Photo credit: Dr. Catrise Austin

Dr. Catrise Austin, widely recognized as “The Hip Hop Dentist”, is a pioneer in modern dentistry and one of the most influential voices in cosmetic smile transformations. She is a #1 best-selling author, award-winning cosmetic dentist to the stars, and international speaker.

Dr. Austin has received numerous honors for her contributions to the field, including being named “Top Cosmetic Dentist of the Year” by the International Association of Top Professionals, one of the “World’s Top 100 Doctors” by the Global Summit Institute, and among the “Top 25 Women in Dentistry” by Dental Products Report Magazine. She also appears on Kleer’s list of “Most Influential Dentists in America.”

Her high-profile client list includes Cardi B, Ice Spice, DJ Khaled, Busta Rhymes, Common, and many more across music, sports, and media.

The Hip Hop Museum caught up with Dr. Austin to talk about falling in love with Hip Hop, how she became the dentist to the stars, some of her favorite clients, and more.

Adam Aziz: What drew you to Hip Hop at such a young age that you followed your favorite artists and wrote fan letters?

Dr. Catrise Austin: My mom was a teenage mom. She had me at age 17, and she was determined. She was a music lover and is a music lover. And she was determined to be that teenage mom who didn’t put me off on my grandparents. 

Whenever there were concerts, she would take me. So concerts and entertainment have been a part of my life from the very beginning. I grew up in Michigan, and this was the eighties when Hip Hop was just getting started. It wasn’t like being in New York, where you had first access to all the music and concerts. I used to learn about the hottest acts on Yo! MTV Raps. I would see LL Cool J and Run-DMC. I really liked the Run-DMC song “It’s Like That.”

When I discovered Run-DMC was coming to little old Flint, Michigan, I said, “I have to go.” And if I was going to go, I had to write them a fan letter to let them know how much I loved their song. 

AA: Did you give them the letter?

DCA: I did! They were performing at a rollerskating rink, so the dressing room was near where they gave out the skates. I slipped the letter under the door, and then a young Russell Simmons opened the door and said, “Who wrote this letter?” I told him it was me, and he asked if I wanted to meet Run-DMC. That was how I met my first celebrity.

Dr. Catrise Austin meeting Run-DMC in the 80s. Photo credit: Dr. Catrise Austin

AA: Tell me about when you realized you could combine your love of Hip Hop with dentistry.

DCA: After I graduated from dental school at the University of Maryland in Baltimore, I had the opportunity to come to New York. I thought I would come to New York for a year to do a little bit of hospital training and a residency because I didn’t feel ready to enter the real world of dentistry without a little more experience. When I got to New York, one of the ladies in my program asked me if I liked comedy, and I said, yeah, I love comedy. And this was the mid-90s, ’96, when I got to New York, the golden age of comedy and Hip Hop.

We would hit the comedy scene in the Village on Sunday nights. The Apollo Theater was massive at the time as well. I would meet a young Kevin Hart, Chris Rock, and Tracy Morgan—all these comedians who were just getting started. When they realized I was a dentist, comedians like Mike Epps would say, “You’re young, you’re cool. We want to go to a dentist like you and support you.”

That was my “a-ha” moment that I could become a dentist to the stars. We would go to Justin’s on Tuesday nights, and a lot of celebrities would be there. One night, I saw the legendary Isaac Hayes sitting and having dinner. I had business cards but no office at that point. The business cards just had my face on them. I would put “Dentist to the Stars” on them even though I didn’t have an office or a single client. I decided to interrupt his dinner and say, Mr. Hayes, if you don’t have a dentist or you’re looking to change your dentist, I would love to be yours and gave him my card. He looked at me and said, “Young lady, I ain’t never seen a dentist that looks like you.” He invited me to sit and have dinner and said he would help me. That moment changed my life.

AA: Where did the title “The Hip Hop Dentist” come from?

DCA: N.O.R.E. from Capone-N-Noreaga gave me that title. After I started getting clients, I got a publicist. My mom told me to get a publicist and to call Eddie Murphy’s publicist, Terry Williams, whom my mom met at a conference. I called her, and she was very impressed with what I was doing. She told me that she charges $50,000/month or more, and I couldn’t afford her, but she referred me to her friend Renee Foster. 

I also connected with Mona Scott-Young, who was managing Violator at the time. She referred me to many of her artists, including Missy Elliott and Busta Rhymes. 

AA: As your roster expanded and more artists came to you, was this just for regular cleanings? Or were you doing grills and other work?

DCA: They were coming for regular cleanings, but in 1999, I did my first veneer case. I was doing veneers a long time ago. They really just became popular in the past five to six years. I did my first back then because I saw some of the white, popular celebrity dentists doing them. And when the TV show Extreme Makeover debuted, it started to educate people on the possibilities of improving their smiles. That’s when I started taking cosmetic dentistry courses.

AA: Is there a story you can tell me about your favorite Hip Hop client?

DCA: I liked working with Common. We always had great conversations. He didn’t want cosmetic veneers; he wanted to keep it natural. I really enjoyed his company and the deep conversations. It was a nice Midwest vibe since I’m from Flint, Michigan, and he’s from Chicago. 

I also really loved working with Doug E. Fresh. He had endless stories, and he always brought us documentaries to watch on VHS and DVD.

Dr. Catrise Austin w/Doug E. Fresh Photo Credit: Dr. Catrise Austin

AA: How did the moment with Cardi B. come about when she referenced your services on a song?

DCA: When she was on Love & Hip Hop, she entered the show with not-so-perfect teeth. And on social media, they were talking about her smile. She’s a pretty girl with a great personality, but her teeth are terrible. They were undersized and had multiple spaces. They didn’t match her personality. When the second season was getting started, she decided she didn’t want her teeth and smile to be a barrier, and she wanted to get the smile makeover. And because Mona-Scott Young was the show’s producer, I was referred to her. 

We had to keep the work a secret because it was between seasons. Then they decided they wanted it to be part of a storyline in the second season, and we filmed the entire procedure. Then Cardi decided she was going to talk about it on her breakout record, “Bodak Yellow,” when she said, “Got a bag and fixed my teeth. I hope you hoes know it ain’t cheap.“

TMZ then called my office to talk to me about fixing Cardi’s teeth. They interviewed me, and my business skyrocketed. The procedure was featured on the season premiere of Love & Hip Hop that season. To this day, Cardi’s smile makeover is the number one source of new clients for me.

AA: How do you notice the newer artists differ from the legacy artists regarding what they look for in terms of teeth and smiles?

DCA: A lot of the legacy artists, like Common, for example, want to keep it natural and are satisfied with what they have. But for the newer artists, ever since Cardi rapped about it, everyone wants the perfect smile, and for most people, that’s getting super square and white veneers. That’s what people are asking for. I try to make sure it looks natural. Not too big, not too white. It should look like teeth. If your teeth are not good, they will eat you up on social media. I advised one client against going too white and too square, and she got eaten up on social media. I hated seeing that. 

Follow Dr. Catrise Austin on Instagram.