831 Smiles on Wings with Dr. Usa Bunnag : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran

Dr. Bunnag is the recipient of the ADA Humanitarian of the Year Award for 2017.  Dr. Bunnag is a general dentist with extensive training in comprehensive dental care including restorative and cosmetic dentistry, periodontics, endodontics, orthodontics, implant surgery, temporomandibular disorders, Botox and fillers, Cerec crowns, sleep apnea, Invisalign, and Clear Correct.  She continues to expand her horizons through extensive continuing dental education and seeks the best practice and treatments for her patients so that they can obtain optimal dental health.     Dr. Bunnag is a Fellow of the American College of Dentists, International College of Dentists and the Pierre Fauchard Academy.  She is also a member of the American Dental Association, the Academy of General Dentists, the International Association of Orthodontics, the American Association of Dental Sleep Medicine, Cerec Doctors and the Dawson Academy.      Before becoming a dentist, Dr. Bunnag was a certified dental assistant.  After completing her prerequisite classes at Montgomery College, she went on to Howard University School of Dentistry and graduated with distinction in 1994.  In 1996, Dr. Bunnag founded her comprehensive dental practice in Bethesda.  Just recently, Dr. Bunnag purchased another dental office in Four Corners, Maryland.  She is currently working in both offices.    Aside from her dental career, Dr. Bunnag is also the President and Founder of Smiles on Wings, Inc., a non-profit organization that provides humanitarian aid in Thailand.  Since its founding, Smiles on Wings has provided dental care to thousands of children and villagers in Thailand.  The organization was involved extensively in the 2004 tsunami relief effort.  In 2009, the American Dental Association awarded a grant of $70,000 for Smiles on Wings to set up a dental program in southern Thailand to provide dental care for those that were affected by the 2004 Southeast Asian Tsunami.  To date, with grants and donations from our generous donors,  Smiles on Wings continues to provide extensive help with: a mobile dental clinic in northern Thailand,  a permanent dental clinic in southern Thailand, and a scholarship program to send young at-risk tribal girls to college and to return to their communities to make a difference.  Smiles on Wings has graduated four young ladies from remote villages in northern Thailand and currently has eight more students under the program.  Read more about Smiles on Wings at www.smilesonwings.org.     Dr. Bunnag is also known locally for her philanthropic endeavors and received awards from numerous organizations in Montgomery County and the State of Maryland.  She volunteered to provide urgent dental care for Hurricane Katrina victims that relocated in Montgomery County after the storm.  She also volunteered in New Orleans with Mission of Mercy to provide dental care for the residents after Hurricane Katrina.  After Hurricane Sandy, Dr. Bunnag and her Smiles on Wings team also delivered items of necessities to victims of the hurricane in New Jersey and Staten Island.    Dr. Bunnag is a native of Thailand.  She came to the US when she was 14. She has two grown children and is a caregiver for her husband who suffered a massive stroke in 2009.  She is an avid gardener; a self-taught watercolor artist; a mindfulness meditation coach, and a dog lover.     www.smilesonwings.org