When Rock Cello and dentistry integrate
View Emil & Dariel’s exciting full performance on AO’s YouTube channel.
Editor’s Note: AO student members and brothers, Emil Kovetski, DMD (University of Kentucky), and Dariel J. Kovetski, DDS (University of Connecticut) also known as the world-renowned Rock Cello duo and America’s Got Talent finalists, “Emil & Dariel,” provided an energetic orchestral performance to kickoff AO’s 2025 Annual Meeting. Academy News Editor Mehrdad Favagehi, DDS, MS recently had the opportunity to interview this unique duo.
AN: You’re internationally recognized for playing rock music on cellos — an uncommon and captivating combination. How did your musical journey begin, and how has being brothers influenced your collaboration?
E&D: We come from a unique blend of worlds. Three generations of musicians on our mother’s side and three generations of dentists on our father’s side, making music and dentistry intertwined parts of our DNA. We began our classical cello training when we were four years old, and we had daily lessons from our grandfather, Leonid Rubanchik, principal cellist of the Minsk Philharmonic and the Caracas Simfónica.
Shortly after we each learned to play the basics individually, our grandfather would arrange duets for us to play together. As we grew older, we began experimenting with alternative genres and got drawn to playing rock music. We started experimenting with effects pedals and guitar amps to develop the unique tones that our cellos now make.
Playing music as a duo forged an unbreakable collaborative bond between us that was innately strong with us being brothers and further strengthened in working through musical challenges and carefully listening to each other when playing music.
We are incredibly fortunate to be in the same field of implant dentistry as it feels like a continuation of our lifelong collaboration. More often than not, we think alike. But sometimes, our differences in perspective develop into better ideas after discussion. Much like in a band that is perfectly in sync, a stellar implant team is dependent on seamless collaboration between surgery, prosthetic design, and laboratory execution.
AN: You performed at AO’s 40th Annual Meeting. What inspired you to become AO members and how has your involvement enriched your journeys?
E&D: Performing at AO was the ultimate honor. This was the third AO Annual Meeting for us. Two years ago, we never imagined we would be on that incredible stage kicking off the meeting. We were inspired to become members after our mentors shared how AO brings together the best voices in implant dentistry with a focus on evidence-based practices.
It is immensely inspiring to hear great lectures from esteemed speakers and see the dedication to excellence in implant dentistry worldwide. The interdisciplinary approach to care is what makes the Academy stand out for us. It’s often easy to get caught up in the dogma of a single specialty, but the perspectives shared by clinicians with distinctive backgrounds all in one meeting make AO unique.
AN: Given your commitment to excellence in music and dentistry, what is the legacy you hope to build, and how do you envision impacting both communities?
E&D: Music will always be a core part of who we are. While we have no desire to be career musicians, we will always be musicians, and thanks to our grandfather, the cello will always be a close companion.
On the dental front, the future has never looked brighter in implant dentistry, especially for those committed to the pursuit of excellence. Our vision is to positively transform lives through exceptional, innovative dental care.
While our musical roots continue to inspire and shape us, our ultimate ambition lies in establishing a specialized practice that integrates our passion for periodontology and prosthodontics, as we aim to do our part in advancing the frontier of implant dentistry.
We would like to kindly thank AO for allowing us to be a small part of its 40th Annual Meeting. Thank you, Dr. Mehrdad Favagehi, for facilitating this interview. We also extend a very special thank you to our mentors, Drs. Robert Vogel, Robert Levine, and Joseph Kan, as well as the incredible AO Board of Directors, for their kind support, trust, and everything they do for this great profession.
AN: You performed on America’s Got Talent: All-Stars, the “best of the best” competition. How was your performance received by the audience and judges, and can you recount Simon Cowell’s memorable response when you shared your passion for helping people through dentistry?
E&D: AGT had an unbelievable impact on our lives. The first time around was in 2014. A talent scout discovered our YouTube videos, and we were invited to an audition on the show in front of the judges. This was our first significant performance, let alone one in front of four judges, a hall with 5,000 people, and broadcast to millions on TV, so it was far outside our comfort zone. We played Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix to whom we wanted to pay homage for forever revolutionizing how the guitar was perceived.
We couldn’t believe our eyes and ears when the entire hall, and all four judges, erupted in a standing ovation. But most of all, looking over to our left, seeing our grandfather standing in the wings with Nick Cannon’s arm around him, and tears flowing down his face is a memory forever ingrained in us. Nearly a decade later, we were invited back to perform on a spin-off show, AGT: All-Stars, which highlighted favorite finalists from previous seasons. Our All-Stars performance got a lot of buzz in the dental world due to Simon Cowell’s response to us pursuing dentistry instead of music professionally.
It likely caught so much attention, particularly in the dental community, because people related deeply to choosing a career in service to others all while nurturing other passions. We love performing deeply, however, there was never a doubt about how we wanted to continue our family’s legacy in dentistry. The show made for great TV, we got to hear many people’s incredible stories, and we grew much closer to many wonderful dental colleagues. What could be better than that?
AN: Your interaction with Simon Cowell on AGT sparked notable recognition from the American Dental Association. Could you elaborate on the ADA President’s reaction and your subsequent invitation to perform at the ADA annual meeting, including your feature in ADA News?
E&D: It started when Dr. Jeffrey Margolin, a lifelong ADA member, saw our performance and televised interaction with Simon Cowell on AGT: All-Stars. This prompted him to write a passionate letter of support that caught the attention of the sitting ADA President, Dr. George R. Shepley. Dr. Shepley wrote an enthusiastic public letter of support and invited us to kick off the opening session of the annual SmileCon meeting. Subsequently, our story was featured on ADA News and Dentistry Today. It was beyond anything we could have imagined. Performing Metallica’s iconic hits in front of thousands of energized dentists at the meeting was electrifying — an incredible honor and highlight of our careers.
AN: Can you share more about your dental backgrounds and what specifically drew each of you to dentistry?
E&D: We knew we wanted to work together on something amazing since we were kids. Watching our father treat his patients with the utmost care and his effect on people’s lives shined a light on how dentistry was our calling in life.
Emil: In dental school, I was fascinated by implantology and dentoalveolar surgeries. Periodontics drew me in with its unique blend — from microsurgical techniques for delicate soft-tissue grafting to complex, large-scale bone augmentations. I love how it bridges precise technical skills with a deep understanding of systemic health and is consistently at the forefront of many critical aspects in implantology including biologics and managing peri-implantitis.
Dariel: I knew I wanted to be a prosthodontist after shadowing every specialty. It practically reached out to me and was apparent that this was what I would do for the rest of my life. Implant dentistry is fascinating, and to me, it all starts and ends with prosthodontics. Every step of treatment is only as good as the prosthetic plan, and I wanted to be the one to design and craft every step of treatment and ultimately deliver an incredible result to our patients. It’s also exciting to see how prosthodontics is on the cutting edge of the digital dentistry revolution and is pushing the envelope of accuracy and quality through innovation.
AN: Your dual roles as musicians and dental specialists offer you a unique perspective. How do these two fields complement and enhance each other?
E&D: The work ethic our grandfather instilled in us from a young age is carried out in everything we do. We owe him for all our accomplishments, as he gave us the gift of music that added color and depth to how we think, feel, and problem-solve both as individuals and especially as a team. Not to mention the added benefit of improved dexterity from playing a stringed instrument. The same synergy we tap into when playing music is brought to life when collaborating on a clinical case. Our music lessons over the years taught us to lean on each other’s strengths and fill in on our shortcomings. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say we treat working together like one big duet.
What better marriage between the sciences and artistry is there than implant dentistry? It represents an amalgamation of our artistic passions wrapped up in a profession at the forefront of technological and biological innovation.
