LouAnn Visconti, Class of 8T8

By Sarah Macfarlane

LouAnn Visconti believes that orthodontics is about more than straightening teeth — it’s about positive psychological impact. “You can’t put a price on building confidence and self-esteem. They’re key factors in success in life and work,” she says.

Visconti’s work with underserved communities in north-eastern Ontario spans three decades. When she moved to Timmins in 1992, she was the only dental specialist for hundreds of kilometres. Treatment plans involving different specialties depended on a patient’s ability to travel up to four hours.

“They also needed to take time off work and school and pay for hotels and food,” she says, adding that specialists, including periodontists and endodontists, now provide services to Timmins on a locum basis. “That has benefited people here because they no longer have to travel to receive comprehensive treatment.”

Access to care has been a cornerstone of Visconti’s career. During her 2017–18 Ontario Dental Association (ODA) presidency, a priority was lobbying the province to invest in public dental health programs, specifically Healthy Smiles Ontario, which provides access to dental care for children up to age 17. Another priority was the overhaul of the infection prevention guidelines, which laid the foundation for current COVID-19 safety protocols in dental offices.

Now the ODA’s representative on the Canadian Dental Association (CDA) board of directors, Visconti continues to prioritize dental care for all. The economic fallout of the pandemic could see more Canadians without access to dental care, so the CDA is urging the federal government to allocate funding for provincial oral health programs.

Among the many highlights of her career, Visconti says one stands out: learning that through the positive experience of their orthodontic treatment, a patient had realized that life was worth living.

“That’s what makes it all worth it,” she says. “Dental care does not start and end with the oral cavity; it’s the interactions we have daily. You never know what someone is going through. It costs nothing to be kind, and it could change someone’s life.”

Photo by Marc Durocher

Read about Farel Anderson 6T6

Read about Sneha Abhyankar 8T1 DIP DPH, 8T5 MSc, 8T9

Interested in more impact stories? Read the PDF edition of the U of T Dentistry Magazine Winter/Spring 2021 Issue