Karent Sierra went to dental school instead of Hollywood. Really.
The first time Karent Sierra shows up in the premiere episode of “The Real Housewives of Miami,” she is having makeup professionally applied at home before heading out to the office in a red Mercedes convertible.
Most viewers will probably think she is stopping off at the dentist’s on the way to, say, a modeling job.
But, no. She’s not visiting the dentist. Sierra is the dentist.
Last year’s Miami edition of the famous reality TV franchise was a huge bomb. (Only the wonky DC “Housewives” edition performed worse.)
It was the kind of crash and burn that ignited talk about the franchise being on its way out. Maybe it was time for Bravo to move on.
The network quietly admitted it made mistakes with the Miami edition — but that the town was the kind of place where “Housewives” kind of women grew on palm trees.
“Housewives” thrives on big money and women of a certain age striving to preserve their looks. What better place than Miami for that?
After last season, Larsa Pippen (wife of NBA star Scottie Pippen), and Cristy Rice (ex-wife of former LA Laker Glen Rice) were shown the door, and magazine editor Alexia Echevarria was reduced to a recurring role. They were replaced by Sierra, model Joanna Krupa, Playboy pinup Lisa Hochstein and attorney Ana Quincoces.
But from early episodes of the rebuilt series — which premieres September 13 — it is the drop-dead gorgeous dentist who will be the next breakout star.
“Last season, I think some of them were reserved,” Karent says.
The bombshell Columbian-American dentist greets each patient with a kiss on the cheek and a glass of wine.
Her one-of-a-kind practice — she calls it a “dental spa” — also offers Botox, laser hair removal and other professional grooming services.
“My specialty is cosmetic veneers, which I did on [musician] Jon Secada,” she says.
And yes, she’s accepting new patients.
“I have always had a passion for medicine,” says Sierra, 39, who counts actress Eva Longoria, rapper Pittbull and composer David Foster among her celebrity clientele.
A former model and beauty pagaent winner, she acted in numerous commercials and Spanish soap operas while going to Florida International University.
“I am a person that has a lot of dreams and a lot of goals,” Sierra tells The Post.
“But I am too conservative, and dare I say level headed, to say ‘Let me take off to Hollywood, become a waitress for 10 years and see if I get discovered.”
Sierra, who calls herself “the Bethenny [Frankel] of this show,” shares a south Florida mansion with her retired parents and hunky boyfriend Rodolfo Jimenez, a telenovela star.
A native New Yorker, Sierra was born in Queens.
“I think all these women have something to bring to the table,” she says of the renovated cast.
They are “new, strong-willed women that have their own personalities. They are energetic and they speak their minds.
“Thank God, we are not living like ‘Big Brother’ because when you have these seven vivacious, strong-willed women, there will always be some type of confrontation.”