At age 4, Dr. Dunlop walked around with a baby doll and doctor’s kit, telling anyone who would listen that she wanted to be a “baby doctor.” For the past decade, she has held hospital privileges at Children’s Hospital Orange County, where she sees children with special needs who are unable to complete treatment in a traditional practice setting.

“Because it’s more preventative than medicine can be. I don’t just treat disease; I work every day to prevent disease in children and to pave a healthy, dental-friendly future for each child.”

Access to care. She has gone to Washington to advocate for the inclusion of dental coverage in state insurance policies.

Her sense of humor. “My patients love my silliness, my assistants love my corny jokes and the moms love that I’m not afraid to spend extra time to make sure their child is establish- ing a relationship with me.”

Tethered oral tissues and frenectomies. “The research is striking, and the difference you can make in a few-day-old infant is incredible.”