About the business: Stella Chukwu, a D.C. native and graduate of Howard University’s College of Dentistry, launched Rockstar Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics in D.C.’s Shepherd Park neighborhood in December.
How it started: It began with a mid-pandemic leap of faith, Chukwu said.
“Everything was just kind of uncertain and I had a lot of time on my hands to really decide what my career goals were,” she said. “There’s nothing like self-destiny, and we had all this time off and coming into this really scary point of our lives, so might as well live it to the fullest purpose.”
Chukwu attended Spelman College in Atlanta as an undergraduate before earning her D.D.S. from Howard University’s College of Dentistry in 2010, where she’s also now a part-time volunteer adjunct faculty at the pediatric dentistry residency program. She spent the next decade completing her residencies and worked as an associate dentist at a practice in Maryland before branching out on her own.
She signed the lease for her office at 7838 Eastern Ave. NW in December 2020, started construction on Rockstar in July of last year, and opened up to patients in December.
The pandemic effect: Once she was ready to launch her own business, it took longer because of the pandemic’s impact on supply chain issues and material shortages in the construction industry, as well as government permit delays, Chukwu said.
Now, she said, many parents are still worried about the spread of Covid for their children, which means some haven’t brought their kids in to get their teeth cleaned in two years. That means she’s seen more cavities — a common refrain among pediatric dentists, she said.
The pandemic pivot: Chukwu said she designed the office space of Rockstar Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics with the pandemic in mind: with air purification technology, closed exam rooms, and totally digital paperwork processes.
The challenge today: Staffing.
Chukwu said it’s been difficult to find available health care workers to fill her business’ needs, as the pandemic’s strain on the industry’s workforce has prompted many to seek full-time positions that make them happy and pay higher wages.
“Anything that grows takes time, and good, quality, reliable people are not knocking on my door every day,” she said. “The ones that I can get, I’m very thankful for, but it is a huge challenge to get people who want to be in health care right now, especially in dentistry.”
She employs three — an orthodontist, receptionist and assistant.
What’s next: Chukwu organized an event last month for children to tour the office to lessen their fears around going to the dentist. She talked about nutrition and read books about Black history and dental health for both Black History Month and National Children’s Dental Health Month. Typically, she’d go into elementary schools to do so, she said, but with Covid restrictions, she’s strategizing outreach in different ways.
“[The dentist office] tends to be where kids are very frightened and intimidated,” Chukwu said. “We’re trying to make sure we have monthly community engagement.”
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