We recently connected with India L. Collier, DMD and have shared our conversation below.
India, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?
My parental story is one that may be unknown to some. I lost my mom at the age of 8 to breast cancer, and my sister and I were raised by my father as a single parent. One thing he always got right was showing up and supporting me in every aspect of my life.
As I reflect back on my childhood, I remember my father providing whatever I needed behind the scenes, no matter what it took. He was always up in the stands at all of my basketball games, right outside of the fence at my tennis matches and always my biggest cheerleader at any ceremony and graduation. We talked on the phone every singe night while I was in dental school, sharing stories and hearing my struggles day in and day out. He was always an encouraging voice that reminded me I could do whatever I set my mind to.
When I look back now as an adult, I am honestly amazed at how me managed it all as a single father. Now that I am a parent myself, with two children and a supportive spouse, it is mind-blowing to think about how he balanced all of the moving pieces of our lives without letting his baby girls get a glimpse into what it took behind the scenes. While parenting is incredibly rewarding, it is very hard and even with the best support, it can present some very challenging days. I had the luxury of navigating life easily as a child and wanting for nothing, while I’m sure at times he struggled behind the scenes to give us the normal life that was presented before our eyes.
One thing I will always carry with me and hopefully pass on to my own family is the support and encouragement that I was shown growing up. I make it a priority to balance work and personal life so I can show up for my family in the way that my dad showed up for me. I will be the biggest fan in the stands, the encouraging voice for my kids and my husband when things get tough, and a smiling face along their journey through life. There is nothing more heart warming than knowing you are loved and cared for, especially when times are tough. I am eternally grateful for all that my dad sacrificed for me and my sister and will use that as fuel to provide the same for my family.
India, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
A few of the many hats that I wear are Board Certified Orthodontist, artist, mom, and mentor.
My first professional hat is Board Certified Orthodontist. I grew up in the field of dentistry, with my dad being a dentist and spending a lot of time in his office after school. We went to dental conventions every year and I always thought I wanted to join the field of dentistry. I had a lengthy orthodontic experience myself when I was a child to fix my underbite, and I always had a great experience with my orthodontist. I majored in Biology at Spelman College and chose a pre-dental path. After not getting accepted into dental school on my first application cycle, I worked with my dad for a year as his chair side assistant and it confirmed even more that I wanted to pursue this career in dentistry. I was accepted in the Medical College of Georgia, College of Dental Medicine and and graduated with highest honors. While in dental school, I was a member of the Admissions Committee and was inducted into the Omicron Kappa Upsilon National Dental Honor Society. I founded and served as the president of the Augusta University Chapter of Operation Smile, where I was able to help raise funds for 5 children to have cleft lip and/or cleft palate surgeries. Upon completion of dental school, I remained at Augusta University to complete my Orthodontic Residency training program. I did not stop there, however. I presented high-quality finished orthodontic cases and endured additional written and clinical exams to become a Board Certified Orthodontist. I am now practicing in the Atlanta area treating adults and children with traditional braces, clear aligners and state of the art technology to deliver a custom smile design to my patients.
My second professional hat that I wear is an artist beret. Growing up, I always took drawing, painting and sculpting classes as part of my school curriculum. I still have some of my creations from my art shows at school and could really tell my passion behind my art. I took additional classes in high school as extracurriculars and went on to take art courses during my time at Spelman. It was always a passion of mine and tied into my interest in dentistry, which has a huge art component to it as well. When I was in dental school, I painted a portrait for my husband (boyfriend at the time), and it really sparked my interest in portraits. I spent my free time in dental school painting and drawing and honed in on my love and passion for art after taking some time off for a while. I began to get a small following and request for paintings occasionally. Once I graduated from dental school, I started my LLC, ILC Canvas Creations and started as an official small business. I have continued to create custom portraits, canvas paintings and an array of artwork for people across the country. I sell prints of my artwork online via my personal website as well as my Etsy shop. Two of my favorite commissions to date were a large collection for Atlanta Breast Care and two portraits for the Dental College of Georgia. The collection for Atlanta Breast Care included 6 personalized pink canvases portraying various breast anatomy, breast cancer ribbons, a pink skyline of Atlanta, and 12 prints of a floral breast anatomy painting for their exam rooms. This collection was near and dear to my heart as I lost my mother to breast cancer at an early age. The second commission that I was honored to be commission for was two portraits of the first African American graduates from the Dental College of Georgia. I was only the second African American graduate from my Orthodontic residency program, so it was an absolute honor to pay tribute to these trailblazers that came before me.
I put on my mentor hat when I began my career in orthodontics. Out of roughly 200,500 Dentists nationwide, only 3.3% of them are Black. Out of roughly 10,700 Orthodontists, approximately 3000 are women, and only 300 are Black women. I am one in 300. I use my background as a student member of the admissions committee while in dental school and provide shadowing opportunities for students at my practice to gain experience and knowledge in the field. I am heavily involved in mentoring pre-dental students from Spelman and Morehouse Colleges to prepare and guide them along their journey to and through dental school from the application cycle all the way through to their professional careers. I have a passion for continuing to give back to millennial mentees because I recognize the ongoing need for increased diversity in healthcare and dental settings and I am committed to being a change maker in this field.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Honesty. It is my goal to always be honest and transparent with my patients and their parents when it comes to their care.
There are two moments where I received words of wisdom that stuck with me in regards to honesty. Growing up, my grandfather was a physician and I always remember him telling me and my dad that he never faced legal issues because he was honest with his patients and did not lie to them bout anything. The second was from my program director in my orthodontic residency program, who always told us to underpromise and overdeliver. He used to say a problem presented after the fact is an excuse.
There are going to be cases and patient outcomes that are less than ideal, so it is important to be honest upfront. Preparation is the first step to diagnosing and treatment planning. What I feel is equally important to that preparation is honesty. I try to let patients know from the beginning what our expected outcomes are, any bumps we may encounter along the way, how we can course correct if a problem arises and what is a realistic versus an unrealistic outcome. If problems arise during treatment, I set aside time to communicate them and find a resolution that both parties are happy with.
If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?
I would absolutely choose the specialty of orthodontics if I had to go back and do it all over again.
While I was in dental school, I had the extremely tough decision of deciding to specialize in orthodontics versus remaining a general dentist and joining my father’s practice. Joining his practice was a dream that we both discussed for many years, so this decision was one that I was nervous about sharing with him. After much prayer and reflection, I knew I had a passion for orthodontic and my dad was supportive of my decision and my altered career path.
The field of orthodontics allows me to see a change in not only a person’s smile, but a change in their physical appearance, their confidence and sometimes even their mental space. A smile is one of the first things you notice when meeting a new individual and it can carry a lot of doubt and self consciousness at times if it is less than ideal for the patient. Utilizing state of the art technology, I am able to create custom smile designs for my patients and deliver outcomes that are truly life changing. I have the honor of working with adolescents in some of their most vulnerable years in school and get to see them blossom into confident young adults who grow up in front of my eyes. That is my greatest reward and I wouldn’t change it for a second
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ilccanvascreations.com
- Instagram: @indialinsey @ilc_canvas_creations
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/india-collier
- Other: https://linktr.ee/indialinsey