We look forward to welcoming you to Wildflower Kids Dentistry.
Dr. Lauren Schau and her team are committed to providing expert dental care to the children in Dubuque, IA, and the surrounding communities. By educating parents and children about the importance of preventive dentistry to maintain the best oral health possible, we hope to help them enjoy their visits with us and keep a beautiful smile for a lifetime.
We strive to keep dental stress and anxiety at a minimum by giving each patient as many choices as possible, including their choice of a reward after being brave during their appointment. We hope you’ll choose us when you need a caring dental team in Dubuque.
Dr. Lauren Schau, DDS
Dr. Lauren Schau leads the team at Wildflower Kids Dentistry. She prioritizes making every day fun for her staff by encouraging them to discuss their personal lives and get to know one another. This translates to the patients as well. Dr. Schau knows that when the patients and dental team form lasting relationships with one another, going to the dentist will be a more pleasant experience for everyone.
When it comes to interacting with her young patients, Dr. Schau explains things in a way they can understand, talking to the kids about how “sugar bugs” dig holes in teeth and that brown cavities are actually “sugar bug poop” that no one wants in their mouths!
Dr. Schau is a general dentist who received her education at Iowa State University and University of Iowa College of Dentistry before completing a general practice residency at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, MN, graduating in 2017. She knew she wanted a career that allowed her to help people and dentistry fit the bill. Her experiences at Hennepin and in New Mexico grew her passion for treating kids.
She also understands the importance of continuing education to keep her apprised of the latest dental techniques. After struggling to breastfeed her two children, she became personally interested in diagnosing tongue ties and coordinating care with lactation experts, speech pathologists, and feeding specialists. Dr. Schau has completed course work related to airway dentistry and frenectomies. These courses include Dr. Richard Baxter’s Tongue Tied Academy, The Breathe Institute Course taught by Dr. Soroush Zaghi, and Airway Health Solutions taught by Dr. Ben Miraglia.
As a dentist, Dr. Schau loves hearing from parents that her young patients can’t wait to visit the office and how caring and competent the staff is. She also enjoys the flexibility of owning her own business and building staff morale with outings that help her get to know their families, hobbies, kids, and pets.
Dr. Schau spends her time outside the office with her husband and two daughters. Together, they love being outdoors; whether it’s camping, fishing, riding bikes, morel mushroom hunting, or hiking the Mines of Spain trails, these activities allow her to fill her cup and eliminate stress.
The perfect day for Dr. Schau begins with a cup of coffee in a bookstore and ends with a campfire under the stars, making s’mores with a peanut butter cup in the middle!
Dusty Schau
Office Manager
Dusty grew up on a farm outside of Maquoketa, IA before attending college at Iowa State University. He earned his bachelor's and master's degree in Biological Systems Engineering, but most importantly, met a young Dr. Lauren in organic chemistry lab! After working as an engineering consultant for a number of years and moving cross-country with Dr. Lauren, he transitioned to be a stay-at-home dad. While raising two kids and moving some more, he's been helping Dr. Lauren with the business side of dentistry for years. Now he enjoys supporting Dr. Lauren as office manager. He prides himself on providing excellent customer service, maintaining accurate reports/records, and making Wildflower the BEST place to work for staff.
When not working, Dusty enjoys spending time with his girls, camping, fishing, reading, playing board games, and brewing the occasional homebrew. However, his favorite season is winter and always hopes for several feet of snow.
Robyn Kapparos, RDH, OMT
Hygienist; Myofunctional Therapist
Robyn has been in dentistry for the last 28 years. Most of that time has been spent as a dental hygienist. Last year she trained as a certified oral facial myologist through Airway Health Solutions and Myobrace. She provides myofunctional therapy services to our patients alongside Dr. Lauren and is passionate about treating the root cause! She also assists with sedation case coordination and managing the schedule. Robyn is married and has two grown children. She enjoys traveling, camping, and hiking. Her family also has a dog named Luna, who is basically a third child.
Courtney Milbert
Office Administrator
Courtney joined Wildflower Kids Dentistry in March of 2025. She has a background in dental assisting and dental office administration. She enjoys spending time with her husband, two kiddos and their family dog. She also loves running and getting outside with her family as much as they can.
Emmy Jo Dotson
Office Administrator
Emmy Jo joined our team in January 2025 and brings over 20 years of experience as a dental assistant. She is passionate about patient care and loves making every visit a positive experience. Outside of work, Emmy Jo and her husband, Matt, stay busy with their two wonderful children--Charlee (12) and Oliver (9). When she's not at the gym or cheering from the sidelines at a ball field, she enjoys antiquing with her mom and spending time outdoors walking or biking with her kids. She is excited to meet you and your families!
Sam Schaller
Dental Assistant
Sam graduated from the dental program in 2019 at NICC and has been working in the dental field since then. Sam's goal is to make trusting and comfortable relationships with her patients. She truly gets along with the children and their families. She is able to strike up a conversation with just about anyone. She is requested by many and her resilience in all situations shines. In her spare time she enjoys traveling, golfing, spending time with friends, family and her pup Riggs. Sam has a heart of gold and always goes above and beyond for our patients. She also has a way to get to know and comfort our patients with special needs or disabilities. She is AMAZING!
Paige Struck
Dental Assistant
Paige graduated from the Hawkeye Dental Assisting program in 2019. After moving to Dubuque, we knew she would be a great fit and asset to our office. She is an experienced pediatric dental assistant with an amazing personality. Paige strives to make every visit special for each patient. She also wants to make everyone feel comfortable and enjoy dental visits. In her free time, Paige loves to be outdoors, spending time with family and always loves to trying new things.
Tasha McCormack
Dental Assistant
Meet Tasha! Born in Florida, Tasha grew up in the military world living all over America (New York, North Carolina, California, and now Iowa) and overseas (Sicily). She graduated from dental assisting school in San Diego, CA, in 2007. Tasha truly enjoys spending time with her fiance and their 3 children, traveling all over to see new places, being outdoors, and visiting her family in Florida. Her passion lies in making sure each patient has the best experience during their visit with us. Tasha truly shines in making patients smile along with making sure they understand how to improve on their oral hygiene. Her mama instincts and love comes out during hard appointments and she always goes above and beyond to make each experience a GREAT one! She is the best. :)
Anne Ryan
Dental Assistant
Anne grew up in Bernard, IA. She graduated from the dental assisting program at NICC college in 2021. In her free time she loves going for walks with her dog Clover! Anne hopes to make every child that walks into our office leave with a smile on their face! She truly has a knack for putting kiddos at ease in the treatment chair. You also will hear her laugh echo throughout the building. She makes work a great and uplifting environment! Personalities like hers are truly hard to find. :)
Emily Gravel
Dental Assistant
Emily grew up in Manchester, Iowa. She attended Northeast Iowa Community College for Dental Assisting. She strives to make each patient comfortable in the dental setting. Emily and her husband have a bernadoodle named Ozzy. In her free time, she enjoys growing her small business--@emmyssignshop (on Instagram). She also loves working out and frequents Burn Bootcamp classes, or enjoys hanging in the outdoors. More importantly, Emily has true experience in pediatric dental offices and it shows. She knows how to talk to the children and parents. She has great songs to sing and phrases to use in all sorts of situations! She is phenomenal!