Cavities are permanently damaged areas in the hard surface of ones teeth that develop into tiny openings or holes.
The building of Stephanie Gruenes Dental suffered a rather large cavity — though not permanent — when a pickup truck breached their front lobby in a one-vehicle accident Feb. 24.
Starting this week, the Gruenes family of dentists have started treatment to repair that major cavity.
As most will see over the next few weeks to a possibly months, the Gruenes Center for Cosmetic Dentistry office building will be under repair. Walls will be reconstructed, windows replace and the facade out front will get a much-needed facelift.
The Grueneses business will stay open during reconstruction.
The accident occurred the morning of Feb. 24 when a truck slid off a frontage road and hit the building housing Dr. Stephanie Gruenes Center for Cosmetic Dentistry on First Street at 9 a.m. The truck did not penetrate the building, but caused extensive damage to glass windows, a column and to an overhang on the building.
The driver (43-year-old John Janu of Sartell) was extricated and flown to St. Cloud Hospital with serious injuries, and a person in the waiting room was taken by ambulance to St. Cloud Hospital with cuts from glass. No one else was hurt.
A pillar or column just outside the main doors of the dentist shop is credited with stopping the vehicle from actually penetrating the building. The column — one of two just outside the doors — is a post wrapped in brick and stone and it received structural damage but possibly prevented a much worse outcome.
A floor-to-ceiling window in the lobby shattered in the crash and shards of glass were strewn throughout the reception area as well as outside along the side of the building and in the sod and landscaping.
The exterior of the building is fashioned with brick and stone and many areas will need to be replaced — and that is proving to be a challenge for the Grueneses who are as emphatic about the appearance of their office building as they are with their patients’ smiles.
“We care about the aesthetics of our building and grounds and we put a lot of work into making sure the inside and outside look good,” said Stephanie.
The trouble Stephanie and her husband Joe have faced is finding brick and stone to match the rest of the facade that already exists. The building was constructed in 2002 and through the course of weather and time and the elements, the brickwork is impossible to perfectly match.
“And so, we are going to go ahead and replace it all — the brick, the window, the sod and the landscaping,” said Stephanie.
The landscaping needs replacing not only for the destruction the vehicle caused when it trampled most of it, but also because the Grueneses have found the task nearly impossible to retrieve and dispose of the millions of tiny shards of glass that was strewn throughout the grounds.
Inside, the Grueneses have put up a temporary wall between the reception desk and the blown out window to allow for safety and privacy for their patients as well as space and room for the construction crew to get the job done.
They’ve also had to replace furniture in the lobby that was damaged and decided to re-carpet the entire office space instead of trying to find matching carpet for the lobby where emergency personnel trudged through and left trails of dirt, mud, bloody gauze and other debris.
Stephanie’s family — who happen to be in the trucking business — expedited the clean-up inside by having a driver journey 32 hours round trip to Georgia to pick up the carpet instead of having to wait many days or weeks to get the flooring delivered.
The Grueneses have also seen great support from numerous local businesses who have stepped forward to provide help and services. Angell’s Construction was contacted to do the reconstruction and Traditional Floors of St. Cloud installed the newly-delivered carpet.
Service Master was on-hand that first weekend to help with clean-up and the moving of all furniture and equipment to prepare the floors for carpeting.
Stephanie is also grateful to the city for quickly replacing the street light taken out in the accident and for the police for stopping by frequently to check on things and ask if anything was needed.
“We’ve been working with some great people and everyone has been so supportive and helpful,” said Stephanie. “Our goal is to have our building back in shape in a few weeks and we remind everyone we will remain open throughout the construction, though it may not look like it from the outside.”
And soon the building with be back to its smiling forefront — with no cavities.
