Meet Dr. Emily
Dr. Emily Leach (Dr. Emily) fell in love with orthodontics during the time when she had her own braces. Her experiences with the orthodontic team and the change in her smile and increase in confidence at an early age encouraged her to be a part of that journey for others. She is honored to be a part of such a unique and complex field filled with problem solving and the excitement of making a great smile and a better quality of life. If you grew up in the Midcoast, chances are you have run into Dr. Emily at one point or another! Dr. Emily grew up in Warren, Maine and has enjoyed living and working in the area. She has a lot of family and friends living locally and it was a no brainer for her to come back to the Maine coast. Dr. Emily is thrilled to be working with Dr. Doug and the team at Granite Coast Orthodontics and she is even more excited about meeting you and your family (if she hasn’t already!).
Education & Continuing Education
Dr. Emily attended high school at Medomak Valley High School and played sports year- round. She then attended Colby College in Waterville, ME where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology with a concentration in Cell and Molecular biology and Biochemistry, she also received an art minor and has a special interest in textiles, sculpture, and photography. Dr. Emily loves that she can combine her love of art with a career in medicine as they go hand in hand in the field of orthodontics.
After college she worked for a year at the Penobscot Bay Medical Center pharmacy as a pharmacy technician while she saved money to apply for dental school. She continued her journey by attending dental school at University of New England in Portland, Maine, and earned her Doctorate of Dental Medicine (D.M.D.). During her time in dental school she was a scholar in the Area Health Education Center, Care for the Underserved Pathway (AHEC CUP) and this was an honors distinction program for students to gain an understanding of what working as a healthcare provider in rural areas in Maine is like, something she has always had a passion for doing. The program was 40 hours of didactic work and 40 hours of community-based learning that she completed on top of her courseload to be able to better serve the people in her home community. She also received the Alva S. Appleby scholarship from the Maine Dental Association during her time there, and multiple letters of commendation in her courses.
After completing dental school and earning her D.M.D., Dr. Emily matched into an orthodontic residency program in Lincoln, Nebraska! She was looking to continue learning how to treat patients in a small-town area, and this was one of the smaller cities she could find a residency program that she was interested in. She attended the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Dentistry for 2.5 years and earned a Certificate of Specialization in Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, and a Master’s degree in Oral Biology from the MSIA research program. During this time, she completed orthodontic treatment on her own patients while also taking graduate level courses and creating and running her own research project. She received 2 nd place in a national competition among orthodontic residents from all over the world for her pilot research into the environmental degradation of orthodontic clear aligners.
Dr. Emily has gathered many years of schooling alongside years of patient care experience to be able to work with Dr. Doug and the Granite Coast team and provide the highest quality of care.
Outside the Office
Orthodontics is a passion of Dr. Emily’s and she is so excited to be immersed in this field! After coming back to Maine Dr. Emily has now been elected as the incoming president of the Maine Association of Orthodontics and she is excited to keep the profession and community energized and engaged. Outside of orthodontics Dr. Emily has a lot of hobbies (and not enough time to do them
all!). She enjoys nature walks, foraging for mushrooms with her Fiancé Tommy Spaulding, playing soccer, taking photos with her 35 mm film camera, reading, and crafting of course!
Her favorite crafts are crocheting, knitting, and the occasional one-off Pinterest craft (often a failure, but worth a good laugh). Dr. Emily also loves the Common Ground Fair and found a love for Renaissance fairs when she was in Nebraska! If you love weird things (or are a little nerdy), chances are you have something in common with Dr. Emily.
