Northern Kentucky dentist duo gives back through mission trips

Dental partners Jared Stewart and Donn Mettens are both from Northern Kentucky and own a practice together.

But that's not all they have in common.

In addition to their practice, both dentists have dedicated their time to mission trips aimed at providing needed services in countries that lack access to dental healthcare.

Before they came together to form Mettens and Stewart Dental, located at 1807 Alexandria Pike in Highland Heights, Mettens was already a practicing dentist at the same office. In 2006, he invited Stewart, a Highlands High School student, to accompany him.

“When I was in college, I shadowed in an office like Jared does here, and it was the first time I had ever been in a modern dental office,” Mettens said. “I grew up in dentist offices in the 1950s and 60s, without Novocaine or anything like that. Very, very different. I was lucky enough to visit a dentist’s office and decided I really, really liked it.”

Stewart said Metten's office stood out to him because of the way he ran things and the respect he enjoyed from the community.

“This building was the first office I ever attended a dental procedure in,” Stewart said. “It was quite a major operation, which I always remember because I wouldn't have expected that in a dentist's office. So he was the first person to introduce me to the surgical side of dentistry and probably helped me develop into the type of practice I have now.”

In 2020, Stewart and Mettens began running the practice together, and on January 1, Stewart purchased the practice.

Before working with Mettens and after graduating from dental school at the University of Louisville, Stewart accepted a health fellowship in dentistry in the Army. Stewart served as a dentist in the Army for six years, working with soldiers and their families between 2015 and 2021.

He spent his first year learning about dental specialties at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs. He then spent two years in Seoul, South Korea and three years in Ansbach, Germany.

While Stewart was in school, Mettens became involved in a mission group called Sharing America's Resources Abroad, also known as SARA. Between 2000 and 2013 he made six to seven trips to Ukraine.

“Words can express the commitment that Dr. Donn Mettens and his entire family have shown SARA, not expressed it,” said Sara Szilagyi, wife of the late SARA founder Rev. Stephen Szilagyi. “Thanks to the countless hours spent at the Good Samaritan Children's Home in Nagydobrony, Zakarpattia, Ukraine, more than 400 children (including staff and community residents) eat better, smile more and live full, pain-free lives.”

According to Szilagyi, Mettens and another director, Alan Mikesell, financed and equipped the original dental clinic at the home (orphanage) in Ukraine. The clinic is called “The M&M Clinic” and a large sign with multi-colored M&Ms surrounds their names.

Szilagyi said Mettens hosted many doctors and other medical professionals in his home, including herself and her late husband. Medical professionals from Ukraine would come to the United States, where Mettens would teach and learn from them.

“From time to time he would have dentists from Ukraine come here and learn, and he was able to train them,” Stewart said. “They're teaching him to better understand how Ukrainians do dentistry, what they do, and so he picks up things that they do and thereby improves his practice, which is what I've noticed.”

In addition to his work in Ukraine, Mettens visited the Navajo Reservation last summer and is returning this year. He said he is trying to set up volunteer dental services there.

Stewart said Metten's missionary work was another reason he wanted to work with him.

“I don't even know if he ever had anything to do with it or thought about it, but I knew over the course of his time that he did it, and when I imagined what I would do in the future, that was another one big reason I wanted to come to work “I'm with him because he showed how you can run a dental practice, but you can also take the time to do mission work,” he said.

That's exactly what Stewart is doing now.

He traveled to Uganda, Peru, Jamaica, Guatemala, Honduras and Mumbai. Some of his trips have taken place during his dental studies, but the most recent ones have been through an organization called mPower, where he recently joined the board.

Stewart said that with mPower they train local medical staff to perform simple fillings, remove teeth and clean them.

“I think it's a good way to achieve this as you work more with local people and give them the skills you learn to help them continue to work independently and start businesses of this type.” , he said . “On your last day there, you leave 100 people waiting outside for your help and have to go home. So it’s an opportunity to build a more lasting partnership there.”

Stewart said he plans to take more mission trips through mPower, and Mettens said he will likely join eventually.

“DR. “Stewart's positive attitude, heart for the nations and sense of humor make him a joy to be with whenever he joins mPower Approach on a mission trip,” said Linda Webster, Executive Director of mPower. “We are pleased to welcome him to our board.”

Mettens has been in practice for about 27 to 28 years and said Stewart came in and made many improvements, including cosmetic and procedural, making things even more high-tech.

“When I was looking for a practice to buy into or buy at some point, you asked different people and no one had anything bad to say about him (Mettens),” Stewart said. “You may behave a certain way in your company, your practice or your work area because you want to portray a certain personality, but people who knew him behind the scenes always just said, we couldn't find a better man, with whom we could work.”

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