News Stuefen chose to begin dental practice in Vinton for small town atmosphere

     Sara Stuefen, D.D.S., came to Vinton with the newest dental technologies and the oldest dental advice.

     Stuefen, who bought the dental practice from Dr. Alan Woodhouse when he retired, said she chose the dental profession because it is the medical field that allows her to work most with her hands. She enjoys the artistic nature of dentistry, working with aesthetics to improve both the health and appearance of her patients’ teeth.

     A recent graduate as well as a teacher at the University of Iowa College of Dentistry, Stuefen said there have been many advances in technology that offer dentists more opportunities to help patients.

    “Implants, for one, have come a long way since they first came out the 1970s,” she said.

     But, she said, the basics of tooth care are the same ones that dentists have been preaching to patients for generations: Brush – thoroughly, twice a day. Floss. Get regular cleanings.

Small town shortage

    The U of I College of Dentistry is at capacity, said Stuefen. Big cities, generally speaking, have enough dentists. But she adds, small town and rural areas often have a shortage, with only one dentist serving a large area.

     But it was Stuefen’s love of small towns that brought her to Vinton. She heard about Dr. Woodhouse’s impending retirement through a match program at the U of I that links new dentists with those looking for someone to replace them. She had spent the first years of her childhood in Houston, but graduated from high school in Fort Madison.

     “I really like working in a small town atmosphere, where people know and trust each other,” she said.

     “This has worked out wonderfully,” she said of her new practice in Vinton. Stuefen has three dental assistants, who also share the office duties: Kriss Geiger, Jayme Caldwell and Connie Gill. Stuefen hopes to see the practice grow, and welcomes new patients.

      When she was younger, she was involved in gymnastics. She has met the “Magnificient Seven,” who won the Gold Medal for the USA in the 1996 Olympics, and has a framed, signed poster of that team in her office. Stuefen’s husband works at Rockwell; the couple lives in Cedar Rapids.

    Stuefen’s clinic is at 207 E. Fourth Street; reach her office at 472-3282.