When your father is known all over the world as a leading orthodontist and expert in jaw joint growth and treatment and your mother is dual-trained in prosthodontics and orthodontics, dentistry becomes part of your early life. Dr. Ikeda chose to pursue the specialty of orthodontics with the intent to treat her patients like family – to make a tangible difference for them by helping them achieve beautiful, long lasting smiles, healthy bites, ease of breathing, and comfortable jaw joints that are in harmony with the face.

Dr. Ikeda was born in Tokyo, Japan, and moved to Minnesota on her own at age 12 to study abroad. She fled the Midwest for warmer pastures and has loved the Bay Area since her early days at Cal. She graduated from UC Berkeley in the top 1% of her class with Highest Distinction in Integrative Biology and earned her Doctorate of Dental Surgery degree, Masters of Science degree in Oral and Craniofacial Sciences, and Orthodontic Specialty Certification from UC San Francisco. UCSF is also where she earned her nickname of “ortho ninja.”

She is a course director at UCSF School of Dentistry and teaches orthodontic residents the technique of facial treatment planning for orthodontics using cephalometrics (a special x-ray technique for examining the facial structures and how they can change with orthodontics and growth). She volunteers there as an Assistant Clinical Professor to give back to her alma mater.

Dr. Ikeda continues her extensive research related to the temporomandibular (jaw) joints and has several publications in highly respected peer-reviewed journals. Her research has direct clinical application to our patient care. She is also a contributor for an orthodontic textbook written by her father, Dr. Kazumi Ikeda, titled TMJ 1st Orthodontics.

Dr. Ikeda, a board certified orthodontist, is a member of the American Association of Orthodontists and the Roth Study Club International. Outside of orthodontics, she loves learning to speak different languages and is fluent in Japanese and English and is working on mastering Korean and French. When she is not in the office, she enjoys spoiling her French bulldog, traveling, photography, hiking, and snowboarding in the winter.