Despite being paperless, Dr. Messenger has one indulgence: he takes and oftentimes prints "before and after" photographs of his patients' teeth. "If I'm not holding a handpiece, I'm holding a camera," he said. "I feel like that helps me be a better dentist."

The photos are a way for him to review his work, continue to grow as a dental professional and remind him of past successes. Presently there are 30,000 photos in his collection.

While Dr. Messenger takes pride in these images, he also is excited about another image that he recently received. For Father's Day, his wife and children gave him a picture of Spiderman with his face superimposed on the comic book hero – a subtle nod to how he literally fell into this career. "I love what I do," he said. "Every patient who comes in here can see that."