Bruce William Smith Dds

1951 - 2025

Bruce William Smith, DDS
03/03/1951 - 03/19/2025
With the passing of Bruce William Smith, DDS at the age of 74 on March 19, the world lost a pioneering dentist, a gifted sculptor, a philanthropist, a political activist and a hero to people suffering from AIDs in the early years of that epidemic.
Bruce was born on March 3, 1951, in Troy, New York. He graduated from Richardson High School, Richardson, Texas, and then graduated from The University of Texas at Arlington with a degree in microbiology and a minor in chemistry.
From the time Bruce was a child, his mother instilled in him a deep love for all people and a desire to serve others. During college, a summer job in a dentist's office revealed to Bruce a way to combine that desire to serve others with his scientific aptitude, his artistic ability and his talent for working with his hands. Bruce once said, "To be able to make somebody a beautiful smile, it's like a little work of art, a mini-sculpture."
Bruce earned a Doctorate of Dental Surgery from The University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. After graduation in 1979, he joined the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. As a young lieutenant, he was stationed at Prairie View A&M University, where he focused on sterilization and infection control practices and provided dental services to needy people in the Hempstead, Texas area.
After two years, Bruce left the Corps and established a dental practice in a small bungalow in the Montrose neighborhood of Houston. It was the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and his scientific background, his compassion and his courage made him a hero in Montrose.
When a young AIDS patient with a horrible toothache could not find a dentist who would treat him, there was no precedent and no protocol for treating such patients. Very little was known about the disease at that time, and other dentists in Houston declined to treat such patients. However, Bruce stepped forward and said, "Let's get this guy taken care of!"
Bruce didn't stop there. He developed the protocol for safely treating such patients and taught this protocol to many dentists around the country and abroad. Along with a small group of other dentists and supporters at Bering Church, he founded the Bering Dental Clinic to provide treatment to such individuals free of charge. That clinic grew and continues to treat thousands of patients with similar needs, as a part of another organization.
Bruce loved his family. When a tornado hit one brother's town, Bruce didn't wait for an invitation. He just called and said, "I'm on the way." When family or friends needed advice, Bruce was always there. Whether it was about the best type of dental crown to use or tricky technical problems around the house, Bruce took great pleasure in helping.
Bruce met his husband, the late Tony Carroll, in the mid-1990's, and they soon became known as the ultimate power couple. They were often affectionately referred to as Mental & Dental. They were known for their elegant parties, many of them in support of political candidates, including (now) former Mayor Annise Parker, former U.S. Congressman Chris Bell and former City Council Members Sue Lovell and Ellen Cohen.
When marriage equality became law in the province of Ontario, Canada, Bruce and Tony flew to Toronto and were married in a dual ceremony with long-time friends Ross Smith and Tony Shelton on November 28, 2003. Determined to solidify their bond, both symbolically and legally, Bruce and Tony would go on to have marriage ceremonies in New York and Texas, as marriage equality became the law in the U.S.
Bruce was a Renaissance man, both a scientist and an artist, with a wide range of talents and interests. He could design a dental crown for a broken tooth and sculpt a male torso. Bruce was always surprising. He loved opera. He and Tony often flew to New York, Santa Fe and London to see their favorites. More recently, Bruce sold his Jaguar and bought an SUV, so he could go fishing.
Planning for their dream home took Bruce and Tony to England numerous times to gather design ideas and buy art and antiques. Their home, completed in 2012, included large rooms for events and even a built-in Rogers organ for Tony, an accomplished musician. Their life together continued until Tony's death on December 29, 2015, while the two were visiting New York City.
Tony and Bruce were the driving force behind the founding of Homeless Gay Kids-Houston, later renamed Tony's Place after Tony's passing. Over the years, Bruce supported many groups, including the Bering Dental Clinic, the Bering Omega Foundation and Bering Community Service Foundation, the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, the Human Rights Campaign, Lambda Legal, the Texas Freedom Network, Planned Parenthood, the Lesbian and Gay Rights Lobby, the American Civil Liberties Union, the NAACP, Houston Grand Opera, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State and PFLAG.
Bruce is survived by his brothers, Alan Smith and wife Lynda of Indialantic, Florida, Barry Smith and wife Debbie of Richardson, Texas, and Scott Smith and wife Cindy of Prescott, Arizona, numerous nieces and nephews, long-time close friends Tony Shelton and Ross Smith, and a host of other friends. Bruce is preceded in death by his husband, Tony Carroll, and his parents, Gordon H. Smith and Arian Bohlayer Smith.
Bruce's brothers are comforted by their belief that Bruce had a spiritual awakening about three years ago and that the four brothers will be reunited someday.
Friends are cordially invited to attend a visitation to be held at the Bradshaw-Carter Funeral Home, 1734 W. Alabama St. in Houston, beginning at three o'clock in the afternoon on Sunday, April 13, 2025, with a celebration of Bruce's life starting at half past three o'clock. Following the service, there will be a reception from five o'clock until seven o'clock in the evening at a location to be announced at the service.
At Bruce's request, in lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Tony's Place, Houston Grand Opera or the ACLU.