Our Team

Daniel S. Witcher

Doctor

Dr. Daniel Witcher comes from a dental background, having grown up in Southern California with a father who was a general dentist and a mother who was a dental hygienist. He attended the University of Southern California for his undergraduate education, and the prestigious University of the Pacific School of Dentistry for his dental schooling. Following that, he was accepted into the United States Navy Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery (OMS) residency program, where he completed a General Surgery Internship and OMS residency right here in San Diego. During this world-class training program, Dr. Witcher learned state of the art surgical techniques in all aspects of oral and facial surgery, from dental surgery, to implant surgery, to complex facial reconstruction, trauma, and cosmetic surgery.

He then accepted active-duty orders aboard the Nimitz Class aircraft carrier, the USS George Washington, based out of Yokosuka, Japan. After two deployments, Dr. Witcher returned to San Diego, where he was stationed with the United States Marines at the Marine Corps Recruiting Depot. He completed his board certification at that point, becoming a Board Certified Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon, and discharging from the Navy to pursue a career as a private practice oral surgeon.

An active learner, Dr. Witcher makes a point of staying up to date on the latest dental and surgical techniques and technology. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, a Fellow of the American Association of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons, a Fellow of the International College of Dentists, and a member of the California Association of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons, the Western Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, the American and California Dental Associations, the American and California Dental Societies of Anesthesiology, and the San Diego County Dental Society.

In addition, Dr. Witcher enjoys giving back to those less fortunate, having volunteered in surgical and dental missions to Fiji and Mexico, as well as participating in CDA Cares and the California Care Force. Dr. Witcher recently finished serving 9 years as a Board member for the San Diego County Dental Foundation, including 2 terms as President. Along with other leaders of the San Diego dental community, Dr. Witcher worked to raise money and build a dental clinic on the grounds of the Veteran’s Village of San Diego in 2015, which now provides free dental care to homeless San Diego Veterans. Dr. Witcher currently volunteers at that clinic, providing much-needed care, and also volunteers monthly at St. Leo’s Dental Clinic, providing free care to those in need right here in Solana Beach.

In his spare time, Dr. Witcher enjoys the outdoors, including running, hiking, biking, fishing, camping, and snowboarding. He recently took up competing in obstacle course races, including taking part in the Spartan Trifecta World Championships in Sparta, Greece, where he finished in the top 100 for his age group! Most of all, though, he enjoys spending time with his family, especially his young daughter and twin boys, running between gymnastics, ballet, dance, and soccer throughout the week. An avid sports fan, you can catch Dr. Witcher and his family cheering on the USC Trojans, Lakers, Dodgers, SDSU Aztecs, and San Diego Padres (as long as they’re not playing the Dodgers!).

Todd Sumner

Doctor

Dr. Todd Sumner was born and grew up in San Bernardino, California. His grandfather, who helped raise him, was a Pearl Harbor survivor. So, at a very young age, Dr. Sumner knew he wanted to make the Navy his career. Upon graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology from Loma Linda University in 1988, he entered Loma Linda University Dental School. Dr. Sumner joined the Navy while in Dental School and after graduating in the top 5% of his class in 1992, embarked on a Naval career.

Dr. Sumner first served as a Dental Officer onboard the USS Samuel Gompers, a destroyer tender, in San Francisco then with the Marines at Camp Pendleton, California. During his early deployments, Dr. Sumner was involved with humanitarian missions to provide Dental/Medical care in remote areas of Peru, Thailand, Korea, Japan, and China. It was during these times that Dr. Sumner decided to further his education by becoming an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon.

Upon being accepted into this very competitive prestigious program, the Navy sent Dr. Sumner to Medical School where he graduated with an M.D. in 2001 from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, Texas. Dr. Sumner then completed his Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery training at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego. It was during these 6 years of advanced training that Dr. Sumner was immersed in the full scope of oral surgical procedures to include teeth removal, dental implant placement, bone grafting techniques, facial reconstruction, and trauma as well as differing anesthesia methods for patient comfort.

Upon graduating his residency, Dr. Sumner was sent to the Marine Corps base at Twentynine Palms California where he was surgical department head. During this time, he volunteered to deploy with the first surgical unit to Iraq in 2003. It was during his combat tour that Dr. Sumner honed his surgical skills while treating combat related head and neck injuries on the front lines. After returning in late 2003, Dr. Sumner was sent back to Iraq in early 2004 to be department head at Al Asad air base. Here he performed surgery not only on soldiers from all over the world, but civilian casualties as well. Dr. Sumner also volunteered to go into neighborhoods to provide Oral Surgical help to those for whom it was unsafe to travel.

Dr. Sumner finished his Naval career serving as Dental Department Head onboard the aircraft carriers USS George Washington in Yokosuka, Japan and the USS Ronald Reagan in San Diego where he retired as a Commander after 21 years of service.

Wanting to continue his work with Veterans, Dr. Sumner then became the Oral Surgeon at the VA Medical Center in La Jolla, California. In 2021, he decided to enter private practice where he could enjoy more time with his family.

Dr. Sumner remains active in his surgical education and endeavors. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, a Fellow of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, a member of the California Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, and a member of the American Dental Society of Anesthesiology. He also serves as a General Anesthesia office evaluator for the Dental Board of California.

Dr. Sumner has been married to his wife for 30 years and they have two daughters. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, running, traveling with his family, skiing in Utah, and being a member of the West Coast Road Runners where he loves training for marathons.