Meet the gorgeous and brilliant Leah Verstraete, founder of @SmileBlancYYC a Guided Biofilm Therapy Dental Hygiene and professional teeth whitening boutique out of Calgary, Canada. In the midst of the pandemic, she executed the opening of Smile Blanc, a never seen before concept that focuses primarily State of the Art Swiss Technologies to provide the utmost quality and first-class delivery of dental hygiene service. “I wanted to create a beautiful space, and redefine dental hygiene”. Her success journey is one of resilience, hard work and never giving up on her dreams! Here is her story. 

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Talk to us about yourself and give us a little background about the start of Smile Blanc?

I am fifth generation born and raised in Calgary. I completed my dental hygiene school in Toronto and received my diploma after completing an 18-month program. I have been a registered dental hygienist for over 10 years now. Smile Blanc started out as an after-hours teeth whitening company because the clinic, I was working at that time didn’t offer the service and they told me that if I wanted to invest in the whitening service, I would be able to provide it to clients after regular business hours. Right away with my natural entrepreneurial spirit I jumped on the opportunity and my 9-5 became 12-hour days. I worked at this practice for over five years and figured out that the patients really enjoyed my care and only wanted to be booked with me. This led me to believe I would be successful in creating my own practice and taking Smile Blanc to the next level. After 2.5 years of research, planning, and building out Smile Blanc it opened in March of 2021.

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What makes Smile Blanc innovative in its industry?

Smile Blanc is the first of its kind to be an independent hygiene practice that is certified in Guided Biofilm Therapy. I really care about my patients and technology is very important to me so I researched and invested in a Swiss technology that provides a deep first class clean called Guided Biofilm Therapy. I’m very proud to provide cutting edge technology in a space that doesn’t feel like a dental office to my patients.

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What made you decide to go into the field of dentistry? 

I always loved going to the dentist even though I had a lot of cavities. At that time, I had literally three months of grade twelve to complete and hadn’t applied to anywhere specifically but I had a contract with Dolls models and was planning on seeing it out. My mom wanted me to get an education and mentioned how much I love going to the dentist and suggested that it could be an interesting and viable path to consider. She found a private accelerated dental hygiene school in Toronto, and after writing the entrance exam I was accepted. My grades were some of the highest in dental school because I truly enjoyed every moment of it. My first job was with a family dentist and that’s where my business Smile Blanc first started.

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Where do you see Smile Blanc in the upcoming future?

As Smile Blanc will be fully certified in Guided Biofilm Therapy by the end of November, I hope to see Smile Blanc’s name grow for its Swiss technology. My goal is to see Smile Blanc run at full capacity, build out my third operator and potentially expand. 

What does success represents to you?

 To me success is sharing new dental technologies with patients, improving their oral health and dental hygiene experience and of course, being able to do what I love everyday! 

How do you find the balance to do everything while managing your own business?

I find balance by keeping organized. Your priorities change when you open a business and its selfish but you really have to focus on the business and keeping yourself positive and healthy.

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To book your next appointment at Smile Blanc here.

Follow @SmileBlancYYC on Instagram for daily updates!