The countdown to The Real Housewives of Miami has begun. A week to go, to be exact. Can you handle the anticipation? We couldn’t either, so we got the scoop from the one of the newest cast members, Karent Sierra.

The “dentist to the stars” fills cavities for the likes of Pitbull, Arturo Sandoval and Jon Secada at her Coral Gables practice.

Sierra joins model Joanna Krupa, lawyer Ana Quincones and plastic surgery poster child Lisa Hochstein in the revamped Season 2 of the Bravo franchise, airing 9 p.m. Sept. 13.

Gone are catty Basketball Wives wannabes Cristy Rice and Larsa Pippen; Venue editor Alexia Echevarria has a more limited role due to time spent caring for her teen son, who is still recovering from a devastating car wreck. PR expert Marysol Patton (and her always amusing, musing psychic mom Elsa) are back, as are charity maven Lea Black and gallery owner Adriana De Moura.

Judging by the first episode screened for The Miami Herald, viewers are in for a more, um, heated show. Bitch slap? Check. Fainting spell? Check. Getting heaved into a pool? Check!

Sierra gets that Bravo likes to bring home the drama, but the former model swears that the upcoming fights among the ladies were not staged.

“A lot of people who watch reality TV will think that it’s fake, but there’s nothing fabricated on this show,’’ promises Sierra, who talks about the incident in which one unfortunate cast member got thrown into the aforementioned pool.

“That day we were filming, and I thought, ‘What did they put in the water? Did you feed us something?’ ” (We’ll have to consult Andy Cohen).

Without sounding off on anyone on particular, Sierra has her opinions.

“These are real women with real personalities. Some of them are over the top, some of them are a little quieter, but they’re really being themselves. That’s the scary part!”

Do the old and new casts clash? You could say that.

“It was interesting,’’ explains Sierra. “I had met some of the ladies socially, and they seemed really nice to me. But once you get on the show, it was kind of like a trigger switch.

“I’m not saying they’re doing it for the show, I’m not saying they’re not. You’re just kind of introduced to them in a whole different light “

That said, Sierra, who is in a relationship with Mexican telenovela star Rodolfo Jimenez, made fast friends with fellow newbies Hochstein and Krupa.

“We’ve developed a beautiful bond,’’ she says, adding, “Some of the other girls are great, too.”

The experience has toughened her up. “You have to overlook things and don’t take it too seriously. You develop a little bit of a thick skin.”