Since 2005, Sunnyside Dental Care has been gracing the community with an abundance of dental services. And not only that, but also gracing the community with the kindness and friendliness of its staff.
At Sunnyside Dental Care, the patient-doctor relationship comes above all. Dr. Johnson, Dr. Hoover, Dr. Stoker, and Dr. Stucki, among the dental hygienists, make it a point to make everyone feel welcome.
From left: Dr. Hoover, Dr. Stucki, Dr. Stoker and Dr. Johnson nurture smiles with comfort and kindness.
Dr. Johnson, who opened the practice 20 years ago, made it his mission to provide the best dental care that he could while working one-on-one with patients. Over the years, he’s done just that, and now, as he plans to part from Sunnyside Dental Care in December, he embarks on a new journey.
As someone who has a great passion for dentistry and a desire to give back where he can, Dr. Johnson is going to serve as a humanitarian dentist in Tonga for a year and a half after his semi-retirement.
“I’ve always enjoyed doing humanitarian work. We actually had a refugee family from Peru that was here last year, and we did work on all of them,” said Dr. Johnson. “I just get a lot of enjoyment out of doing that, but I still had to feed my family, so I couldn’t do it 100% of the time.”
“I finally got to the point where I think I can survive without getting money from dentistry now, so I can actually give back and serve.”
As a dedicated dentist and inspiring mentor, Dr. Johnson leaves a lasting legacy at Sunnyside Dental Care.
“He definitely has a passion for it, and I think that’s rubbed off and been a good example for me,” said Dr. Hoover, who’s worked alongside Dr. Johnson for the past decade.
“He’s never done learning, and he’s still trying to improve his techniques,” said Dr. Stucki, who recently joined the Sunnyside Dental team in June. “As a newer dentist, he’s really inspired me to look at my career in a way that will be one of constant growth for my patients’ benefit.”
As Dr. Johnson leaves the office, Dr. Hoover, Dr. Stoker and Dr. Stucki will continue to embody his passion for helping others.
When asked about what their favorite thing about dentistry is, they all remark that it’s the patients, and after a remodel in recent years, they’ve expanded to where they can take on more patients and provide more services.
“I love being able to work with the community and knowing that some of the stuff we get to do changes people’s lives,” said Dr. Stoker. “It’s fulfilling to see the happiness that we can bring to people and not put them in a lot of pain or to fix a smile that they’ve always wanted and never had.”
Dr. Hoover has a similar fulfillment. “It’s really rewarding to have somebody who’s self-conscious or, you know, really afraid and then totally changes their outlook to be able to smile and not be afraid of that,” he said.
Above all, the doctors and staff at Sunnyside Dental Care are just happy to be a part of the community.
“What I feel here is just caring for individual people and a willingness to make the experience good for them,” said Dr. Johnson. “We try to provide a lot of options, and people tend to go where they feel comfortable, and that’s what we want.”
