Page 39 - Dentistry Magazine 2022

Class Notes 39
“When you’re in dental school, it’s all-consuming,” she said. “But you are allowed to have a work-life balance. That’s what’s so great about dentistry. I get to follow other passions, while pursuing a great career.”
Collins brings personality to orthodontia as “that braces guy” on TikTok
Grant Collins, DDS ’10, MS,
never expected to go viral on TikTok.
In fact, when a patient first showed him the app and encour- aged him to create an account
in 2019, he said he’d never heard of this “tic tac” thing. But the Rochester-based orthodontist decided to give it a try—and
now he’s best known as TikTok sensation “The Braces Guy.”
He began to share educational content, some humor and some content about his family. The account quickly took off, with a video about braces colors and another about the process of making a retainer quickly going viral.
“It became this huge thing that was totally new to me,” he said. And Collins’s following continued to grow
at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, when
he shared content for braces wearers who might suddenly be cut off from their orthodontists. “I
loved getting to help people—not only my patients, but people around the world, as well,” he said.
Collins loves sharing behind-the-scenes content, rubber band color inspiration to make braces seem a bit more fun and fashionable, and bits of his personality to make going to the orthodontist a little less scary. He’s thrilled to have achieved the success and notoriety he has—but he didn’t set out to go viral, and that’s not why he does what he does today.
“It’s not that hard to go viral on TikTok if you do or say something shocking, but that’s not how you make an impact,” he said. “You want your content to be in line with your values, your mission, your culture. Instill that office culture, and make sure your content reflects that, and you’ll be successful.”
ALUMNI WEEKEND 2022