About the Doctors
Dr. Michael P. McCormick, Jr.
Dr. Michael P. McCormick, Jr. received his Bachelor of Arts in Biology from The University of Virginia. He completed his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the Medical College of Virginia School of Dentistry. While in dental school, Dr. McCormick was a member of the Psi-Omega Dental Fraternity. Since finishing dental school, Dr. McCormick has completed countless hours of post-graduate training in cosmetic and other restorative areas, including implant-related procedures as well as other progressive techniques.
Dr. McCormick is a Fellow in the Pierre Fauchard Academy, which is an International Honor Organization, a Fellow in the Virginia Dental Association, a member of the American Dental Association, the Academy of General Dentistry, and is a former president of the Peninsula Dental Society. Dr. McCormick also has been a part-time clinical instructor at the Medical College of Virginia School of Dentistry for the past 10 years. He has been providing outstanding dental care to his patients on the peninsula since 1997.
Dr. McCormick was a scholarship athlete while attending the University of Virginia and was captain of the wrestling team as a senior. He is very involved in his community as a youth football and wrestling coach. He serves as the college director for the Virginia Duals National Invitational Wrestling Tournament and is an active NCAA Division I wrestling official. In 2011, he was inducted into the NCAA National Wrestling Hall Of Fame
He is married to the former Carrie Marie McCauley from Beltsville, Maryland. They are the proud parents of three boys: Patrick, Cole and Ryan.
Dr. Kari Cwiak
Dr. Kari Cwiak was born and raised in Fredericksburg, VA. She attended The University of Mary Washington where she received a degree in Biology. She graduated from the Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health in Mesa, Arizona and was selected and inducted into the prestigious dental honor society, Omicron Kappa Upsilon. Dr. Kari completed her pediatric dental residency in Tucson, AZ through Lutheran Medical Center.
Dr. Kari's love of the beach brought her back to Virginia, where she resides in the Hampton Roads area with her favorite people- her husband and three amazing children. In her spare time you'll find her and her family outside biking, hiking, swimming, crabbing, kayaking and enjoying all the beauty of nature.
It is Dr. Kari's top goal to provide a warm, welcoming, and FUN experience to all of her patients and foster a life time of good oral health. She treats every precious child as if they were her own and looks forward to meeting and serving the families of Caring for Kids and Parents.
Dr. Ellen C. Alpano
Dr. Ellen C. Alpano is a board-certified pediatric dentist and has been in practice since 2005 in Arizona, Maryland, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and now, Virginia.
Becoming a dentist has been her dream since childhood. She started her academic journey when she received her undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland College Park in 2001. She then moved to New York where she completed her dental degree at Columbia University School of Dental Medicine in 2005. One of her passions is to use dentistry as a means to serve others so after graduation, she served as a dentist with the Indian Health Service amongst the Hopi tribe in Polacca, Arizona. While living among the Native Americans, she discovered her passion to serve the children since dental caries was so rampant among the Hopi children. So in 2007, she returned to her home state of Maryland and pursued her pediatric dental certificate at the University of Maryland, where she was selected as Chief Resident during her second year. Dentistry brought her to New England for work but after practicing in the Northeast for 12 years, her husband and her decided to live closer to family and they moved to Virginia in 2022.
Dr. Alpano lives locally with her husband and two children. She loves to talk football but most of all, she loves to seek out authentic international food. She is truly blessed to call Caring for Kids as her new work-home.
Dr. Phuong Nguyen, DMD, MS
Dr. Nguyen grew up in Vietnam where she attended college and was about to finish her engineering degree. She then moved to the US with her mom and decided she wanted to be an orthodontist where she felt she could combine her love for oral health with her engineering background. She graduated George Mason University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Medical Technology with Recognition Honors, and a Melissa Stanley Medical Technology Award. She then attended dental school at Case Western Reserve University, School of Dental Medicine as a recipient of the Air Force Professional Scholarship. At graduation, Dr. Nguyen was inducted into a national dental honor society, Omicron Kappa Upsilon society. She was also a recipient of the Eleanor J. Bushee Senior Dental Student Award from the American Association of Women Dentists.
Dr. Nguyen completed her Orthodontic Residency through the Tri-Service Orthodontic Residency Program. She received her diploma in orthodontics together with a Master's Degree in Oral Biology. She served as an Air Force orthodontist in Okinawa, Japan before she moved here to continue serving at Langley Air Force Base. At Langley, she was a faculty member of the Uniformed Services University and Director of Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) - Orthodontic Program, teaching orthodontics curriculum to the AEGD residents while also serving as the Chief Orthodontist in the dental clinic. She is also a board-certified member of the American Association of Orthodontists.
In her spare time, Dr. Nguyen loves working on DIY home projects, gardening and wood burning. She also loves to spend any time she can with her family.