About Juli Powell, DDS
I love my job. I am a doctor who helps my patients feel better. I am an artist who creates beautiful smiles. I am a teacher who educates patients about their oral health. I am a therapist who helps patients overcome their fears. I am a student who continually learns about advances in dentistry. And most of all, I am a friend to my patients. I care about their lives and look forward to seeing them and hearing what’s new. I don’t know of any other profession that would let me wear so many wonderful hats each day! I am glad, every day, to make a difference in people’s lives. I’m proud to have helped raise a generation of kids who are happy to go to the dentist. I am proud to have patients who came to me as nervous adults and now look forward to visits. I am happy to create a smile for someone, and give them confidence. Above all, I am proud that my team and I have the common goal of helping our patients attain and maintain great oral and overall health and wonderful smiles. My favorite part of being a dentist is being part of my patients’ lives. I love the relationships I have with each person, each family, in our practice. I love that every six months or so I get to catch up on their lives. I have families where I’m seeing the children of patients I first saw as children. I have families where I see four generations. I am honored by these friendships and treasure each. While an undergraduate and then a doctoral student, I pursued research, and received multiple grants from the National Institutes of Health, as well as a fellowship. I presented the research at conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals. I’d originally planned on going into dental research, but in my fourth year I found I loved working with patients so much that I decided to go into general practice. I remain committed to my learning and stay current on research. I want to provide the best treatment for my patients, and continuing education allows me to do so. I use my years of research to investigate new treatments and technologies fully before incorporating them into the practice. I grew up in Austin and attended Anderson High School. I spread my wings a bit when I went to the University of North Carolina, but returned home for dental school and decided to stay here. My husband I married here in Austin in 1991. We have two children, Lily and Matthew. They’re both students at Westwood High School. When I’m not at work, I’m volunteering somewhere. I’ve been a Girl Scout leader for almost 15 years and have been active with the Boy Scouts as a den leader and in troop committee roles. I’ve also volunteered for the schools, swim teams, and the Westwood Band, and served on their boards. Of course, I also volunteer to provide dental care here and far, far away. My friends say I may have a problem with so many volunteer activities. Personally, I just see an area where I can help and say, “I could do that!” and I do.