We recently connected with Sana Yusuf and have shared our conversation below.

Sana, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

Tell us the story of a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big, life changing risk or a small risk. Either way, paint the picture for us, tell us the backstory and all the relevant details so we can fully understand the context and circumstances around when and why you took the risk and tell us how it turned out.

Sitting down and thinking about this question – sometimes I feel like the majority of my life has been an accumulation of risks, different in size and consequence, but risky nonetheless.

I’ll start from the beginning and briefly touch on a few things that lead to the biggest risk I’ve taken, which is opening a dental office, mid/post pandemic (while pregnant!)

I had my oldest son at 19 (yep, I was a teen mom). That set the trajectory for the rest of my life. Having a baby at 19, I daresay, is risky. Nobody, I mean nobody, thought that I would finish college, obtain a degree, let alone become a doctor. We all know now, I did finish college, obtain a degree and become a doctor.

After college, it was off to dental school but as a single teen mom where would I get the money? Risk #2 – I joined the Army. I have zero family members in the Armed Forces, I didn’t even know anyone in the military. I am a first-generation Pakistani girl from the suburbs of Chicago. All I knew was, I was smart enough to get this prestigious scholarship and the Army was paying for my dental school and for the sake of my 1.5 year old, I was going to do it. So little 2LT Yusuf commissioned in 2012.

Having a toddler while in dental school was no easy feat. I remember taking my son with me to Sim Clinic on the weekends to practice drilling on plastic teeth and doing fillings. Before I knew it, 4 years had passed. I had a 5 year old and a DMD degree and off to basic training I went.

From 2016 to 2020 I was an active duty Army Captain stationed at Fort Sill, OK. It’s hard to believe that time flew by and during that time I made some of my closest friends, got married and had another baby. Risk #3 came when it was time for me to get out of the Army…just as we were making the decision to move to Florida from Oklahoma, the entire world shut down and dentistry as we knew it, changed forever.

Let me start by saying, becoming a dentist is supposed to be a stable, predictable profession. Everyone needs a dentist but COVID had other ideas for our profession. I had obtained a job as an associate dentist at an office in Tampa and as COVID hit, the job offer was rescinded because all dental offices were closed for the foreseeable future. At this point, we were already committed to moving to Florida, my husband had a job, we found a house, I already was out processing from the Army…so we took the risk and moved to Tampa. Luckily, a few weeks before we moved I interviewed for an office looking for a dentist, and was hired immediately and I worked at that office for two years after moving here.

As I was working there – I found myself taking on a lot of “managerial”/”ownership” types of responsibilities. I found myself utilizing my leadership skills from the Army and building someone else’s business. In that moment, I realized, I had to do it for myself and for my family.

The story of how I even got started on this journey is one for another day because it’s a great story but for the sake of focusing on the risk – mid pandemic I decided to sign a 15 year lease and plant the flag for Sana Dental Studio + Spa. Opening a business is not easy, I don’t care what social media makes it look like or how easy consultants make it seem. I guess I should rephrase, opening a business & not being a multimillionaire aka being a normal average person, is not easy.

Also, here’s the kicker…one month after signing the lease on my office space, I found out I was pregnant. (((Totally unexpected because my husband and I didn’t think we could have anymore kiddos without fertility treatment (we went through fertility treatment with our daughter))))

So here I am, in a 15 year lease with a little bun in the oven. When I say overwhelmed, that’s an understatement. Imagine pregnancy hormones plus trying to build a business and you know nothing about building a business. From August to February I worked tirelessly turning my vision in to a reality and also trying to grow a healthy human being. March 3, 2022 we opened our doors! I was 8.5 months pregnant and I was working 2 days at my office and 3 days at the office where I was an associate.

Our little bundle of joy was born at the end of April and I took two weeks for maternity leave and came back and did 17 fillings on my first day :)

I have stories within stories, risks within risks, morals within morals and jokes about it all. Here’s the biggest take away, jumping in to the deep end to open my own start up dental office and med spa was by far one of the hardest things I’ve ever done/continue to do (besides trying to raise good tiny little humans who are not brats and have manners – that takes the prize for sure).

However, the hardest risk will one day bring me the highest reward. I can see it, everyday when I walk into the office, I see the potential of what it will be one day. We’re not there yet, we’re growing and getting our name out there, but one day, we will be a Wesley Chapel community staple. My son will be 15 years old when my lease ends, he’ll basically have grown up in the office, and maybe one day he’ll be a dentist and tell people the story about how his mom found out she was pregnant when the office was being built. All of this to say, I don’t know what the end result of taking this risk will be, but I am hopeful that it will all work out the way it is meant to. Until then, if anyone is looking for Tampa Bay’s FIRST boutique dental office and med spa look no further than Sana Dental Studio + Spa. We are your one stop shop for oral health care and self care.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

My name is Dr. Sana Yusuf, I am one of your many local general dentists. I have been in the dental field since I was in high school & have held every job in a dental office from receptionist, insurance coordinator, dental assistant and now as the doctor!
I graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Biology from University of Detroit Mercy in THREE years. You read that correctly, I graduated college at the age of 20. I continued my education at Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine, Downers Grove, IL, where I earned my Doctor of Dental Medicine degree at the age of 24.
After earning my doctorate, I joined the United States Army, as an Active Duty Captain and worked as a general dentist. Now a United States Army Veteran, I am an honored recipient of the Army Commendation Medal.
After leaving the Army, my family and I decided to move to Tampa, FL to settle down.
I am a momma to three kiddos (12-year-old boy, 3-year-old girl and 10 month old baby boy). Baby #3 was a total surprise because I have PCOS and went through fertility treatment to have my daughter so he is definitely an unexpected blessing. But seriously, who in their right mind starts a new business and has a new baby in the middle of a global pandemic that seems like it’ll never end? I literally had my son 6 weeks after opening the doors to my office and I was back at work when he was just 16 days old!
A very big part of my story is that I am a survivor of domestic abuse and sexual assault. It has taken me many years to be able to talk about my experiences and obstacles but I am finally at the point where I am ready to share my story. My hope is to make a difference by stepping out of my comfort zone and sharing my struggles and my shame, but also my strength and perseverance to overcome the situation I found myself in.
How did I go from a battered teen mom to a successful medical professional? I want other women and other survivors to know there is light at the end of the tunnel and there are resources available to help. I am currently the President of the Board for Sunrise of Pasco County (an organization that provides services and awareness regarding domestic violence and sexual assault). Joining this amazing organization was deeply rooted in my past and I look forward to utilizing this position to make a meaningful impact in other lives.
I recently opened an upscale boutique dental office and med spa in Wesley Chapel, FL. It is called Sana Dental Studio + Spa.
What makes my dental office different from the office down the street?
Me – that’s what’s different.
I am as transparent as they come.
I am committed to helping my patients achieve a healthy, esthetic smile while improving their quality of life. Our med spa helps enhance everyone’s inner and outer beauty, all non-surgically.
My goal is to educate my patients, involve them in their treatment decisions and provide a completely transparent and honest relationship of trust.
I will ALWAYS have your best interest in mind, I do not over-sell or over treatment plan. It’s as simple as this what you need and this is why. I will educate you and do my best to help you make an informed decision but ultimately the choice is yours! We are just here to facilitate the best dental care for you.
Not only does being a patient at our office benefit you, it also benefits the community with our Smiles for Sunrise program. For every new patient we donate $5 to Sunrise so they can purchase items for their shelter.
I am a member of the American Dental Association, Academy of General Dentistry, American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, American Academy of Facial Esthetics, and President of the Board for Sunrise of Pasco. I was also a clinical faculty member at LECOM School of Dental Medicine for a short period of time so I had the honor of helping teach the future generations of dentists!
When I’m not treating patients, you can find me spending time with my family, walking around Target, or binge-watching TV shows on Netflix :)

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Can you share the story of a time when you had to pivot (in business, career or life).

I have a really great example of my personal life (and if you ever come see me as a patient, you can ask me and I can definitely share) but the one I’m going to share today is career related.

After graduating dental school in 2016, I went directly in to the Army. Military medicine is completely different than private practice healthcare in the United States. My responsibility as an Army Dentist was to maintain the readiness of our troops at Fort Sill, make sure that the soldiers didn’t have dental pain or tooth aches, and ensure that they were deployable. The cost of the treatment wasn’t relevant, we did what was best for the soldier. We served the soldier (that was our unit motto too – Serving the Soldier).

Then when I got out of the Army and started working in private practice, everything was completely different. All of a sudden – even though I am suggesting treatment that is ideal for my patient – there were so many external factors that I never even considered the 4 years I was in the Army.

This change of patient base really made me pivot in the way I approached dentistry. For four years, I just went on doing whatever was in the best interest of the patient. Now all of a sudden, I had patients leaving in pain because they couldn’t afford the treatment they needed or getting teeth extracted because it was cheaper than a root canal and crown.

Also, lets be honest…people hate the dentist and also think we are just out to get rich off of their teeth woes. I’ve heard it all at this point but my favorite is that I’m trying to pay of my Mercedes by suggesting these treatment options….lets be honest, I wish I had a Mercedes to pay off but no, I’m suggesting this because I want to try to save your teeth and smile.

Anyways, so this harsh reality really changed the way I started communicating with patients. I still treatment plan what I think is best and then we have a conversation, point blank, about the finances. Most doctors don’t talk about money with their patients and for the longest time I felt uncomfortable doing that. I’m noticing now, patients feel more at ease when I talk to them about finances and we make a plan together on what will work within their budget. This allows me to tell patients myself, here are the facts, here is the treatment needed, here are the alternative options, here is the cost and its your choice. You have all the information you need to make an informed decision. For the longest, I took people’s financial burdens on to my shoulders…my therapist has told me I do that with most things and most people haha. But taking that burden on really started to cloud my judgement, I was trying to do things that were NOT in the best interest of my patient because I was worried about their finances.

This culture shock from military medicine to private practice really has helped me learn better communication skills and having faith and trust in my expertise and education. I will always suggest what is best for you as the patient. I will always present all the facts and then I will let you make that decision. I don’t lower my standard of care and I don’t provide supervised neglect but I do care and I do want what’s best for you and together we’re going to come up with a plan that works for YOU without compromising my ethics.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Brand awareness and word of mouth. Here’s the thing, I live in Wesley chapel and my office is in Wesley Chapel. I see my patient’s all over the place (mainly at Target, because I live there when I’m not at my office haha). I always want to do right by my patients and provide the best care, but when you live in the same community, all of a sudden the stakes are a little higher but it also helps people realize, I too am human and I definitely don’t have it all together.

We run ads in most of the local newspapers and magazines, we’re all over Facebook and Instagram, and we even have a billboard. I think people just seeing our name over and over again, at some point they’re gonna say “gees, what is this Sana Dental Studio + Spa that I keep seeing everywhere?”.

Happy clients/patients has led to tons of word of mouth referrals, and those are the best because the person who refers the new client truly enjoyed their experience with us. After all, it is literally nothing like your average dental office or med spa ;)

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sanadentalstudio.com
• Instagram: @sanayusufdmd AND @sanadentalstudioandspa
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/sanadentalstudio
• Other: Tik Tok – Sanadentalstudioandspa

Image Credits
Glenda Photography and Tan Social Marketing