Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Jham.
Dr. Jham, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Well it’s a bit lengthy, but I like to think a pretty unique story! I was born in NY to a Brazilian mom and Indian dad, who were attending grad school in the States. My mom got home sick and when I was about 4 years old we moved to Brazil, where I stayed until I was 25 years old. My wife (and business partner) Raquel and I met in dental school in Brazil. Upon graduation, we wanted to further improve our education so decided to move to the USA, to beautiful Orlando Fl. We stayed in FL for approx. 4 years where we worked as Orthodontic Assistants and later as Research assistants at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL. We then moved to Denver, CO where we both attended a full time 2 year dental program to validate our dental license in this country, at the University of Colorado Health Science Campus. Towards the end of our studies we decided to further specialize, and so we both applied and were accepted at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, where we stayed for 2 years. I pursued a Certificate/Master’s degree in Orthodontics, while Raquel received a Certificate degree in Pediatric Dentistry. In 2010 after graduating from the University of Iowa, we looked at the US map and were trying to decide on our next place to live. And the choice was….. Austin, TX. We figured warm weather, strong economy, why not! We both got jobs as Associate dentists and packed our bags. Our first son, Leonardo, was born here. So this city will always be in our hearts. Everything was going well until one day my brother called from Brazil and said him and his wife were considering a move to the States, and he was applying for a teaching position in Chicago at Midwestern University. We’ve always been close, so I committed to moving here if he got the job…. the rest is history. We hopped on a plane and moved to IL around March 2012, working again as Associate dentists. Our daughter Julia was born, we had family around us, things were going well but something was still missing. And it turns out it was that famous entrepreneurs’’ itch that was getting to us. We listened to our instincts, and in September 2013 Star Smiles Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry was open for business. As we approach our 4th year anniversary we can’t help but look back and be proud of where we are today!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
When we first moved here from Brazil, our dental degrees from Brazil were not recognized. What that meant to us is in addition to taking all the national certifications required of dentists in the US, we had to do a full time 2 year dental program (which we ended up doing in Colorado). The selection exam for that program was extremely competitive, and it took me 3 years to gain acceptance. I thought about giving up and returning to Brazil at that time. Raquel had her own set of challenges – she didn’t speak a word of English when we got here! During that time, we would work as dental assistants during the day, and study for 3-4 hours every night. To help supplement our incomes, I delivered pizza and Raquel cleaned hotel rooms for a period of time. The next 4 years in Colorado and Iowa were also packed with challenges, with full time rigorous academic programs that required us to spend most weekends focused on books. So smooth road? Not so much! But worth it every step of the way.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Star Smiles Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry – what should we know?
We are a state of the art office providing world-class Orthodontic and Pediatric Dentistry. Amazing customer service and excellent clinical results, all while having fun along the way, is what we are all about! We truly strive to provide the best customer service. Seeing patients on time is a high priority, as well as making patients feel like they’re home. (You may just run into freshly baked chocolate chip cookies during any of your visits….) Our team has been trained to go above and beyond in our patient interactions, which can be evidenced by over 250 five-star reviews our patients have kindly written us on Google and Yelp!
I believe we are known for our community involvement. We actively support and donate to several sports teams around our community and nearby towns, through our patients who are members of such teams. A few examples – Bloomingdale Bears, Bloomingdale Blast, Bloomingdale Barracudas, Bloomingdale Baseball and Softball Association, Bloomingdale Bulldogs, Carol Stream Dolphins, SAA Schaumburg Youth Sports, Elkgrove Heat, Lady Knights of Itasca, Dupage Soccer Academy, Roselle Renegades U12 and U13 Baseball, Lake Park Band, Carol Stream Cougars, IMTA International Models & Talent, Bartlett Cheerleaders Association. We actually show up to a lot of sports or school related events with our Photo Booth and have fun with the kids. It’s a blast! We’ve also donated a few thousand dollar’s worth of free orthodontic treatment to help raise funds for these teams through silent auction events.
What sets up apart from competition: I would say definitely our physical structure is important, with a dedicated interactive game room, Chicago-themed painted walls across the office, innovative technologies such as a digital scanner, digital X-rays etc. Our social media active presence on Instagram and Facebook also set us apart as a fun office. But above all the level of customer service we provide, and the expertise and outgoing personalities of our team seem to really resonate well with our patients.
We are very proud of the fact we were recently nominated and won Best Business of Bloomingdale 2017!! (Health Category). This was organized by the Bloomingdale Chamber of Commerce, and it consisted of a combination of community online voting and judgment by an independent panel.
We truly believe in community involvement and will continue to do it more and more as our office matures. We feel deeply honored to be able to help in some way or the other in the formation of these young kids!
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Our entire team is genuinely friendly with our patients and have outgoing personalities. That puts people at ease. We have a lot of patients that become raving fans of our practice (refer friends and family, post pictures online, etc) and I believe it has to do with how we make them feel!
Contact Info:
- Address: 148 E Lake st, ste C
Bloomingdale IL – 60108 - Website: www.starsmilesorthopedo.com
- Phone: 630 980 8800
- Email: info@starsmilesorthopedo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/starsmilesorthopedo/?ref=badge
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/starsmilesorthopedo
- Yelp: https://biz.yelp.com/r2r/d9m5_tpm7EG4QcRph3OCOQ
- Other: https://www.google.com/search?q=star+smiles+orthodontics&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8#lrd=0x880fac6eca25dd23:0xda37ab288d974805,1,
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