Dr. Lauren Roper
This isn’t just a profession. It’s personal.
I started in interior design because I loved creating spaces that worked well and felt beautiful. But over time, I realized I was craving something more: a chance to make a more personal impact on the lives of people I loved.
Dentistry gave me that path.
It turns out, if there’s any place where problems are easier and less costly to solve when caught early, it’s the mouth. And not just because of cavities. The mouth is where many chronic conditions begin — from inflammation to airway dysfunction. It’s what we put in it, how we breathe through it, and what grows inside it. The earlier we step in, the gentler the path. The further upstream we go, the more we can change — including lives.
So I left design and went to dental school. And I kept asking questions.
Every continuing education course I’ve ever taken has been for personal reasons. A family history of heart disease led me to oral-systemic health. Studying facial growth in kids made me rethink everything I’d learned about adult restorative dentistry and TMJ care. It was like reverse engineering disease — and the further I went upstream, the more I understood how to truly help.
Then came the COVID shutdown. We were all stuck at home — and I dove into CE almost every day. I’ll never forget the moment my daughter learned to crawl, because she was trying to get to my laptop during a child airway lecture. I saw slides of tiny mouths that looked just like hers — open mouth posture, high palate, a small string holding her tongue back. I’d been told her reflux and spit-up were within normal range, but now I had a more satisfactory answer. And it explained so much — about her, and even about me.
At the time, we were already using growth-guiding appliances in the practice. Having my daughter helped me see how early these conditions can be diagnosed and how much easier it is to treat when they are young.
I learned to treat ties just in time for my second child to be born. I had the tools, and I had the training. But more than that, I had the conviction that what we do matters — not just for smiles, but for sleep, behavior, confidence, development, and long-term health.
This was never just about teeth. But every discovery has felt like a bit of serendipity — like I was meant to find this path.
To make a difference for my kids.
And now, for yours.
~Dr. Lauren Roper
Dr. Roper holds a DDS from the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio and a BS in Interior Design from UT Austin. She has completed the BaleDoneen Preceptorship and remains active in the BaleDoneen Study Club, the American Academy for Oral Systemic Health, and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Dentistry. She and her husband, Raul, have two children, Ruby and Silas.