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January 12, 2026
GREEN BAY – A new option for “fluoride-free, mercury-free and judgement-free” dental care, 413 Dental Wellness Owner Marli Leist said, is now open and accepting patients at 2121 S. Webster Ave., Suite 2, on Green Bay’s west side.
Leist – who began her career as a dental hygienist before graduating from dental school in 2017 – said her new practice offers the City of Green and Gold an alternative to traditional dentistry for maintaining their pearly whites.
413’s philosophy, she said, is based on the idea that patients and parents should receive care specific to their desires and health goals – judgement-free.
“I wanted parents and patients to know if you come in the door and you don’t want fluoride on [yours or your] kids’ teeth, I’m not going to say you’re crazy – I’m going to say that’s totally fine, [because] we have other alternatives,” she said. “I’m not going to judge parents or patients for whatever decisions they make for their care.”
Officially opening last month, Leist said she aims to provide a space where patients can ask questions, suggest alternatives and rest assured they’re “being treated with the least toxic and most biocompatible procedures.”
“[What patients] put into their bodies…, that’s [their] decision,” she said. “I am here, [and] I have the education and the skill set to help them when they need help and when they want to be helped.”
Patient comfort, autonomy
Right out of dental school, Leist – born and raised in Sturgeon Bay – said she worked at a large clinic in Milwaukee where she and her husband/fellow dentist, Stephen Syrjamaki, met.
“I had great mentorship underneath the lead dentist and the owner there,” she said. “[After] learning from her and watching her do her job, owning [our own practice] didn’t seem so scary anymore.”
Then, in May 2022, Leist said the opportunity to purchase an existing practice in Green Bay came their way.
“It was a whirlwind year – we got engaged, we bought the practice, we got married and then got pregnant,” she laughed. “I have family up here, and we wanted to have our own family, and it takes a village.”
Liest said their purchase of the practice came with two office suites in the South Webster Avenue building – one of which houses Syrjamaki’s dental office, Amenity Choice Centered Dental Care.
“My husband kept his patients at his practice, and then 413 Dental is actually just right next door,” she said.
Having her office being located directly next door to her husband’s, Liest said, reflects 413’s goal of offering options rather than creating competition.
“He still practices on the traditional side, so he does use fluoride,” she said. “It’s not like there’s one right way to do dentistry and a wrong way to do it. I’m still offering very high-quality care that’s scientifically backed – it’s just different.”
Before starting 413, Liest said she worked alongside Syrjamaki at Amenity for several years.
“I had the idea to open 413… in November 2024, and that was just a discussion between me and my husband,” she said. “But everything was just guiding us in the direction of, ‘This is silly, we need to do this. We’ve got the space for it, [and] I have the capacity to be a provider that people are looking for.’”
Enlisting the help of local design-build firm Keller, Inc., Leist said they go to work designing and renovating the office suite now home to 413 Dental Wellness.
“It was right after the Fourth of July when they started renovating – then I was on maternity leave,” she said. “So, we would have opened sooner, but I was pregnant, [and] I had my baby on Aug. 29.”
Alternative services
In addition to being fluoride-free, the dental practice also avoids the use of silver mercury fillings – which Liest said aligns with 413’s tagline: “fluoride-free, mercury-free and judgment-free.”
“They’re still used, but silver fillings are phasing out,” she said. “Some people aren’t affected by it. Some people are really conscious of what’s being put in their bodies, and they don’t want it. So, I’m offering them a space where they can be assured they’re not getting anything they might not want in their body.”
Beyond not using mercury fillings, Leist said 413 also provides patients the option of having old mercury-based fillings safely removed.
“I’m not trying to be pushy for treatment,” she said. “If someone comes in and they have silver fillings in their mouths, I’m not saying you have to take them out. If somebody wants to take them out, I have an avenue, [and] we can take them out safely…. I wanted [413] to be a place where patients feel comfortable.”
The practice of steering clear of mercury fillings and fluoride, Liest said, does not imply they are toxic, but rather that their effects can vary from person to person, similar to caffeine.
“The way I think about fluoride and the silver fillings is it affects people differently, the same way I can have a cup of coffee at two in the afternoon and not sleep a wink all night long, whereas other people can have a cup of coffee at 2 p.m. and they can sleep like a baby,” she said. “We all have different bodies. We all respond to things differently.”
Another notable difference in the care offered at 413, Leist said, is her team’s use of “ozonated water.”
“Ozonated water is a natural, antimicrobial [water],” she said. “The way the ozone interacts with pathogens or viruses, bacteria and fungi, it breaks everything down really well and kills it.”
Additionally, Leist said they practice Guided Biofilm Therapy to kill bacteria and clean a patient’s teeth.
“That’s our cleaning,” she said. “It’s a little like a polishing powder that we spray on the teeth, but the powder has sugar-alcohol in it that bacteria can’t digest, so it kills the bacteria that way, and… this also uses the ozonated water. So, it breaks all the bacteria up and [removes] the plaque off of the teeth without having to scrape.”
Leist said 413’s alternative to fluoride “is nano-hydroxyapatite.”
“Our teeth are made of hydroxyapatite, so it’s a natural component that helps remineralize tooth structure,” she said. “There are certain levels of nano-hydroxyapatite [where] you pretty much get the same efficacy as fluoride. It’s just a safer, more natural option.”
To remove mercury fillings safely, Leist said she employs Safe Mercury Amalgam Removal Techniques – or SMART.
“I have a special vacuum that takes the vapors out of the air,” she said. “We make sure the patient is covered, use a rubber dam [and] we take extra precautions to make sure the patient isn’t swallowing any of the silver fillings or breathing any in.”
Overall, Liest said the practice offers a full spectrum of general dentistry services.
“I [just] have a holistic approach to it,” she said.
Overwhelming enthusiasm
The name 413 Dental Wellness, Liest said, is inspired by the Bible verse “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” which has guided her in achieving and celebrating several milestones over the past three years.
“That’s been kind of a mantra for putting this all together with being pregnant, being on maternity leave, [having] a young family [with] two [kids] under two and our other practice,” she said. “That’s been our guiding force.”
In 413’s initial weeks of operation, Leist said she’s been “overwhelmed” by the community’s enthusiasm for its arrival.
“So many people were saying [to me], ‘Oh, my gosh, we’ve been looking for this [and] we’ve been waiting for this – thank you so much for opening,’” she said. “That’s been really exciting.”
Leist said what matters most is being able to offer an alternative for families seeking holistic dental care in Northeast Wisconsin.
“I’m just here to close the healthcare gap for people who’ve been looking for this kind of care and have been avoiding care because they couldn’t find something they vibe with,” she said. “I’m happy I can be the type of provider people are looking for [who] can treat them.”
For more information on 413 Dental Wellness, visit its website – 413dentalwellness.com – or Facebook page.
