Dr. Gunjan Dhir & Dr. Gaurav Puri: The Prosthodontists Who Created Smile Savers

Two board-trained specialists, one mission bring restoration-first implant care to the Texas towns that big-city dentistry forgot.

Dr. Gunjan Dhir and Dr. Gaurav Puri are board-trained prosthodontists and the co-founders of Altius Dental, a Texas dental organization serving rural and underserved communities. They created Smile Savers Dental Solutions to bring restoration-first implant care within reach of patients who could never afford specialist tooth replacement. This is the story of the two prosthodontists behind Smile Savers their training, why it makes the program different, and how Dr. Dhir and Dr. Puri reach patients across Texas today.

Quick summary

• Smile Savers was founded by prosthodontists Dr. Gunjan Dhir and Dr. Gaurav Puri, who also co-founded Altius Dental in 2016.
• Both doctors trained specifically in replacing and restoring teeth—the exact specialty behind dental implants and full-mouth reconstruction.
• The program is delivered through Altius Dental locations, backed by a statewide network of 45+ dental practices.
• Smile Savers offers single dental implants, multiple-tooth replacement, full-arch restorations, same-day teeth for qualified patients, and flexible financing options.
• Its core mission is simple: specialist-level tooth replacement should be available regardless of where you live—not determined by your ZIP code.

Who Is Dr. Gunjan Dhir, BDS, MS?

Dr. Gunjan Dhir is a prosthodontist and the co-founder and Chief Dental Officer of Altius Dental. She earned her Bachelor of Dental Surgery from Himachal Dental College in 2002, moved to the United States the same year, and completed a prosthodontics residency in 2005 that awarded her an MS specialist qualification. After practising in Spokane, Washington, she relocated to Texas in 2008 and opened her first practice in 2009.

In the years since, she has helped start or acquire more than 45+ dental practices. Today, she leads clinical standards, chart auditing, and dentist recruiting across the Altius Dental network—personally helping establish the quality standards followed at every Smile Savers location.

Learn more about Dr. Gunjan Dhir through her Altius Dental Leadership Profile ,LinkedIn Profile ,and the feature Revolutionizing Dentistry in Texas.

Working day by day with patients, understanding their needs, and realizing that we didn't always have an affordable solution for their restoration made me feel that we needed to create a program that could help patients regain their confidence through their smiles.
- Dr. Gunjan Dhir, Co-Founder of Altius Dental

Who Is Dr. Gaurav Puri, Prosthodontist and Co-Founder of Altius Dental?

Dr. Gaurav Puri is a prosthodontist and co-founder of Altius Dental. Born and raised in India, he earned his Bachelor of Dental Surgery from Himachal Dental College in Sundernagar in 2002 the place where, watching reconstructive procedures firsthand, he first decided to specialize.

That decision led him to a competitive three-year Advanced Education in Prosthodontics residency at Marquette University, where he trained exclusively in complex restorative and implant dentistry: veneers, crowns, bridges, and full-mouth reconstruction. He went on to teach at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine before entering private practice. His combined clinical and academic background is documented on his Today, Dr. Gaurav Puri applies that prosthodontic training across the Altius Dental network, shaping how Smile Savers cases are planned and restored. As a Texas-based prosthodontist and co-founder, his focus is the restorative side of full-arch and implant treatment making sure the final result drives the plan. Professional profile, and it's the foundation for how Smile Savers cases are planned and restored.

Why Dr. Dhir and Dr. Puri Built an Affordable Implant Program

Here is what makes Smile Savers genuinely different from the implant mills patients often encounter: it was designed by specialists, not marketers.

A prosthodontist is the dentist trained specifically in how the final teeth should look, fit, and function and then in placing the implants to support that result. That's called restoration-first planning: you start from the smile the patient should end up with and work backward to the implant positions, rather than placing implants first and hoping the teeth fit afterward. It's the standard in high-end reconstructive dentistry, and it's unusual to find it wrapped inside an affordable, accessible program. With Dr. Gunjan Dhir and Dr. Gaurav Puri, that pairing is deliberate.

We realized that as a dental support organization, we had the capacity to make decisions that could positively impact people's lives. So that's exactly what we did. — Dr. Gunjan Dhir

How Smile Savers works across Texas

Because the program runs through Altius Dental practices embedded in local communities, care that used to require a drive to a major city is now available closer to home. Every case begins with an examination and imaging, so the recommendation fits the patient rather than a template. The program covers the full range of need:

• Single dental implants
• Multiple-tooth replacement
• Full-arch and full-mouth restorations
• Same-day teeth for qualified patients
• Flexible financing and affordable payment options

Two details matter for cost. First, plans frequently fold in steps patients pay for separately elsewhere — such as necessary extractions — so there are fewer surprise line items. Second, same-day teeth are offered only to qualified patients; whether it suits you depends on your bone and gum health, confirmed at your exam. That honesty is intentional: a specialist-run program won't promise a same-day result it can't safely deliver.

The Standard Dr. Dhir and Dr. Puri Set

What ties every Smile Savers location together is the standard its founders enforce. Dr. Gunjan Dhir oversees clinical auditing and hand-selects the dentists who join the network; Dr. Gaurav Puri's prosthodontic training shapes how restorations are planned. Day-to-day treatment is delivered by the dentists at each local practice but to the specialist-defined standard the founders built. Affordability and specialist-level quality are meant to travel together into every community the program reaches.

Bringing specialist implant care to rural Texas

The core belief behind Smile Savers is simple: specialist tooth replacement should not depend on living near a big city. Across rural Texas, patients have long faced long drives, limited options, and prices that put implants out of reach. By delivering the program inside those communities — and by building financing and bundled steps into how it's structured — Smile Savers shortens that distance both literally and financially, so a patient in a small Texas town can access the same restoration-first approach the founders trained in as prosthodontists.

Considering tooth replacement?

Ask about the Smile Savers program at your nearest Altius Dental practice and find the option that fits your smile and your budget. Book online or call your local Smile Savers location to get started.