Dr. Sara Stuefen attended the University of Iowa for her undergraduate studies and received her DDS degree in 2010 from the University of Iowa College of Dentistry. She was the recipient of the Dr. James Michael Leary Memorial Award presented annually to a “graduating senior dental student who has demonstrated high ethical and technical standards.”
Dr. Stuefen currently serves as an ADA Success Speaker lecturing throughout the country to dental students on various topics from practice management to leadership. She previously served as a member of the ADA’s New Dentist Committee and was a member of the ADA’s Council on Dental Benefit Programs representing new dentists. She has also served as Liaison to the ADA Council on Ethics, Bylaws, and Judicial Affairs, and coauthored an article on dental ethics that was published in the Journal of the American Dental Association. Dr. Stuefen served on the board of the University District Dental Society from 2012—2017 and finished her Presidency in 2017. She is an active member of the Iowa Dental Association (IDA), currently serving as chair of their Medicaid Committee and served as chair of their New Dentist Committee 2015-2017.
Since 2010, Dr. Stuefen has been an adjunct faculty member instructing undergraduate senior dental students in the Department of Family Dentistry at the University of Iowa College of Dentistry as an Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor.
In October 2017, Dr Stuefen was honored to be inducted as a Fellow of the International College of Dentists. The organization recognizes individuals’ “outstanding professional achievement, meritorious service and dedication to the continued progress of dentistry for the benefit of humankind.”
In April 2015, Dr. Stuefen was named Iowa’s “New Dentist of the Year” by the IDA.
Dr. Stuefen served as chair of the 2017 annual Iowa Mission of Mercy (IMOM) event which was held in Cedar Rapids. IMOM is a 2-day event that provides free dental care to those in need and Dr. Stuefen has participated for many years.
Dr. Stuefen enjoys volunteering in the Vinton, Iowa community and is Past President of the Vinton Lions club and member and secretary of the Virginia Gay Hospital Board of Directors. She participates in dance, particularly ballet and jazz, and enjoys spending time with her family.