We recently had the privilege of interviewing Paul Ouellette, DDS, MS, AFAAID, ABO, an Orthodontist and dental implant specialist who is leading the way in high-tech dentistry.
“I stumbled into the world of dentistry by a happy accident,” Dr. Paul Ouellette reminisced.
Young Dr. Ouellette became an orthodontic patient at age 13. Though his dad was a businessman, his family did not have much money for orthodontics, so they decided to take young Ouellette to Loyola University in Chicago to be screened as a patient. There, he met a resident assigned to his case who was working on his PhD, Dr. Don Hilgers. As a patient, young Ouellette was fascinated by the field of orthodontics and was a key illustrator for Dr. Hilgers’ thesis. After Dr. Hilgers completed his PhD studies, young Ouellette stayed in touch with his mentor in college. He applied to attend dental school with Dr. Hilger’s guidance at Loyola Chicago after graduation from Texas A&M in 1962.
In dental school at the time, students would take 2D X-rays and pictures of the patients’ heads and trace the anatomy to make measurements and diagnose cases. Patients are now digitized in 3D to be viewed and diagnosed in 3 dimensions.
“I’ve been involved from the very beginning when things were more primitive or low-tech compared to where they are now – in a more digitized and high-tech format,” he shared.
When Dr. Ouellette completed his orthodontic program in 1972, he was offered a clinical director position in an orthodontic program that had only eight residents. He became close with these eight residents when he began teaching orthodontics.
“I really learned my orthodontics when I started teaching it. We all learned together under the excellent head of the department,” he said.
Dr. Ouellette graduated dental school in 1970 and has been a dentist for 54 years and an orthodontist for 52 years. After working in education and building orthodontic practices in Georgia and Florida, he retired early and moved to Florida. Upon moving, Dr. Ouellette looked up a classmate from Loyola Chicago who was part of a group specialty dental practice that offered specialized dentistry, such as oral surgery, endodontics, and periodontics. He decided to un-retire and ended up helping the group build four locations for their practices.
Dr. Ouellette includes content from his book ‘3D Dentists’ during his lectures.
“I have helped develop over 33 group specialty locations during my career. My two boys became dental specialists as well, and since then, we’ve been involved very deeply as a family in the specialty side of dentistry,” he said.
Dr. Ouellette became an implant dentist because his personal dentist, Dr. Ed Mills, was an implant educator. His son Jonathan’s decision to pursue a career in the same specialty of dentistry also sparked his interest in pursuing this new path. Dr. Ouellette, Sr. received his certification from the American Academy of Implant Dentistry and now teaches orthodontics and implant dentistry at the Georgia School of Orthodontics.
Dr. Ouellette will continue his 50+ Year dental career because he has several inventions he wants to bring to market. He has created an affordable provisional dental implant called the TADplant. In addition, his “perfect smile” 3D printed retention device (Retainer) is a solution for patients who cannot currently afford Orthodontics or full mouth reconstruction procedures. For more information, see www.TADplant.com.
Dr. Ouellette on a Medical Mission to Ecuador.
The TADplant
According to Dr. Ouellette’s website, a dental implant is a “surgical component that interfaces with the bone of the jaw or skull to support a dental prosthesis such as crowns, bridges, dentures, facial prostheses, or to act as an orthodontic anchor.”1 Implants can be expensive and more prolonged procedures in a regular dental or orthodontics office.
However, Dr. Ouellette has provided a unique way to receive affordable and efficient dental implants. His TADplants are affordable for anyone requiring temporary dental implants that are not permanent.2 Those needing permanent implants can take their time to save money for more costly procedures in the future or choose to keep their TADplants for more than four years.
“TADplants are implants that patients can afford. Dentists charge about $50,000 per dental arch when they do full arch cases, which can be very expensive for most patients. Many people can’t afford that. TADplant-trained Dentists are encouraged to charge only $1,500 for a temporary dental implant, including the crown. It’s provisional, meaning it’s temporary,” Dr. Ouellette explained.
The TADplant is ideal for patients who have not lost all their teeth or can’t afford to spend $40,000 to $50,000. It’s a provisional, temporary solution. Dr. Ouellette’s longest clinical trial patient has had their TADplants for 11+ years. Another positive feature of the TADplant is that it can be placed in the mouth within a minute and taken out in 20-30 seconds.
“I’ve designed them to be very non-invasive. It is screwed in like a wood screw into a board, then gently turned and can be noninvasively removed two to ten years later. The patient can then get insurance or save money for more expensive future procedures. It’s proven that people with bad teeth don’t make as much income and may not have the same employment or significant partner opportunities as people blessed with perfect teeth. This procedure is done without having to spend a fortune to build a better life with a beautiful smile.” Dr. Ouellette emphasized.
Educator and Dental Professional
For more than ten years, Dr. Ouellette worked with his sons, who are dental professionals, while he was also teaching part-time. During that time, he was recruited to open the largest orthodontic program in the world, the Georgia School of Orthodontics. Dr. Ouellette became the first clinical director, and the program has grown now to 145 residents attending.
“I came to Atlanta from Jacksonville, where I previously taught, to open the GSO program. There were initially 3-4 full-time faculty, and now we’re in the program’s eighth year. We currently have one of the top programs in the world, and we continually receive the best Top Doctor ratings. When you visit our school’s website, you’ll see we’re a force to be reckoned with.” He told us.
One-third of the residents or more at Georgia School of Orthodontics are from foreign countries. Some come from generations of dental and medical fields, and some are first-timers. Dr. Ouellette intentionally seeks to mentor the students who attend GSO programs as Dr. Hilgers did when he was an orthodontic resident.
The Future of Orthodontics for Dr. Ouellette
“Dentistry is a high-tech industry now. Medicine and dentistry would not function as well as they do if they didn’t have all the current advanced technology. Orthodontic practices started out analog and ended up in the digital age,” he explained.
Mobile clinics are another project Dr. Ouellette has been working on. In these clinics, he plans to go to underserved communities to conduct free triage screenings and direct patients to where they can receive affordable help. Some of these mobile clinics will conduct non-invasive procedures and be referred to local doctors who support the charity. The plan is to become a nonprofit with donations and funds to pay the staff and help patients find where they can afford dentistry.
“We’ll become the trusted dental clinic on wheels, digitally scanning new clients who haven’t previously had access to affordable dental care,” he said.
Dr. Ouellette is a published author, having written and co-written several books about new techniques in implant dentistry, orthodontics, and the evolution of the new digital world. He has also written several journal articles and published papers on orthognathic surgery and TMJ, sharing his extensive experience in the fields of orthodontics and implant dentistry.
For more information on Dr. Ouellette’s Specialty Clinics, TADplants, practice management or the future of dentistry, visit Georgia School of Orthodontics at https://BracesToday.com and his family’s website at https://dentalspecialists.com.
Barbee, a public figure, Caribbean Reggae-Pop singer and actress, and Dr. Ouellette are partners in an offshore medical tourism service for cosmetic surgery and dentistry. Look out for our article with Barbee, coming soon! You can listen to the song track she composed for the Global Summits meeting in Sardinia, Italy, in 2022 below.
Learn more about Dr. Ouellette’s family practice by watching the video below.
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