Sana Dental Studio & Spa Provides The Best Of Both Worlds

By JOHN C. COTEY john@NTNeighborhoodNews.com

Juan Contin wasn’t necessarily looking for a new dentist when his wife Valerie suggested he give Sana Dental Studio and Spa a try. In fact, he was content traveling from his Land O’Lakes home to his dentist in Brooksville for his dental work.

But, when he stepped into the office of Dr. Sana Yusuf, D.M.D., in the Promenade at Lexington Oaks plaza (just off Wesley Chapel Blvd. at Old Pasco Rd.), that all changed.

“My wife went first, and now we both go there,” Juan says. “It was a totally different experience. We love it.”

Juan says the dental care at Sana Dental & Spa has been excellent, the modern atmosphere is unlike what you might imagine for a dentist’s office, the staff is friendly and outgoing and the office is vibrant.

And, of course, that is all due to Dr. Yusuf, who is working hard to give all of her patients the same kind of experience that has made the Contins happy patients.

She uses the latest technologies and has enjoyed a surprisingly long history in the profession (considering her young age) to provide what she calls top-notch dental care.

“We are going to give you quality above all,” says Dr. Yusuf, a Wesley Chapel resident. “When you do that, you and the rest of her staff at make it a great experience. We’re not a corporate dentist. We’re not rushing you in and out with a different dentist every time. We’re going to do it right and you’re going to leave happy.”

Dr.

Blvd. aim to make going to the dentist as pleasurable and relaxing as going to a spa....which you also can do at Sana.

Dentistry isn’t just a job for Dr. Yusuf, it’s a long-time love. She is only 31 years old, but is a 15-year veteran in the business, having started working in the field when she was just 16 and has been everything from a receptionist to insurance coordinator to dental assistant and now, doctor.

Dr. Yusuf graduated Summa Cum Laude — in only three years and at the age of 20 — with a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Biology from the University of Detroit Mercy. She earned her Doctor of Dental Medicine (D.M.D.) degree four years later from Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine in Downers Grove, IL.

After earning her D.M.D. degree, Dr. Yusuf joined the U.S. Army as an Active Duty Captain and worked as a general dentist. She is an honored recipient of the Army Commendation Medal.

In 2020, she was leaving the Army just as the Covid-19 pandemic was starting, and she and her husband and two children decided to move to Wesley Chapel.

That set off a series of logistical events that made Dr. Yusuf wonder if she should have stayed in the safe confines of the army. But, despite a number of obstacles, including losing her dental associate job in Tampa due to the pandemic before even making the move here, she was able to find another associate job, which she worked at for roughly two years.

But eventually, her entrepreneurial spirit took over, and she decided it was time to do her own thing.

“I was working my tail end off to build someone else’s practice, someone else’s business,” she says. “I asked myself, ‘Why not do it for me?’ I was a captain in the military, I’m a natural leader, I’m an oldest sibling and I had a lot of great ideas. I just realized I wasn’t getting out what I was putting into my job and I should do it myself.”

Since opening Sana Dental in July 2022, Dr. Yusuf has built her practice not only into a unique space, but one offering high-quality dentistry that runs the gamut from regular cleanings to veneers and crowns to dental surgeries, like extractions and bone grafts

In fact, Dr. Yusuf says, “I was literally going to go into residency to be an oral surgeon. Surgery is my absolute favorite.”

If there is a dental procedure Dr. Yusuf can’t do herself, she says she has a talented network of local specialists to whom she can refer you.

Sana Dental Studio & Spa also offers Invisalign smile makeovers and same-day emergency appointments.

The latest technology, like 3D imaging that takes color pictures of every tooth, is employed for the most thorough care.

What About The Spa Side?

Dr. Yusuf started Sana Dental Studio & Spa by marrying the two concepts, in the hope of transforming a trip to the dentist into a comfortable and relaxing experience, like visiting a spa.

“Everyone loves the spa but hates going to the dentist, right?,” she asks.

But, things didn’t exactly turn out that way. People got excited and started asking about facials and massage therapists, “and I was like, no, that’s not what that’s supposed to be, but then it turned into that,” she says, chuckling.

Office manager Diana is a licensed esthetician, so Dr. Yusuf went out and hired another licensed esthetician, a medical assistant and an aesthetic nurse practitioner. She bought a laser, microneedling machine and other needed equipment.

While Dr. Yusuf has kept the spa offerings to things above the neck — “That is our anatomical area of expertise” — Sana

Dental Studio & Spa also offers radiofrequency microneedling with Morpheus8, Lumecca Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) Photofacials, Laser Hair Removal, HydraFacials, CoolPeel skin resurfacing, and a variety of injectables, such as Botox and filler.

While dentistry is still 80 percent of the business, the spa also has been successful. In fact, when Sana Dental Studio & Spa expands into an adjacent space in the same plaza over the next few weeks, the spa-related equipment will be relocated to its own space, freeing up more rooms for dental care, accommodating growth in both areas.

All in all, it’s been a whirlwind for Dr. Yusuf, who had her third child in Spring 2022 as she was preparing her new practice for opening. She says her schedule is crazy, but she loves her job and her patients.

And she loves Wesley Chapel, where she also has found time to serve as the president of the Board of Directors at Sunrise of Pasco County, a center for victims of domestic and sexual abuse. She raised $1,700 for the center in November and for every new patient she sees, she donates an additional $5.

She also says she enjoys holding fundraisers every couple of months, in order to give back to her community. On Jan. 20, her office was raising money for a local Little League baseball team.

Being involved in the community is one of the perks of being a local business owner and entrepreneur, and Dr. Yusuf says she is happy to have made the decision to move her family, and open her practice, in Wesley Chapel.

“I live five minutes away from my office,” She says. “I tell my patients, that they’ll probably see me at Target buying diapers for my kids. And, I don’t want to run into them and then have to run in the other direction because I disappointed someone.”

Sana Dental Studio & Spa is located at 5728 Post Oak Blvd. The office hours are Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., and Friday by appointment only. For more information, call (813) 694-2278, visit SanaDentalStudio.com or see the ad on page 22 of this issue.