Dental Entrepreneurship & Community Practice: Kari A. Cunningham, DMD, FAAPD

Dr. Kari A. Cunningham

Dental Entrepreneur

Panther Pediatric Dentistry

https://pantherpediatricdentistry.com/kari-cunningham/

Dr. Kari is a Board Certified Pediatric Dentist, a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, and owner of Panther Pediatric Dentistry.

She graduated Valedictorian from Euclid High School in 2002 and later attended the University of Pittsburgh. Both schools had blue and gold colors and panther mascots so Dr. Kari knew right away what she wanted to name her practice. Dr. Kari is excited to return and establish her first pediatric dental practice in her hometown of Euclid, OH where she will help all patients and guests S.M.I.L.E. with Panther Pride!

At the age of twelve, Dr. Kari began to consider dentistry as a career. Her father, who was a trained dental assistant in the U.S. Air Force, encouraged her to “Go be the doctor!” Years of shadowing dentists and participating in summer programs throughout high school and college reaffirmed her decision to become a dentist. After graduating Valedictorian from Euclid High School in 2002, Dr. Kari received a full academic scholarship to attend the University of Pittsburgh.

In 2004, Dr. Kari enrolled in Pitt’s Semester at Sea program during which she experienced many communities around the world with little or no access to dental care. Upon visiting an orphanage in Tanzania, she was overwhelmed at the sight of children with no parents and limited access to basic oral health care. Later during their tour of the Khayelitsha township in South Africa their tour guide said, “when someone in our community ‘makes it,’ they don’t just leave to better themselves, they return to reinvest in the community so that someone else can have a chance.” Those words stuck with Dr. Kari and began to shift her personal and professional goals. Her semester at sea awakened a deep love for Africa, a passion for community dentistry, and servant leadership. She made a promise to the children and to herself that she would one day return to Africa as a dentist.

After college, Dr. Kari earned several scholarships to return home and attend Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine (CWRU) where she earned her Doctor of Dental Medicine degree in 2010 and completed her specialty training at Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital (RB&C) in 2012. She has been an adjunct faculty member at CWRU and RB&C since 2012 and served as the Dental Director of the Rainbow Center for Women and Children in Cleveland’s Midtown neighborhood.

In 2014, Dr. Kari was able to keep her promise and return to Africa as a volunteer pediatric dentist with the Global Dental Relief non-profit organization. She spent two weeks in Kenya at the PCEA Kikuyu Hospital Dental Clinic where she was once again touched by the number of children suffering from a lack of dental care but this time, she was able to serve and help them. In four service visits to Kenya, Dr. Kari has administered dental treatment to over 2,000 children, ensuring that every child has a happy, healthy, and confident smile.

The words of her tour guide from South Africa during the Semester at Sea experience still rang through Dr. Kari’s head. The concept of reinvesting in the community you came from resonated with Dr. Kari and inspired her to return to her hometown of Euclid, OH to establish Panther Pediatric Dentistry. Dr. Kari is honored and overjoyed about this season in her career as a practice owner and is excited to continue building lifelong relationships with her patients and her community. Dr. Kari is married to Mr. Vincent, whom she met on the many service trips to Kenya and he is now part of the Panther Pride. When she is not taking care of children’s smiles, Dr. Kari enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, planning an event, teaching health care professionals about pediatric dentistry, or enjoying some of the many gems around town in Northeast Ohio.