Meet Our Team

With a degree in Dental Assisting plus both a BBA and MBA from business school, Laura is the perfect person for the job of helping patients work with their insurance carriers to verify coverage and coordinate treatment.

She chose to use her skills in dentistry after getting her braces off and discovering how good it felt to have a beautiful smile.

As for working at Smiles by Design, she says, “Dr. Brown is amazing! And she loves her patients!”

A very accomplished person, Laura also enjoys singing, playing piano, and gardening when she isn’t playing with her son, spending time with her husband, visiting with her large extended family, or “loving on” her four dogs.

If she weren’t working in dentistry, Laura says she’d have her own flower shop.

We’re so pleased to have Diane as part of the Smiles by Design team. She’s been working in dentistry since 1985 and is extremely knowledgeable about how to help patients afford a healthy smile that will last a lifetime.

Diane is a graduate of Ball State University and dental assisting school, with numerous hours of continuing education incorporating all aspects of dentistry.

Working with patients on a regular basis allows Diane the ability to forge great relationships as she helps them enhance their oral health, and discusses possible financial options.

“The mouth is the doorway to your overall well-being. The more we teach our patients about dental health, the healthier they will be.”

What does she love best? When a patient finally attains a new, confident smile, that’s truly priceless.

Besides the great patients, Diane says her team makes coming to work each day truly enjoyable. She says the team is “absolutely awesome” and functions like a “little extended family” that works together to deliver optimal patient care.

Outside the office, this music lover is usually singing her heart out in the church choir or at home with family and friends.

Whoever said, “Those who can’t do, teach,” never met Sarah. She has taught and/or trained many dental assistants over the years, generously sharing the expertise she shares with patients every day at Smiles by Design. She chose her career because she wanted to do something that would help make people smile. And she loves practicing at Smiles by Design.

“Dr. Brown is one of the best dentists I’ve ever worked for,” Sarah said.

Away from the office, Sarah enjoys reading books, bingeing TV shows and, especially, spending time with her husband Ken and their “fur babies” Max and Jasper. She’s also a dedicated poet. “I have never been published, but I enjoy writing poems,” Sarah said. “It’s a way for me to work out my feelings about my life.”

Melba’s 30-plus years in dentistry began with plenty of training: dental assisting at Atlanta Area Technical School, an associate’s degree in Psychology from Atlanta Metropolitan College, and a bachelor’s degree in Dental Hygiene from Medical College of Georgia.

Now in her second decade at Smiles by Design, Melba’s duties include oral cancer screening, taking and developing x-rays, teeth cleaning, scaling and root planning, periodontal maintenance, dental cleaning, dental charting, and discussing the most effective dental hygiene strategies with patients.

Given her long years of service in her field, it’s no small compliment for Melba to say how impressed she is by “the level of mutual respect shown by the staff and coworkers” at Smiles by Design.

Outside of work, Melba enjoys spending time with family and friends, baking, and reading.

Sara was a child when she decided to work in healthcare, and eventually pursued Dental Hygiene at Clayton State University, finding herself fascinated by preventative care.

She considers herself fortunate to have found Smiles by Design, where her duties include x-rays, intraoral pictures, prophylaxis, periodontal maintenance, scaling and root planing, and patient education, which she believes sets the practice apart.

“Before a treatment plan is printed,” she said, “we use intraoral pictures and radiographs to make sure they understand it.”

Sara loves the education part of her job and says she would be teaching dental hygiene if she weren’t doing it full-time.

When not working, Sara enjoys going to the gym, reading, and volunteering with Team Smile, an organization providing preventative treatment to patients ages 3 through 18.

A graduate of Columbus Technical College, Mackenzie has spent most of her time since school on the Smiles by Design team, which she loves because of the team spirit and the respect they show one another.

Mackenzie is particularly proud to be on Dr. Brown’s staff because “We take the time to educate our patients, using models, videos, intraoral photos, and X-rays to show them exactly what treatment they need—backing the plan up with visual proof.”

An avid reader and lover of all sports (“Go, Dawgs!), Mackenzie was married in November of 2023 and hopes to start a family soon.