Dr. Monika Barakat was born and raised in the south of Poland prior to moving to New Jersey at the age of 15. She received her Bachelor’s of Art in Biology in 1999 from Kean University and her DMD degree from Rutgers School of Dental Medicine, formerly New Jersey Dental School, in 2003. During her time in dental school, she discovered a passion for orthodontics and thus pursued further post-graduate training as part of a dual degree program at the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine. In addition to three years of specialty training in the orthodontic department, for which she was awarded a Specialty Certificate in Orthodontics, she also pursued and earned a Master of Science in Dentistry Degree in 2006.

Over the course of the next 10 years, Dr. Barakat welcomed two beautiful girls into the world, moved from New Jersey to Ohio and then Arizona as her husband began and then finished his specialty training. All the while, she continued to dedicate herself to practice exclusively orthodontics in many diverse settings, both within large groups, small private practices, and as an independent consultant. Nonetheless, she always dreamt of opening up her own office, with the goal of demanding excellence of herself and those around her for the best possible patient outcomes. Soon after realizing that her family was thriving in Arizona and had found a home, she began to pursue that dream: after nearly two years of planning, Opus 1 Orthodontic Studio opened its doors in 2016.