Our staff consists of:
Dr. Patel (Viralkumar Patel)
Dr. Viral Patel graduated from Bharti Vidyapeeth University in Pune, India with a Bachelor of Dental Surgery in 2004. He started his
career in India working in both hospital and private settings in rural areas where he grew up until he immigrated to Edmonton,
Alberta, Canada in 2006. In 2009, he joined New York
University and graduated in 2013 w
ith a Doctorate in Dental Surgery. He has practised in Texas, New Mexico, Edmonton, and High
Prairie for 3 years. He decided that rural Alberta was where he wanted to be, so in 2016 he took over the practise in Stettler and now
provides dental services to Stettler and surrounding communities. He spends his free time with his wife, Meetal, and 2 kids. Viral
loves to cook, watch movies, listen to music, explore the mountains and drink coffee. Meetal Patel grew up in Edmonton and graduated with Bachelors of Pharmacy from the University of Alberta. She married Dr.Patel in
2006 and has 2 wonderful children. She moved to Central Alberta with Dr. Patel in 2016, when Dr. Patel took over the dental practise. Shaunna Ackerman is originally from Saskatchewan. She graduated from the Dental Assisting program at Wascana SIAST in Regina, Sask. in
1989. She has more than 30+ years experience. She is also trained to work as our front end administrator. She moved to Stettler in
2001 with her husband Ray and found employment in Red Deer. She was driving back and forth for 18 years until a job finally came
available in Stettler. Shaunna likes the variety of services available in our office and enjoys getting to know our patients as she helps
meet their needs. She has a positive, friendly attitude that makes all of our patients feel welcome. When she isn’t taking care of our
patient’s needs, Shaunna enjoys crafting, reading and camping with her husband and daughter
Karen Sorensen graduated from the dental assisting program at SAIT in Calgary in 1989. She came back to her hometown Stettler and has
worked the past 30+ years at this office. She has always prided herself with keeping current with expanded duties and enjoys the
clinical side of dentistry. Karen enjoys working with all ages of patients, and helping them reach their dental goals. Away from the
office Karen and her husband Red have been avid cheerleaders of their crew of six children. Karen enjoys her down time trail riding
her mare Miss Lily with family and friends locally and at the mountains. Originally raised in Manitoba, Miranda Mailer moved to Stettler with her family in 2005. She attended middle school and high school here,
before venturing off to Calgary to obtain her Dental Assisting Certificate from SAIT Polytechnic. After working in the city and gaining
experience for 4.5 years, Miranda was ready to be back in a small town, hence moving back to Stettler and beginning to work with Dr.
Patel in January 2018. Since being back in town, Miranda married a local boy at the end of August 2020 and is now preparing for the
arrival of her first baby! Kennedy Rost grew up in Stettler and moved to Edmonton after graduating high school. She received her diploma in Dental Assisting from
NAIT in 2020. She returned to her hometown to begin her career. She is passionate about patient care and patient education. You
may see her helping out at reception as well as in the back assisting with all your dental needs. She is dedicated to expanding her
skills to provide the best care for our patients. In her spare time, Kennedy enjoys the outdoors and spending time with her husband. Sara Hegberg graduated with a BSc with Specialization in Dental Hygiene in 2002 from the University of Alberta and has been working part or
full time ever since. Patient care is of utmost importance to her and she has enjoyed working at this office since 2014 getting to know
and caring for all of our patients here. She attended school here for 8 through 12th grade and after living in multiple cities around
Canada, her and her husband Jason decided to settle back here in 2010 after starting their family. They have 4 young girls that keep
them on their toes. Sara enjoys being active and social and she loves her music as most patients can attest to. Kelli Hoopfer is a registered dental hygienist who has been with our clinic since 2015. She graduated with a Diploma in Dental Hygiene from
the University of Alberta in 2010, and later went on to complete a Bachelor of Science with Specialization in Dental Hygiene degree. She thoroughly enjoys being part of a career that focuses on educating, diagnosing and treating oral health conditions in order to
maintain a healthy smile. Kelli is a Stettler native and now resides on a farm east of town where she can be found spending most of
her free time with her husband and two kids.
