We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Beryl Otchere a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Beryl thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s talk legacy – what sort of legacy do you hope to build?

The legacy I’m hoping to build is one where I impacted everyone I came into contact with positively and left them better than I met them. I hope to do this by taking time to connect with and invest in everyone around me – my staff, colleagues, patients, followers, friends, and family. As a dentist, this means I take additional time and effort to get to know my patients personally as well as from a dental standpoint so I can offer them care tailored to them. As a friend and family member, this means pouring into my close friends and family, encouraging them, teaching them, praying for them, doing life together, etc.

I hope to be remembered for truly caring for others and leaving a positive impact on them. And I also hope to be remembered for inspiring the next generation to believe that they can accomplish whatever they put their minds to,

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Dr. Beryl Otchere and I’m a wife, mom of two little ones, dentist, blogger/content creator, and owner of Life Smiles Dental Studio. I grew up Dallas/Fort Worth, have lived in several cities since then, and settled into San Antonio back in 2021.

Sometime around high school, as I had a mouthful of braces and found myself visiting the dentist often, I discovered an interest in the field of dentistry. The more I looked into the dentistry, the more I realized that dentistry was extremely fascinating to me and that it would truly be an opportunity to help people. It was at this time that I began my journey towards becoming a dentist.

Along my journey, I was accepted to multiple dental schools and chose to go to Houston. This was an eventful time and I even got married to my best friend Prince after my first year of dental school. Sometime during my time there, I began my blog, Bloom Beryl, where I documented all the lessons I was learning on how to bloom, grow, and thrive in any environment. As life continued to evolve and I eventually became a dentist and a mom to my daughter Thea and my son Isaac, I continued to chronicle my story both on the blog and on my Instagram account @Bloom_Beryl.

After achieving my dream of becoming a dentist, my next dream was to have my own dental practice. As God would work it out, I became the new owner of Life Smiles Dental Studio here in San Antonio earlier this year. Being the first dentist in my family, a first generation immigrant, and a young African-American female, this achievement is huge. I’m so humbled and excited for the opportunity to serve patients in my own practice where I aim to help them achieve the best smile of their life. Please come see me there if you need a dentist!

At Life Smiles Dental Studio, we aim to help our patient’s achieve the best smile of their lives. We are a dental practice that provides general, family, and cosmetic dentistry. We see patients of all ages.

What sets us apart is that we are truly a family and treat our patients like family too. From the moment you enter our doors, you will feel welcomed and cared for by the entire team. We know that a dental office can be a difficult place to be for some, so we are dedicated to your comfort. We offer amenities like blankets, overhead Netflix while you’re being seen, hand warmers, a coffee bar, cold bottled water, and more.

We do all types of procedures such as routine cleanings, deep cleaning, fillings, crowns, extractions, root canals, dentures, teeth whitening, Invisalign, veneers, and more. Come on in and see us!

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

My best advise for managing a team and maintaining high morale is having a super positive attitude as the leader so that it can trickle down, continually giving your team positive feedback/encouragement, and celebrating any and every milestone. People do well when they are recognized for their good work so make sure to continually recognize everything members of the team do that is in the benefit of the business. It is a form of positive reinforcement and helps keep the morale high.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

For me, a story that illustrates resilience is definitely powering through my undergrad, even after losing my dad to cancer, and still gaining acceptance to multiple dental schools.

Early on during my college career, my dad was diagnosed with stomach cancer. This cancer eventually took a turn for the worst and led to his passing. This was such a shock to my system and rocked my world in the worst way. The only things that brought me through this time, still seeking to succeed in dentistry, are my faith in God, and my desire to live up to the legacy my dad had left. So I pressed on towards my goal. And years later, I was able to achieve it and become a dentist.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lifesmilestx.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bloom_beryl/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LifeSmilesDentalStudio