Scott Smith treats people who might not know they have a problem.

Smith, who is a doctor of dental surgery, specializes in periodontics. Unfortunately, a lot of people who have periodontal disease don't know it. But there's good news for those who do suffer from the disease that can rob people of their teeth.

Smith, who was born in Fresno and raised in Merced, wanted to be a dentist or a physician.

"I liked dentistry," Smith said. "I liked what I saw, and a lot of people I went to school with in Merced were dentists."

Smith decided to be a specialist early in his career. After four years of dental school, he studied two more years to specialize in periodontics. He attended dental school in San Antonio, then two years at the University of California at San Francisco.