THE SMILE GALLERY MISSION
Smile Design Gallery merges art with the mission of providing dental treatment for people who need care. The gallery believes social enterprise can move the great masses of humanity forward, and with a passion for art, its founders have tapped the “art market” to do just that.
The gallery has treated over 500 patients since inception in the Spring of 2013, collaborated with artists such as Mr. Brainwash, Chi Modu, UR New York, Fab 5 Freddy, Liu Bolin, Miya Ando and Swizz Beats, partnered with art dealers such as Martin Lawrence Gallery, Klein Sun Gallery and others.
SMILE GALLERY HAS ACHIEVED INDUSTRY MILESTONES with a 2013 Miami Art Basel production rated “Top 10” by Vanity Fair, and granted charitable dentistry in partnership with the Holocaust Survivors Initiative, The Bowery Mission, Urban Promise Camden and many more.
Dental Partners: Smile Design Manhattan, Brooklyn Heights Dental & Howard Surgery Center.
MEET THE SG STAFF
DR LEE GAUSE, DDS
FOUNDER, SMILE DESIGN MANHATTAN & SMILE GALLERY
Smile Design Manhattan founder Lee Gause, DDS, has established himself as a clinical leader in cosmetic dentistry techniques, a level of expertise he brings to the Midtown West practice in New York City. Dr. Gause worked incredibly hard, honing his craft in cosmetic dentistry techniques such as porcelain veneers, Invisalign®, and dental implants. Dr. Gause’s years of experience, attention to detail, and approachable, friendly demeanor have helped him establish a boutique family of patients including celebrities and professional athletes.
Dr. Gause began his professional education as an undergraduate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in North Carolina, graduating in 1998 with a bachelor of science in biology. He earned his doctor of dental surgery in 2004. at the Howard University College of Dentistry in Washington, DC.
Dr. Gause is also dedicated to Smile Design Gallery, a charity he founded that uses the sales of contemporary art to fund dental care for low-income children and seniors, as well as those being rehabilitated from homelessness.
DEBBIE WELLS
DIRECTOR, SMILE GALLERY
Debbie Wells has had decades of professional experience in the field of art and design. After graduating from Parsons School of Design with a BFA (1981) and MA (1990), she had a 20+ year career in corporate and not-for-profit graphic design in NYC. Relocating to Long Island, she pivoted into the museum world and became an exhibition curator and administrator.
Taking her expertise to the level, Wells founded a company, now called ArtfulBuzz.com, for art lovers of all levels offering art tours to art galleries, museums and artist studios in NYC and the Hamptons. During the pandemic, she enhanced her skills to present online art history and other webinars and established the free Artful Morning Brew, an original and wildly popular e-newsletter that she continues today.
Wells was instantly impressed with Dr. Gause and his Smile Gallery concept and is honored to team up with him to add her vast knowledge of art history and the current art scene. Let her be your artful guide, while you help those in need of dental care though art purchases, exhibitions and special events, donations and more.