Meet Dr. Funari

G. Joel Funari, M.S., D.M.D.

A native of Pennsylvania, Dr. Joel Funari was born and raised in the town of Yardley. After high school graduation he attended Villanova University earning both Bachelors and Masters degrees. During his pursuit of the Master’s Degree he served as a teaching assistant in the Biology Department of Villanova University and held a faculty position in the Biology Department of Holy Family College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dr. Funari was awarded his Doctorate of Dental Medicine in 1983 from Temple University Dental School, graduating with honors. Following graduation Dr. Funari served in the U.S. Navy for 21 years.  During this time, Dr. Funari completed a surgical residency in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in 1994 at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, Texas and Parkland Memorial Hospital.

Upon his retirement from the Navy in February 2004, Dr. Funari joined a surgery practice in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. In July 2006 he purchased an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery practice in Devon, Pennsylvania where he has been providing full scope oral and maxillofacial surgery services establishing a reputation for delivering high quality compassionate care. Just a year into his current practice, Dr. Funari  was named a "Top Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon" in the Southeast Pennsylvania/South New Jersey Region by the Philadelphia Magazine, Suburban Life Magazine and voted by his peers as a Top Dentist in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Oral Pathology in a Main Line Today survey of Montgomery, Chester, and Delaware Counties,  distinctions which he continues to hold.   He hold a top rating of 10 on the AVVO physician rating site and is rated as a top contributor on their physician panel. He has been appointed to Allergan's Botox Cosmetic Physician's Network and awarded Bronze status by Nobel Biocare for his work involving dental implants.

Dr. Funari is a Diplomate, American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery; Fellow, International Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons; Fellow, American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons; Diplomate, Dental Board of Anesthesia; Fellow, American Dental Society of Anesthesia; member of the American Dental Association; and was a Fellow, Academy of General Dentistry.

Dr. Funari is an examiner for the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and has appointments as a consultant to the Committee on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association and consultant / visiting lecturer to the Navy Post Graduated Dental School in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Funari is a credentialed member of the surgical staffs at Bryn Mawr, Paoli, and Riddle Memorial Hospitals and serves the regional Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery training programs. He is currently the President of the Delaware Valley Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons and has served as the Treasurer, member of the Executive Committee and Chairman of the Information and Technology Committee . Dr. Funari is the President of Chester and Delaware County Dental Society and serves as a Delegate to the Pennsylvania Dental Association. 

Dr. Funari has advanced training and special interest in dentoalveolar surgery, craniofacial implants, obstructive sleep apnea, orthognathic and craniofacial surgery, trauma and reconstruction, facial aesthetic surgery, pediatric surgery, and office based anesthesia. He has lectured locally, nationally and internationally.

Serving our nation  Strongly influenced by the large number of retired U.S. Navy Dental Corps faculty members at Temple University Dental School, Dr. Funari voluntarily enrolled in the United States Navy’s 1925I program during his second year of dental school. While in school, Ensign Funari served as a clerk at the Branch Dental Clinic, Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Upon graduation from Dental School, Lieutenant Funari received his commission and entered active duty as a Dental General Practice Resident assigned to the Bethesda Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland. In July 1984, he received orders to the Branch Dental Clinic in Keflavik, Iceland for a one-year tour as an Assistant Dental Officer. In 1985, Lieutenant Funari accepted assignment to the Branch Dental Clinic, Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Connecticut, where he served as Division Officer. Lieutenant Funari was then ordered to the Precommissioning Unit of USS GUNSTON HALL (LSD 44), in 1998, as the Dental Department Head for the ship during its construction in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was at that time that he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. He remained in that billet after the ship was commissioned and its homeport was transferred to the Naval Amphibious Base in Little Creek, Virginia. During the ship’s deployment to the Caribbean, Lieutenant Commander Funari participated in humanitarian operations in the aftermath of Hurricane Hugo and assisted the Coast Guard in drug interdiction and refugee operations.

While serving as a Dental General Practice Resident, Dr. Funari developed an interest in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. In 1990, he was accepted for out-service training in that surgical specialty at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, Texas. Lieutenant Commander Funari completed his Internship at Parkland Memorial Hospital in June 1991 and graduated from the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residency Program in June 1994.

Upon completion of his residency, Lieutenant Commander Funari was assigned to the Naval Medical Center (NMCP) in Portsmouth, Virginia. In addition to his duties as staff to the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery residency program, Lieutenant Commander Funari was also detailed to the USS AMERICA (CV 66). During this assignment he participated in Operation Restore Democracy in Haiti as a member of the special forces medical team. In 1995, Dr. Funari was transferred to the USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (CVN 73) where he served as Assistant Department Head and Chairman of the Health Promotions Committee. During this assignment he was promoted to the rank of Commander and qualified for the Medical Department Surface Warfare Pin. He completed a deployment to the Mediterranean, Adriatic and Arabian Seas during which he was involved in Operation Southern Watch and supported NATO operations in the former Yugoslavia. Commander Funari was recognized for his contributions to Navy Medicine as the USS GEORGE WASHINGTON received the first Health Promotions award presented to an afloat command.

In 1996, Commander Funari returned to the Naval Medical Center (NMCP) in Portsmouth, Virginia as the Director of the Dental General Practice Residency Program and served as staff to the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Program. In 1997, he was selected to serve as Executive Officer of the USS KEARSARGE (LHD-3) Medical Augmentation Team and assumed responsibilities as Director of Clinical Operations of the NMCP Dental Department. In 1999, Commander Funari assumed Command of the USS KEARSARGE Medical Augmentation Team, the first Dental Corps Officer to hold such a position. While serving as Commanding Officer, his team was involved in operations in the Arabian Gulf and Turkey. During that same year, Commander Funari was given the additional responsibilities of Chief of the Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Assistant Director of the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residency Program. He also supervised the department’s move to the Charette Health Care Facility in Portsmouth, Virginia.

In the summer of 2000, Dr. Funari was promoted to the rank of Captain and he assumed responsibility as Senior Clinician and Chief of the Dental / Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Service at the National Naval Medical Center (NNMC) in Bethesda, Maryland. He was also assigned to the USNS COMFORT (T-AH 20) as its Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon. In the summer of 2002, Captain Funari took part in NATO medical exercises and provided humanitarian care to Russian refugees in Estonia as part of Operation Baltic Challenge. In addition to his other duties, in 2003, Captain Funari was appointed to the position of Associate Director of Specialty Surgery Services, responsible for the oversight of the Departments of Dental / Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Dermatology, Ophthalmology, Otolaryngology, and Urology. During this period Dr. Funari lead a team that was responsible for the definitive surgical management of patients who sustained head and neck injuries in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Besides his supervisory and clinical duties, Captain Funari also chaired the Operating Room Utilization Committee and served on numerous organizational teams.