Meet Dr. Shauna Fung: My 20-Year Journey as an Orthodontist in New York

Hi, I’m Dr. Shauna Fung — a board-certified orthodontist, a New York native, and the founder of Nexus Orthodontics in New Hyde Park.

I’ve been in this field for nearly 20 years, and I still love what I do. But the path here wasn’t straightforward — and I think understanding how I got here matters for understanding why I practice the way I do.

Where It Started

Growing up, I wasn’t confident about my smile. I was the kid who kept my lips together in photos and laughed with my hand over my mouth. I knew that feeling — the self-consciousness, the constant awareness of your teeth — from the inside.

That experience planted a seed. When I found orthodontics as a field, something clicked. I wasn’t just interested in the mechanics of moving teeth. I was interested in what happens to people when treatment is done. That shift in confidence. That first full, unguarded smile.

The Training

I completed my dental degree at NYU in 2002, then pursued specialty training at Montefiore Medical Center, finishing in 2007. I became board-certified in 2012 — a process that goes well beyond completing a residency.

Board certification means presenting documented clinical cases before a panel of examiners and demonstrating that your outcomes meet a high clinical standard. What that process actually involves is something I’ve written about separately — I think patients deserve to understand what it means when an orthodontist is board-certified.

Building a Practice

In 2009, I opened my first practice — Straight Finish Orthodontics — in Manhattan’s Chinatown. I wanted to serve the community I grew up in and be accessible to New York’s Chinese-speaking patients. That practice grew, and in 2020 we relocated to Brooklyn.

Then came Nexus.

In 2025, I opened Nexus Orthodontics in New Hyde Park — in what used to be a pizza shop on Hillside Avenue. The space is completely different now, but the neighborhood energy is the same: families, kids, working adults, people from all kinds of backgrounds, looking for a place where they feel welcomed and well cared for.

Building Nexus from scratch gave me the chance to do everything the way I’d always envisioned: investing in technology, keeping the team small enough that every patient is known by name, and creating a culture where no question is too small to ask.

Who I Treat

I’ve treated patients from age 7 to 70. Kids in Phase 1 early treatment. Teenagers in full braces or Invisalign. Adults who’d been thinking about it for years and finally decided the time was now.

Every patient group brings its own concerns, and I’ve learned to meet people where they are. If you’re an adult who’s been on the fence about whether treatment is still worth it — come in. It’s genuinely never too late, and I’ve seen that firsthand many times over.

Why This Work Matters

I’m still in this because the transformation is real. Not just cosmetic. Patients who complete treatment carry themselves differently. They smile more freely — in photos, with strangers, in moments where they used to hold back. That still gets me, every time.

If you’d like to learn more about Nexus Orthodontics and our team, visit our about page.

And if you’re ready to take the first step — or just want to understand your options — schedule a consultation. We’d love to meet you.

— Dr. Shauna Fung, DDS, Board-Certified Orthodontist Nexus Orthodontics, New Hyde Park, NY