Gregory S. Benson

Biography

A native of Orland Park, Illinois, Dr. Benson earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1978 and his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the University of Illinois College of Dentistry in Chicago in 1983. Upon graduation, he accepted a commission and began a hospital-based residency in general practice dentistry at Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego, Calif. What he thought would be a short three years in the Navy turned into a full career with numerous assignments, including various Navy Dental Clinics in the continental US and Spain, two aircraft carriers (USS RANGER and USS KITTY HAWK) and deployments to the Western Pacific, the Middle East, the Far East and Australia. His last assignment was on the teaching staff at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, where he completed his residency training 10 years earlier. After 21 years, he retired from the Navy with the rank of Captain. Since then Dr. Benson has practiced in Muskegon, MI, Marshfield Clinic in Stevens Point, WI, and most recently at Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center in LaCrosse, WI, where he maintained a busy private practice as well as devoting time to training the next generation of oral and maxillofacial surgeons. Dr. Benson has seen tremendous change in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Now, he brings his years of experience and skill to the Michiana area. “This is a very exciting time in oral & maxillofacial surgery. We have the capability to provide treatment that was hardly even imagined when I began dental school. Osseous distraction, bone grafting, dental implants and modern orthognathic surgery have created a new standard of care that patients will enjoy every time they eat or look in a mirror.” Dr Benson is a Fellow in the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS). Also, he is a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (ABOMS), the only full time active Board Certified oral surgeon in La Porte County. Diplomate status is conferred only after successfully completing an accredited residency program, completion of a requisite number of surgical cases and passing comprehensive written and oral board examinations. Dr. Benson successfully completed his oral board examination in 1998 and stays current with the most recent advances in his field, as demonstrated by ABOMS re-certification in 2007 and through regular continuing education. Dr. Benson is accompanied by his wife, Rachel, a physical therapist, also retired from the US Navy with the rank of Lieutenant Commander, serving for eight years enlisted before she received her commission. They have three grown children, Sonja with her husband Nathan and two grandchildren in San Marcos, CA, Carla, a former US Navy Dental Officer, now in private practice in Las Vegas, NV and Katie, interior/architectural designer with Veenendaal Cave Interior Design in Atlanta, GA. As an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, Dr. Benson manages a wide variety of problems relating to the mouth, teeth and face with expertise ranging from orthognathic surgery (corrective jaw surgery), dental implants and bone grafting, surgical treatment of obstructive sleep apnea, as well as treatment of routine dental extractions, IV sedation, infections, pathology and trauma/facial fractures. Dr. Benson is also on staff at St. Anthony Memorial Hospital in Michigan City. Dr. Benson strives to provide the very best oral surgery care for La Porte county and the Michiana area.

Research Interest

Oral and Maxillifacial surgery.