Dr. Kelly R. Heetland was born and raised in Valley City, North Dakota. His undergraduate studies included time abroad in Wolverhampton, England and graduated Cum Laude from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree. While his first job offer out of college was for the weather anchor at a TV station in California, he worked in business and advertising in the financial district in San Francisco managing blue chip company brands while his wife attended dental school.Dr. Kelly spent a short time on TV and movie sets before discovering his true calling and returning to school at the University of the Pacific Dental School in San Francisco for his Doctor of Dental Surgery (D.D.S.) degree. He earned numerous honors including the California Dental Association award for leadership and academics and the American Association of Orthodontics award for excellence in orthodontics all while serving as a national leader in the American Student Dental Association and liaison to the American Dental Association, graduating with honors, and earning induction into the Tau Kappa Omega Honor Society. After dental school, Dr. Kelly spent 27 months of additional, full-time specialty training in Orthodontic residency at the Department of Orthodontics at the University of Pacific Dental School to complete his masters thesis in the genetics of and treatment of hypodontia (missing teeth) and earn his Certificate in Orthodontics and Master of Dental Science (M.S.D.) degree to become an Orthodontist.