Zerrin Yilmaz arrived at Greenhills in 10th grade and her younger brother, Osman ’02, started in the 9th grade. A self-described math nerd who also liked the sciences, Yilmaz shared:
“I really responded to the smaller classroom sizes at Greenhills, with the sustained personal attention from teachers and knowing all of your classmates.”
Yilmaz’s maternal grandfather was a physician in Turkey and her mother’s family immigrated to the United States in the early 1960s to further his career. Her parents’ families knew each other and that’s how her father ended up in the U.S. several years later. He was a physician as well.
“My family was very academically driven and my parents had this American dream for us to push ourselves. All my siblings are physicians and I’m a dentist.”
This is where her story gets even more interesting. After moving to Ann Arbor at age 12, Yilmaz began going to the dental office of Kirk Donaldson and Kristin Guenther, who also happen to be the alumni parents of Ian Donaldson ’09 and Nate Donaldson ’14.
“My interest in dentistry began with Kirk and Kristen—I would hang out there and it felt like a good fit for me,” she said “They offered a variety of procedures, which were challenging and fun to learn, and I loved the small office and staff and patient interactions. When you find something you love, you’re drawn to it, and in my case it impacted the rest of my life.”
Yilmaz majored in bio on a pre-dental track at the University of Michigan. After graduation she took a gap year to travel, especially throughout Turkey: “To experience my culture and background firsthand.” Afterwards she thought she wanted to be in a big city for dental school. But with the car packed for the University of Illinois at Chicago, she realized she made the wrong decision (out-of-state tuition!) and ended up at the University of Michigan Dental School.
Yilmaz’s father tragically passed away in 2011, as she was about to embark on a dental fellowship at Yale. Instead she remained in the Detroit area for residency, “In order to help create the time and space for my mom and me to grieve together.”
After completing her residency, Kirk and Kristin called to ask her to join their practice. “It was almost like a second residency, with wonderful mentors, who believed in me and helped me grow and understand their excellence-driven style of dentistry.”
Focusing on fee-for-service, high-quality work allows the practice to build long-term relationships with its smaller volume of patients. It’s a level of care that sets patients up for long-term success. “The cutting-edge techniques we used dramatically increased the longevity and integrity of the procedures. I still see the same patients, whose dental work has lasted for decades.”
But Yilmaz still yearned for a big-city experience, and with Kirk’s and Kristin’s blessing she found a job in Boston. The same weekend her offer came through, Kirk was in a serious car accident and couldn’t return to work for months.
“The universe had a plan—each time I tried to pivot, it was clear that I was meant to be in Ann Arbor.”
Thanks to these magnificent professional mentors—who even though they have retired and moved out of the area, are still readily available for consults about cases—and her close-knit family, Yilmaz has built a life of purpose and fulfillment.
After hours, Yilmaz is a dedicated animal lover and supporter of animal organizations around the world. She was that kid who was always bringing home stray animals. And all of her patients are huge fans of her two dogs—Bibo, a 15-year shih tzu, and Blu, an 8-year-old pomeranian—who come to work with her every single day.
“My parents really sacrificed to create these opportunities for me and my brothers and sisters, and we have continued their legacy of growing into the best versions of ourselves—we love what we do. I’m excited to get to the office every day and work on the cases I have coming up.”
A big part of that trajectory for Yilmaz is Greenhills.
“I loved Greenhills and still do. I made my older sister send her kids there—my two handsome nephews are in middle school! Greenhills provided me with a level of comfort and peace to thrive; it was a catalyst for me to succeed.”
