Hi there! I’m Dr. Krystle Dean-Duru, and with over two decades of experience in dentistry, I understand the importance of helping children grow, breathe, and sleep better. I specialize in providing empathetic care and personalized treatment plans to address pediatric patients’ airway, sleep, breathing, and growth concerns, ensuring their healthy smiles and bright futures.

I earned my Bachelor’s degree from Columbia University in New York in Psychology and a Doctorate of Dental Surgery (DDS) from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. I then completed a specialty pediatric residency training at the Interfaith Department of Dental Medicine in Brooklyn, New York, where I served in a leadership role as Chief Resident.

My passion for caring for children runs deep in my ancestral roots, with family dentistry being a way of life. My mother, Dr. Lynda Dean-Duru, a pediatric dentist herself, was the first inspiration for me to pursue dentistry. Starting my career in family care, I worked as a pediatric dental assistant at Ashburn Children’s Dentistry, gaining valuable experience in the field. I spent many summers working alongside my mother, observing the healing art she deployed while treating patients. Through witnessing those magical moments, I discovered the power of proactive and preventative dental health for children. I realized that utilizing medicine and dental technology plays a crucial role in a child’s overall well-being. This realization led me to specialize in pediatric dentistry, with the aim of setting the stage for a lifetime of good dental health and overall wellness for children.

In 2018, I had the opportunity to join my mother in practice at Ashburn Children’s Dentistry, where I could fulfill my commitment to providing each child and parent with a positive and transformative dental experience filled with compassion and fun.

As an advanced integrative laser pediatric surgeon, I have absorbed the ethos of Ashburn Children’s Dentistry and tirelessly work to stay abreast of emerging research and techniques to improve children’s quality-of-life. My mother and I continually integrate critical aspects of oral structure, craniofacial development, and innovative approaches to advance its impact on the pediatric airway to provide optimal patient outcomes. Caring for children is a powerful and rewarding experience, and I emphasize the importance of utilizing gentle and minimal invasive therapies. Treating the source of their issues instead of just the symptoms and focusing on early prevention has been critical to my role in educating parents and assisting their blossoming child’s development into a healthy and resilient adult.

My patients appreciate my fun, empathetic approach, and they are impressed by my passion to help each child and parent have a positive dental experience. I am committed to professional development and in recognition of my contributions to the field, I am a member of the following organizations: American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry; American Dental Association; The Northern Virginia Dental Society; The Academy of Laser Dentistry; American Laser Study Club; Breathe Institute Ambassadors; ALF Interface Academy Foundation for Airway Health; The Sleep & Airway Study Club; Foundation for Airway Health Academy of Applied Myofunctional Sciences; American Academy of Physiological Medicine & Dentistry; International Association of Orofacial Myology.

When I’m not helping my young patients build happy smiles, I enjoy spending time with family and friends, growing in my faith, improving my dancing skills, learning boxing moves, traveling, and cheering on Washington, D.C. sports teams.