I was born in the small town of Liberal, Kansas. By the age of 7, my family had moved across the country to five different states before settling in Saginaw, Michigan, which I consider home. Growing up, I was very shy and timid due to the way my teeth looked. I remembered people talking about my buck teeth all my life. Understandably, it really affected my confidence and self-esteem throughout high school. I didn’t speak much during my childhood and for sure did not like people seeing my smile. You would not find a single photo of me smiling with my teeth.
It wasn’t until college where I took the leap to go get braces. I was finally going to get that smile I’ve always dreamed of where I would no longer be shy to smile. The day I got my braces off, was the best day of my life. I looked forward to showing everybody my smile and could not stop grinning for months. I could not believe these were my teeth.
With this newfound confidence, I decided to enter the dental field so I could create the same change my orthodontist (Dr. Larry) did for me. My goal of orthodontic treatment for my patients is to instill the same confidence and charisma I developed as a young college student.
During my time at my orthodontics residency, I met my amazing wife Lisa who was completing graduate school at the time. We moved to Chicago for four years while she furthered her education to become a Physician. We welcomed our son Tai in the windy city, who is our world. As she wraps up medical school, we are excited to head back home to Colorado to set up roots for our family and be active in the community.
During my free time I am an avid rock climber, and you can find me at all the local climbing gyms. I would also consider myself an amateur chef and dream of being on Chopped one day!
