How I Became a Periodontist

If you asked me at the start of dental school what kind of dentist I’d become… I wouldn’t have said periodontist.

I didn’t even fully understand what a periodontist was yet.

Like most people, I thought dentistry was about fixing teeth—fillings, crowns, making smiles look nice. And don’t get me wrong, that matters. But the more I got into it, the more I realized… that’s not the whole story.

Because teeth don’t fail on their own.

They fail because of what’s happening around them.

But if I’m being honest… this story started long before dental school.

When I was a kid, I had a bike accident and lost my front teeth.

And I remember exactly how that felt.

I didn’t want to smile. I was self-conscious. I was just a kid, but I was already aware of how much your teeth affect the way you see yourself, and the way the world sees you.

And somewhere in that experience, whether I realized it at the time or not, something stuck.

I think a part of me made a decision back then: I was going to become the doctor that I needed in that moment.

The one who could rebuild what was lost. The one who understood that it wasn’t just about teeth, it was about confidence, identity, and how you show up in the world.

Fast forward to dental school… and then I found periodontics.

Bone. Gums. Biology. Surgery. Regeneration.

The ability to not just maintain, but actually rebuild. That’s what hooked me. Because now it all made sense.

I wasn’t just learning how to treat disease. I was learning how to give people something back. How to change outcomes. How to help the person sitting in the chair feel like themselves again.

That little girl who didn’t want to smile?

That’s who I think about.

And that’s who I show up for.

Becoming a periodontist wasn’t the easy route. Residency pushes you. It demands a lot. But I never questioned it, because I knew I was exactly where I needed to be.

Now, I get to do what I love; rebuild bone, restore foundations, and help people feel confident in their smile again.