Dr. Esther Lopez is a clinician, educator, and public health advocate whose 18 years of restorative clinical experience have been shaped by a simple belief: that everyone deserves access to quality oral health care. A Fellow of the American College of Dentists, she is the founder of Healthy Tooth Dental, an evidence-based private practice in Oak Park, Illinois, where preventive, patient-centered care is the standard, not the exception.
Dr. Lopez earned her DDS from UIC College of Dentistry in 2008 and her Master of Public Health from UIC's School of Public Health in 2020, reflecting her conviction that oral health is inseparable from community health.
In 2007, she served as student lead among four other UIC dental students who founded the nation's first completely student-run dental clinic at Goldie's Place, a homeless agency in Chicago. That legacy lives on at the RefugeeOne Dental Clinic, where she serves as Dental Team Lead. Since 2007, more than 900 students have rotated through, delivering care to refugees, migrants, and asylum seekers from across the globe.
A board member of Mentorship in Dentistry Inc. (MIND), the National Coalition of Dentists for Health Equity (NCDHE), Race Conscious Dialogues (RCD), and the Hispanic Dental Association (HDA), where she chairs the National Service and Outreach Committee, Dr. Lopez is past President of the Greater Chicago Hispanic Dental Association, current Treasurer of NCDHE, and a 2026 Latino Policy Forum Multicultural Leadership Academy Fellow.
When she is not transforming smiles or shifting systems, Dr. Lopez is happily outnumbered at home by her husband and two boys, who together have made camping in the Wisconsin woods a beloved family tradition.
Looking ahead, Dr. Lopez is excited to serve as 2026 to 2027 President of the Chicago Dental Society's West Side Branch. She congratulates all outstanding CDS leaders, though it must be said, with love and a little bias, that the West Side is simply the best side.
