You all know me as Dr. Reem of Smiles Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics in West Los Angeles. But I’d also like to share with you the vision behind building a digital, art-filled dental home for children. Smiles was built to continue the legacy of delivering pediatric dentistry that is gentle, leading-edge, and dedicated to blossoming joyful smiles every day.
In 2008, I set out to remodel a small, free-standing building built in 1946 in West Los Angeles that I was fortunate to lease. I’d come across the ad on the CDA website while I was working overseas and planning my return to California. I followed the lead. The building was an existing dental office that had been leased several times over the years. The bathroom was the size of an airplane lavatory, the windows were tiny, but the space had a beautiful legacy. When I walked through it, I could already see the vision of what was to come.
The project was both expansive and expensive. Fate would have it that a loan was secured just before the financial crash that came that same year. I handled much of the contracting, permitting, and design personally, heading to the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety endless times, big plan rolls in hand. Then, I did what Pico Boulevard hadn’t seen before: I painted the entire building a bright yellow that sang to my heart and caught the eye of an artist-photographer a few years later, who featured it in his exhibition. More importantly, it became a beloved neighborhood landmark.
From Paper to Digital: The Early Steps in a New Kind of Pediatric Dentistry
Design decisions come with every project, but when it comes to creating a dental office, those decisions happen on both macro and micro levels. The Structure on one end, and minute clinical details on the other. Designing a dental space is like designing an elaborate home kitchen. You need to plan where the outlets go, what devices will live there, and how people will move through the space.
Digital dentistry has always been on my mind. In 2008, it presented through the challenge of space. The office size was small, and I had big plans. I knew from the start that I couldn’t afford a dedicated room for files. That turned out to be a gift. I was never a fan of paper charts; they seemed inefficient and unhygienic. When I was an associate, I’d see shelves and shelves of them handled by busy staff, in gloved and ungloved hands alike. It didn’t feel right.
So, I searched for a collaborator who shared the same vision of a digital pediatric dentistry future. I found Alex Furer, founder of a company called MedicTalk. He offered exactly what I was looking for: Digital charts and consent forms. The first time I called, we spoke for nearly two hours. I didn’t need convincing. I was ready for immediate adoption. With that decision, I replaced what would have been a paper chart room with a back office, giving new life to my 1,300-square-foot space and making a life-long friend in Alex.
The Spark That Changed Everything: From Analog To Digital Dental Imaging
Next came imaging. Traditional dental films were still common, but some practices were transitioning to phosphor plate systems. These are thin, flexible films that require scanning. I almost invested in a system until an IT tech, named Frank Schettini, asked me a question that changed everything:
“If you could know the outcome of an image instantly, without keeping your little patient waiting, would you like that?”
My answer was an instant yes. These sensors were designed for adults, but I believed that children deserved the same level of innovation and comfort. With practice, diligence and some tweaking, we figured out how to use them for kids smoothly. I made the same decision for large scale, extra oral imaging, setting up the office with a complete imaging suite.
That shift toward digital imaging reshaped how I practiced pediatric dentistry and added unparalleled dimension to our orthodontic treatment planning. It also set the stage for adopting full digital workflows, replacing all analog oral impressions (you know, the goopy stuff) and messy lab supplies with sleek intraoral scanners, capable of taking digital impressions in minutes and an in-house digital pediatric and orthodontic dental lab. Our environment became faster, cleaner, more comfortable, and more connected to the child’s and parent’s experience.
The Smiles Name
The name of our practice is not elusive. In fact, “Smiles” is a word commonly used in dentistry, but choosing it for me came from a deep desire to see children happy. The beauty of working with kids is enjoying their authenticity. A child’s smile is probably the most honest and true form of elevated emotion humanity can experience. It is also a language that is never misunderstood. It rings clear and warms the soul. That is why I chose this word to represent our service.
A Vision Beyond Themes
Many pediatric dental offices follow familiar motifs like jungles, oceans, or outer space. They’re playful and inviting, but I had a different vision for Smiles. I imagined every infant and toddler who walked through our doors eventually returning as a teenager and young adult. I wanted an environment that would grow with them. One that felt timeless, clean, and welcoming to all.
I also wanted a clean silhouette that would invite parents into a space that felt clear, clean and organized, yet bright and cheerful. During dental visits, parents often ask, “Is this a franchise?” or exclaim, “This place feels like Disneyland!” Those moments affirm what I hoped to create: A dental home that feels magical, safe and comfortable. Built from warmth, honoring precision, and radiating joy.
Designing Shape, Form, Function
I’ve always been a designer at heart. Shaping, refining, and harmonizing form and order. I design in 3D, in art, and in the smiles that I help create. When Smiles was built, I had no budget for an interior designer, so I hired myself for that job. To decorate the walls, I set up a makeshift bench as the construction workers worked, bought a bunch of canvases and acrylic paints from Michaels (on sale), and got to work. It amazes me how many compliments I’ve gotten on these spontaneous art pieces over the years. So, I started to add more of them and gave time to pursuing my artistic adventures, something that has brought me so much fulfillment.
These original paintings still grace our walls. Over the years, kids and parents have often commented on the warmth and joy they bring to our space. They’ve become part of our dental office design story and a reminder that creativity and authenticity can elevate a pediatric dental practice as much as technology can.
Our building is a free-standing space that allows us to open the doors and windows to the light of the sun. Our building is ADA accessible and easy to navigate. During the pandemic, despite the strict guidelines that dental offices needed to follow, I realized that we were already living many of those practices. The day-to-day protocols like allowing fresh air to circulate, to maintaining in-house laundry, to cleaning and wiping of surfaces were already integrated in our everyday practices. Our philosophy of care has always included the health of our space as an expression of love and respect for those we serve.
Color!
Almost every day, I get asked this: “Why did you choose the color yellow?”
The answer is simple: Because I wanted to bring brightness to a field that has long been associated with challenge. Yellow is fun, uplifting, and cheery. It’s a color that radiates optimism and is universally well-received. It reflects the warmth we feel for our families and the joy that flows through our work.
Every item at Smiles is custom made or carefully sourced. Let me tell you, furniture doesn’t typically come in yellow and orange! But I take great pride in finding these items and customizing them or collaborating with artisans who can create them.
People also ask me if everything I own is yellow! I’m often seen walking in the neighborhood in yellow (or orange) scrubs. I laugh because I do gravitate toward bright colors and love to wear yellow! That said, a better description of me would be a rainbow because I also love the rest of the color wheel too.
The Blue Logo and Orange Trim
Our logo is blue. It’s the color of clarity. It stands out beautifully against our yellow building and brings balance to its warmth. I didn’t realize it at the time, but many leading brands have chosen blue for the same reason. Blue communicates trust, calm, and connection. From companies like Oral-B, LinkedIn, and American Express to Samsung and IBM, blue has long represented reliability and intelligence.
As for the orange, there’s a story there. While I was building the office, I made wonderful friendships with my neighbors on both sides. On one side was The Children’s Book World, the most beautiful bookstore, a place of pure awe and adventure, lovingly led by Sharon Hearn for decades. On the other was Dr. Kevin Komatsu, a wonderful general dentist whom I entrust with my own dental care.
One afternoon, during a conversation with friends at the bookstore, someone smiled and said, “You’re a USC Trojan. You’ve got to have orange!” Another light bulb went off. Yes, I do.
Orange became the perfect finishing touch. A color of warmth, creativity, and vitality. It bridges the cheer of yellow with the confidence of blue, embodying both connection and joy. Together, these colors reflect who we are. Bright, clear, and joyfully inspired by community.
LINK to the Children’s book world:
https://childrensbookworld.com
Budget, Planning and Beliefs
There is no doubt that budgets are part of every project, and that cost is something on every practice owner’s mind. Over the years of running a pediatric dentistry business, I’ve come to appreciate that both structure and intuition play vital roles in every decision.
I’ve always had the aspiration of enrolling in an MBA program. Something in me longs for the pragmatism of structured spreadsheets and analytical outcomes. Maybe this will be a chapter yet to come. However, I’ve understood that the way I function is on a more energetic level. I certainly love to organize and plan, but the way I handle financials is guided by belief. Here are some of the ways that I flow through life:
- When we do good, good follows.
- When the heart calls, the call must be answered.
- Some investments just have to be made.
- Honor everything, waste nothing.
- Recycling, upcycling, and recreation are endlessly enriching and fulfilling.
- Appreciation is the breath of life.
Evolving Spaces, Evolving Care
I’ve remodeled Smiles four more times over the last seventeen years. Each time, we’ve refined, added, and adopted better, smoother systems and more advanced technologies. Parents rarely see these transitions. Our “reimagining’s” happen in the evenings, on weekends, and during planned closures. But every change becomes part of the warm, sunlit story that is our yellow building and embodies the beliefs that I live by.
When it’s time to update an item or replace a technology system, the existing one gets donated to a community clinic or someone who can joyfully repurpose it. Larger units like our 3D Conebeam unit (we are on our third to reduce radiation and image gently), get traded in and upgraded. Well cared for instruments get donated to dental students that need them to practice and perfect their skills.
I also take a moment to bless every item and thank it for the service it provided documenting with sentimental photos that my children can’t yet figure out but I know will one day will understand.
From Vision to Virtual Design
Today, my latest remodeling projects live inside a computer. I’m beta testing AI integrations in digital dental imaging and creating digital pediatric and early orthodontic workflows using CAD/CAM technologies. Over the past three years, I’ve focused on adapting adult digital dentistry tools to benefit children and teens, making 3D printing in pediatric dentistry and orthodontics not only possible, but beautiful and practical.
Children deserve precision, comfort, and innovation as much as adults do, and at Smiles, they now receive it. Digital pediatric dentistry and early orthodontics is happening daily in the yellow building.
Always Becoming
The path of our office, and of pediatric dentistry itself, is ever evolving. Being part of that evolution is my calling. One of deep passion for creating comfort, sponsoring health, and stewarding joy. These aspirations may sound idealistic for a field like dentistry, but similar to every remodel I’ve undertaken, they begin with a small spark and a dream to make care gentler and brighter for every child.
Like I tell the kids that come to see me: “Your teeth need to last for the next one hundred years so, you gotta love them!”
Schedule your child’s first dental visit today! Contact us here.
