Uptown Smiles
After serving together as active-duty dentists, Dr. Alexandra Hernandez and Dr. Maricruz Martinez have teamed up to open an office in OKC.
Two U.S. Air Force veterans are giving the Uptown District something to smile about.
After serving together as active-duty dentists at Tinker Air Force Base, Dr. Alexandra Hernandez and Dr. Maricruz Martinez have teamed up to open Uptown Smiles at 601 NW 23. Their decision to open there was spurred by a desire to be in both an underserved neighborhood for dental services, as well as a district drastically changed from when they were stationed at Tinker.
“It was part of the whole revival of the 23rd Street area,” Hernandez said. “In 2006, there was nothing here. It’s really neat.”
The pair discussed a private practice when they left active duty, but for years it was just talk. Where a practice might be located and when they would both be able to participate in such a venture was undetermined.
Martinez was the first to retire from active duty, and being from Texas originally, she returned closer to home to work. She made sure her colleague, Hernandez, didn’t forget the idea.
“It was always in the back of my mind,” Hernandez sad. “She said, ‘When you get ready to separate, let’s talk about it for real.’”
In that time, Martinez realized Texas wasn’t where she wanted to be long-term.
“I went back to Texas and worked there for a year, but I liked Oklahoma,” Martinez said.
Ultimately, the pair decided on Oklahoma City, and 23rd Street in particular when Hernandez retired to reserve duty in the Air Force.
“We liked the visibility,” Hernandez said. “Visibility was our big, big thing.”
Renovations and room to grow
The dentists’ office is on the second floor of a remodeled building that had been vacant for years. Uptown Smiles is one of two new tenants to the building, and there is remaining space for a third. Jess Maulsby, with Hurts Donut, is the other tenant currently with a lease in the building, and his business is expected to open this spring.
“They’re both great tenants,” said Bruce Fraley, the building’s coowner. “We’re excited about the dentists because it’s always great to have medical tenants.”
Martinez and Hernandez signed a 10-year lease in the building and invested about $450,000 in renovations, they said. Having sat vacant for so long, there was little to work with other than the floor, ceilings and walls. They made use of some of the history of the building by leaving large swathes of exposed, original brick on the walls.
The space provides the dentists an opportunity to grow as business develops. There are currently six treatment rooms, but they have the space to double that capacity.
With two dentists and one oral hygienist, Uptown Smiles can serve about 24 patients a day, but that number will rise when treatment rooms, dentists and hygienists are added, Hernandez said.
They would like to display for-sale art from local artists on the walls of their business, much like what can be seen at coffee shops and restaurants. The hallways have gallery lighting to display the artists’ work.
Despite the trendy exposed brick and spaces for local art, Hernandez said their military background means their practice is “a little old-school too.”
“We’re a dental office that strives for integrity and doing the right thing,” Hernandez said.