How Dr. Riley Became a DentistPaso Robles, CA

Dr. Kaitilin Riley did not come from a background in dentistry. In fact, no one in her family has ever worked in dentistry or any field related to health care.

After graduating from Mills College, Dr. Riley worked for a number of companies and research labs on the west and east coasts. The projects she worked on required programming in LISP and explored how human decisions could be automated by computers.

One of Dr. Riley’s employers sent her to obtain a master’s in engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, where she continued for an additional year on a Research Fellowship. During her tech career in Silicon Valley, Dr. Riley held positions that helped define how computers and software could aid customers in doing their jobs.

After many years of working for tech firms, Dr. Riley believed she was not living the life she was intended to live. So, she decided to leave the tech industry and redirect her sights toward a career that would allow her the following qualities: one-on-one relationships, a sense of service, and work that required scientific thinking and skilled hands.

Dr. Riley returned to school. While taking pre-requisite courses at San Francisco State University, she underwent a considerable amount of dentistry herself, culminating in two years of experience as a patient of three specialty dental practices. Dr. Riley combined her own understanding as a patient of dentistry with her knowledge as an employee in a small healthcare setting. It was at this point that Dr. Riley realigned her transformational vision toward dentistry. And the rest is history…

Dr. Riley graduated from the University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry, where she worked for — and was mentored by — some distinguished dentists in Saratoga, San Jose, Palo Alto, and San Francisco. She prides herself on collaborating with the greatest practitioners in order to bring the very best care to her patients.

Dr. Riley has since carried her vision to Paso Robles, where she currently practices. Here she continues her personal and career development by educating herself on the highest level of esthetic and functional dentistry. Her journey from software engineering to the field of dental care has helped her realize her true calling in life, and she now utilizes her passion, knowledge, and skills to provide high-quality care for her patients.