I spent many years training as a specialist, all to do one thing well: care for each smile as if it were the only one. It would be a privilege to care for yours.
Meet Dr. Catherine McLeod
A Halifax born specialist who came home to build the practice she always wished existed. One where world-class orthodontics feels personal, unhurried, and genuinely kind.
Trained, qualified and recognized
A specialist, and a Haligonian
Dr. Catherine McLeod is a specialist orthodontist and the founder of Embrace Orthodontics on Spring Garden Road. She grew up in Nova Scotia, trained in Canada, practised as a specialist orthodontist in Sydney, Australia for three years, and chose to bring that experience home to Halifax.
Her path began at Dalhousie, where she earned a Bachelor of Science and then, in 2006, her Doctor of Dental Surgery, both with High Honours and with awards for her clinical research. She went on to complete a Master of Science and her specialty certificate in orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics at the University of Manitoba in 2010, again with High Honours, in one of North America's accredited three-year programs. Before that specialty training she spent a full year in a paediatric dental residency at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, caring for children with medical complications and special needs.
Trained for the cases others refer away
Before opening Embrace Orthodontics, Dr. Catherine McLeod spent a year at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, one of the most respected paediatric hospitals in the world, caring for children with cleft lip and palate, craniofacial differences, and complex medical needs. Her specialty training added surgical orthodontic cases, impacted canines, temporary anchorage devices, and growth guidance in children.
This depth is why so much can be handled in one place. Dr. Catherine McLeod treats straightforward cases and genuinely complex ones with the same calm, evidence-based approach, and wherever it is possible, she works to avoid extractions and jaw surgery rather than default to them.
Been told you need extractions or surgery? Ask Dr. Catherine McLeod for a free second opinion
An orthodontist who advances the field
Dr. Catherine McLeod is not only a clinician. She is a published researcher whose work on smile esthetics appeared as a first author paper in The Angle Orthodontist, one of the most cited journals in orthodontics, with further published research on cleft palate care, and she has presented her work at the American Association of Orthodontists and the World Federation of Orthodontists. An internationally invited lecturer and published author, she shares what she has learned with colleagues well beyond Halifax. She has taught as a clinical instructor and lecturer at the University of Manitoba, and co-founded a specialty study club where she continues to teach and mentor general dentists. She is a registered specialist orthodontist in Canada, with multi-national specialist experience gained across Australia and Canada, and a Fellow of the Royal College of Dentists of Canada.
Meet Dr. Catherine McLeod in one minute
A short welcome from Dr. Catherine McLeod: who she is, how she works, and what to expect at your first visit to Embrace Orthodontics.
Dr. Catherine McLeod on CTV
Invited onto CTV to talk about modern orthodontics and the confidence a healthy smile brings.
Every patient deserves to understand their options, feel cared for, and leave with a smile they are proud of. That is the whole reason I built Embrace Orthodontics.
Why she built Embrace Orthodontics
In 2013, drawn home by a wish to live closer to her large family, Dr. Catherine McLeod returned to Nova Scotia and founded Embrace Orthodontics. She was invited to join Park Lane Dental Specialists in Halifax, and in 2019 she designed and built her own boutique practice just two floors below, a space shaped entirely around how she believes orthodontic care should feel. Unrushed appointments. Clear answers. A team that knows your name. Treatment plans built around your life, not a template.
She is a mother of three, a lifelong rower and keen sailor, and a Haligonian who is genuinely proud to care for the community she comes from. Away from the clinic she loves a good auction and has a growing collection of antiques to show for it, and, thanks to her husband's patient campaigning, she is being slowly converted into a Toronto Blue Jays fan.
Dr. Catherine McLeodSpecialist Orthodontist, Founder
Education, certification and training
Education
- Master of Science and Specialty Certificate in Orthodontics, University of Manitoba (High Honours)
- Doctor of Dental Surgery, Dalhousie University (High Honours)
- Bachelor of Science, Biology, Dalhousie University (High Honours)
Certification and Fellowship
- Fellow, Royal College of Dentists of Canada
- Registered specialist orthodontist in Canada, with multi-national specialist experience gained across Australia and Canada
Advanced clinical training
- Paediatric residency year, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto
- Cleft lip and palate and craniofacial care
- Surgical orthodontic and complex multidisciplinary cases
Beyond the practice
- Published researcher, The Angle Orthodontist and Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal
- Recipient, Charlie Schultz Excellence in Orthodontics, American Association of Orthodontists
- Presented at the American Association of Orthodontists and the World Federation of Orthodontists
- Clinical instructor and lecturer, University of Manitoba
- Co-founder, specialty study club mentoring general dentists
- Past President, South Shore Dental Society
Book your complimentary consultation with Dr. Catherine McLeod
No referral needed. Meet Dr. Catherine McLeod, ask every question, and find out what is possible for your smile.