Penelope Giakoumaki was born in 1953 in Thessaloniki.
In 1976 she graduated from the School of Dentistry of the University of Athens and began postgraduate studies in France, at the Paris XIII School of Dentistry (Montrouge) in Paris. At the same time she studied Sociology and earned a DEUG in Human Sciences. From 1980 to 1982 she worked at the European Parliament while also working afternoons in a dental practice. In 1982, on her return to Greece, she became a scientific associate at the School of Dentistry of the University of Athens, taking part in conferences, scientific research and prevention programmes in schools in Athens and across Greece, under the auspices of the University of Athens. She became a founding member of the Society of Social Dentistry.
In 1984 she began her professional career as an orthodontist in her own practice. At the same time she was invited to help upgrade the Orthodontic Centre of the Social Insurance Institute (IKA). As head of the Institute’s orthodontic cases, she took on, monitored and treated a large number of orthodontic patients in both Athens and Rhodes. Her time there gave her rich clinical experience and the moral reward of serving the community.
Athens Dental Care
In 2006 she realised a vision from her student years: a single dental care practice run by a complete team of dentists across many specialties. A dental clinic that offers and applies comprehensive oral rehabilitation protocols, following the latest scientific developments in dentistry, and always committed to the “green” management of a business. In 2010 she joined the scientific team of the “Detox Center”, a natural health and nutrition company, where she gained a wealth of knowledge that she brought into both her personal and her professional life. Since 2013 she has also worked in Brussels, heading the Orthodontic Department of the dental clinics “Clinique Antoine Depage” (2013-2014) and “Centre Dentaire de Jette”.
Other activities
She is a member of the Athens Dental Association, a full member of the European Orthodontic Society (EOS), a founding member of the Society of Social Dentistry and a member of the Belgian dental association (Société de Médecine Dentaire).
She has written articles for newspapers and magazines and has authored books.
She has also appeared on many television programmes to make invisible orthodontics known to the wider public.
For many years she has supported volunteering and organisations (ActionAid, UNICEF, Médecins Sans Frontières, The Smile of the Child, Floga and others) that help the planet and its people.