A painless trip to the dentist? That’s what Dr. Asle Klemma of Advanced Dentistry in Schaumburg, Illinois is promising. Judging from the many smiling people who enter his office eager for their appointments, it’s a promise he can easily keep. While he can’t cure the fear that many people experience when they sit in a dentist’s chair, he has provided oral sedation for patients who requested it and taken the best care of their teeth while performing his work. As a specialist in cosmetic dentistry, Klemma says the best part of his job is being able to improve his client’s smiles—an improvement that often leads to a change in their lives.

“It’s a very nice thing to have people come in and ask, ‘Can you improve my smile?’ which in many cases improves their lives.”

Klemma’s decision to become a dentist occurred at an early age in his senior year at high school: While working at a hospital, every doctor there told him about the great benefits of becoming a dentist, and Klemma has never regretted his decision. In fact, he advises potential medical students to strongly consider dentistry. “I keep telling young people it’s a great time to be a dentist,” Dr. Klemma said. “People are living longer and keeping their teeth and fewer dentists are coming out of college. When I graduated, there were 330 dentists coming out of school per year and now there are about 65 a year.” While at Loyola Dental School, he learned the perfection that has defined his work from such masters as Chicago dentist Harold Shavell, who motivated him to strive for quality in all his work. He also learned a lot from his father, who worked as a carpenter and strove for perfection in each of his products. “One of my favorite quotes is: ‘I would rather copy genius than invent mediocrity.’” Klemma says. “That’s why I always try to learn at the feet of the masters. The people that I’ve studied with are really at the top in the world in dentistry and being able to do that has just been wonderful.”

After college, Klemma opened his own practice in his hometown. His heart was never really far from Schaumburg, and during his college years, he would often return home and help with the gymnastics team at the local high school. Now that he has experienced such success with his work, Klemma finds himself fortunate to be able to give something back to his community. When time permits, he offers his services pro bono, and just recently he finished some orthodontic work on a young girl who never smiled before coming to his office. His advice for fellow small business owners is to follow their passions and to surround themselves with tremendously talented people, especially when it comes to business matters. “My employees really run the business and I do the dentistry,” Klemma says, laughing. “I don’t do a thing business-wise because that’s never been a strength of mine.”