Meet the team — Hygienist
Leslie Valdes-Garfio, RDH
—Bilingual care with warmth, patience, and a love for healthy smiles
Leslie is a Registered Dental Hygienist who has been part of the Kokopelli Family and Cosmetic Dentistry team since 2022. Born in Mesa, Arizona, she grew up in Sonora, Mexico from infancy until age 14, when her family moved back to Arizona — making her fully bilingual in English and Spanish.
Her interest in dentistry started in high school when she attended EVIT and became a dental assistant in 2014. She worked as a dental assistant right out of high school, then attended Mesa Community College for prerequisites before completing the Dental Hygiene program at Rio Salado College, graduating in 2021.
What Leslie loves most about her job is the opportunity to educate patients about oral health and make them feel comfortable and welcomed. She understands that going to the dentist can increase anxiety, and she takes pride in helping patients overcome that fear. Certified in local anesthesia and nitrous oxide sedation, she is trained to not only clean teeth but also make the experience as smooth as possible.
Leslie takes time to get to know each patient so she can understand what treatment is best for them. She explains everything she will be doing during the visit, and has noticed it helps patients feel more at ease. Her philosophy is simple: a smile can change your day, and having a healthy smile raises your confidence.
"I smile to others every single day when I go outside the house, and to me it is important helping others to also love their smile."
What Leslie handles
Specialties & day-to-day.
Credentials & education
Where Leslie trained.
Outside the chair
Who Leslie is after 5pm.
Family First
Leslie has a beautiful daughter who is her motivation and her world. She comes from a big family — one of five siblings, though her dad is one of sixteen, so five doesn't seem like a lot! Her two sisters live in Mexico with her parents, and her two brothers live in Mesa.
Foodie at Heart
Leslie loves food and loves eating — and she's sure her patients do too. That's part of why helping maintain healthy teeth is so important to her, because teeth are necessary to eat and enjoy meals. As she puts it: "Food is life."
Explorer & Beach Lover
Leslie enjoys discovering new places, eating good food, and watching sunsets at the beach. Her bucket list is still full of places to visit. Whenever she gets a chance, she drives to Mexico to see her parents and family — at least once a month.
Rest of the team
You'll meet all of them eventually.
_1766256626211-CYkwO1PV.webp)
Meet Leslie on your next visit.
Leslie works out of our Ahwatukee office. Request a cleaning or new-patient visit and you'll likely see Leslie there.