When Dr. Cassandre Joseph transforms a patient’s smile, she’s not just practicing dentistry – she’s continuing a journey that took her from Haiti to an Ivy League dental school to serving as a military dentist, and finally to becoming one of the rare Black women to own a cosmetic dental practice in North Carolina. Known as the “Natural Smile Queen,” Joseph is among just 3.8 percent of dentists in America who are Black, but she’s determined to change more than just teeth at her flourishing practice.
She spoke with rolling out before the holidays to give us some dental tips and talk about being in the three percent of Black dentists.
How did you get into dentistry?
I was in middle school, and I was drinking water at the water fountain and my little friend just tapped me on the head like “Hey, Cassie,” and I bumped my front tooth on the water fountain, which ended up chipping it. Then my mom called my dentist and after hours he stayed late or came in and fixed my front tooth. No pain at all. Back to normal, smiling again, feeling good again. And he was just so happy about it, just to help me. And at that moment I was, like, I want to become a dentist.
How is it being a Black woman in dentistry?
Honestly, I was so focused on just being the best that I really can’t even hyper-focus on the fact I am a Black woman in dentistry. I just wanted to get into dental school and make it through. And then, once I was out, I joined the military. It’s, like, okay, let me get through the military. Now that I own my own practice, I think now it’s more highlighted that I’m a Black woman in dentistry. People still ask when they are walking in, is this your practice? But same mentality again. I’m hyper-focused on providing quality service that I can’t focus too much on me being different. I do know that I have to work 10 times harder. I know I have to get a premium education and know my stuff.
How do we get more young Black girls to become a dentist?
I think what I’m doing now. I always allow little girls to come shadow me. I have a little patient, she’s five years old, and she was, like, I want to be a dentist. Her mom is a patient here. And she’s, like, can my daughter be a patient? I was, like, absolutely. I call her Dr. Sedona, my future Dr. Sedona. I tell her all the time: someone has to buy this practice from me! The same way my dentist uplifted me, I do for her and other young girls. Like, this is a real possibility. Absolutely. And like I said, I don’t want it to be just this, like, this is amazing what I have, but my vision is taking it to the next level. Right now, it’s only 3 percent of dentists that are Black. I want that number to get to 10-15 percent — and eventually it will get to 50.
What are some dental tips you can give?
Well, one. Stop using your teeth as utensils and tools. No, don’t open up any packages or bottles with your teeth. No nail-biting at all. Take your time. Get the bottle opener. That’s the first thing. Because I see a lot of people, they have chipped front teeth because they’re doing that.
Another is grinding. A lot of people, I want to say the majority of the population, grinds or clinches their jaw. This causes a lot of people to spend extra funds on dentistry because they’re wearing down their teeth. They’re cracking their teeth; where, if you wear a mouth guard, you could alleviate yourself from fracturing teeth or breaking teeth. Also, if you get a little bit of Botox, that will help as well. So you’re not clenching as hard. You’re protecting your investment; you’re protecting your veneers; you’re protecting your crowns; you’re protecting your natural teeth.
How do you create the perfect smile?
It’s called facially generated smile design, where I design your smile based on you. Like your eyes, are your lips canted? Are they straight? Where is your midline? You know, how far your eyes are from each other — things like that.
And I take scans. I take pictures, and I pretty much reverse-engineer how I want your smile to look like and feel like. Profiling every way your smile is going to look beautiful and natural on you. That’s what it’s called facially driven aesthetics.
