Meet our doctors
Both of our doctors are general dentists licensed in New Mexico, with postgraduate training in orthodontics abroad.
Dr. Maria Valentina Martinez Morales, DMD
General Dentist · Postgraduate training in orthodontics (Venezuela) · English & Spanish · Las Cruces (Mondays) & Deming (Tuesday–Friday)
Dr. Maria Valentina Martinez Morales has dedicated her career to orthodontics. She began practicing in 2006 after earning her Doctor of Dental Surgery at Universidad de Carabobo in Valencia, Venezuela, where she went on to complete postgraduate training in Dentofacial Orthopedics and Orthodontics in 2010. She later earned a Doctor of Management in Dental Sciences from Caribbean International University in Curaçao (2014) and, after moving to the United States, completed the Advanced Standing D.M.D. program at Boston University (2020).
For more than a decade she owned and led Ortho Smart, a private orthodontic practice in Valencia. During those years she also taught: she was a professor in the clinic of the postgraduate orthodontics program at Universidad de Carabobo, where she introduced the MEAW and Bioprogressive techniques, and taught occlusion and interceptive orthodontics at Universidad de Carabobo, Universidad Rómulo Gallegos and the Carabobo dental association. From 2010 to 2017 she lectured on clear aligner techniques throughout Venezuela and Latin America, and she later served as scientific director of an aligner company in Miami.
Her research focuses on helping teeth move more efficiently. She has co-authored case reports and reviews on corticotomy-assisted orthodontics and on moving molars forward to close the space left by a missing tooth, published in Acta Odontológica Venezolana and the Revista Facultad de Odontología Universidad de Antioquia. She has presented at national orthodontic and dental congresses in Venezuela.
She is a member of the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO), the World Federation of Orthodontics (WFO), the Venezuelan Society of Orthodontics and the Latin American Association of Orthodontics, and is licensed in New Mexico as a general dentist.
Since 2020 Dr. Valentina has treated patients at Southwest Smiles in Deming and Las Cruces, offering braces, clear aligners and retainers for children, teens and adults. She sees patients in English and Spanish. We look forward to meeting you!
Education
- DMD (Advanced Standing), Boston University, 2020
- Postgraduate training in orthodontics, Universidad de Carabobo, Venezuela, 2010
- Doctor of Management in Dental Sciences, Caribbean International University, Curaçao, 2014
- Doctor of Dental Surgery, Universidad de Carabobo, 2006
Publications
- Martínez MV, Tomich D, Ucero CT. (2012). Aceleración del movimiento ortodóntico mediante corticotomías alveolares. Acta Odontológica Venezolana 50(4).
- Martínez MV, Tomich D, Ucero CT, Spina MN. (2013). La flexicorticotomía como procedimiento para la mesialización de un molar inferior en pacientes adultos: reporte de un caso. Acta Odontológica Venezolana 51(3).
- Montilla-Puente VB, Martínez-Morales MV, Tomich-Biber D. (2020). Optimization approach for the mesialization of lower molars: a case report. Revista Facultad de Odontología Universidad de Antioquia.
Dr. Juliana Garcia de Paiva Araujo, DMD
General Dentist · Postgraduate training in orthodontics (Brazil) · Português, English, Español · Las Cruces, Mon–Thu
Dr. Juliana Garcia de Paiva Araujo, DMD, joined Southwest Smiles and sees patients at our Las Cruces office, Monday through Thursday.
Her dental career began in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She earned her dental degree (Bachelor of Dental Surgery) from Universidade Veiga de Almeida in 2003. At the Sociedade Odontológica de Begg she then completed certificate programs in orthodontics (2008–2010), maxillary functional orthopedics (2006–2008) and operative dentistry (2006–2008). For many years she cared for patients in private practices in the Rio de Janeiro area, worked as a clinical director, and served as auxiliary clinical faculty in a postgraduate orthodontic program from 2015 to 2017.
After moving to the United States, she worked in Florida as a dental hygienist and orthodontic assistant, then earned her Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) degree from Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine. There she treated patients at the school’s treatment center, including clear aligner care, completed elective externships with the Boston University orthodontic residency program, and was a teaching assistant in occlusion and endodontics. She was also a co-investigator on an IRB-approved pilot study of microbial-immune interactions in children with obstructive sleep apnea. The study was presented at the 2026 IADR/AADOCR/CADR Annual Meeting in San Diego and received the 2026 Orthodontics Research Group Travel Award.
Community care has been part of her work throughout. For more than ten years she volunteered with Dentista do Bem, providing volunteer care to children from low-income communities in Rio de Janeiro, and in 2025 she volunteered at the Massachusetts Dental Society Foundation’s Mission of Mercy.
Dr. Juliana speaks Portuguese, English and Spanish.
Education & training
- DMD, Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine, 2026
- Bachelor of Dental Surgery, Universidade Veiga de Almeida, Rio de Janeiro, 2003
- Certificates in Orthodontics and Maxillary Functional Orthopedics, Sociedade Odontológica de Begg, Brazil
- New Mexico dental license
Ready to start?
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