Today we’d like to introduce you to Stefanie Sunnes.
Stefanie, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I graduated dental school in 2010 and knew from the start I wanted to build my own practice. This has been a tough journey with many speed bumps in the road. My husband and I literally built Alegria Dental Care with our own hands. After a not so great break up with our contractor we had to complete construction on our own. Those were stressful but kind of fun nights of construction after we both worked a full day at our other jobs. We opened our doors in 2011 and our first patients were family and friends. It took a few years to build up our patient base by word of mouth and referrals. I was able to quit working for other private dental offices and be full time here in 2015. It’s like home here at Alegria Dental Care. I love being my own boss and treating my patients as family. I’m lucky to love what I do and to enjoy going to work each day. I wouldn’t choose any other profession.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Owning a small business is never a smooth road. Before we even opened I had issues with our contractor and that set us back quite a bit. We were supposed to be open in May 2011 and didn’t end up opening until October of that year. I hear this happens a lot with construction unfortunately. We have had multiple issues with the building since then, stolen a/c units, backed up plumbing, flooding, just to name a few. I’m very lucky to have a few people in my life who are very good with construction. Most of the issues my family and I fixed ourselves. I even dug out and help replace the underground plumbing! That was an adventure.
Please tell us about Alegria Dental Care.
One thing that sets me apart from other dentists is that I’m very friendly and super gentle. Many patients leave happy to have finally found a gentle dentist! I love it. My office is also a solo practice which means I will be the only dentist that treats you. Group practices or chain dental offices have multiple dentists and sometimes you never see the same dentist twice. I believe as a healthcare professional it’s my responsibility to care for your oral health throughout your life time. I want patients to feel comfortable with me and my staff and keep coming back for years. I provide dental care for the whole family from babies to adults. I’m a general dentist which means I can do all aspects of dentistry including cosmetic, implant, root canal, crowns, you name it! But I also know when difficult cases need to be sent to the specialist and I have a great network of peers in all specialty fields of dentistry.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Corbett, home of the east wind. That’s the name of a song my music teacher wrote for us for our yearly performance when I was about 7 years old. I grew up in a very small town, Corbett, Oregon. I remember this song so vividly. There were only about 50 people in my class and we all sang it. Anyone from my small hometown would recognize it immediately! “Corbett, home of the east wind. Someday it will blow us away!!!” hahaha.
Contact Info:
- Address: Alegria Dental Care
7555 Bellaire Blvd., Ste F
Houston, TX 77036 - Website: www.alegriadentalcare.com
- Phone: 713-981-6055
- Email: alegriahouston@gmail.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alegriahouston/
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