At her Endodontics practice in Chicago, Dr. Wenfei Wang uses her clinical skills to relieve patients from pain and her artistic abilities to ease their mind.

Sometimes she’ll just pick up a notepad and create a quick sketch to illustrate how a procedure will benefit their oral health or to help them better understand the process ahead and make it less intimidating.

Her numerous accomplishments are among the reasons she was selected for an Incisal Edge 40 Under 40  honor in 2018. Dr. Wang attended the University of Michigan for her undergraduate degree and then received her D.M.D. from the Harvard School of Dental Medicine.

While attending the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, her passion for Endodontics developed. She went further in her education and completed a residency in Endodontics at the University of California, Los Angeles.

The mom of twins also carves out time for art by drawing, sketching and painting. This passion began at a young age. At 3 she would draw on notepads for her parents. Later, in high school, she created some pieces of which she’s most proud.

Dr. Wang attributes that success to a teacher who taught her a variety of mediums “charcoal, watercolor, pencil sketching, and acrylics – it was an amazing and educational experience for me!” 

She continued to pursue art while in dental school and in her residency, which is where she began to draw and sketch teeth.

“I started doodling teeth and dental anatomy during dental school and residency to keep myself occupied during lectures and meetings. I figured that no one could get too upset if I was sketching teeth during a dental lecture.” 

Today, in her career she uses her abilities to sketch for her dental patients as well as on the office’s website.

She finds it helpful to just grab a notepad and show them exactly what she is describing.

Dr. Wang also uses this creative outlet as a way to connect and bond with her twin toddlers, and her husband, Dr. Alan T. Commet. They will get together for an in-home date night and paint.

Most recently, Dr. Wang created two pieces for her mother-in-law, who loves chickens!

“Dentistry is an art in itself. One of the primary reasons I chose to pursue this career was due to how hands-on it was. So, I like to think that I use that artistic element every day –even with root canals.”