Dr. Hillary A. Mendillo was born and raised in Branford, Connecticut. She attended Branford public schools, graduating from Branford High School in 1998. Dr. Mendillo received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Science and Geology from the University of Pennsylvania in 2002. After college, she worked for Sea Education Association as a shipboard engineer and educator for several years, sailing to such places as Tahiti, Hawaii, and throughout the Caribbean. Growing up immersed in the dental field, with a dentist father and a hygienist mother, Dr. Mendillo couldn’t help but notice the disparity in oral health while traveling to these island nations. The desire to help people access and achieve better oral health was her inspiration to pursue the field of dentistry.

Dr. Mendillo attended the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, receiving her Doctor of Dental Surgery (D.D.S.) degree in May of 2012. She returned to Branford soon after and joined her father in his practice.