Drs. Jana McQueen, right, and daughter Janelle McQueen operate McQueen Orthodontics Specialists and are the first Black-owned mother and daughter to open an orthodontic practice locally, and possibly nationally.
Photo courtesy of McQueen Orthodontics Specialists
Drs. Jana McQueen and daughter Janelle McQueen are busy running McQueen Orthodontics Specialists in Southfield, Dearborn and Clinton Township — and they are making history along the way.
Their operation is the first, and only known, Black-owned mother-daughter orthodontic clinic in the country.
Jana McQueen, of Bloomfield Hills (practicing orthodontics since 1988), went to dental school after a friend suggested it to her, and years later she and her daughter are making a path for others to follow.
Jana McQueen completed her undergraduate studies at Fisk University where she was a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She then attended Meharry Medical College for dental school, graduating second in her class, with honors, with her Doctorate of Dental Surgery (DDS). Her orthodontic residency was completed at Howard University.
She loves to give people a better smile and loves that her business is family-based.
“I have someone to carry on the legacy,” McQueen said of her daughter. “It takes a lot of weight off of me — I have been holding it down until she came here. … the majority of my staff members have been here for years and have seen her growing up.”
“I decided to come in on some afternoons after school and thought this is what I wanted to get into — following mother’s footsteps,” Janelle McQueen, of Birmingham, said, adding that last June she finished her residency and began working with her mother in August.
Jana McQueen said that before opening her private practice, she worked at a few different dental offices. When she was pregnant with Janelle and working at a dental office, her boss decided that she might want to spend more time at home and he reduced her hours, which equaled a 20 percent cut in pay.
“Needless to say, I found another place of employment before opening my own practice,” she said.
She told The Michigan Chronicle that she opened up her practices in the three metro Detroit locations strategically, in order to have territory in three local counties.
She opened up her Southfield practice first (where she grew up), and branched out with the other two.
The McQueen Orthodontics Specialists’ doctors are currently working on developments in orthodontics through continuing education and incorporating the best technology, methods and materials in their practice.
Janelle McQueen added that there are not a lot of female orthodontics in the United States, but the number is increasing annually, she said, adding that having their faces “out there” is important.
What’s also important is bringing young people along and “showing if they are interested this is something they can do and pursue.”
“We hope to increase the numbers and this is definitely a career for Black females, just like anyone else,” she said.
For more information visit https://www.drmcqueen4braces.com/.
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