The story behind the mural

Stunning Art for Sacramento and Surfside Kids Dental 

>> Tag us in your mural photos using #SurfsideSmile

When you step inside Surfside Kids Dental in Land Park, Sacramento, there’s no way to miss our beach and underwater theme. The interior was carefully designed with a giant wave, a sandcastle, dolphins on the ceiling, palm trees, and an interior mural that adorns the walls of the treatment area. There’s a game cave in the waiting area and a prize wall behind reception.

These features are certainly not something you will see in a typical Sacramento dentist office. But as a kids’ dentist in Sacramento, we are all about creating a positive experience for all of our patients. Our patients love coming to Surfside, and for young children especially the fun beach theme can be calming, entertaining and engaging.

We carefully designed the environment to help kids become comfortable with seeing their dentist, but also to bring the fun surftastic so-cal vibes to East Sacramento.

Surfside Kids Dental specializes in Orthodontics and kids’ dental care. We also accept adult patients for orthodontic treatment. According to Sacramento Pediatric Dentist, Dr. Jenny McCarthy, “We want parents to know that’s our difference. We are different than a general dentist.”

An East Sacramento Community Mural

When the office first opened several years ago we looked for a local street artist to create a mural. We have the perfect building for it. If you have never been to our office, you have surely seen the mural to the right of the Target parking lot, just before Riverside Clubhouse at 2615 Riverside Blvd. We were so fortunate to have found Sacramento natives Ernie Upton and Neal Bergmann — muralists who have been buddies since their days at Sunrise Elementary School in Citrus Heights.

Upton and Bergmann have worked on various artistic projects together, such as comic book conventions, installations for the New Year’s Eve TBD block party in midtown, and murals for the Beach Hut Deli chain. Upton also participated in the large-scale mural created for Rikers Island Correctional Facility in New York.

The Surfside Kids Dental mural is the biggest mural Upton had produced in Sacramento at the time. It presents an underwater paradise that features large sea turtles, dolphins, and underwater plants, as well as a sandy beach at sunset with a cruiser and our name.

While the purpose of the mural is to advertise the business and to point families in the right direction, for us, the art is also meant to give something back to it’s the community. We want it to be a successful business but we want it to have much more of a community feel. As with everything that we do, making a difference in the community is our main focus.

We wanted to do something that would be a benefit to the community, something that would be really fun. It’s what I wanted going in and Ernie made that vision come to life. – Owner, Daenen Merrill

A Beachin’ Experience

Our dental office’s enchanting setting, combined with the mural, is designed to provide parents and their children with peace of mind. And since young patients are placed in the hands of Pediatric Dentists and Orthodontics Specialists, everyone can step out of the clinic with both healthier teeth and a calm, relaxed disposition.

At Surfside Kids Dental, going to the dentist really is like a day at the beach. If you are interested in a list of more murals around Sacramento, check out this interactive map created by Journalist Nate Miller of The Sacramento Bee.

Don’t worry, go surfin!