I had a pretty eventful dental past when I was a kid. I started off with braces when I was in first grade, had some sort of appliance in my mouth after that. All through elementary school had braces again. I ended up having two root canals when I was in high school for weird reasons. So dentistry was always something that was just kind of part of my life. I knew that I wanted to get into the some part of the medical field. I didn't know what I wanted to do. So I started looking into dentistry and medicine as I got out of high school. After I went into dentistry and started shadowing my dentist that I grew up going to, I just knew that that was the route for me to go. I loved the long-term interactions that you get with patients.
You get to follow people over the course of years. My dentist, she saw me going from elementary school all the way until I graduated college. It's just a fun relationship to build. And I also like that I'm able to use my hands to work on someone and have an immediate change. I think it's really fun. I feel like I'm just really blessed to be able to go to work and to do something I genuinely love to do every day. And I think a lot of people aren't able to do that. And I just find that it's really amazing I get to do something.
I guess that goes back to just those relationships with patients and seeing that change being made. Patients who initially are very anxious whenever they come in and over time and after they've had a lot of good experiences, feel more and more comfortable coming to the office. And those people who have been scared to come in because of fear of how they think that people are judging them, whether it's their friends or whether it's the dentist that they've had in the past judging them on how their teeth look and being able to build that relationship with them and make a change for them.
We've had patients who've come in and we've done sometimes small work on them, whether they're in pain or whether it's some cosmetics and that patient has made an immediate impact on that day. So that's the type of thing where I go home and I'm proud of, and I get to talk to my family about.
A native of Katy, Texas, Dr. Matthew Nickolas graduated from Texas A&M University with a major in Biomedical Sciences. He then moved on to earn his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from Baylor College of Dentistry (Texas A&M College of Dentistry) in Dallas, where he was awarded the George P. Barnes Award for Contributions in Preventive Dentistry.
Dr. Nickolas is a proud member of the:
- Academy of General Dentistry
- American Dental Association
- Texas Dental Association
- Greater Houston Dental Society
He values continued education and has gone above and beyond to provide the latest care in the field. Dr. Nickolas is certified in Invisalign and Six Month Smiles and has also completed additional training in dental implants from the prestigious Zimmer Institute.
Dr. Nickolas and his wife, Erin, are a founding family of Gather Houston, a Christian organization invested in learning to follow and share Christ’s example in a community that’s welcoming to all people. They both also serve on the church’s Board of Directors, where Dr. Nickolas acts as the current Chairman of the Board.
During his free time, Dr. Nickolas loves spending time with Erin and their daughters, Parker and Eloise. He also enjoys cheering on the Aggies, exercising, cycling, and traveling.