After several years as an associate dentist and working as an intern at the BC Cancer agency, the decision was made to open a private practice in South Granville. In 1999, a new building was completed on the corner of Granville and Broadway, now known as the Chapters Building, and smile.ca was born.

For several years, Dr. Newitt worked at growing his practice, working closely with the community of South Granville and the University of British Columbia. With such a young practice, it was important to stay on the cutting edge of technology and education and every effort was made to ensure patients were receiving the best dental care Canadian dentistry could offer.

In 2001, Smile.ca became one of the first and few dentist offices in British Columbia to offer Laser Dentistry with the use of an ConBio Erbium:YAG laser. This, along with the latest in laser cavity diagnostics, placed smile.ca ahead of the curve when it came to laser technology in dentistry.

Our dedication to laser education resulted in the founding of the Vancouver Laser Group, an educational study group aimed at educating dentists in the use of all forms of dental lasers. We were extremely honoured and very lucky to have Dr. Theodore Maiman, the inventor of the very first working laser, as part of the VLG group. Through his contagious enthusiasm for laser technology in health care, we continued to explore all uses of lasers in general and cosmetic dentistry.

In 2003, we took laser dental care to the next level by introducing microscope enhanced treatments to our office. By implementing a Global Surgical Microscope to our facility we were now able to treat extremely conservatively by being able to magnify the tooth we were working on by 10 times. By placing monitors above the patient chair, allowing patients to observe diagnostic exams and treatment, we also learned that patient dental education increased significantly and apprehension about treatments decreased. People continuously told us how helpful it was to observe treatments and how it took the fear of “the unknown” away. In fact, we were surprised at the number of people who requested to watch their dental procedures and we were happy to oblige.

As we continued down the educational path with lasers and microscopes, we had more and more people asking us to provide treatments such as laser hair removal and pigment removal from around their mouth and lips. Of course, dental lasers were not designed for this so it was not a treatment we could offer but the requests kept coming. After a year of planning and researching, thanks to our forward thinking and loyal patients, we decided to partner with Skin2 Laser Aesthetics.

In 2007, Skin2.ca and Smile.ca joined forces to create one of the first, comprehensive facial aesthetic centres in Canada. By adding Palomar Medilux and Starlux lasers to our laser family, we were now able to provide beautiful skin to frame the beautiful smiles we were creating with our cosmetic dental treatments. By 2008, we were offering advanced cosmetic smile design work along with some of the most advanced aesthetic skin lasers on the market. Also, in 2008, again due to patient demand, we became one of the first offices in British Columbia to be trained and licensed in Cosmetic Botox treatments.

Today, we continue to grow our knowledge in the areas of both cosmetic dentistry, through the California Centre for Advanced Dental Studies, and cosmetic skin care, through numerous educational resources. Most importantly, we continue to learn by listening to our patients and allowing them to guide us in the direction that best serves their needs.