Why I Decided to be an Orthodontist

I am so excited to share the amazing news that I am opening my own orthodontic office.  Obviously if you are reading this you are on my website and are aware, but I want to share a fun backstory.  I swear I have always known I wanted to be a dentist.  Weird, because I don’t have any family members that are dentists.  As a child I actually owned a dental tool kit and would clean family members teeth.  Prior to having my kit, I would actually use spoons and forks, I was crafty!

When I was around 8 years old, I started to go to the orthodontist and realized what an amazing place it was.  My Orthodontist just walked around and said “Hey buddy, how’s it going?”  It looked like he was always having so much fun.  When I was 12, I started my second phase of braces and by the time I was done I realized how truly amazing orthodontics was.  You can literally change someones self-confidence by giving them a beautiful smile. I truly felt like my orthodontist was a genius, how cool to be able to provide this before and after!

Starting in middle school I was on a mission.  I understood how much school it would take to be successful and I made the conscious decision to work hard in order to get into the advanced classes.   I participated in sports, but I was also in the National Honor Society and other clubs knowing the importance of having a strong and diverse college application.  It all paid off the day I was accepted to my dream school The University Of Michigan, GO BLUE!  I spent an amazing four years in Ann Arbor.  After that I accepted a position in the Dental School at Boston University.  Another four years in an amazing town!  My husband spent his years studying at MIT getting his PhD, while also volunteering as my practice patient whenever my patients didn’t show.  Ask me to tell you the story about the first time I gave him an injection on my very first day in clinic.

I did spend one year after dental school working as a general dentist, which I think gave me a unique perspective on patient management and general dentistry.  Moving on to my orthodontic residency was one of the best choices I have ever made.  Many dentists will provide simple Invisalign cases, but as an orthodontic specialist I spend an additional two and a half years studying the complexities of teeth alignment, the bite and beyond.  I spent two years working in Colorado before we moved back to Michigan to be closer to our family.  We have been in Michigan for three years now, but I am excited to finally open an office that I can call my own.

I am looking forward to providing cutting edge technology like a 3D scanner, 3D printer, and in-house aligners.  Stay tuned for future blog posts on the topic.

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