PLANO, Texas — If you’re a fan of the popular video sharing app TikTok you might have seen the dancing dentist who has millions of followers. Dr. Ben Winters, known as "the Bentist," is now a Texan hoping to thrive with his new orthodontic practice in Plano.
With his credibility as an orthodontist and bold personality he’s a sort of Bill Nye the Science Guy for Gen Z’ers who sometimes dances shirtless.
Since 2019 Winters has gained almost 8 million followers on TikTok, creating short-form videos in an assortment of genres like dance, comedy, and education. In many of his videos he can be found wearing his signature black-on-black scrubs in a dental office.
For the teens following his online persona Winters is a trusted source for all things dental. It’s a responsibility he works to maintain by dedicating hours a week to the production of his content.
In one of his TikToks uploaded in February Winters has gained 20 million views in the 30-second video showing him review a toothbrush, while promoting his own. “It’s marketing at its best,” said Winters.
He’s popular now, but two years ago, when TikTok was still growing, Ben had just started posting when he saw an opportunity to market himself professionally.
Winters' first video to go viral in 2019 got a million views in its first 24 hours after being posted. “We gained 100,000 followers on TikTok in one day,” he said.
Over the next year his following would continue to grow as he made videos with his orthodontist assistants dancing in the office he practiced at in Arkansas.
Since then, he’s collaborated with celebrities and his fans keep multiplying. The newfound fame has helped in achieving a long-time dream of starting his own practice in North Texas.
Winters has said he receives about 10 cents for every 1,000 views, and with many of his posts getting several millions of views, the source of income has been a big boost with his move to Texas.
“I’ve always loved Texas. The funny thing is, I told myself, I think when I was 15, that I wanted to open an office in Frisco, Texas,” said Winters “That was just because I had family here in Texas and they said Frisco was the next up-and-coming area and that was 15 years ago.”
Winters said when it came to deciding the perfect location to open, he chose Plano for its accessibility.
“It’s a short drive from anywhere here in DFW. This location is a prime place to practice.” he said.
When asked where his passion for Orthodontics comes from Winters vividly remembers his childhood orthodontist Dr. Henry Udouj, Jr., who practiced in Fort Smith, Arkansas.
“He was so cool, he didn’t care about being a super strict and uptight orthodontist,” said Winters “He would go out of his way to make his patients feel welcomed.”
In 2017, while attending a continuing education course for orthodontists, Winters was randomly sat by Dr. Udouj, and had the opportunity to thank him.
“I told him the story about how he influenced me to be an orthodontist and how now I’m here and I’ve made it,” he said.
While chatting, Udouj asked Winters if he had a doctor for a dad, and the two realized by unknown coincidence that Winters' father had diagnosed Udouj with cancer.
“As a kid he basically changed my life, and put me on this career path, and the world put us together literally a couple of weeks before he passed away.”
In September of 2017 Udouj died after years of living with cancer. Winters said he thinks of Dr. Udouj often, and looks forward to influencing another generation of kids.
Much like Dr. Udouj’s bright and bold office in Arkansas, Winters' Plano office isn’t your average place to get braces. From outside, the Wincrest Orthodontics office in north Plano looks like an average office building, but inside Winters aims to be hip with sleek black walls, and minimalist design, complete with a space where his patients can create their own TikTok videos.
“It was really weird, I had a kid tell me that I was the most well-known orthodontist dentist in the whole world, and he wasn’t wrong,” said Winters. “That’s really weird to say, and I just feel super blessed to have that opportunity.”
Newly opened in February, Winters said he’s excited for the future and claims his office has state of the art options for better braces no one else in Texas does.
At 31 years old Winters and his wife Megan have big plans for future business ventures with the goal of opening more offices in Texas, but for now he’s taking it one day, and TikTok at a time.
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