Dr. Pounds realized when she was in the 10th grade that she would become a dentist. 'I always wanted to do something in the medical field,' she says. 'I went to a leadership conference at Robert Morris University, and my group leader was a dentist. I came home, researched dentistry, and knew it was a good fit. In college I ran track and cross country. One of the track coaches was a dentist and my first mentor in dentistry. I did an internship in his office and this solidified my decision. I had wanted to own my own business so my goal became to practice dentistry in my own practice.'
Born in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, Dr. Pounds attended Marion Center High School and did her undergraduate work at Robert E Cook Honors College at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She then completed Dental School at the University of Maryland, did her General Practice Residency at Allegheny General Hospital, and practiced locally at an advanced restorative and cosmetic dental practice before purchasing her own practice in 2006.
'I love being in Downtown Pittsburgh and I love the diversity of the patient population in the area. I fell in love with the space instantly,' Dr. Pounds says of her offices on the third floor of the historic Hartley-Rose Building. 'It 's a warm, friendly, open layout, and reflects the openness and friendliness of my practice and my staff. I want patients to associate going to the dentist with positive feelings, not those of pain or fear. Preventive dentistry is key catching problems before they become serious issues.'
Dr. Pounds spent 3 years completing over 300 clinical hours to achieve Level IV certification in 'Bioesthetic Dentistry', a certification held by only three other dentists in the state. 'I am a perfectionist, and when you are working on such detail oriented tasks as we do in our profession this is very important.' she says. 'Nothing is better than doing the high level dentistry that provides natural lasting beauty, and seeing how it changes the lives of my patients!'
When she isn 't creating smiles for patients, Dr. Pounds can be found spending time at her home in Bethel Park with her husband, daughter and their two cats. 'We like being outdoors, and spend a lot of weekends at our family cabin in Potter County,' she says. 'We also enjoy a good ball game out at PNC Park overlooking the beautiful city of Pittsburgh!' Given a year off, Dr. Pounds says she would take her husband and daughter and go on a cross-country trip to visit as many U.S. National Parks as possible.