DIXON, CA (MPG) - Wait no more parents of budding adolescent children who have noticeable overbites, underbites, or crooked teeth: Dixon has its first orthodontist.

Matthew Sanders, father of five and owner of three other offices, opened Sunrise Orthodontics at 2355 North Lincoln this past week already greeting families who has been waiting for him to arrive in Dixon. His other offices are in Gold River, Placerville, and Elk Grove.

“I kept coming back to Dixon,” he said. “I’ve come here several times and drove every street in town. I know Dixon didn’t have an orthodontist.” He was looking for possible cities and possible buildings when he saw the lot available across from the new Grocery Outlet.

Sanders received his Doctorate of Dental Surgery at Loma Linda University School of Dentistry and earned a degree in orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics with honors. He then completed a year of general practice residency at a VA Hospital before returning back to LLUSD to obtain his Master’s in orthodontics and certificate in orthodontics.

Because he grew up in Humboldt, son of the only dentist in a small town, he said, he likes small towns and likes to find properties that need to be fixed up. Reminding him of Humboldt, he was drawn to the redwoods and the half-buried building on the corner of Highway 113 and North Lincoln.

“I like taking something old and re-doing it,” he said about his vision for the building. “Like creating the perfect smile...it’s very exciting.” It has taken them over a year to remodel. Sadly, though, the redwood trees had to go with the roots that had wound into the water and sewer pipes.

“Dutch Bros sent me a thank you letter for cutting them down,” he said. “They said the trees regularly had large branches fall on them.” He worked with his wife, Joyce, who is a dental hygenist to redesign the inside and outside of the older building formerly housed by a credit union then a farm equipment dealer’s association.

Almost all of the inside of the building was transformed into a gleaming white-walled, state-of-the-art orthodontist office. The main client room has a half-dozen reclining chairs each having a view of the outdoors and its own television screen for distractions while the experts work, she said. There are other rooms that afford more one-on-one consults with parents present.

Along one wall is a set of 10 framed color photos of smiling children"'they are his family of five children with two poses: One smiling and one being silly. The couple have two boys, and three girls which include a set of twins.

Dr. Sanders wants to be part of the Dixon community and wants to do “community things” like his Dad who supported 4-H, FFA, and had students raising pigs, he said. They are very involved in their communities and offer a completely free mouthguard program for local youth sports. They also sponsor many community-involved events, which helps them get to know neighbors in their community and their needs even better.

“We love kids and have a lot of fun with them,” Sanders said. “We give lots of rewards for doing a good job and even being on time. Kids love it!”

For more information on Sunrise Orthodontics, call (916) 848-2947 or go to SunriseOrthodontics.com.