Arlington Dental - St Clair West

Dr. Aliea Butt knows what it's like to have problem teeth. “I had a lot of dental issues growing up, which couldn't be corrected without surgery and it was also very costly,” she says, adding that her family didn't have a lot of money when she was young.

This instilled in Dr. Butt a desire to help other people. Later, at school, she discovered she "loved the sciences and nature as well. Eventually I found myself in this field,” she recalls.

After completing a specialist degree in Neuroscience from the University of Toronto, Dr. Butt earned her degree in dentistry in 2000 at the University of Toronto. She bought what is now Arlington Dental on St. Clair Avenue West shortly thereafter. “We were looking for a small office to purchase and it happened to come up here. I didn't know anything about the neighbourhood,” remembers Dr. Butt, who hails from Scarborough. “I love it now! And I have gotten involved a lot in the neighbourhood. I have these strange feelings now — I feel like a grandma as I see all these children grow up and start getting married.”

Dr. Butt opened her second practice, Vaughn Road Dental, in 2013, aptly named after the street upon which it is located, only a few blocks from her first practice. “Owning your own business is incredible. I'm always on a high! I love coming in to work; I love dealing with patients and trying to help people out,” she says cheerfully.