Dr. Kelly Giannetti

Roots in California's Central Valley

Dr. Giannetti grew up in California's Central Valley as the daughter of two teachers. The early influence stuck — education has shaped how she practices orthodontics ever since. Patients who come in for a consultation tend to leave understanding more about their own bite, growth, and treatment options than they did walking in. That's not an accident; it's how she was raised.

She graduated from UC Davis with a Bachelor of Science in Physiology before moving to Boston for her next adventure: dental school at Harvard.

The Harvard years — and why public health

In 1995, Dr. Giannetti graduated from Harvard School of Dental Medicine with a Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD). What sets her apart from most orthodontists is what she did concurrently: she also earned a Master of Public Health (MPH) from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

The dual degree shaped her perspective. Public health teaches you to think about systems, populations, and prevention. Orthodontics is often presented as cosmetic work, but Dr. Giannetti treats it as long-term oral health work — bite function, airway, jaw growth, and prevention of more complex issues later. That framing comes directly from her MPH training.

Specialty training at UCSF

After Harvard, Dr. Giannetti returned to California for her orthodontic specialty training. She earned her Master of Science in Oral Biology and a specialty certificate in Orthodontics from UCSF in 1998 — a program ranked among the most respected in the field.

• 1986
  BS, Physiology
  University of California, Davis
• 1995
  DMD & Master of Public Health
  Harvard University
• 1998
  MS Oral Biology · Orthodontics Specialty Certificate
  University of California, San Francisco
• Ongoing
  Diplomate, American Board of Orthodontics
  The highest credential available in the orthodontic specialty

Why "Diplomate" matters

Most orthodontists complete their specialty residency and call it a career. A smaller group goes through the full American Board of Orthodontics certification process — submitting case studies, sitting for clinical and written examinations, and meeting standards that go beyond the residency baseline. Dr. Giannetti is one of those Diplomates.

So is her partner Dr. Booms. Two ABO Diplomates in one practice is uncommon — most offices have one, or none.

Teacher first, doctor second

The Central Valley teaching family stayed in the picture. Dr. Giannetti has created two courses to train orthodontic assistants to pass the board exam for orthodontic assisting, teaches for the UCSF Orthodontic Department, and holds volunteer leadership positions with the American Association of Orthodontists and the Sacramento District Dental Society. She trains other dental professionals, lectures on emerging technology, and continues to learn from colleagues across the country.

Patients benefit from this. The technology and clinical approach used at Giannetti & Booms reflect what's actually current in the field — not what worked five years ago, and not what's just trending on social media.

Family — and the practice logo

Dr. Giannetti met her husband Stephen at UC Davis in 1986. He's a fine art painter — and his paintings inspired the practice's logo, which is on display in the Sacramento office.

They have two daughters. Dr. Maya graduated from UCLA dental school and UCSF Orthodontics, following in her mother's footsteps to continue our family-owned business for years to come. Isabella is a communications consultant.

Why she partners with Dr. Booms

Dr. Giannetti and Dr. Thais Booms have practiced together since 2007. Two ABO Diplomates trained on opposite coasts — Harvard and UCSF for Dr. Giannetti, the University of Michigan for Dr. Booms — bringing different clinical lineages to the same office. They consult on complex cases together regularly, which means most patients are getting the perspective of two specialists, not one.

That partnership is the reason the practice exists in its current form. It's also why "second opinion" cases find their way to them — there's a clinical depth that's hard to match in a solo practice.