During her pediatric rotation, Dr. Shuo Yan met a six-year-old patient with deep decay across several teeth. The girl had a stage performance coming up, and her mother was worried about how stainless-steel crowns would look on stage. Dr. Yan was determined to find another way — and completed the treatment without placing a single crown. The family is still in touch today. “Dentistry is a combination of science and art,” she says, and moments like that one are why she chose the profession.

Born and raised in Beijing, Dr. Yan now calls Kauai home with her husband and daughter. She’s an avid photographer and traveler — Amsterdam and Dubai are favorites — and she loves watching her daughter and the keiki dance at Halau Hula. She speaks Mandarin Chinese and shares her home with two rescued cats, Macaron and Mocha. Long term, Dr. Yan hopes to launch a nonprofit immersion program on Kauai to give local youth more access to cultural and language learning.