How we’re involved in the local Assyrian community starts with welcoming, unhurried care for every patient, including Assyrian families. We try to schedule around fasting periods, religious holidays, and family obligations. In 2026, we donated to the Assyriska FF “Greater Than Football” initiative, and Dr. Poles was named an ambassador.
Key Takeaways
- Arlington Heights sits within one of the largest Assyrian communities in the United States, centered in Chicago and its northwest suburbs.
- Omni Dental is committed to being a welcoming, accessible dental home for patients from every background in our area, including the local Assyrian community.
- In 2026, Omni Dental donated to the Assyriska FF “Greater Than Football” initiative, and Dr. Bilus Poles was named an ambassador.
- We’re actively looking for ways to build stronger local relationships going forward, and we welcome input from community members and organizations.
Estimated read time: 6 minutes
Our neighbors in Arlington Heights include a large and long-established Assyrian community, and we want our practice to feel welcoming to them.
A Neighborhood Shaped by the Assyrian Community
Chicago is home to one of the largest Assyrian populations in the United States. That community has grown well beyond the city itself over the past several decades. Families have moved into the near north and northwest suburbs. Skokie, Niles, Des Plaines, Schaumburg, and Arlington Heights are all part of that pattern.
Along the way, families have built churches, schools, and community organizations. These carry Assyrian language, faith, and culture forward for the next generation. Congregations connected to the Assyrian Church of the East, the Chaldean Catholic Church, and the Syriac Orthodox Church all have a presence nearby. Together, they represent a wider Chicago-area community. This is a community with deep roots, not a recent or passing presence in the region.
This history matters to us because it shapes who walks through our doors. Patients bring their own traditions, languages, and family histories with them. We want our practice to feel like a place where that’s understood and respected. It shouldn’t be something patients have to explain from scratch at every visit, year after year, to a new hygienist or front desk staff member who doesn’t have the context.
How We’re Involved in the Local Assyrian Community Today
We want to be straightforward here rather than overstate things. Omni Dental‘s community involvement is real and still growing. In September 2026, Dr. Bilus Poles attended an Assyrian community gala in the Chicago area, where Omni Dental donated to the Assyriska FF “Greater Than Football” initiative and Dr. Poles was named an ambassador. He also attended AASA Mesopotamian Night 2026, which supports Assyrian arts and humanitarian work.
What we can also speak to honestly is our day-to-day commitment. We treat every patient who walks in, regardless of background, with the same attentive, unhurried care. That’s not a special program built around any one community. It’s simply how we try to run the practice for everyone who chooses us.
In practice, that looks like a few specific things. We take time to understand each patient’s concerns instead of rushing through appointments, and where scheduling allows, we try to work around religious observances or family obligations. We aim to create an office environment where patients feel comfortable asking questions about their care, in plain language, without feeling talked down to.
It’s a foundation we’re still building on, and we think it’s worth saying so plainly rather than dressing it up as more than it is.
What Newer Patients Can Expect at Their First Visit
We know that choosing a new dentist can feel like a bigger decision than it should be, especially if you’ve had a long-standing relationship with a previous provider or if a language or cultural gap has made past visits feel less comfortable than they could have. We try to make that first visit as low-pressure as possible.
That starts with an actual conversation before any work begins. We ask about your dental history, your concerns, and anything that’s made past visits difficult, whether that’s discomfort, cost worries, or simply not feeling heard. From there, we walk through options together rather than presenting a single plan as the only path forward.
We also try to be upfront about cost and timeline early on, since surprises tend to erode trust faster than almost anything else in a dental relationship. If something in your care plan doesn’t make sense, we’d rather you ask than quietly go along with it.
Cultural and Religious Considerations We Try to Respect
Many Assyrian families in our area are active members of Christian traditions such as the Assyrian Church of the East, the Chaldean Catholic Church, or the Syriac Orthodox Church. Fasting periods, particularly around Lent and other religious observances, are meaningful to many patients and families throughout the year.
Dr. Poles shares Assyrian heritage himself, but we don’t assume every patient follows the same traditions. What we can offer is a genuine willingness to listen and adjust where we reasonably can.
If a fasting period, holiday, or family event affects when you’d like to schedule care, telling our front desk team helps. It lets us plan around your needs instead of working against them. This applies just as much to any other patient with a scheduling consideration tied to their own beliefs or family life.
Why We’re Writing This Instead of Staying Quiet
It would be easy to write a post that inflates every event and sponsorship into something bigger than it is. We chose not to do that. Plenty of local businesses lean on vague language about “celebrating diversity” without much behind it, and patients can usually tell the difference between that and something real.
We’d rather tell you exactly where we stand today, even if that’s a shorter list than we might want. If a patient reads this and decides to give us a try because we were straightforward, that matters more to us than a polished paragraph that oversells what we’ve actually done.
| Community Commitment | What It Means at Omni Dental | How It Supports Patients |
|---|---|---|
| Welcoming Environment | Providing respectful dental care for patients from all cultural backgrounds. | Helps patients feel comfortable and understood during visits. |
| Patient Communication | Taking time to explain concerns, treatment options, costs, and timelines clearly. | Allows patients to make informed decisions about their dental health. |
| Cultural Awareness | Listening to individual needs, including scheduling considerations related to traditions or family commitments. | Creates a more flexible and respectful care experience. |
| Honest Community Involvement | Being transparent about current involvement while looking for meaningful ways to contribute. | Builds trust through genuine actions rather than empty promises. |
| Future Community Connections | Exploring opportunities to support local organizations and community initiatives. | Helps create stronger long-term relationships within Arlington Heights. |
Looking Ahead: Building Real Local Connections
Our involvement is still growing, and much of our commitment to the local Assyrian community lives in how we treat patients one visit at a time.
We’d like that to keep growing into something more visible over time. That might mean supporting more local events. It might mean working directly with a community organization on something specific. Or it might simply mean becoming a practice that’s known and trusted within the community through word of mouth, one good experience at a time.
If you’re part of a local Assyrian organization, church, or community group and see a genuine way we could support what you’re doing, we’d like to hear from you. We’re not interested in a surface-level gesture for the sake of a blog post. We’d rather build something real over time, even if that takes longer than a single sponsorship or event.
Have a suggestion for how we could better serve the local community? Reach out to our Arlington Heights office and let us know.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Omni Dental accepting new patients from the local Assyrian community?
Yes. We welcome new patients from every background in the Arlington Heights area. We’re happy to answer questions before your first visit if that helps you feel more comfortable booking.
Can you accommodate scheduling around religious holidays or fasting periods?
We’ll do our best. Let our front desk team know about any dates or observances that affect your availability. We’ll work with you to find a time that fits your situation.
Do any staff members speak Assyrian, Syriac, or Arabic?
We don’t currently have confirmed language capabilities to share here. If this matters to your care, ask our front desk team directly when you call, since staffing can change and they can tell you what’s available at the time of your visit.
How can I suggest ways Omni Dental could support the local Assyrian community?
We’d genuinely like to hear from you. Reach out through our contact page or give us a call. Let us know what kind of involvement would feel meaningful to your community rather than symbolic, and we’ll follow up directly to talk it through.
Want to Share Your Thoughts With Us?
We’re still building these local connections, and input from our community matters. Contact us or call (847) 483-8833 to share your thoughts.
About the author
Dr. Bilus D PolesDDS,MAGD,DICOI, DIDIA
Founder and lead dentist of Omni Dental of Arlington Heights. Master of the Academy of General Dentistry and Board Certified Diplomate of the ICOI and IDIA. Illinois license #019.027365.
