Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Kristen Ellis.
Dr. Ellis knew dentistry would be her path at the age of five when she became fascinated with pulling her own baby teeth! It would be ten years later before Dr. Ellis every met a dentist or went to the dentist for dental care. Dr. Ellis was born in West Helena, Arkansas. It’s a city located in the Mississippi Delta of the U.S.A.. A geographical region consider to be the nation’s most impoverished areas. While in college at The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Dr. Ellis begins volunteering at Roaf & Caudle Dental Office. She was able to learn about the patients’ experience and the business of dentistry by working in each role in the office over several years. This experience plays a key role in how Dr. Ellis practices dentistry today.
During Dr. Ellis’s attendance at Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry, she was selected as a recipient of the highly competitive National Health Service Corp Scholarship. Dr. Ellis was able to begin her career after graduation in community health centers across the United States, eventually earning the title and serving in the role as Chief Dental Officer. Dr. Ellis received many accolades, including being appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Human & Health Services as a dental health expert during President Obama’s administration. Dr. Ellis has also been featured in a publication for the Top 35 under 35.
Dr. Ellis has been recognized within the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex for her professional contributions of clinical dentistry and securing private & federal grant funding for underserved communities while serving as Chief Dental Officer. Dr. Ellis was able to research the health disparities and needs in the DFW communities. Dr. Ellis began working with Head Start of Greater Dallas, Inc., providing oral healthcare guidance and exams for the participants. Dr. Ellis was selected to become a member of the board of directors for Head Start of Greater Dallas, Inc. Dr. Ellis also serves as an ambassador for the Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD and participates annually on the scholarship committee.
Dr. Ellis wanted to create a diversified dental office that enabled patients to be comfortable to be themselves and to receive dental care from a trusted member of the dental society. This was feedback that was received during her ten years of research and serving various communities. In 2019, Dr. Ellis was selected to receive a scholarship to attend Cornell University to study entrepreneurship. Dr. Ellis came up with the solution to the problem by creating Love Your Smile Dentistry! Her private practice dental office started from the ground up as a new construction. Each detail seen in the office was intentional to allow our patients to experience the difference in dentistry.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Challenges in my career have existed. My ambitious and goal-oriented nature never allowed any obstacle to deter me from focusing on and completing my goals. I have experienced racial, age, and gender bias starting during my childhood in school with not being placed in certain accelerated classes based on these attributes and not based on my academic ability. Those exposures helped me later in life to identify these issues and to navigate them accordingly as an adult. It was very important to me to embrace those experiences when creating the concept of Love Your Smile Dentistry because so many people express how they have felt that way in their life at some point, including when they went to other dentists for a dental visit.
The things that set us apart is that we offer our patients and their family members scholarships to help with the expenses of school or transitioning into the workforce. We also participate in various dental charities in America giving away free dental services through the year.
We’d love to hear more about your practice.
Love Your Smile Dentistry is a family-owned private practice dental office. We see patients of all ages from infants and the elderly populations. Love Your Smile Dentistry is a state of the art facility with the latest advances in dental technology such as a 3D cone beam CT machine to take an in-depth look at implant needs, TMJ and airway issues. We offer a variety of dental services, including routine exams, cleanings, fillings to more advanced dentistry, including implant placement, oral surgery, and braces. As a general dentist, Dr. Ellis is able to fulfill most sub-specialties of dentistry within Love Your Smile Dentistry avoid the need in most cases for referrals.
Love Your Smile Dentistry is known for being an upbeat and positive environment. We treat our patients like family! Dr. Ellis and her staff receive acknowledgments daily from patients about how different their experience has been. Patients enjoy their experience so much that they like to take photos with Dr. Ellis to commemorate the experience.
As the owner of Love Your Smile Dentistry, I am most proud to have wonderful patients that express their experience at our business and tell others. I am grateful that in under one year, our efforts are well known throughout the DFW community!
What sets us apart from others is that we are a Black-owned, woman-led business that puts our patients first. We take pride in our office and our staff to make sure each patient has an exceptional experience. As the owner, I am fully engaged in the practice, which allows our patients to receive concierge services.
Our Love Your Smile Dentistry Scholarship sets us apart as well. We make sure that we are able to help our patients and the family members of our patients by awarding scholarships to high school seniors that are going to college or transitioning in the workforce. We also offer preferred discounts and saving plans for our patients that do not have insurance. We believe it is important that everyone has access to a healthy smile!
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My family and friends have played a vital role in the success of Love Your Smile Dentistry. We are very blessed and thankful for their contributions to our success.
Most notably, my husband, Will, has been engaged in the process every step of the way of my career since college. I’m grateful to have a person to hold me accountable and who was able to sketch out the details of our vision for Love Your Smile Dentistry’s design and layout. When patients and vendors talk about how nice the office looks with the unique details and the advancements of technology, we have to give credit to Will. During a blank canvas construction, it was hard for me to see how it would all come together. Luckily he’s an engineer and could see beyond just having walls and dental chairs.
My children, William and Lauren, have been very understanding and very helpful in the process. We wanted them to understand what we were doing and why we were starting a business. My son, William, actually came up with the name Love Your Smile Dentistry. It has been a joy to watch them learn so much about starting and running a business. To my staff, who are able to take my vision and apply it daily to our patients and other visitors. It truly means a lot to me to have like minded people fully engaged in making Love Your Smile Dentistry the best dental office in the world. Thank you for your contributions!
Contact Info:
- Address: Love Your Smile Dentistry
3365 Regent Blvd #120
Irving, TX 75063 - Website: www.loveyoursmiledfw.com
- Phone: 469-351-6010
- Email: info@loveyoursmiledfw.com
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