Dr. Maria Antoinette Barden is a graduate of Hampton University in Hampton and Rutgers Dental School (formerly University of Medicine and Dentistry in Newark, New Jersey). She has been in practice for over 30 years.

Prior to becoming a dentist, Dr. Barden served the Newark community as a science teacher in the Newark Public School System and was the Director of the High School Urban Engineering Program at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Dr. Barden has served at Secretary, Vice President and President of her local Commonwealth Dental Society. She has also served as a Delegate and Trustee to the National Dental Society for over 25 years.

Dr. Barden is an active member of the community. She has served on the Health Advisory Board for Union Country Head Start and the Board of Trustees at Babyland Inc. Dr. Barden has also worked for the East Orange Health Department's Dental Clinic since 1985, providing quality dental service to the children of East Orange. She also speaks at local schools and serves on the board of Beauty for Ashes, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of AIDS patients.

Dr. Barden has received many awards. Among them she has received Past President's Awards from the Commonwealth Dental Society, the President's Award for Distinguished Leadership from the National Dental Association, the Phenomenal Achievement and Leadership Award from Women Dentists, National Dental Association, and the Health and Human Service Award from the City of East Orange.

During her professional career, Dr. Barden has been a resident of East Orange and Plainfield, New Jersey. She loves traveling and spending time with her family in Maryland, Virginia and Alabama.