Dr. Luz Estrada is a graduate of the UNC School of Dentistry, but her road to dentistry has been an impressive one! Dr. Estrada is a native of Colombia and received her dental degree from the National University of Colombia in 1989. Following dental school, she spent six months in a public health facility prior to opening her own private practice.

Wanting more, she entered a residency in Oral and Maxillo-Facial Surgery at the Bosque University in Bogot, completing her training in 1995. Immediately afterwards, she completed a surgical fellowship at the Thomas Jefferson hospital in Philadelphia. When Dr. Estrada moved to Raleigh, she knew she wanted to once again practice dentistry, so she completed her US dental training at UNC and is now back to the practice of dentistry at Durham Dental Studio and now also at Mt. Airy Dental Studio.

Dr. Mel is dedicated to making each of her patients as happy and as comfortable as possible. She deems it a personal challenge to work with fearful patients to understand their needs and to change their perceptions about dentistry. Through patient education and patience, she engages patients and motivates them to become more active in their comprehensive health as well as their oral health. While Dr. Mel enjoys restoring and extracting teeth, she especially enjoys esthetic dentistry including prosthetic dentistry (crowns, bridges, partial and full dentures, as well as implant restoration), and smile restoration. Dr. Mels hobbies include fishing, basketball, reading, and traveling. Her greatest joy is spending time with her two year old son and two fur babies. She is a member of the American Dental Association, Academy of General Dentistry, National Dental Association, and the Old North State chapter of the North Carolina Dental Society.