Meet the Team

Dr. Mark Lewis – Why I became a dentist

“I’ve always wanted to be a dentist. As a kid I had very crooked teeth and was embarrassed to smile. My dentist Dr. Gus Petras helped me fix that and showed me how dentistry can change a person’s life.” 

Dr. Lewis comes from a long line of Redding locals. His family has been here for more than a century. He attended Prairie, Pacheco, and Anderson High School and met his wife Christine at Shasta College. 

Mark and Christine got married after undergrad, and he began attending the University of Southern California School of Dentistry. 

Faculty were so impressed with Mark that they offered him a position as student instructor teaching restorative dentistry and prosthodontics to underclassmen. Mark was also honored to be hand-picked by the world-renowned dentist, Dr. Pascal Mange to participate in his biomimetic and esthetic dentistry elective. 

After graduation, Dr. Lewis began searching for his next calling. He joined the U.S. Air Force and was accepted to the Advanced Education in General Dentistry Residency at Eglin Air Force Base. In residency, he honed his skills, mastering advanced techniques for dental implants, extractions, orthodontics, endodontics, periodontics, and prosthodontics.

Following residency, Dr. Lewis continued to serve in the Air Force for an additional seven years. He treated military personnel and was a sought-after dentist for our nation’s heroes. Dr. Lewis’ Air Force career culminated in his appointment to Commander of the Cannon Air Force Base Dental Clinic. He was the youngest commander ever to run a clinic of that scale, managing six dentists and twenty-eight auxiliary team members. 

During his service, Mark and Christine welcomed their son Connor and daughter Makella to the world. The couple wanted to raise their kids near family, so they left full-time military life and moved back home to Redding. When Dr. Lewis is not treating patients at Sundial, he can be found spending time with his family and being active in the Oregon National Guard.

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