Her Story
About Kim
Kim Rooprai serves as a lead dentist in Chicago, Illinois. She earned her degree from NYU in 2021 and completed a residency in upstate New York, after which she began practicing as a lead dentist. In her practice, Rooprai provides a range of treatments including extractions, surgery, and full mouth rehabilitation cases using implants, dentures, crowns, bridges, and veneers. She focuses on helping patients who have avoided dental care due to fear and anxiety, addressing both their oral health and confidence. Rooprai values taking time to educate patients so they can make informed decisions about their treatment plans and demonstrates compassion by sometimes providing extra implants at no cost to support those in need. She has previously been a member of the American Dental Association. Among the advice she has received, Rooprai highlights not being afraid to fail, continuing education, and always striving to do right by the patient. She encourages young professionals entering the field to remain curious, stay open to evolving technologies and different treatment philosophies, and prioritize ongoing learning to deliver the best possible patient care.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Kim
01What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The greatest piece of advice I have ever been given is just not being afraid to fail, and really just making sure that healthcare tends to attract people with perfectionist traits, and also just remembering that there is such a thing as remembering to continue your education, and remember that there's always a way to do right by your patient, and just as long as you're trying, that's all that matters.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Be very curious at all points in time. It's so important to remember to go into a field and remember that things are always changing, especially even with the newest technology that we have. Be very open to different ways of treating the same thing as well. There's different philosophies out there. You can attack the same problem multiple ways and still have a successful outcome. As long as you're continuing to absorb information, continuing to learn, and then continuing to offer your patients the best care possible, I think that you will have a very long successful career. And success could be defined by just how many people you positively affect.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Some challenges are working in a small space, so really just guiding the patient to help keep their mouth open. The other piece is the anxiety piece as well, so really just spending some time with your patients, building rapport. Getting them excited about dentistry is something that I really like to spend my time with before we even start treatment.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
One of the biggest things is making sure that patients are making informed decisions about their treatment plan, so really just taking the time to educate patients. Having compassion for patients is really big as well, especially in the field where people are almost always scared to go to the dentist, or there's a lot of misinformation out there, so really just helping build that confidence so that they can affect their overall health through their oral health.
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