Walking into Smiles by Design in Kernersville, North Carolina feels a bit like coming home. Through the front door, guests enter a small foyer with plush chairs – a quiet seating area where patients can make phone calls in private. Decorated in shabby chic décor, the walls of the office are filled with nature inspired artwork, featuring birds and countryside cottages while messages including, “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away,” are scattered throughout.

It’s not the décor alone that makes the practice feel like home. Amy-Jo Fischer, DDS, PA, and her staff treat patients like family. Fischer said that one of the best things about practicing in Kernersville is seeing the same patients for so many years. “Every day is like a reunion,” she said. “We catch up with our patients every six months and now that we have this beautiful facility it’s even more comfortable to be able to do that.”

The beautiful facility is Fischer’s dream practice, which she rewarded herself with after a one-year battle with cancer. She now believes that life is too short to hold back on your dreams – which is why she didn’t want to wait to build an amazing practice that she could one day pass down to her youngest daughter, Meredith, who at age 23 aspires to be a dentist.