Growing up in Cape Town, with a mother who worked in lactation consulting and a grandmother in Nursing, I was raised with an appreciation of patient care. From a young age, I wanted to go into the medical field. My father was trained as an engineer and this combination of ways of thinking provided to me by both parents made me well suited to a career in Orthodontics.

After completion of high school with 6 distinctions, I was accepted for enrollment by all the dental schools around the country. Due to my love of the Cape, I decided to attend dental training at the University of the Western Cape for five years. When not at University or studying, you could find me in the swimming pool training for lifesaving. I was honoured to be selected for the team to represent South Africa at the Commonwealth Still-water lifesaving championship in 2003. It was through lifesaving that I met my husband, Mark, and we married a couple of years later in 2010. I dedicated myself to achieving a deep understanding of the dental sciences, which resulted in me being awarded with the Golden Key Chapter Award for outstanding commitment to academic achievement and excellence in my first year of studies. This commitment to academic success continued into my final year, where I graduated in the top 10 of my class as well as being awarded with the Dean’s Research Prize and SADA Bronze Medal in Orthodontics for the top student in Orthodontics.

It was in dental school that I developed a passion for Orthodontics. Having had numerous removable orthodontic appliances as a child and fixed orthodontic treatment during my dental training, it was a profession I had a good understanding of and appreciation for. My passion further developed as I started treating young children with orthodontics as a dental student. The confidence that it provided the child with was remarkable and it provided a deep sense of satisfaction. Combining this work satisfaction with my appreciation for the beauty of natural and healthy teeth plus my borderline obsessive attention to detail, Orthodontics seemed a perfect match. This passion for orthodontics led to me pursuing research in the field of Orthodontics which was over and above the requirements of the dental training. This research was so well received and led to me winning the Dentsply/SADA student clinician programme for undergraduate research and being flown to present this research at the 149th Annual Session of the American Dental Assocation which was held in San Antonio, Texas.

After completion of dentistry in 2008, I immediately enrolled in a Masters training course in Dental Science at the University of the Witwatersrand to improve my application for orthodontic training. I completed this course while firstly performing my community service in Standerton, Mpumalanga, and then further working as a dentist in private practice in the prestigious Sandton area. I managed to maintain my dedication to achieving academic success and was awarded distinctions in Anatomy, Paedodontics, Research techniques and well as for my Thesis. In addition to this commitment to academic excellence as well as my private practice, I managed to volunteer in the Cleft Palate Clinic at the University of the Witwatersrand.

It was toward the end of 2013 that I was accepted as one of three registrars into the University of the Western Cape Department of Orthodontics, a prestigious full-time, highly selective, 4-year program, known for its intensive clinical training and exposure to numerous orthodontics techniques. I further developed an appreciation for the surf in the Cape and when not bogged down in the books or working on patients, you would find me at Muizenberg beach, surfing the waves and enjoying a cup of hot chocolate. In 2016, Mark and I were blessed with the birth of our beautiful daughter, Evelyn, and I further graduated in April 2018 with a Master of Dental Surgery in Orthodontics.

Mark and I have been further blessed with the birth of our second child, Rocco, in September 2018. Qualifying as one of the youngest Orthodontists in South Africa, I have many years to contribute to providing excellent service to many families in Cape Town.