Twenty years ago in November, George W. Bush was running the country, Lose Yourself by Eminem was the top song in the U.S., the movie The Santa Clause 2 was at the top of the box office at theaters and JAG, Becker, Andromeda and Smallville were some of the TV shows people were watching at the time.

Oh, and the practice of Dr. Stephanie Gruenes opened their doors for the first time.

The Grueneses (Stephanie and Joe) celebrated their 20th anniversary last week with cake and candles for their center for cosmetic dentistry. Back then when they started, it was just Joe, Stephanie and one other employee, Jodi, when they began taking on customers. The building they currently reside in was built  by Miller Construction after they broke ground on July 8 of 2002. By November, they opened their doors and have never looked back.

“I remember those first few days,” said Stephanie. “The feeling of nervousness and anxiousness. Then the dread of not being able to find anything because it was all so new to us.”

Before the doors opened that November, Stephanie and her staff worked tirelessly contacting people they knew and advertising that they were opening their own practice.

“We started with a laptop and a computer program and started utilizing those tools to start advertising and getting the word out,” Stephanie said.

The Beginnings

Stephanie, a native to Clear Lake, first got a job out of school at a practice in Sauk Rapids and worked there about 2.5 years. When she wanted to start her own practice, she and Joe started looking for locations and Becker was at the top of their list.

“Clear Lake was too small for a practice and my mom was living in Becker and so I spent a lot of time there,” said Stephanie. “It’s a good location right off the highway and we knew there were great schools here.”

Joe, who is the business manager at the office, has enjoyed being a part of changing people’s lives and seeing his kids (Jordan and Alyssa) grow up in the schools at Becker.

“Being able to be so close to the schools and being able to go a choir concert or a sporting event while the kids are there has been a treat,” said Joe. “Becker Schools have been phenomenal and the teachers have made life-changing impacts on our children.”

“Becker has served us really well and we are grateful to be part of the community,” said Stephanie.

While the Grueneses were building their business, Stephanie wanted her image and her business card to embody calmness and comfort while looking majestic. Joe began doodling on a napkin and — though his artwork looked more like a goose than a swan — the idea was born. Stephanie hired an artist to fine tune the image and the logo was birthed.

Today

As of 2022, the Gruenes practice employs eight people including Joe and Stephanie. Those included are: Jamie Smith, Danielle Potocnik, Kim Griffith, Alexa Wendt, Kristin Martin and Courtney Beaver.

Stephanie has a motto she lives and conducts business by and it is this: “We refuse to waver in our care.” That motto was put to the test through the years but especially during the COVID-19 epidemic when clients, employees and the general public became guarded. 

“We followed the dentistry standards of protection during that time but the epidemic really shook things up for us,” said Stephanie. “Trying to stay full-staffed and continue to conduct business as usual during that time was a challenge. We never made sacrifices in our care of our patients and our employees.”

Another incident that had the staff reeling was the day in February of 2015. Stephanie was up front at the main desk with other employees and a patient was waiting in the waiting room when a loud “BOOM” occurred and glass and debris started flying through the air. A Silverado truck, driven by a Sartell man, had crashed into the front of the building after sliding off Hwy. 10 en route towards St. Cloud.

“It sounded like a bomb exploded and I’m sure the pillar out front kept the vehicle from crashing further into our building,” said Stephanie.

Though the accident would put the business on hold for a short while, within days the Grueneses were courageously piecing the building back together as well as the entire front lobby.

“There was glass everywhere and without knowing it, we were tracking little bits of glass all over the building over the next few days,” said Joe.

That’s when family and friends stepped up for Joe and Stephanie.

“Our families got us through that emotional challenge,” said Stephanie.  She noted a family member helped by — instead of ordering new carpet and waiting a week or so for delivery — that family member drove 32 hours round trip to Georgia to pick up the carpet. Angell’s Construction was contacted to do the reconstruction and Traditional Floors of St. Cloud installed the newly-delivered carpet.

Advances in Care

Stephanie says the advances in dentistry have progressed since the first days of her practice and she is determined to stay “cutting edge” in her care.

“We are seeing more and more advances in computer-based dentistry with MRI scans, CAD/CAM-design and 3D printing,” said Stephanie. “This is giving us the ability to make more accurate treatments for our patients in quicker time frames.”

One of the pieces of equipment Stephanie has mastered through the years is the CEREC Dental CAD/CAM System. CEREC stands for Chairside Economical Restoration Esthetic Ceramic. It is an affordable ways of creating  a variety of dental prosthetics using digital modeling and CAD/CAM dentistry products. Dentists can get precise digital impressions and create crowns, inlays, onlays and veneers in a single visit.

Two of Stephanie’s top qualities — according to her husband Joe — are communication and gentleness. Joe says Stephanie takes the time with each patient to find out their care needs, find out their fears of dentistry and give them a realistic standard of care that will make their visits pleasant.

“We are always taking in new patients and we ensure we’ll fit them into our schedules when they are ready,” she says. “We are a boutique dental practice.”

What she means is they provide comfort for their patients. Back in the early days, they’d have patients bring their own CDs in to listen to the kind of music they want during procedures. They also provide blankets and headphones to help make their experiences better.

“We like to say, if you like where you are getting your dental care, great, stay with them,” said Stephanie. “If you don’t, come to us.”

They’ve got 20 years of satisfied customers to attest to their uncompromising excellence in dentistry.

Dr. Stephanie Gruenes Center for Cosmetic Dentistry is located at 13734 1st Street in Becker. Their phone number is 763-262-7645 and their website is: www.beckersmile.com.