Sunnyvale dentist Jumoke Oyedele performed $40,000 worth of dental work in two days this February as part of an "extreme makeover" for Halbrook, an oil-rig worker from Bakersfield.

It's the second time she's completely overhauled someone's teeth since she moved her practice to the Sunnyvale Center for Laser & Cosmetic Dentistry last year, and the experiences are showing her the virtues of donating her services to those less fortunate.

"The emails, the letters, the contacts I get from people who want one of these extreme makeovers—their lives are at a standstill," she says. "I'm putting my time in and making a difference to change someone's life through their smile."

Oyedele, who received her dental degree from Howard University in Washington, D.C., and has practiced dentistry for 20 years, was first asked to work with the talk show in 2003 for a Bay Area patient. "When I first met Richard, he wasn't smiling. He was a grouch and he grew his hair long so people wouldn't see his smile," she says. "Now he grins from ear to ear."

Making the decision to commit to that first project was difficult for Oyedele, who's not used to all the hoopla over something she does every day. "I've never been recognized in my area of work," she says. "It was strange to be recognized and brought out on television for doing something I love." She had to personally pay the lab fee for the first makeover, but she says it was worth it. "After I met him, I wanted to do it," she says.

Her good working relationship with the show prompted the producers to ask her back for a second extreme makeover episode. She agreed and contacted California Dental Arts in Cupertino, which crafted a full mouth of 28 teeth for permanent bonding into Halbrook's mouth. The dental lab created $12,000 worth of dental work in one week.

On Feb. 21, the California Dental Arts team and Oyedele convened at her Sunnyvale office for the procedure, which took a day to prep and a day to perform. Camera operators from the show recorded the proceedings, parts of which were shown during the taping in New York on Feb. 26. Halbrook, who also met with stylists and hairdressers, modeled his entire new look while Oyedele looked on with pride from the audience.

Williams singled Oyedele out and praised her for her commitment, a compliment she shrugs off. "Montel was really nice, but it's not about me. It's about the patient," she says. Halbrook gave Oyedele a framed picture of him with his new look, autographed with his thanks. The photo now hangs in her office.

The two extreme makeovers have shown her how much difference a new smile can make in someone's life, and she hopes to continue donating her services to make a complete mouth remodel possible for no cash in the smallest possible time. "I feel like this is my calling now," she says. "A lot of people now know the extent of what we do. It's not just the people in Hollywood [who can afford this proceedure.]"

Oyedele started a drawing for free dental work—once a month, she'll draw a name out of a fishbowl and grant the winner a Saturday of her time and service. This is in addition to the annual Free Dentistry Day held by dentists throughout the area in which she has participated for the past 12 years.

Oyedele splits her time between practices in Sunnyvale and San Jose, but lives in Fremont with her husband, a coffeeshop proprietor. The couple has four sons, ranging from 23 years old down to elementary school age, but the staff in her office is like a second family. "Her heart is bigger than her smile," says one staffer.

A few requests for work have trickled in from the national exposure, but Oyedele is content to keep her work focused on her local area. "I would like to run into a patient at the grocery store and say, 'That's my smile!'" she says.

The Sunnyvale Center for Laser & Cosmetic Surgery is located at 1565 Hollenbeck Ave., Ste. 102. For more information, call 408.732.3264 or visit www.iloveyoursmile.com.