Carol Vander Stoep is a Registered Dental Hygienist and Orofacial Myofunctional Therapist in Austin, Texas, and an esteemed speaker to both professional audiences and the general public. She has served as a board member of the Academy of Minimally Invasive Biomimetic Dentistry (AMIBD) and is a founding member of the American Academy of Oral Systemic Health (AAOSH), and the Academy of Applied Myofunctional Sciences (AAMS). She is also a member of the American Academy of Physiological Medicine and Dentistry (AAPMD. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in dental hygiene from Baylor University and has taken courses in orofacial myology from two of the top experts in the United States.

Ms. Vander Stoep is an advocate for change in dentistry. Given the current reality of healthcare costs and delivery in this country and the central role of oral conditions in general health, she works to bring together the philosophies of those who practice biological dentistry, minimally invasive/biomimetic dentistry, neurological dentistry, and those who understand the role the mouth plays in the web of inflammatory diseases, so dentistry can offer people a chance at higher levels of health.

Carol believes mid-level providers – dental hygienists with expanded training – must be empowered to go beyond their serious limitations in the United States. Training a core of motivated hygienists at a clinic in Belize, her intent is to help bring an advanced model of Minimally Invasive Preventive Dentistry and posture-guided early facial development to India and China based on the model of “Barefoot Doctors.” And if she lives long enough, she wants to bring certain expanded duties back to the United States! A clinical hygienist, orofacial myofunctional therapist, lecturer, and writer, she brought many of these concepts together in her book Mouth Matters: How Your Mouth Ages Your Body and What YOU Can do About It. She relishes adventure and kayaks, camps, and hikes when she can.