I came to the United States as an immigrant dentist and had to start over. While my husband worked long hours to support our family, I went back to school, determined to rebuild my career and find my place again in the profession I had practiced for so many years.
But behind all that effort was an even deeper motivation: our daughter, Anabella.
From a very young age, Anabella has received care at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Washington, D.C., for neurofibromatosis.
Over the years, we found there not only exceptional medical care, but also a level of compassion, support, and humanity that deeply touched our family.
I remember thinking many times:
One day, I want to give something back.
During my years practicing as a dentist, I never used loupes. But years later, while working as a dental hygienist, I wanted to maintain the same level of vision and precision I had relied on throughout my career. That was when I discovered ergonomic loupes — and the remarkable difference they made in my clinical practice.
But with that advancement came a frustration. Throughout the day, I was constantly taking my loupes off and putting them back on. I would remove them to speak with my patients, then put them back on to continue working. Over and over again.
In a profession where every minute matters, I began asking myself:
How can I make such an extraordinary tool even more practical in our everyday clinical lives?
From that question came an idea. And from that idea came Snap It™.
The earliest designs carried the initials AG: Anabella González. It was my way of carrying with me the deepest reason behind the project.
Over time, some professionals began asking me what those letters meant. Others simply turned the magnetic piece around so the initials were no longer visible.
I have to admit, seeing that brought up a feeling that was difficult to explain. To the person wearing it, AG was simply two letters. To me, they represented my daughter, our story, and a desire born years earlier to someday give back a part of everything our family had received.
Although I had shared their meaning with some people and told parts of our story, I realized I had never truly conveyed everything those two letters represented to me. AG wasn’t simply a name on a product. It represented a story of gratitude, purpose, and, above all, the love for a daughter.
That was when I understood that Snap It™ needed an identity of its own — a name that spoke to what it did and could grow beyond us without ever losing the purpose that inspired it.
The initials were no longer visible, and Snap It™ finally had its name.
Since then, the system has evolved through every test, every adjustment, and every lesson learned. But its purpose remains the same: to create something that makes the day a little better for other dental professionals, and for its growth to one day become a way of giving back a part of everything an institution has done — and continues to do — for our daughter and our family.
Snap It™ was born from a need in the clinic. But its purpose was born long before that.
And although you may no longer see the letters AG, Anabella remains at the heart of this story.
Dr. Yoanna Bastidas · Founder, Snap It Bella™
