Lasting Impressions | Fall 2015

NSU COLLEGE OF DENTAL MEDICINE © 29 Palmer-Español recently joined the CDM’s alumni board, working to keep graduates connected to the college. Colleagues and friends say that she is uniquely qualified for her new position on the alumni board. She is someone who easily engages her classmates and encourages others to work for the benefit of the college. Developing strong bonds with her classmates and teachers at the CDM, Palmer-Español considers many of them friends and mentors. That includes Jorge Coro, D.M.D, M.S., an orthodontics professor at the CDM and the father of her friend and classmate, Ivette. They own a father and daughter practice in Coral Gables. “She’s always been passionate about orthodontia. She loves what she does and she loves to help others,” said Ivette Coro, D.M.D., M.S., about Palmer-Español. EDUCATED DECISIONS During her undergraduate years at the University of Florida, Palmer-Español developed an open bite. She decided that when she entered dental school, she would see if she could correct it. Jorge Coro had studied a non- surgical technique for correcting open bite. Ivette Coro, who was then a resident, did the work under the supervi- sion of her father. Palmer-Español now brings that same level of care and concern for her own patients. She joined Lawrence Hier, D.D.S., as a partner in his Boynton Beach orthodontic practice in April 2014. Their patients are of all ages, includ- ing children with apnea caused by palates that need expanding and a 78-year-old fitted with Invisalign plastic (clear) braces. Because of her own experiences as an orthodontic patient, Palmer-Español finds it easy to identify with her patients, who place a great deal of importance on the changes that treatment will bring and who sometimes can also be impatient to see results. “I under- stand their pain,” Palmer-Español said. NSU’s CDM not only changed her life professionally, but also personally. She met her husband, Francisco Español, D.M.D., at the college. He had practiced dentistry for three years in Colombia, but came to the United States in 2000, choosing NSU on the recommendation of friends who had a high opinion of its dental school. He became a teaching assistant and tutored her. But soon she was helping him master technical terms he struggled with in English. They both entered the Omicron Kappa Upsilon dental honor society, which considers only the top 20 students in a class. They began to spend more time together studying for tests. “She was a great student,” Español recalled. “I owe my specialty to her. She pushed me to study harder.” The cou- ple has been married for two years. Though they work in different practices, they think as a team, said Español. “Every position we take, we discuss it as a couple,” said Español. “We always come to each other about everything we are doing. Working hard together for those dreams is amazing.” Over the years, Palmer-Español has been able to con- nect her varied interests and life experiences into her orthodontic practice. “There is a lot of engineering, biol- ogy, art, and esthetics in dentistry,” said Dunn. “She has to bring a lot of different aspects to her work.” She and Hier can adjust and refine their patients’ tooth positioning at work or at home. A self-described perfec- tionist, she sometimes works well into the night trying out alternate scenarios on specialized computer programs. Recently, after attending a dance recital for some of her patients, Palmer-Español decided to carve out some time to return to her first love. She has begun teaching dance again once a week at a studio near her office. Not only is dance a passion, but she sees a correlation between choreography and orthodontic treatment. “Like choreography, you have to plan the treatment step by step, that’s my favorite part,” she said. “Then you see the final amazing result.” u Michelle Palmer-Español, a 2010 CDM graduate, specializes in orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics at her Boynton Beach clinic where she speaks with Sheldon Turner, left.