Berkeley Dentist Known for Her Sneakers and Smiles Connects Through Compassionate Care

The three-way syringe hisses — a dry pssst followed by the rhythmic chik-chik-chik of the metal dental scaler on enamel, as hardened tartar is scraped from my teeth, a sound I can almost feel.

It had been four years since I last saw my dentist, Dr. Jessica Ngo, and a lot had happened since then.

Through the safety glasses I wore to shield my eyes from splashes and debris, I caught sight of her dark eyes and the mole on the skin fold below her left eye. She wore Orascoptic dental loupes — high-powered lenses designed for spotting what eludes the naked eye. I hummed along with Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” as I followed the stray wisps of black hair slipping from beneath the satin headgear she wore.

“Are you really wearing a bonnet?” I asked.

Ngo — or Dr. J, as I call her — laughed behind her surgical mask.

I told her I also wear a bonnet to protect my locs while sleeping. It’s a hair thing. I get it. We laughed together.

Maybe you could use some more laughter these days. National Smile Month, an annual campaign to promote oral health, began Tuesday, but in 2025, there hasn’t been much to smile about for the people I care for. The ripple effects of mass layoffs, detentions, deportations, visa cancellations, trade threats, and the volatility of the stock market and retirement accounts leave many people stressed, anxious — and kissing their teeth.

I returned to Dr. J’s office at Total Health Dental Care on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley because I’ve been grinding my teeth. And eating too many Skittles. And I missed the care she offers — the kind of sensitivity I haven’t found elsewhere.

Poor oral health is closely linked to chronic diseases such as stroke, heart disease and diabetes. Proper oral hygiene can extend life expectancy. However, for people without dental insurance to reduce out-of-pocket expenses, preventative care is inaccessible.

“I actually had terrible teeth growing up,” Dr. J, a San Francisco native and one of five children raised by Chinese immigrants, told me. “I probably have over 20 fillings, and I have a root canal, a few crowns.”

Wait, what?

“They were working all the time,” she said of her parents. “I don’t think we had very much supervision. They didn’t double-check if we were brushing properly. They didn’t really restrict us on what we were eating, so we ate a lot of junk food and had a lot of candy.”

Dr. J, who is married with two young daughters, told me she doesn’t recall her family having insurance when she was a child growing up in the Ingleside neighborhood. If she did go to the dentist, it was an emergency.

“As a result of that, I had a lot of cavities that probably went untreated for a period of time before I saw dentists in my teenage years, and that’s when I needed all of that dental work,” she said. “I actually enjoyed going to the dentist, because it was something that wasn’t always available to me.”

That is why she does what she does.

This is why I go to see her: My mother, who once dug through the garbage for a baby tooth I wanted to put under my pillow for the tooth fairy, has always stressed the importance of a healthy mouth. Going to the dentist wasn’t always available to her.

I balked at braces, because I didn’t want to get teased, even though my misaligned central incisors — buck teeth — were clowned. Braces gave me a straighter smile — and made me less prone to gum disease, which slowly erodes the bone and tissue that anchor your teeth.

If left untreated, gum disease can lead to tooth loss and lingering bad breath. The problems can go far beyond your mouth. The bacteria behind gum disease can enter the bloodstream, traveling to organs like the heart, lungs and kidneys.

“Gum issues, if you’re not taking care of it, become a lot more complicated to treat as time goes on, so your mom was definitely right in that regard,” Dr. J, 36, said. “It’s rare to have that prevention or preventative care if there is a financial barrier or the patient isn’t covered, and so lower-income individuals have a harder time with that.”

Republicans in Congress are debating how to cut billions from Medicaid over the next decade — known as Medi-Cal in California — the safety-net program that covers health care for low-income families, children, seniors and people with disabilities. In California, roughly 15 million people rely on it.

According to one IGS poll, more than half — 56% — of California voters believe the state will be negatively impacted by proposed changes to Medi-Cal, which offers preventative and restorative dental benefits to children and adults. More than two-thirds of Medi-Cal recipients express concern about their own health insurance coverage.

And get this: The prevalence of periodontal disease is higher among Black and Mexican American adults age 30 and older, according to Oral Health in America: Advances and Challenges — a report from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, part of the National Institutes of Health.

That’s why the California Reparations Task Force, the first statewide body to study reparations for Black people, released a report with 115 policy recommendations, including a section on remedying disparities in oral health care.

What kept me away from Dr. J’s office was insurance — Total Health didn’t take KQED’s plan. That changed this year when KQED switched providers. With age, I’ve come to value doctors I can truly connect with — where care feels human, not just clinical.

Dr. J’s office has been renovated with slat wood paneling and wood floors, but the energy remains the same. I crack jokes with Chusang Nhasang, the financial manager. The music is from personal playlists.

It’s the kind of place where dental anxiety melts away like butter on a pancake fresh off the griddle, a dental office where talk of sneaker collecting feels just as natural as a cleaning. Dental hygienists and dental assistants move around the office on lightweight performance shoes, such as On or Hoka. Dr. J said Adidas Ultraboosts are her go-to, but the last time I saw her, she was rocking the orange-accented Adidas Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Beluga Reflective.

“At some point, I was a major collector,” she said as she peeled off her gloves and pulled out her phone to play Jubel’s electronic dance cover of “Dancing in the Moonlight,” a 1972 hit by King Harvest. “I had shoe boxes — a line of them. I actually have a ton of shoes I’ve never opened, and so I became more practical. I don’t buy them just to store them anymore. I buy them to wear them.”

She’s going to give the shoes to her daughters, who, like me, love going to the dentist. Dr. J pointed out my Air Max 1 Dirty Denim. I clean my sneakers with a toothbrush.

Dr. J guided a pen-like intraoral scanner over my molars, its soft, mechanical hum rising as it created 3D images of my teeth.

“I wanted to show you — that crack is dangerous,” she said, pointing to a monitor. “We’re hoping that we put the crown over and it stops the crack, but sometimes when they’re too deep, it can still propagate. So we shall see.”

I floss after every snack and meal. Sometimes I walk around the newsroom handing out chocolate after lunch. I have a devastating sweet tooth.

“Otherwise, your teeth are beautiful,” she said, swiveling to take off her gloves. “You’re taking good care of them. The gum looks really healthy.”

As she peeled the plastic from her wrist, a soft, suctioned shffft gave way to a crisp snap.