Dr. Julia H. Kang

DMD  |  OKU Honor Society

Co-Founder — Frisco TX

Two Dental Degrees. Two Countries. One Mission.

Dr. Julia Kang co-founded Tribute Family Dentistry and Elate Orthodontics alongside her husband, Dr. Kevin Baharvand, with a shared belief that exceptional orthodontic and dental care should be accessible to every family — regardless of budget.

Dr. Kang holds two dental degrees from two different countries — an extraordinarily rare distinction in orthodontics. Her path from the most prestigious dental school in South Korea, through Harvard and Boston University, to a nationally recognized orthodontic residency in Jacksonville, is a credential profile that few practitioners anywhere in the country can match. That depth of training shows in how she thinks, how she plans, and how she executes.

“We are a perfect team. Together we are a lot better than what we could have been individually,” Dr. Kang has said of her partnership with Dr. Baharvand — and that collaboration is exactly what their patients experience every day across both practices.

Tribute Family Dentistry

Complete general and family dentistry for patients of all ages. Preventive care, restorative treatment, cosmetic dentistry, and emergency care — the dental foundation every family needs, delivered by a team that knows you by name.

Elate Orthodontics

Board-certified orthodontic care across three Frisco-area locations — braces, clear aligners, Angel Aligners, and early intervention. Led by Dr. Kang and Dr. Baharvand with 1,000+ five-star reviews across their locations.

Why It Matters

When your dentist and your orthodontist are partners — not strangers who have never spoken — your care is genuinely coordinated. Treatment decisions at Tribute and Elate are made with full awareness of what the other practice knows about you.

Where It Began

From Classical Pianist to Orthodontist

Being an orthodontist was not Dr. Kang’s first ambition. She dreamed of becoming a professional classical pianist from the age of four, receiving advanced training at Seoul Arts Academy — a renowned institution for young and gifted artists. That discipline shaped something fundamental in how she approaches her work.

“I truly love classical music. It is more than just the sound; it is about the discipline and the order it has brought to my life,” Dr. Kang has said. The precision and patience required to master a Beethoven sonata turns out to be excellent preparation for the precision and patience required to move teeth.

It was during her senior year of high school that she realized she wanted a profession that would let her work with people and help them achieve something beautiful. Orthodontics, she determined, was the perfect intersection of art and science.

The Artistic-Clinical Connection

Earned her first dental degree — DDS (Doctor of Dental Surgery) — from the most prestigious dental school in South Korea and one of the most respected dental programs in the world. This foundation in rigorous clinical training and evidence-based dentistry is rare among American orthodontists.

Completed a clinical externship at Harvard — one of the most selective dental externship programs in the United States — following her first dental degree. This experience bridged two of the world’s most demanding dental educational traditions.

Earned her second dental degree — DMD (Doctor of Dental Medicine) — graduating at the top of her class. Inducted into Omicron Kappa Upsilon, the national dental honor society awarded to dentists who demonstrate exemplary character and exceptional professional potential. It was here that she met Dr. Baharvand.

Completed specialty training in Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics — the same program as Dr. Baharvand. The intensive clinical curriculum exposed residents to a diverse range of complex cases. Dr. Kang’s results were recognized nationally: she was named a finalist for the Journal of Clinical Orthodontics Resident of the Year Award — one of the most competitive honors in orthodontic residency training in the country.

The Journal of Clinical Orthodontics Resident of the Year Award is among the most competitive recognitions in orthodontic training. Being named a finalist places Dr. Kang among a very small cohort of residents whose clinical work was recognized as exceptional at a national level during training.

Holding dental degrees from both Seoul National University and Boston University is an extraordinarily rare distinction. It reflects not just academic achievement but a genuine depth of clinical exposure across two of the world’s most demanding dental education systems — a perspective that directly benefits her patients.

Her Approach to Care

Dr. Kang takes a deeply personalized approach to every patient’s orthodontic care. She enjoys getting to know her patients and their families and being a meaningful part of their lives over the course of treatment. Orthodontics is not a transaction for her — it is a relationship that unfolds over months or years, and she is genuinely invested in the outcome at every stage.

She understands that most people would love a beautiful smile but worry they cannot afford one. It is her mission to change that — making the highest quality orthodontic treatment work for any budget, without compromising on the clinical result.

Family-Owned. Not Corporate.

Dr. Kang and Dr. Baharvand made a deliberate choice to remain independent when they opened their first practice in 2019. In an era of private equity consolidation in dentistry, they believe that family ownership is a commitment — not a business model. A corporate owner optimizes for margin. A husband-and-wife team who live in this community, whose children go to school here, and whose neighbors are their patients — they optimize for something different.

That distinction shows up in every appointment.

Dr. Kang is happily married to Dr. Baharvand. They met in Boston and were brought together by a plethora of shared interests and values. The couple has three children, Kian, Amelia, and Liam. Dr. Kang’s family attends Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano and are proud members of the Korean Bible Fellowship. They are strong believers in raising their children with Christian values.

Outside of orthodontics, Dr. Kang draws on the artistic sensibility she cultivated as a pianist — bringing that same attention to proportion, detail, and the pursuit of something genuinely beautiful to everything she does.