Nicole Smith Transforms Lives With Aesthetic Dentistry

By Ami Finkelthal

      Aesthetic dentistry is a lot more than creating pretty smiles and glamorous makeovers, says Nicole Smith, president of the College of Dentistry Class of 2009 and co-founder of an NYU club for students interested in specializing in aesthetic dentistry when they enter practice.
      “By providing people who are embarrassed by their teeth with healthy, beautiful smiles, dentists can transform their lives,” says Smith.
      As new evidence emerges almost daily of a link between oral infection—periodontal infection, in particular—and a range of significant systemic conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and pre-term, low birth weight babies, Smith believes dentists are in a privileged position to help reduce risk factors for these conditions by promoting good oral health.
      But practicing dentistry is just one of the ways in which Smith helps people improve their lives. She is active in community outreach, organizing large donations of food and clothing for those in need, and helping to raise breast cancer and oral cancer awareness. She has also traveled to medically underserved areas of the world on missions organized by the College of Dentistry. An advocate for her classmates, Smith earned the NYU President’s Service Award in 2007 for organizing events and creating a newsletter that fostered a sense of class spirit. Last month, she was honored with a second President’s Service Award for her leadership of the College of Dentistry Yearbook Committee. She was also one of three finalists for student speaker at today’s Commencement ceremony.
      Smith says that perhaps her most memorable experience at NYU was her time spent treating young children on the College of Dentistry’s Smiling Faces, Going Places mobile dental van, which travels throughout New York City to provide oral health care to underserved youngsters.
      “Many of the youngsters I treated had never seen a dentist before,” she recalls. “By showing them how to brush correctly and take care of their teeth, I’m helping to ensure they have beautiful, healthy smiles for life.”