Dr. Marco Navarro is the lead orthodontist, CEO, and founder of Mint Orthodontics and Orashape. For over 20 years, Dr. Navarro has provided top quality, affordable orthodontic care to patients throughout Texas and Mexico, but he does far more than just straightening teeth. His compassion for his patients and dedication to the communities he serves are changing lives one person – and one smile – at a time.
New Patient Group’s Avery Wade recently sat down with Dr. Navarro to learn more about why he became an orthodontist and what makes Mint Orthodontics so special.
How Dr. Navarro discovered his passion for orthodontics
Dr. Navarro’s passion for orthodontics and community service began with his father, a dentist whose commitment to his patients would serve as a model for his son’s own philosophy and approach to orthodontic care.
“My dad’s a dentist and to me, just seeing the way he helped people [and] the impact he had in the community, I always wanted to be a dentist. And I think my brothers and sisters also saw it too because we were eight kids and seven out of eight of us became dentists,” Dr. Navarro explains, adding:
“It was a passion that I just enjoyed so much. And it just became a way of life in our home. I saw my dad having [such] fulfillment and being happy about what he was doing. The same thing for my older brothers.”
At just 16 years old, Dr. Navarro went to work with his eldest brother, who by that time had become an orthodontist. As he worked alongside his brother in the lab, and later as an orthodontic assistant, Dr. Navarro continued to be inspired by his father’s dedication to his patients.
“I remember my dad was always taking care of his patients, sometimes even going in at midnight to [treat them]. There was a real personal connection. […] He was always very involved in the community and [believed in] giving back and helping out. He never let anybody go untreated or without changing their lives in a way that would help them.”
His father’s legacy of serving and helping others is deeply ingrained in Dr. Navarro and why he is so passionate about orthodontics and how it enables him to help the people in the communities he serves.
What makes Mint Orthodontics so different from other orthodontists?
As an orthodontist, Dr. Navarro loves being able to create beautiful smiles for his patients, but his real passions are changing his patients’ quality of life and giving back to the community – both of which are cornerstones of what makes Mint Orthodontics so unique.
“I always enjoy creating beautiful smiles, and that’s a passion for me. It’s a big [part of] what I like doing with my patients. [We’re] changing their quality of life and giving back to the community. We see patients from all socio-economic status, we see patients from Medicaid, especially the ones with cleft lip and palate and facial deformities,” he says.
Many of the patients that Dr. Navarro takes under his care are the ones that other orthodontists refuse to take on due to the complexity of their orthodontic challenges.
“Having a dental degree or an orthodontic degree doesn’t mean just doing the simple, easy stuff like fixing crooked teeth. [It also means] taking care of the very complex cases.” Dr. Navarro insists, adding that “at these practices that I go to, we [usually treat] very complex cases, the cases that sometimes nobody wants to see. We take care of them. And that makes us very unique.”
“I’m the only one seeing them south of Houston. We have patients coming in from Corpus Christi, Amarillo – we have people traveling from all over the state [of Texas] because [they know] we’ll take care of them. I enjoy so much seeing the transformation of these patients. The way [their lives change], going from not wanting to leave their homes to [having so much more] confidence. It’s just something that fulfills your heart in a way that is so different from anything else.”
Mint Orthodontics is a family-oriented practice whose top priority is delivering exceptional and affordable treatment in a warm and welcoming environment. We specialize in orthodontic treatments including braces, Invisalign, and PROPEL accelerated orthodontics. Ready to see which treatment is right for you? Schedule your complimentary consultation today. We offer virtual and in-office appointments with three locations to serve you: Rio Grande City, Brownsville, and Edinburg.
