By: Jerilyn Forsythe + McKenzie Kupchik
THE DOZEN YEARS of the Lucy Hobbs Awards have ushered forth a parade of admirable, accomplished women working in countless ways to drive dentistry forward. The awards are named for the first American woman to earn a dental degree: Lucy Hobbs Taylor did so in 1866, persevering at last after many years of institutional resistance.
This year, we’re recognizing the importance of a sense of place to any dental practitioner—any professional at all, really. How does where one works and lives inform and inspire a well-rounded life and a fulfilling career? The thoughts of this year’s seven honorees offer key insights into how they’ve achieved so much, whether their milieu is generally bucolic or—in the case of this year’s Trailblazer one of the most tumultuous places on earth. Wherever they’ve sunk their roots, these women are making an important difference in the lives of their patients
and colleagues. Congratulations to them all!
EMMANUELLE ZENNIE
Photography by Sylvia Arbelaez: photographybysylvia.com. Shot on lovation in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Age: 46
City: Pétion-Ville, Haiti
Education: DMD, Nova Southeastern University College of Dental Medicine
Name of Practice: Dental Zen
Specialty: “Omnipractitioner” (a.k.a. super GP), with an emphasis on guided tissue regeneration, oral and periodontal surgery, and dental implants
Where I’m From:
“Being Haitian by definition makes one resilient and innovative. I am proud to contribute to the implementation and upholding of standard of care in my country. Along with many other professionals in my community, I strive to be an instrument of progress.”
IMAGINE YOURSELF in strife-ridden Haiti, one of just 300 dentists in a country of 12 million. That’s roughly 40,000 patients per clinician, though most will never see a dentist. Dr. Emmanuelle Zennie is an almost literal trailblazer—routinely cutting a path back to the war-torn nation where she was raised while most with means to do so are fleeing. “Haiti has suffered a brain drain for years, with its most qualified professionals and technicians emigrating for economic and security reasons,” Dr. Zennie says. “I believe that if enough well-intentioned people stay and commit themselves to change, we will have a better future.”
Haiti’s history is almost relentlessly turbulent, but a recent series of natural disasters, a presidential assassination and gang violence in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and elsewhere has brought things to an extraordinarily dire pass. This is where Dr. Zennie works to treat patients despite the odds.
“The deteriorating security situation has forced tens of thousands of our workforce out of the country,” she says. “Their absence is a big hit to the economic motor, and the chronic threat of violence hinders the efficiency of our daily work—our office hours are affected, and often patients miss their appointments because they are unable to reach the clinic.”
Dr. Zennie regularly travels to speak on guided bone regeneration and the link between oral and systemic disorders. She has written a nursing curriculum to detect periodontal disease in diabetics, and she sits on the board of St. Vincent’s Center for children with disabilities, whose clinic was destroyed in March 2024 by gang violence.
Her work as a professor of oral microbiology and fundamentals of periodontics at the State University of Haiti Dental School in Port-au-Prince has been forced to pause. She says she hopes classes will resume soon, but clinical rotations will present a bigger challenge.
In 2023, Dr. Zennie and her managing partner, Joelle Lacombe, opened what she calls their “dream clinic” in the capital. She offers fee-for-service preventative and restorative care, ortho and Invisalign, veneers and implants, guided bone regeneration and sinus lifts using platelet-rich fibrin, laser-assisted periodontics and more. (She also does a considerable amount of work pro bono.) Keeping supplies in stock is a daily challenge; Haiti’s ports are controlled by the same gangs wreaking havoc in the streets.
Still, she remains unfailingly optimistic. “Growing up in Haiti, we learned how to adapt to unforeseen circumstances, whether a military coup, an embargo or a natural disaster,” she says. “We always kept the focus on our long-term goals. Living here has taught me to find alternative routes to my objectives. We learn to be resourceful and persistent. Malleability is the key to surviving and thriving.” —M.K.
CAROLYN KITTELL
Photography by Andy Bonura: andybonuraphoto.com
Age: 45
City: Denver, Colorado
Education: DDS, University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry
Name of Practice: Smile Essentials
Specialty: General dentistry
Where I’m From:
“Living and practicing in Denver allows me to blend a vibrant lifestyle with my passion for cosmetic dentistry, creating a fulfilling career and community connection.”
INNOVATIVE? Yeah, we’d say so: Dr. Kittell’s mastery of her craft has brought her to the forefront of cosmetic bonding. In late 2022, she developed 3DFreeForm, a technique for digitally assisted anterior composite restorations that combines 3D-printed
restorations with direct composite techniques while compromising neither strength nor beauty. It is, she says, “a conservative cosmetic and restorative technique that incorporates digital smile design, 3D printing and chairside bonding, creating the perfect restoration.”
“I realized,” she adds, “that I could save a lot of chair time for both my patients and me by incorporating digital design and 3D printing.”
Raised in Laguna Beach, California, Dr. Kittell grew up observing her dentist father and began her career as a hygienist. After five years, she expanded on her bachelor’s degree in business administration, earning her DDS from the University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry. Education has always been a driving factor in her life, she says, and today she’s at the front of the classroom, lecturing nationwide to curious dentists about 3DFreeForm.
At her Denver practice, Smile Essentials, which she opened in 2015, she works alongside Dr. Kelly Santarelli (who joined her in 2021) to provide premier cosmetic dentistry. She’s a key opinion leader for Amann Girrbach and several dental technology and materials companies, and she provides feedback and beta testing for digital software. “I’ve always tackled challenges with a creative and unconventional mindset,” she says. “It has led my career as a general dentist to places I never imagined possible.”
Smile Essentials boasts an in-house lab for all porcelain cases, offering her an outlet for her inherent artistry. (It’s no surprise that dentistry attracts an inordinate number of creative types.) “I thrive on collaboration and have an entrepreneurial spirit, which drives me to explore new ideas,” Dr. Kittell says.
“I have an amazing team that supports my vision and helps bring those ideas to life. This partnership allows me to focus on what I love most: patient care, running my practice and fostering innovation.” —M.K.
BANSI MITHANI DOESCHER
Photography by Ron Soliman: ronsoliman.com
Age: 39
City: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Education: DMD, Tufts University School of Dental Medicine
Name of Practice: Smile Team
Specialty: General dentistry
Where I’m From:
“I love working in Philadelphia because it allows me to help patients from diverse backgrounds. Being in such a vibrant environment keeps my work exciting and fulfilling. I live about 45 minutes away in the same suburb where I grew up, and I’m grateful to be just down the street from my parents. This connection to my roots is important to me, both personally and professionally.”
MENTORING, BY DEFINITION, is a selfless act, one that requires considerable expenditure of time and patience with no expectation of a tangible return on investment. Dr. Doescher—a member of the Incisal Edge 40 Under 40 in 2021—is a shining example of that truism, having been a mentor since she was barely out of dental school.
Her first mentees crossed her path when she was a practice associate. She was still a bit green herself, but her instinct was to offer real-world advice. “As my mentees were just beginning their journey, I too was just learning how to mentor from an authentic place,” she says.
In 2018, upon opening her practice, Smile Team, in Philadelphia, Dr. Doescher began investing in her mentoring program in earnest. She has mentored some 20 high school and college students, eight of whom have been accepted into dentistry programs (a few of them had failed to gain admittance before experiencing her tutelage) and four of whom are currently applying. All she asks of them, she says, is “trust in my guidance, listen and work hard.”
Her role as a professional lodestar changes constantly as she seeks the optimal balance of running her practice and overseeing her relationships. “Although I had the desire to help, the reality that each mentee’s journey was unique was difficult because I had to tailor my support to meet individual needs while also managing other responsibilities,” she says. “Witnessing mentees face setbacks can be tough, but it’s important to encourage resilience.”
Her approach to guidance prioritizes hands-on experience in both the clinical and administrative aspects of the profession. Her own mentor, fellow dentist (and best friend), Dr. Jeremy Rich, helped her through the process of opening her practice, aiding her navigation of the daunting business challenges she faced. “My vision has always been to help patients from all walks of life, particularly those underserved individuals with limited access to care. With Jeremy’s support, I was able to turn that vision into a reality,” she says. “Mentorship has become a meaningful aspect of my professional life, enriching my journey in ways I have never anticipated. It is a privilege to support the next generation of dentists.” —M.K.
NAZAFARIN JAVDAN
Photography by Matt Furman: furmanfoto.com
Age: 41
City: San Diego, California
Education: DDS, UCLA School of Dentistry; postdoctoral residency in pediatric dentistry, Virginia Commonwealth University; general practice residency, Montefiore Medical Center
Name of Practice: The Super Dentists
Specialty: Pediatric dentistry
Where I’m From:
“San Diego’s Mediterranean climate and warm, sunny weather make it possible to enjoy outdoor activities year-round, such as hiking, biking, swimming and golfing. The city also has many beaches and cultural attractions such as museums, concerts and art galleries.”
A NATIVE OF Shiraz, Iran, Dr. Javdan moved to the United States at 18 in pursuit of better educational and economic opportunities. A bright, analytical student flush with tenacity, she studied biological sciences at UCLA, then enrolled in UCLA’s School of Dentistry. “My passion comes from my interest in the biological sciences, my desire to give back to society and my strong hand-eye coordination skills,” she says of her interest in dentistry. Her specialty in pediatrics goes back to her early experiences working with kids in clinical rotation. “That’s when I learned how much I truly enjoyed treating children.”
Her postdoctoral training took her to New York City for a general practice residency at Montefiore Medical Center; to Ohio for a pediatric dentistry and community outreach fellowship at Ohio State and Nationwide Children’s Hospital; and to Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond for a pediatric residency.
Following her postdoctoral work, Dr. Javdan felt inspired to go back to the West Coast. Her parents, siblings and longtime friends called San Diego home, and that’s where she would find a professional home as well at the Super Dentists, a pediatric practice with six locations in the area. “I foster a nurturing environment for patients and make sure they feel safe and welcome,” she says. “My professional goal is to improve the quality of life in children and take away their anxiety.”
She’s equally passionate about serving the community, volunteering at a variety of service events and health fairs. Promoting women’s advancement in the profession is a top priority as well. “I hope to inspire the next generation of women in dentistry by being a role model for those interested in dentistry and sharing my own experience and expertise with them,” Dr. Javdan says. “I will be taking on mentees through the San Diego County Dental Society to help pave the way for other women’s success. My motto is ‘the best way to repay kindness is to pay it forward and inspire others.’ ” —J.F.
MICHELLE COLLIER
Photography by Nicol Hockett: nicolhockett.com
Age: 50
City: Dayton, Ohio
Education: BS in business administration, DeVry University; MS in public administration from the Keller School of Management, DeVry University
Affiliation: Good Neighbor House
Specialty: Dental services for the under- and uninsured
Where I’m From:
“Dayton, Ohio, is one area in which poverty is very prevalent, and everyone is trying to help where they can. My ability to raise funds to help provide medical services, dental care and food, and get people excited about helping others, is a God-given gift.”
“IT’S IMPORTANT to me that people’s basic human needs are met, and I enjoy being a facilitator for that.” Those words animate Collier, CEO of Good Neighbor House, a Christian nonprofit organization focused on supporting the uninsured and under-resourced in the Dayton, Ohio, area.
Born in Germany while her father was serving in the Air Force, Collier relocated to Ohio with her family when she was 2. She has spent the bulk of her professional life serving communities in Dayton and across southern Ohio’s Miami Valley. Roughly 14 percent of the population in Montgomery County, which includes Dayton, live below the poverty line, according to 2023 data from the U.S. Census Bureau, and more than 3 million Ohioans lack ready access to dental care.
Good Neighbor House provides a range of medical services, including general primary care, physical exams, bloodwork, eye exams, lactation consulting and food-pantry services to the working uninsured. “Being able to provide medical services as well as dental care and food, Good Neighbor House is essentially a one-stop shop,” Collier says.
Originally brought on a chief operating officer in 2017, she became CEO of the 30-year-old organization in 2022. Notably, she directed a $1.5 million expansion to Good Neighbor House’s medical facility in 2022, which helped it serve more than 2,800 dental patients in 2023, a 50 percent increase from a year prior.
Its dental services include fillings, cleaning, exams, X-rays, simple extractions, dentures, partials, bridges, crowns, fluoride treatments, sealants and frenectomies. Staff includes two hygienists, two dental assistants and one full-time dentist, with plans to bring on a second clinician in 2025. The facility has six bays (two semi-private) where the staff can create same-day crowns. Good Neighbor House offers 10 percent to 50 percent discounts on a sliding scale for those below 250 percent of the federal poverty line ($15,060 for an individual and $31,200 for a family of four); it also accepts Medicaid.
Collier worked as an RDA in the mid-1990s, then at a veterinary clinic, and served 12 years as president and grant writer for Bethel Churches United Food Pantry. She was also a clinic coordinator for Twin Valley Behavioral Healthcare, a position she left in 2016.
“I really have a servant’s leadership style that has driven me to try to make a difference any way I can,” she says. “It is my job to make sure we have the funds to keep these service lines going.” —J.F.
AMANDINE PARA
Photography by Vincent Claire: vincentclaire.fr
Age: 42
City: Paris, France
Education: Dental school, Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatier; master’s in statistics in medicine, CESAM, Paris; certificate in implantology
Name of Practice: Dr. Amandine Para
Specialty: Periodontics and implantology
Where I’m From:
“Paris is vibrant, ideal for raising children in a world of art, history and diversity. The city’s energy fuels my work. Its dynamism inspires me and enables me to reach beyond borders. My practice is centrally located, making it easier to stay connected to the heart of the community. Deep down, I’m a city person, even as I sometimes long for moments of peace and serenity.”
BORN AND RAISED in Martinique, part of the French West Indies, Dr. Para had a modest upbringing, she says, based on respect, hard work and merit. She knew from an early age that she wanted to pursue medicine, but it wasn’t really an option for her at the time. So at 17, she left for greater opportunities in France.
“I had to become independent quickly—a life lesson that continues to shape my professional and personal approach today,” she says. “As a woman in a field still dominated by men, and coming from a distant island, I’ve often had to prove myself twice as much through hard work and trusting my intuition.”
She graduated at the top of her class in pathology at the University of Paris, then earned her DDS from Paris Diderot University (now known as Paris Descartes University). She then placed second in France’s national intern exam, a highly competitive test that plays no small role in determining one’s placement in specialized dental internships. Her early career focused on aesthetics (she taught in the prosthetics department at the University of Paris, better known as the Sorbonne), implantology, periodontology and laser-assisted dentistry.
As her work and experience deepened, she discovered a new treatment philosophy that transformed her work. “This journey led me to evolve toward specialized practice in periodontology and implantology, while continuing to work on implant-supported prosthetics,” she says.
She contributed to the development of the APARA protocol (assessment of peri-implantitis appearance and repairing approach), a laser-assisted method for treating peri-implantitis, which “at the dental level is like a tsunami, and I now consider it a public health issue, as it affects more than one in five patients,” Dr. Para says. “This protocol allows implants to be preserved without removing teeth, provided the prosthesis is correctly executed from the outset. Patients invest significant amounts of money and time, and often endure considerable suffering during implant treatment. Losing an implant and ending up edentulous is not a trivial matter.”
In addition to her work at her private practice in Paris, Dr. Para teaches implant surgery and prosthetics at Paris Saint-Joseph Hospital and leads a laser training program at the Société Odontologique de Paris.
“For me, innovation comes from a blend of curiosity and intuition,” she says. “I stay motivated by constantly
learning, whether through scientific research, patient feedback or new technologies. Laser dentistry is an exciting and evolving field, and every day, I’m inspired by its potential to transform lives.” —J.F.
JESSICA PHARAR
Photography by Jay Soriano: jaysoriano.com
Age: 37
City: Las Vegas, Nevada
Education: DMD, University of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Dental Medicine; certificate in advanced education in general dentistry, Texas A&M Baylor College of Dentistry
Name of Practice: Drs. Chin and Pharar Dentistry. Affiliation: Pharar Foundation
Specialty: General dentistry
Where I’m From:
“I went to dental school at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and I feel it is so important to take care of the community that trained me. I brought back my specialized training to Las Vegas specifically to help elevate the health care of southern Nevada.”
A CANCER DIAGNOSIS is terrifying for anyone—and the complexity of cancer treatment has shaped Dr. Pharar’s life’s work. A Southern California native, Dr. Pharar earned a BS at the University of California, Irvine, where she was first exposed to the devastating side effects of oral-cancer treatment in patients at the Beckman Laser Institute. After dental school at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, she began a residency at Texas A&M Baylor College of Dentistry, where—unbeknownst to her—that familiar foe would chart the course of her future.
Not long after, Dr. Pharar was devastated to learn that her father had been diagnosed with an aggressive brain cancer. She packed her bags, putting her residency on hold, and returned to California to join his care team. She returned to her residency six months later after his death with a more clearly defined personal and professional mission: “I realized that dental care for cancer patients and other medically complex patients is generally neglected, simply because many dental providers are not comfortable treating these patients, and many physicians are not accustomed to sending them to dentists as part of their protocol.”
Today, she practices back “in the community that trained me” as founder and president of the Pharar Foundation in Las Vegas. The nonprofit, she says, “serves to transform the lives of patients affected by cancer with a fierce commitment to protecting and enhancing patients’ quality of life through their dental care.” She’d like to scale it nationwide one day.
Integrating dental and other medical care for cancer sufferers, she says, is a critical component of their treatment. “My personal and professional experiences highlighted the importance of this care. My private practice, as well as the nonprofit arm, focuses on providing dental care for medically complex patients,” she adds. “We focus on accommodating these patients’ unique needs. We manage and treat patients from all over the country while respecting their dignity and autonomy.”
In one sense, her work has only begun. But the memory of her father—and the patients she has treated—spurs her hope that soon “dentistry will be directly integrated into oncology treatment, and there is a dentist on every oncology team.” —M.K.
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