TL;DR
Dr. Carleigh M. Prane, DMD, AEGD, is the dentist and owner of Stone Falls Dental Care in O’Fallon, Illinois. She earned her dental degree with honors from Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine on a full U.S. Navy scholarship, then completed the Navy’s Advanced Education in General Dentistry residency in Pensacola, Florida. She served on active duty and holds the rank of Lieutenant Commander. She has completed the Dawson Academy’s core curriculum and hands-on series, belongs to seven professional dental organizations, and takes part in outreach for underserved children.
Where did Dr. Prane train?
Dr. Prane earned her Doctor of Dental Medicine degree at the Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine, graduating with honors. She studied there on a full U.S. Navy scholarship, which committed her to serve as a Navy dentist once she finished.
After dental school she chose more training rather than going straight into practice. She completed the Navy’s Advanced Education in General Dentistry residency in Pensacola, Florida. An AEGD is a postgraduate residency for general dentists, a year or more of supervised work across restorative, surgical and complex cases beyond what dental school covers. It is why her name carries the letters AEGD after DMD.
What was her Navy service?
Dr. Prane served several years in the U.S. Navy on active duty and holds the rank of Lieutenant Commander. Navy dentists care for sailors and Marines whose readiness depends on a healthy mouth, and the work asks for steady judgment and clear explanations.
That service is a large part of why the practice feels at home to military families from Scott Air Force Base and the surrounding communities. Many on the team have their own ties to the military too. Our page on care for military families covers the insurance plans we work with and the standing military discount.
What is the Dawson Academy, and what did she study there?
The Dawson Academy is a continuing-education institute for practicing dentists, known for teaching how the teeth, jaw joints and chewing muscles work together as one system. Dr. Prane has completed its core curriculum and its hands-on series.
For a patient, that training shows up in how a treatment plan is built. Before placing crowns, veneers or a bridge, the bite is studied so new work fits the way the jaw moves and has a better chance of lasting. It matters most in larger cases, such as the full-arch restorations shown in our smile gallery.
Dr. Prane is also trained in oral appliance therapy, the custom mouthpieces used to treat snoring and sleep apnea after a sleep physician’s diagnosis.
Which professional organizations does Dr. Prane belong to?
Dr. Prane is a member of seven dental organizations, national, state and local. Membership keeps a dentist close to current guidance and to colleagues in the region. The national academies publish research and run continuing education, the Illinois and Missouri associations cover the two states the practice draws patients from, and the St. Clair District society connects dentists working in this county.
- American Dental Association
- Academy of General Dentistry
- American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry
- American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine
- Illinois State Dental Society
- Missouri Dental Association
- St. Clair District Dental Society
Why did Dr. Prane choose dentistry?
She was drawn to dentistry because it joins science with artistry: the biology of healthy teeth and gums, and the eye needed to make a restoration look natural. She holds that everyone deserves a beautiful smile and healthy teeth that last a lifetime.
Outside the office, she takes part in community outreach programs for underserved children. That balance is easiest to see in cosmetic work, where a crown or veneer has to be strong enough to chew on and natural enough that nobody notices it. Her work in the practice runs from routine care for families to porcelain veneers, crowns, bridges and implant-supported restorations.