“You are never fully dressed without a smile”, and that is for sure! Yes, the beauty of a smile is an art!

Dr.Alina Cretu – DMD, DDS

I was born in Romania, in 1973, during the Communist era. Growing up at that time was not easy, especially going to the dentist as a child. We did not know much about oral hygiene since the main goal was surviving in harsh conditions. So, I ended up having root canal procedure done to me without anesthetic. This was deeply engraved in my subconscious level and made me want to become a dentist who cares about the wellbeing of my clients. After high school, I became a nurse working on a surgical floor and taking care of patients before and after surgery; sometimes having more than 40 patients at a time. Moreover, I had to perform all the duties and procedures that a doctor is required to do in the United States. These included things such as IV’s injectable treatments, changing wounds, writing medication, fabricating our own wound dressings, and working long hours.

After four years as a nurse, I decided I wanted something more. Perhaps my subconscious sparked, and I decided to pursue a career in dentistry. In Romania, to do this, one would need to pass a very rigorous exam based on biology, chemistry, and physics. Therefore, I began preparing myself for this exam a year prior to when I was due to sit for my exam. However, it seemed that this was not enough because I failed. Still, I did not get discouraged and I continued studying for another year and I passed the exam.

During my third year at the University of dentistry in Romania, I got married and I had my first child and in my fifth year, I came to the United States for the first time not knowing any English. I remember reading signs on the streets and wondering what the word ‘appointment’ meant. However, although I didn’t know English very well, I knew that to move to the United States, I would need to become a qualified dentist here. Therefore, I had to take a preclinical exam and clinical exam before anything else. These exams are National Board examinations that a graduated dentist must sit for, here in the United States. To prepare for this exam, I bought myself plenty of dictionaries, and I bought the necessary books

Then, I went back to Romania for a year to graduate there and study for the exams I was going to sit for in the United States. Since I did not know any English, I had to translate twelve books, for each exam, word by word to make sense of what I was reading, and those books were approximately 700 pages each.

After I had translated the first book, I could understand many words because several words were just a repetition of the others. Then, after six months, I sat for my preclinical exam, and I passed. In 2002, I graduated from the Dental School in Romania, and in the same year I passed my clinical exam and moved to the United States. At this time, my daughter was a toddler, and I was living in Saginaw, Michigan.

Moreover, to be recognized as a dentist in the United States, I also had to apply to a dental school and do another two years of clinical with regular students. However, only 15 schools in United States accepted foreign graduates into the Advance Studying Program. So, I applied to the University of Pittsburgh and out of 110 applicants, I was one of the four that was accepted. I graduated from dental school for the second time in 2007 and was ranked with the top 5% of my class. After all of this, I moved to Myrtle Beach where I worked as an associate dentist for a while. However, I then decided to have my own practice where I could perform the dental skills I have in an elegant style.

” I help people to be pain free, overcoming dental phobia, controlling disease, and giving people smiles that they dream of. Changing life is what I do every day and people are very grateful! Nothing is more satisfying.”

What is the most exciting thing about your career?

The fact that I have freedom to give, and to express myself in an uncensored way. The fact that I can sleep well at night, knowing that I did everything as right as I know it to be. The fact that I go to work every morning knowing that I help people, pain free, to overcome their dental phobia, control disease, and give people the smiles that they dream of. Changing lives is what I do every day, and people are very grateful! Nothing is more satisfying.

Can you give us your insight about cosmetic dentistry from a holistic standpoint? Why is it important?

I pursued my dental career further after graduating for the second time. I researched and found the Kois Center in Seattle, and Dr. Kois became my mentor. I needed to find teachings based on research, to know when, how, and why. Dr Kois had his own research lab and knew about every procedure that was done in dentistry. Dr. Kois was the man who researched this and taught such things based on his findings and centered it all on the English publications that are out there. He is one of the best dentists in the world, and it is such an honor to have graduated from Kois Center under his mentorship. In fact, when I decide on a treatment plan for any patient of mine, from a single filling change to a full mouth restoration for esthetic or function, my recommendations are based on what is in practice today and what works.

How do you think the history influenced the beauty of a smile? How did the aesthetics of a smile change over the decades? Did it change?

“You are never fully dressed without a smile”, and this is for sure! Yes, the beauty of a smile is an art! We did evolve in time, of course; from wooden teeth in dentures or ivory teeth, to the most beautiful porcelain. From bad tasting impression materials to digital scans and computerized esthetic analysis. From changing the focus of providing function only, to studying the biology of beauty and providing results that take it all in account.

Can a smile be designed by dentists?

That should be our specialty! We need dental labs for help, but we should be in the leading chair. To do that, an amazing amount of knowledge is required. Teeth are not just teeth. Teeth are part of the mouth, and part of the body too. Thus, this constitutes to a whole system, like pieces of a puzzle that need to be put all together for the entire system to work harmoniously.

I hear you’re a jet setter and love to travel! What is your favorite place you’ve visited so far and why?

I love to travel. However, nowadays this is a little more complicated. The best place that I have visited so far is Santorini, in Greece. There is something special about this place and I have never experienced anything like it in other countries I have visited so far. This is because it gave me the peace and tranquility of a REAL vacation. Did I mention that it’s so beautiful?!

How would you describe your personal style?

“I am not sure if I have a style, But I do like things to be simple around me.”

Do you scan peoples’ teeth when you’re out and about?

You don’t have to be dentist to notice the smile of a person, right? I’ve seen a picture once where a person was missing a tooth and an eyebrow, so of course, the first thing you notice is the missing tooth. And yes, it’s a “professional defect” to scan smiles of all the persons I meet, but I don’t judge any of them. However, I do ask myself what and how I would change the smile of the person standing in front of me, but I feel like this makes me think like a robot sometimes. As I said before, it’s not all about me, but it’s also about the comfort of the person. Keeping this in mind helps me a lot with improving my observational spirit! When someone tells me that they want me to “fix their smile” there’s a whole process that I go through. So, what does this involve? First off, a very thorough comprehensive exam is conducted. This involves a study of the patient’s health history, analysis of the gums, tooth structure, function, and esthetics. This process involves pictures, scanning, studding models, and wax up mockups. It is important to point out that all of this is done by taking into consideration the patient’s wish. Therefore, it’s important that they express what they want done and how they want it to be done as they will be the ones wearing the smile and I am the one telling them if their expectations are feasible.

What are the top new trends in aesthetic dentistry that you noticed? Did you notice a change in the demand for aesthetic services over your career? Can you tell us more?

People want white teeth. Materials that we work with improved tremendously along the years. We can now provide teeth as white as paper, or beautiful white porcelain that mimics the natural beauty of a tooth, with translucency and chroma that makes it elegant. It’s all in the perception. The demand for esthetics was always there, but when it comes to the requirements that we need to get through to have beautiful teeth, hesitation takes place sometimes. Creating artistic smiles that last is not an easy task for the dentist or the patient. After all, beauty will always require sacrifices!

What is the “perfect smile” according to you?

I can give a lot of specific characteristics for a perfect smile; how long the teeth should be, how wide, how white, etc. However, a perfect smile must be designed for each specific individual, according to the shape of the face, the characteristics of the lips, the white of their eyes, the tone of the skin, and so on. Ultimately, the most important is that the smile is what the patient desires.

“Believing the things we see on social media is a trend nowadays. It’s all about what you see. But it’s not. If you know who you are and what defines you as a person, social media should not have such a big influence. Yes, all the personalities have the nicest teeth, but what does that involve? And is that your dream? If yes, then go for it and accept the sacrifices!”