2026

Photography by Brandi Stage Portraiture

If Dr. Catherine Bruni weren’t a dentist, she probably would own an art studio inhabited by resident rescue cats.

She also may have run a company that rents tablescapes for events, or perhaps her own antique store. Working for an art museum, preferably in the Wedgwood collection at the Birmingham Museum of Art, would have suited her, too.

“If you can’t tell, I’m actually 70 on the inside,” jokes the 30-year-old Bruni, who lives in Pass Christian with her four felines: Bae, Bubba, Possum and Francine.

As it happened, Bruni chose a career that combined her two passions: medicine and creativity. Since July of 2022, she has been practicing at Waveland Dental Center, which she purchased in March of 2023.

“I love to help people, and I’ve always been the person to stick up for other people,” Bruni says. “I work to treat all my patients fairly, no matter their background, financial status or what their teeth may look like at the present time.”

‘THIS SOUNDS JUST LIKE YOU’

Although Bruni is the first dentist in her family, she is related to several doctors and always planned to pursue medicine.

“Seventh-grade science class reinforced that career path when we were studying organ systems in the human body,” she recalls. “At that time, I thought I wanted to be a cardiologist.”

Then while attending Gulfport High, she took every studio art class possible. During her sophomore year at the University of Alabama, she went to a fateful meeting, where she heard from the dean of admissions of the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s dental school.

“He was discussing how dentistry is a mix of science and art,” Bruni recalls. “I had just added studio art as a major, and my roommate started elbowing me, saying, ‘This sounds just like you.’

She started shadowing several local dentists and knew she’d found her calling.

“I realized that I loved the flexibility and autonomy dentistry gave me while being able to work in the medical field, create beautiful things with my hands and positively impact people’s lives,” Bruni says.

FINDING STRENGTH IN LOSS

Bruni spent her college summers taking classes and waiting tables. Following graduation, she went on to the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s School of Dentistry and graduated in 2022, going to work for Dr. Hal Jones at Waveland Dental Center soon after.

Three weeks later, Bruni and her family were devastated by the sudden loss of her brother, Christopher.

“I was in such mental despair that I would get to my office in the morning and cry in my car for 20 minutes before going inside to ‘put on a face’ for seeing patients,” she recalls. “I had so much stress emotionally that it started taking a physical toll that caused many health problems.”

What helped her endure that season was a network of people who supported her personally and professionally, including Jones, a mentor whom Bruni jokingly calls her “second dad”; empathetic office staff; confidantes from Bible study; her parents, Jeff and Angela; and her brother, Jeff. Countless friends reached out when she wanted to talk or sent “thinking of you” notes while her large, strong extended family stuck together and held each other up.

“I cannot name everyone who got me to where I am today,” Bruni says, “but I know I would not be who I am without the village of the absolute best people whom I am blessed to have in my life.”

‘EVERYONE HAS TO START SOMEWHERE’

Bruni is paying that positivity forward and gets great satisfaction from helping others grin again. One recent patient had significant decay on her front teeth, which was affecting her confidence, but she couldn’t afford crowns. Bruni utilized fillings — which changed everything.

“When I showed her the work, she started crying, saying, ‘I finally have my smile back,’” the dentist recalls.

Another patient needed crowns on her top front teeth and came in afterward with her husband, exclaiming how happy she was with her new smile.

“Even if you think your teeth are ‘so bad’ or there’s ‘no hope,’ everyone has to start somewhere,” Bruni says, “and we will always get you on a path to health.”

To have a healthy mouth, the dentist adds, flossing is non-negotiable. Bruni also advises against opening things with your teeth or biting your nails.

“And please do not play hide-and-seek or tag in the dark,” she says. “Only bad things happen to your teeth when you do that.”

Another fact she emphasizes: Oral health is directly related to overall health.

“Loose teeth, bad breath and receding gums could all be signs you may be at a higher risk of cardiovascular issues like heart attacks or strokes,” she says. “If you do have heart disease, keeping your gums and teeth healthy is essential to lowering your risk of heart failure or other major problems.”

SOMETHING TO SMILE ABOUT

While dentistry proved an ideal fit for Bruni’s gifts, she hasn’t abandoned her other interests. She’s now training for a half-marathon and learned to sew at the beginning of the year.

“My all-time favorite pastime is going to estate sales and thrift stores,” she says. “I have a collection of china and enjoy hosting parties.”

As Waveland Dental prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary next year, Bruni prioritizes staying on the cutting edge of her field — namely the exciting developments in artificial intelligence. For instance, software now integrates AI into radiographs to reveal the location of decay, bone loss and abscesses.

“I enjoy taking continuing education courses and going to conventions to learn about all the new technology available and to improve my skills as a clinician,” Bruni says.

For the dentist, perfecting pearly whites is only the surface level of what makes a practice successful. The true measure is rooted in trust, compassion and serving the people in her chair.

As she knows well, the biggest turnarounds often start with something as simple as helping someone smile again.

Photography by Brandi Stage Portraiture

Long before she attended medical school or saw her first patient, Dr. Taylor Hairston knew which career path she was destined to pursue.

“My youngest sister was born with a terminal illness. I assisted with her care and attended her appointments to learn more about her condition,” the Gulfport-raised physician recalls. “I met so many wonderful providers who helped our family during that difficult time and was inspired to do this for others.”

Now a primary care and family medicine doctor at Ochsner Health Center – Gulfport, Hairston considers preventative medicine a cornerstone of her job. This includes evaluating risk factors for disease, completing labs and imaging and keeping up with cancer screenings.

“A miracle to me,” she says, “is when I can help a patient complete these screenings and discover a condition that, with proper treatment, can be remedied before (it causes) enduring harm.”

CREATING CONNECTIONS

Hairston’s desire to help others led her to Mississippi State University, where she continued a family tradition by earning a chemical engineering degree. When she graduated from William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2020, the world was gripped by a deadly pandemic — and protective measures made it much harder to put patients at ease.

“Only in the third year of residency could we treat patients with an encouraging smile or demonstrate visual empathy,” Hairston recalls. “In those early years, I had to learn techniques to connect with patients and earn their trust despite the barriers.”

Ultimately, the skills she developed during that time helped her establish stronger relationships with her patients. That ability has served her well in her hometown, where she settled three years ago alongside her husband, Dr. Michael McLarty.

JUGGLING MEDICINE AND MOTHERHOOD

The couple welcomed twin girls earlier this year, and the doctor’s days have changed drastically as she juggles parenthood and a professional responsibility. She’s up early, preparing her daughters for the day, and there’s little time for leisure between her two roles — although she tries to squeeze in exercise and a family dinner.

“Every minute counts, so planning and partnership with my husband matters a great deal,” Hairston says. “Spending quality time with my girls is very important to me. Even with help from family members, we are a very busy family.”

Challenges are inevitable, and like any professional, Hairston must be satisfied knowing that she gave her very best — celebrating wins and learning from mistakes.

“The most difficult day is when the time commitments of motherhood collide with the challenges of practicing medicine,” she says. “On those days, we must each depend on faith, marital and family support to find encouragement and resilience.”

‘I WANT TO HELP AS MANY FAMILIES AS I CAN’

Hairston counts persistence among her most valuable attributes, and she strives to offer everything at her disposal to help her patients — whether that’s vaccines, imaging, labs or expert advice. The earlier and more often patients come in, she points out, the more likely doctors will identify their risk factors or detect diseases in the early stages, when they are most treatable.

“If there is something I know they are due for, I try to be gentle but persistent in guiding a patient to appropriate treatment or diagnosis, even when the patient initially declines,” Hairston says. “There is always a possibility that today could be the day for a more open mind.”

Anxiety surrounding doctor appointments is understandable, she acknowledges, as people worry about hearing bad news. But she adds that most visits yield good reports, whether about general health or how well a treatment is working.

If she could convince her patients to do anything, Hairston would urge them to complete all recommended cancer screenings and emphasize the importance of diet and exercise, which contribute greatly to overall health and can affect risk for numerous diseases.

“I know it can be scary to be on the patient side, especially if you have gone years without being evaluated,” she says. “It is so important to be checked on a regular basis so we can find things that are creeping towards a problem. Physicians greatly enjoy helping patients make changes to improve their outcomes.”

EVOLVING TOOLS, ENDURING PURPOSE

Of all the advances she’s seen in her field, Hairston says the biggest have been in cancer screenings — both the tests that are available and the age groups for which they are recommended.

“We hope to get better at our screening tools and offer these to as many patients as we can to fight preventable illnesses,” she says. “We continue to look into new tests as they become available and compare them to our current ones to determine how best to provide these options to patients.”

Today, building lasting relationships is one of Hairston’s favorite aspects of her work. Through the demands of medicine and motherhood, she remains grounded in the same motivation that led her to the profession in the first place: family and service.

“I love my job and I love my patients,” she says. “I will continue to do the best I can to improve the health of my home community.”

Photography by Brandi Stage Portraiture

Don’t make the mistake of underestimating Dr. Theresa V. Case due to her petite stature.

“Patients are often surprised by how short I am,” says the 5-foot-tall physician with Memorial Health System. “They then realize that I am a powerhouse in a small frame who will work to get things done.”

Case, who was born and raised in Gulfport, describes herself as driven. If she can’t succeed at first, she will keep trying until she achieves her goal. As a doctor, she finds it especially rewarding when a patient comes to her after seeing several other doctors and she picks up on a small, overlooked detail that makes all the difference.

“I am then able to work with the patient to formulate a treatment plan that provides them an improved quality of life,” Case says. “I love to see them come back smiling when they are finally feeling better and back to doing things they enjoy.”

A NATURAL LEADER

Case identified her calling — and her gifts — at an early age.

“I have been a natural leader from the time that I was young,” she says. “Medicine intrigued me, as I felt that it would give me the opportunity to educate people and hopefully lead them to a healthier lifestyle.”

The doctor faced a setback when she wasn’t immediately accepted into medical school, but instead of giving up, she went to work at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, conducting medical research.

“When I started medical school, I had a greater appreciation for my place as a future doctor,” Case says. “I had also gained experience in the management of junior researchers who were under my supervision.”

She went on to earn her Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree from Pikeville College of Osteopathic Medicine in Pikeville, Kentucky, before completing her residency and fellowship at the University of Kentucky. After her training, she joined a pulmonary group in Lexington, Kentucky, where she worked for eight years before returning to Gulfport a year ago.

Practicing medicine in her hometown has been an eye-opening experience for Case.

“Growing up, I did not realize how medically underserved this population is,” she says. “Patients here see medicine as more reactive than proactive. I hope to change that expectation.”

AN EMPHASIS ON PREVENTION

During her internal medicine residency, Case became very interested in critical care — a specialty that focuses on treating people with life-threatening illnesses or injuries.

“I enjoy that critical-care medicine continues to provide me with the opportunity to use my internal-medicine training in the most critically ill patients,” she says.

Now practicing at Memorial Health locations in Gulfport and Biloxi, Case says the pulmonary portion of her specialty is a natural fit.

“As I have continued to practice medicine,” she says, “I have learned to appreciate the benefit that preventative pulmonary medicine can provide to patients.”

Since she started training, the diagnosis of lung cancer is where Case has noticed the biggest change. Namely, robotic bronchoscopy has revolutionized the process of detecting the disease — letting doctors access suspicious areas with unprecedented ease and precision.

“This allowed me to biopsy a 4-millimeter (sample), which is the the thickness of two nickels stacked together, and prove this was a cancer,” the doctor says. “We are now able to diagnose lung cancer so much earlier and provide people with curative treatment.”

Case encourages everyone who qualifies to receive a lung cancer screening. Only a small percentage of eligible patients take advantage of this test, she adds, and lung cancer often is asymptomatic until it is in an advanced stage.

Whatever news Case must relay, she aims to deliver it with empathy, compassion and complete honesty.

“I hope that my patients feel that I am here to listen and to support them and validate their concerns,” she says. “I never want a patient to leave my office and not feel like I did everything available to make them feel better.”

DOCTORS ARE HUMAN, TOO

On difficult days, Case leans on her family, which includes her husband, Chad Case, an Air Force Veteran whom she met while attending Millsaps College in Jackson and with whom she shares three children, ranging in age from 2 to 7.

The couple owns land in Saucier where their family can ride side-by-sides, fish and enjoy nature away from electronic devices.

“On Sundays, we have family dinner with my parents and my younger brother,” Case says. “A weekend often includes time at our neighborhood park with the kids and a trip to the library so the kids can pick out new books of interest.”

Although doctors are healers, Case asks patients to remember that they are human, too.

“We have times that we may need to put our family first and adjust the clinic schedule or move patient appointments,” she says. “Too often, doctors neglect their own health or neglect their own families in order to take care of patients.”

Case’s husband provides a stable support as she attends to her professional duties. Over time, she hopes that her practice will continue to grow and that she will be the doctor patients seek out not only for her expertise, but also for a listening ear and help taking charge of their health.

One thing the doctor pledges to keep constant is her patient-first approach to medicine, where diseases and treatment are explained thoroughly, worries are addressed and questions are always welcomed.

“I truly love making patients feel better,” Case says. “When I am able to improve the quality of life for an asthmatic patient or a patient with COPD, that encourages me to continue doing what I do.”