ALL SMILES

Dr. Tracey Hughes, a newly arrived dentist at Lake Forest Smiles in 2023, hadn’t seen more than 20 patients when she attended a parade in Lake Forest last year and heard a youngster’s voice exclaim, “Oh, there’s my dentist!”

The greeting generated a smile from Dr. Hughes that probably temporarily blinded members of a marching band and at least one float driver.

“I love meeting new patients, getting to know them, and developing relationships in a nonjudgmental way,” says Dr. Hughes, an Iowa native who has advanced training in helping patients that have dental fears and anxieties. “And the most important thing is creating relationships in a safe place so patients feel that they trust you.”

Dr. David Schmidt, who has been a fixture at Lake Forest Smiles since 1999—eight years after now-retired Dr. Douglas Campbell opened the practice—can’t go anywhere in either Lake Bluff (where he lived from 1999-2001) or Lake Forest (his hometown since 2001) without being recognized several times. His chair side manner at work elicits laughter, relief, confidence, and understanding.

But nothing captures the essence of Lake Forest Smiles’ heartfelt mission better than Dr. Schmidt’s primary goal does.

“I want to ignite my team’s passion and my patients’ passion to be the best they can be,” says Dr. Schmidt, whose father, Marv, is a retired dentist. “And I want to see more people get healthy. I want to see the importance of dentistry elevate, because right now we’re right at the threshold where the health community is starting to realize how important dentistry is.”

“The oral-systemic health link is a huge emphasis at Lake Forest Smiles, along with our patients-first approach,” he adds, “but the No. 1 thing that makes our practice special is our team of 15 professionals. Some of them have been creating a fun, giving, and caring office culture here for 30 years, all while continuing their education each year.”

Lake Forest Smiles team members and myofunctional therapists Aida Bosnjak and Gayle Meyer recently earned an advanced degree at The Breathe Institute in Los Angeles. Dr. Schmidt made the time, gladly, to fly there for the graduation ceremony.

Drs. Schmidt and Hughes, who owned a practice in Colorado for 15 years before returning to her Midwest roots in Des Moines last year, have known each other for nearly 10 years, having first met as clinical instructors at the Las Vegas Institute (LVI) for Advanced Dental Studies.

“Dr. Schmidt had heard I sold my practice and recruited me right away,” recalls Dr. Hughes, whose daughter, Camryn, is a dental assistant at Lake Forest Smiles. He said, “We need to talk.” He told me there was an opportunity with Dr. Campbell retiring. Our philosophies all aligned, we all practiced the same way, and we all had been trained at the same institute. It was a wonderful opportunity.

“I would have moved clear across the country to join this practice because I believe so much in its core values.”

Lake Forest Smiles’ guiding principle, established in 2023, is “Sleep. Breathe. Smile,” because if you’re not sleeping right or you’re not breathing right, you’re not going to be smiling because you’re unhealthy.

“Our physiologic-based practice has always been health-centered, medically and dentally, and we’re always looking to address the question ‘What can we do to make our patients healthier?” Dr. Schmidt says. “Everything we have in our practice, besides being patient-focused, is airway-focused. We used to have a much longer, larger philosophy, but we brought it down to sleep, breathe, and smile because we truly believe in those three things.”

Dr. Schmidt has completed advanced orthodontics, airway, cosmetic, denture, endodontics, and laser training. He typically amasses more than a robust 150 hours of continuing education each year, while his team members average 100 hours annually, another substantial amount of time.

Lake Forest Smiles has collaborated with TeamSmile and the Chicago Bears to give free dental services for underserved kids since 2014. The mission of TeamSmile is to provide children in need with a life-changing dental experience through the power of sports. At his practice’s first TeamSmile event, Dr. Schmidt treated a male middle school student who had incurred a front chipped tooth (tooth 9) and found himself the fresh target of bullies at school.

“It made national news,” Dr. Schmidt says. “We got interviewed for an NBC Nightly News ‘Making a Difference’ segment that was seen by my brother’s medical partner outof- state. He then said, “Hey, I just saw your brother on TV!” “ Being able to restore a kid’s smile … I later realized the power of the things we can do to help people. I hadn’t told my brother about the segment because it was just something we did.”

They also make a difference at Lake Forest Place, a Senior Living Community. Residents receive dental care there, in a small clinic, from the Lake Forest Smiles team, which also devised an oral hygiene education program for Lake Forest Place’s Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs).

“We want the CNAs to know how best to care for the seniors without us being there,” Dr. Schmidt says.

Dr. Schmidt and his wife, Mary Beth, who coaches track distance runners at Lake Forest High School, have four children—Kelsey, Callahan, Courtney, and Cole. The patriarch likes to spend time with his family, swim, bike, and boat. Dr. Hughes’ other child is Ben. The mother of two enjoys working out, biking, and fishing.

“It was seamless,” Dr. Hughes says of transitioning to Lake Forest Smiles and to the Lake Forest and Lake Bluff communities. “The team is so well-trained and loyal, with wonderful personalities, and they have their systems dialed in. As for the community, it’s been incredibly rewarding to meet patients at Lake Forest Place, and then to see their kids as patients in this practice.”

For Dr. Schmidt, who had considered pursuing a career in labor law in his 20s, the verdict is in: There’s nowhere he’d rather be a dentist than at Lake Forest Smiles.

“It’s truly a special community, having been a part of it for so many years and getting to see my kids attend schools and compete in athletics,” he says. “It’s fun talking with my patients and seeing their kids experience the community and all it has to offer. It’s nice running into a patient at the grocery store and saying hello. You don’t get that community feel in a lot of places.”

“We’ve been kind of quiet in the community,” Dr. Schmidt continues, referring to Lake Forest Smiles. “What I mean by that is, we’ve been quietly doing the right thing.”

Lake Forest Smiles is located at 825 South Waukegan Road in Lake Forest. For more information, visit lakeforestsmiles.com or call 847-234-4800.