{"id":249988,"date":"2025-08-06T07:59:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-06T15:59:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.pmwebdesigns.com\/cao\/?p=249988"},"modified":"2025-08-14T07:13:06","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T15:13:06","slug":"meet-dr-sona-bekmezian-advocating-for-smiles-and-the-orthodontists-who-create-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.pmwebdesigns.com\/cao\/meet-dr-sona-bekmezian-advocating-for-smiles-and-the-orthodontists-who-create-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Dr. Sona Bekmezian: Advocating for Smiles\u2014and the Orthodontists Who Create Them"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Meet Dr. Sona Bekmezian: Advocating for Smiles\u2014and the Orthodontists Who Create Them<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">For Dr. Sona Bekmezian, orthodontics is more than a profession\u2014it\u2019s a way to serve others, build confidence, and continue a legacy of leadership.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">A proud graduate of UCSF\u2019s orthodontic residency program, Dr. Bekmezian currently practices in Orange County, where she provides patients with the life-changing gift of a healthy, beautiful smile. \u201cServing others in this way is a gift in and of itself,\u201d she says.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Dr. Bekmezian\u2019s dedication to her field extends beyond the clinic. Inspired by mentors who served before her, she is now an active member of the <b>California Association of Orthodontists<\/b>, where she helps represent the voice and needs of orthodontists across the state. \u201cSo many of my mentors set the example of giving back,\u201d she shares. \u201cI love being part of grassroots efforts to create meaningful change for our profession.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">When she\u2019s not advocating for colleagues or transforming smiles, Dr. Bekmezian has a surprising hobby\u2014beekeeping! \u201cI started during the pandemic,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s been a fun and fascinating way to connect with nature.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-249989\" src=\"https:\/\/dev.pmwebdesigns.com\/cao\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_8674-Sona-Bekmezian-1-300x300.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Dr. Bekmezian\u2019s commitment to both her patients and her peers reflects the very spirit of the CAO\u2014service, leadership, and a deep passion for the profession. We\u2019re proud to have her as part of the CAO community.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Meet Dr. Sona Bekmezian: Advocating for Smiles\u2014and the Orthodontists Who Create Them For Dr. Sona Bekmezian, orthodontics is more than a profession\u2014it\u2019s a way to serve others, build confidence, and continue a legacy of leadership. A proud graduate of UCSF\u2019s orthodontic residency program, Dr. Bekmezian currently practices in Orange County, where she provides patients with [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4991,"featured_media":250006,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-249988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.pmwebdesigns.com\/cao\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.pmwebdesigns.com\/cao\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.pmwebdesigns.com\/cao\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.pmwebdesigns.com\/cao\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4991"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.pmwebdesigns.com\/cao\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=249988"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dev.pmwebdesigns.com\/cao\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249988\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.pmwebdesigns.com\/cao\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/250006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.pmwebdesigns.com\/cao\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.pmwebdesigns.com\/cao\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.pmwebdesigns.com\/cao\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}