Building long-lasting relationships with the Long Beach community,
one smile at a time!
Our vision is to create amazingly beautiful smiles in a comfortable, caring and enjoyable environment. We aim to provide the best orthodontic experience by delivering excellent quality care through state of the art technology and wholehearted concern for the patient’s desires.
Dr. Desh is a board certified specialist in Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, a prestige only 1 in 3 orthodontists obtain. Raised in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Dr. Desh completed her undergraduate studies at Lehigh University. She graduated after three years Summa Cum Laude with a BA in pre-dental medicine and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.
Dr. Desh continued her studies at one of only two Ivy League Dental schools, the University of Pennsylvania. During dental school, she was very involved in research and received several awards at various dental conferences for her work evaluating the role of masseter muscle metabolism in temporomandibular joint disorders. Dr. Desh graduated Penn Dental in the top 5% of her class and was inducted into the Omicron Kappa Upsilon National Dental Honors Society. Upon graduation, Dr. Desh matriculated into the orthodontics program at Temple University Kornberg School of Dentistry in Philadelphia, PA.
Dr. Desh is also a part of many associations:
Kristin M.
“Heather is a top notch orthodontist and a great person. She is friendly and wants the best for your children! You won’t regret going to her for your whole family’s ortho needs!”
Mana S.
“Dr. Desh is a compassionate, brilliant, and talented orthodontist. I’d entrust the orthodontic care of my patients, friends and family to her.”
Frank B.
“Dr. Desh is a fantastic orthodontist! Her warm manner and clear explanations help make visits easy and pleasant.”
Spencer P.
“Dr. Desh is bright, energetic, fun and extremely talented at what she does!!”
Sandra C.
“Dr. Desh is phenomenal and great at what she does, I highly recommend her for orthodontic treatment. She is truly a life changer and makes you feel more confident with your smile.”
The concept of HD Orthodontics originated when Dr. Desh sat as a patient in her orthodontist's office. Having always been self-concscious about her own smile, she watched it transform throughout orthodontic treatment, subsequently boosting her self-image and confidence. She realized what a positive impact orthodontic treatment can have on someone's life and decided she wanted to share that experience with others. 20 years later, Dr. Desh has finally seen her dreams come to fruition. At HD Orthodontics, we want everyone to be able to experience the power of a beautiful smile and look forward to treating your individual needs.
In her spare time, Dr. Desh is active with the Junior League of Orange County, California, a non-profit women's organization promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women, and improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. The JLOCC provides support to partnering organizations including the Orangewood Academy, Blind Children's Learning Center, Down Syndrome Foundation and Impact OC.
Dr. Desh also volunteers at the Urban Community Outreach Drop-In Center for the homeless in Downtown Long Beach. Every Sunday the volunteers prepare and serve meals from donated fresh produce and meats to feed the homeless citizens of Long Beach.
HD Orthodontics is happy to support local schools with donations for fundraisers, silent auctions and athletic teams. We encourage safe practices during all athletics and provide custom mouthguards for local teams we sponsor.
HD Orthodontics supports multiple charities throughout the year including donations to Toys for Tots around the holidays and the Food Bank of Southern California.
Dafne has been working the dental field for approximately four years. From the moment she started, she knew she loved it and had found her career. Dafne loves being able to help patients achieve the smiles of their dreams. As an orthodontic patient in her adolescent years, she understands the importance of feeling comfortable with an orthodontist and staff. Dafne works hard to ensure each patient feels at home in the HD Orthodontics office.
Dafne was born and raised in Southern California in Calexico. She moved to LA in 5th grade, and has been in the area ever since. She has a Mexican background, and values her family, spending time dancing, swimming, traveling and trying new things with her family whenever she has the chance.
Teresa has been an orthodontic assistant for 26 years and is so excited to start an awesome new chapter in her life as part of such a great team! She enjoys helping to create beautiful smiles and also making sure that all of her patients are in a happy place during treatment! She loves hearing your stories and watching the development of your wonderful smiles.
Teresa was born in raised in Long Beach and has two sons, four grandchildren and a little dog Betty. In her free time, she loves outdoors activities like fishing and camping.
Josie was born and raised in Gardena. She loves being with her family and making long-lasting memories with them. In her spare time, she enjoys going to the gym in the morning to get her day started!
Miranda has been an orthodontic assistant for six years and her favorite part about orthodontics is seeing the reaction on a patient’s face when they get their braces removed! She feels blessed to have become part of such an amazing team, and is excited to continue growing with HD Orthodontics.
Miranda was born and raised in Lakewood. In her free time, she loves spending time with her two dogs, roller skating and playing guitar.
Audra has worked in the dental field as a Registered Dental Assistant for thirty years. She recently moved from San Jose back to Long Beach where she was born and raised. Audra has always known that she wanted to work with people in some aspect, and dentistry was a perfect choice. She loves getting to know the patients and their families and seeing the smiles on their faces when they have finished treatment. During her free time, she loves to spend time with her children, read, scrapbook, and go to the beach.
Melinda has been in the dental field for 8 years. She started working in general dentistry but loved the specialty of Orthodontics so much, she never looked back! She loves her patients and works hard to be the best assistant and team member.
Melinda was born in Long Beach and grew up in the South Bay. She loves the beach, taking hikes, going to concerts and spending time with her two cats.
