Why She Was Nominated

At Dr. Surana’s brand-new practice, she delivers top digital technology with the medical knowledge she has acquired over the years — a blend of her education at top dental programs in both California and her native India.

Favorite Aspect of Dentistry

“It’s practically like painting in people’s mouths,” she says. Dr. Surana has viewed dentistry as something of an art form ever since she observed a family friend, also a dentist, carving a model for a tooth from a wax block. Working with teeth, he told her, is just like sculpture.

Philosophy

The patient comes first. “Everything should be done to think of the patient
and his or her comfort.”

Inspiration

Her family. Dr. Surana married her husband in 2002, and together they came to the U.S. from India. The couple have two daughters, ages 9 and 6. “Life is fun because of them,” she notes.