The Twintists | Episode 008 | “If You Can See It, You Can Be It”

An In Good Company Feature | By JermConnects

The Twintists on Representation, Family and Building Three Practices in Charlotte

A Women’s History Month Feature | In Good Company

Lauren Lockhart walked into the exam room to see a teenage patient. The patient's little sister, a young Black girl, was sitting in the corner. Before Lauren could say a word, the girl looked up at her and said, "That's the dentist. They let you be a dentist?"

She wasn't being rude. She was genuinely surprised. She had never seen a Black woman as a dentist before.

"That's when I realized," Lauren told me, "people still aren't seeing that this is a field we can be in."

Only three percent of dentists in the United States are Black. Lauren and her identical twin sister Lindsey have spent their careers trying to change that number, one patient, one TikTok, one practice at a time. On the latest episode of In Good Company, I sat down with Dr. Lauren Rennick Lockhart and Dr. Lindsey Rennick Salone, the co-founders of Dual Image Dentistry and Orthodontics, three practices across Charlotte, North Carolina. You might know them online as The Twintists, where over 130,000 people follow them for dental tips, family moments, and the kind of twin energy that makes going to the dentist look like something you'd actually want to do.

The Family That Raised Them

Healthcare was the family language in the Rennick household. Their father is a retired physician. Their mother is a nurse. Their older sister is a dental hygienist. Growing up in Charlotte, dentistry wasn't some abstract career path. It was dinner table conversation.

"We were always within the healthcare realm," Lindsey explains. "In high school, we started shadowing different specialties. Ophthalmology. Dermatology. And then our sister chose dental hygiene. A lot of our dad's colleagues said, 'That's a smart profession. Great lifestyle. Great hours. And you still get to help people.'"

What made it personal was their own experience in the chair. Both sisters were born without some of their permanent teeth. They received dental implants as teenagers, implants they've now had for over 24 years.

"Being exposed to it at an early age let us know this is something we could do," Lindsey says. "It's nice being able to live what we saw early on."

Lindsey chose dentistry first. Lauren was still planning to become an ophthalmologist. Then the wheels started turning.

"She changed her mind and I thought, well, now everybody's saying maybe we can open a practice together," Lauren laughs. "That's when we came up with the name. Dual Image."

Chapel Hill to Baylor to Charlotte

They went to UNC-Chapel Hill together for undergrad and dental school. Lindsey entered with sophomore standing, graduated magna cum laude in three years, and completed a General Practice Residency at UNC Hospitals. She was later published as a cover story in the Journal of the American Dental Association for her research on breastfeeding and oral health.

Lauren graduated summa cum laude and earned her DDS with Distinction. She completed a three-year orthodontic residency at Baylor College of Dentistry in Dallas, where she became the first Black woman to graduate from the program in 2013. After Baylor, Lauren and her husband Bryan, also an orthodontist, completed a fellowship in New York specializing in complex cases. Then they all came home to Charlotte.

Three Practices, Three Vibes

Today Dual Image operates three practices across the city, each with its own personality. The Steel Creek location has what Lauren calls a "hip" energy. Their joint location on Matheson Avenue is in a renovated house. "It gives that nostalgic feel," Lauren says. And Lindsey's third office, opened in 2021: "Your cozy dental office. You walk in, it smells fresh, the vibe is just comfortable."

The team across all three is intentionally diverse. "Our team is like a microcosm of the world," Lindsey says. "Different backgrounds, different races, different political views, but we all get along great. It's pretty much how the world should be."

The Content That Connected

The social media presence started with a simple observation. Most people don't know much about oral health, and the information that does exist isn't exactly engaging.

"We realized that access to knowledge about oral health care is very limited," Lauren explains. "Our goal was to present it in fun, interesting ways. Then it just took off when we didn't just stick to dental videos. We started showing little pieces of our life."

Reality-show-style office edits. Singing videos. Family moments. Dental tips without the clinical distance. The content works because it's not a strategy. It's them.

The 3% Problem

Parents bring their children to Dual Image specifically so their young Black kids can see someone who looks like them in a white coat.

"A lot of people don't know that there are Black dentists, because there's not a lot of us," Lindsey says.

That's what gives the little sister's question its weight. She wasn't being disrespectful. She was a young Black girl who had simply never seen a Black woman as a dentist. And that, in Charlotte, in 2024, still happens.

"If you can see it, you can be it," Lauren says. "We kind of took it for granted because we had the exposure. But there are people out there who don't realize that we can do this."

What They Wish They'd Known

When I asked what they wish someone had told them five years ago, their answers went in completely different directions.

Lindsey went straight for the hard truth. "I wish somebody would have told me how challenging and difficult it is to own businesses. Dental school teaches you the clinical skills, but they don't teach you the business side. It's managing the people. The emotions. Patients come in going through things and we're kind of like a psychiatrist. It takes a toll."

Lauren came at it from the other side. "Don't let other people's negative experiences become your own. Somebody tells you opening a business is hard, that doesn't mean I shouldn't do it. Make your own path. Experience things for yourself."

One Question for the World

Every In Good Company guest gets the same closing question: If you could ask the world one question and get an honest answer, what would it be?

Lindsey went first. "Can we all just get along? The world would be a better place if we just loved each other and were kind to one another."

Lauren's question was different but landed in the same place. "What is the most important thing to you? I think most people's answers wouldn't include something superficial. And once we realize that, we'll be happier when we focus on what actually matters."

Follow The Twintists

You can follow their journey on Instagram and TikTok at @thetwintists_. If you're in Charlotte and need dental or orthodontic care, visit dualimagesmiles.com for their three locations.