Choosing Hope

A Doctor Becomes a Patient

By Caitlyn Burrus | Photography by Hunter Burgtorf

Through cancer, calling, and the pursuit of healing, Dr. Lindsey Hoppe proves her resiliency.

Inspiration rarely arrives all at once. More often, it builds quietly, through small moments of courage, through faith tested and reaffirmed, through a calling answered again and again. For Dr. Lindsey Hoppe, inspiration has never been about perfection or polish. It has been about transformation—of smiles, of lives, and ultimately, of her own.

When Lindsey and her husband moved to Florida’s Emerald Coast from Texas in 2014, it wasn’t part of a grand master plan. It was a deeply human decision. They were tired of being sad every time they had to leave the beach. So they chose joy. They chose the water, the pace, and the small-town spirit of the area surrounding Scenic Highway 30-A. “We loved the small-town feel here,” Lindsey says simply. But the leap came with sacrifice. Her thriving Texas dental practice, “my baby,” as she calls it, was left behind. It was hard to walk away from something she had built with so much intention, but she trusted that there was room for something new.

That instinct proved right. When she opened 30A Smiles in October 2015 at 30Avenue, Lindsey knew something was missing in the area. “I knew there wasn’t anybody doing what I do here,” she explains. “People were still traveling to big cities for cosmetic dentistry.” She saw not competition, but possibility. “I felt like there was room for me here.”

Her passion for cosmetic dentistry is deeply personal. Growing up, Lindsey was extremely self-conscious about her teeth. She had very small teeth with large gaps; it was not an orthodontic issue, but a developmental one. “I was teased about them, actually,” she recalls. “It was terrible.” Just before leaving to attend college at Texas A&M, her parents sat down with their family dentist in San Antonio and asked him to help their daughter before she began this new chapter. What he did was simple: composite bonding, not porcelain veneers, but the impact was profound. “It completely changed my life,” she says. That moment became her turning point. “That was my ‘that’s it’ moment. I realized if I could do this for someone else, because it truly changed my life, it was what I wanted to do.”

Today, more than two decades later, that sense of purpose remains undimmed. “I’ve been doing this for twenty-three years because my life was forever changed when my smile was fixed,” Lindsey says. “That was my trajectory.” Cosmetic dentistry is not an easy path; in dental school, entry into the program requires being at the very top of one’s class. Lindsey studied relentlessly, driven by both passion and discipline, and earned her place. She trained under Dr. Marilyn Ward, a formidable mentor who demanded excellence. Lindsey explains that if you weren’t prepared, Dr. Ward would correct you—sometimes bluntly, and in front of patients. But if you were ready, the education was unmatched. Lindsey became her chairside assistant while in college, skipping school every Wednesday to assist on cosmetic cases, and after graduating in 2003, she continued working alongside her. “I learned literally from the best,” Lindsey says. “I thank God every day for that experience. It shaped everything for me.”

That foundation is evident in the way Lindsey practices today. She understands that, for most people, the dentist is a source of fear, shame, or vulnerability. Some patients are so self-conscious that they struggle even to walk through the door. To meet them where they are, Lindsey embraced innovation—even when it felt uncomfortable. For years, she resisted social media. “That is not me. I’m not going to be on Instagram,” she laughs. But when she finally listened to her team and began sharing her work online, something unexpected happened. People began traveling across states and across countries to see her. “Which I consider an incredible honor,” she says.

The shift toward virtual consultations, born out of the COVID era, further transformed her practice. “This has been one of the best things professionally that I’ve ever done,” Lindsey says. Patients now come to her from Texas, Kentucky, Switzerland—there was even a fellow dentist from the Bahamas. For locals who feel too nervous or ashamed to come in person, the virtual consult option provides a gentle first step. From start to finish, most cosmetic cases take just three visits. What happens in between feels almost indescribable, “like a miracle that meets magic,” she says. But behind that magic is heart, precision, and an unwavering belief in what a smile can unlock.

Whether she is restoring a smile or reclaiming her own life, Lindsey reminds us that healing—true healing—begins with hope.

Lindsey has seen it firsthand. Restore someone’s dental health, give them a smile they’re confident in, and everything changes for them. Introverts begin dating. People apply for jobs they never thought they could get. “Two years later, I’ll see them, and they’re not even recognizable,” she says. “It all started with a smile.” In her hands, dentistry becomes empowerment, arming people with the confidence to step fully into their lives.

That belief extends beyond her practice walls. When Lindsey first moved to the 30-A area, the 30Avenue lifestyle center was still a forest, and construction delays meant she wouldn’t be able to open her office for over a year. During that time, she connected with the Children’s Volunteer Health Network, which provides free dental care to local children in need. By chance, the organization was transitioning away from its existing dentist, and Lindsey stepped in as the dental provider for over a year and a half. Pediatric dentistry was far removed from her cosmetic specialty, but the experience became one of the most meaningful of her career. “It was two of the most rewarding, most fun years of my professional life,” she says. Treating children in pain, restoring their health, and witnessing the gratitude of their families reaffirmed what she already knew: it’s about so much more than teeth. “Working for the good of local children was amazing,” she says. “I’ve experienced that myself.”

That depth of perspective would soon be tested in ways Lindsey could never have anticipated.

In March of 2025, Lindsey received a breast cancer diagnosis. Though she had long been considered high-risk—her mother survived stage 3B breast cancer in 1998—she says, “I don’t know if anything ever prepares you for that diagnosis. It plays games with you.” Her first biopsy in 2021 had been benign, and she had been vigilant with screenings since her twenties. “Can we just get a hurrah for early detection?” she says now. Her cancer was discovered through a routine mammogram, when the tumor was very small. “I never would have known that I had it.”

She credits her medical team on the Emerald Coast for their diligence and care, particularly her OB-GYN, Ann Marie Whitlock with Ascension Sacred Heart, who had already recommended assembling a surgical team due to Lindsey’s family history. By the time she received her diagnosis on a Friday, she was already scheduled to see Dr. Allison Moody, a board-certified, fellowship-trained surgical oncologist, the following Monday. “It felt like my whole world stopped,” Lindsey says. But the speed, clarity, and compassion of her care carried her forward.

Every cancer case is unique, she explains, like a fingerprint. Lindsey had a small tumor in one breast, but extensive areas of atypical growth, along with early abnormalities in the other breast. From the beginning, the conversation centered on a double mastectomy. “The big C is scary for everybody,” she says. “But as a woman, to be told you’re going to lose your breasts—it’s scary, and it’s sad. It feels disfiguring.” Vanity aside, Lindsey didn’t want a daily reminder of cancer. She wanted to face it fully and move forward.

Through Dr. Moody, she was connected with Dr. Hugo St. Hilaire, a renowned reconstructive plastic surgeon, and his partner, Dr. Suma Maddox. Lindsey was an ideal candidate for a same-day double mastectomy with reconstruction using her own tissue and no implants, all in one surgery—eight hours, more than five hundred stitches. “I walked in with cancer, I lost my breasts, and I woke up from surgery with breasts intact and no cancer,” she says. When she first looked down after surgery, she couldn’t believe how normal everything looked. “I had the best, most amazing care at Sacred Heart,” she says. “I am just so proud that we offer this kind of medical care in our community.”

The word resilience can capture who Lindsey is, but faith comes closer to it. “It wasn’t just me,” she says of her recovery. “It was supernatural. I am a faithful person, and I knew that God had me.” There were dark moments, she admits. Moments of fear. Moments of grief. “At the end of the day, it’s a gruesome surgery. But my team did a wonderful job.” Ninety percent of the time, she felt strong. Ten percent of the time, she allowed herself pity parties. “When you’re in that place, you just have to hit your knees and trust God,” she says. “I mean, what else is there?”

She leaned heavily on her village: her husband, her son, her family, her patients, her team, her friends. “I don’t think anybody gets through that on her own.” After the last of her three drains was removed, she says, “I felt like superwoman.”

Three weeks post-surgery, Lindsey returned to work in a limited capacity. By four weeks, she was back with patients. Yoga became both physical therapy and sanctuary, helping her body recover after reconstruction surgery left her hunched forward for weeks. “Once I was able to go to yoga, I feel like my recovery was exponentially fast after that,” she says. “I’m thankful every single day.”

Sharing her diagnosis was one of the hardest parts, especially FaceTiming her parents while still in shock. She didn’t want to let her patients down or make her illness the story, but with her team’s help, she shared the news thoughtfully and honestly. Looking back now, she understands why. “If I can help one person, then my story is worth sharing,” she says. She acknowledges survivor’s guilt and questions about why her journey was different. She believes it’s okay to feel fear and sadness, to cry when needed, and then to choose hope. “Mentality has been scientifically proven to affect outcomes,” she says. “There is a silver lining in every day. You can find it.”

Today, Lindsey is cancer-free. She continues to serve her patients, her community, and the broader Emerald Coast through her work and her leadership, including her role on the board of Ascension Sacred Heart. “It is such a rewarding board to be a part of,” she says. “I’ve never felt so excited and optimistic about where we’re headed.”

Dr. Lindsey Hoppe’s story is one of inspiration, not because it is flawless, but because it is real. It is about choosing courage over comfort, faith over fear, and purpose over limitation. Whether she is restoring a smile or reclaiming her own life, Lindsey reminds us that healing—true healing—begins with hope.

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For more information, follow @drlindseyhoppe on Instagram or visit 30Asmiles.com.