CAS Designs began in 2000 with Charis A. Santillie as a freelance graphic designer. Charis quickly built up a customer base that led her to expand the business. She started acquiring clients in the dental and orthodontic industries while her husband, Don L. Wilson, DDS, MSD, was attending dental school and his orthodontic residency.

Charis partnered with her husband in 2004 to develop an outside-the-box marketing strategy for his orthodontic practice in Novato, California. Because of their creative and effective approach, Dr. Wilson had 120 patients in braces within 1 year of opening, which was twice the national average. Charis soon recognized a niche market opportunity and expanded CAS Designs to power a dental division, called Smile!

Smile! is committed to sharing fresh ideas and creativity through high-end, unique products that are customized for each practice. As its director, Charis is devoted to maintaining this level of excellence as she grows the company.

Smile! now has clients spanning 10 countries including the US, Canada, UK, Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Greece, Australia, and Croatia.

As President of Smile!, Charis welcomes new challenges and embraces change. Her marketing solutions have spanned small and large companies in a variety of industries including Adobe Systems, Penguin Books, and Pearson Education. Prior to founding CAS Designs/Smile!, Charis was a project manager at Stone Communications in San Francisco, and worked with over 60 leading, emerging-growth high-tech and biotech companies in Silicon Valley. Her entrepreneurial energy comes from her involvement in all aspects of growing a family business that started in the kitchen, to a corporation with 50 employees and international sales. Charis graduated with a B.A., cum laude, in Business Administration from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington.

Dr. Don Wilson and his orthodontic practice are the driving force for many of Smile’s products and services. He attended the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington where he received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology. He then moved to San Francisco, where he completed his dental degree with Honors at the University of the Pacific. With academic and clinical excellence, he completed his orthodontic residency and masters degree at Indiana University. Dr. Wilson has since become a Board-Certified Orthodontist and Diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontics.