he said. “The community was so warm and kind to us and accepting. You can’t beat the people in this area. They’re normal, real, middle-class people.”

The Cignos, who now live in Wauwatosa, purchased their Greenfield lot from the family of Dorothy Smith, a Greenfield resident and business owner who was killed by a hit-and-run driver in January 2006.

“When we talked to her sister, she said it was very important to her that she pass this on to another family-type business,” Kathy Cigno said. “She did not want to sell it to a big corporation. We purchased it and we promised her we’d take good care of it.”

Next spring, the Cignos plan to add a plaque to a memorial garden in front of their building in Smith’s honor.

Cigno Family Dental is a family practice that offers all aspects of dentistry, from simple cleanings to root canals to dental implants.

An inviting large, family-room-style lobby includes a children play area and a complimentary snack and beverage bar. Near the lobby is a private consultation room and office space.

Beyond the lobby’s doors are several work stations where Cigno – the only dentist in the facility –uses state-of-the-art technology and techniques to care for his patients, including the practice’s pride and joy: CEREC restoration.

CEREC allows Cigno and his assistant to design crowns through 3D photography and computer images. A machine then molds the crown from a single block of perfect porcelain within minutes, making a traditional multi-visit procedure a single-appointment procedure.

Kathy Cigno said business is good at the new office, even during these difficult economic times.

“We’re not going to participate in the economy,” she said. “It’s there. It’s real, but you can’t allow yourself to be frozen by it. If we did, we’d never be able to have this facility, so we just have to take that leap of faith knowing that we weren’t given this opportunity or taken this far to be let down.”