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First Step Dental celebrates 30 years of making smiles
First Step Dental 1
Dr. Remya Niranjan watches a young patient blow bubbles during First Step Dental’s celebration on Tuesday (JOE CORTEZ/The Journal).

Smiles were on full display Tuesday afternoon as First Step Dental – 1810 N. Olive Ave., Suite 2 – celebrated 30 years in the community.

Come to think of it, the free snow cones might have had something to do with all those smiles.

Remya Niranjan, DDS, has been working at First Step Dental since 2020 and purchased the practice in 2025. Prior to that, the 2011 UCSF graduate opened a dental clinic in Livingston in 2015.

“I’ve always been in the valley area, working for community clinics and practices,” Niranjan said. “I saw a lot of underserved kids.”

That led her to return to UCSF to get a specialized degree in pediatric dentistry.

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The team at First Step Dental pose for a picture during their 30th anniversary event held Tuesday (JOE CORTEZ/The Journal).

First Step Dental, which sees anywhere from 60 to 75 patients per day, has been associated with First Step Orthodontics – 1729 N. Olive Ave. – since 2010.

“We brought in Kona Ice, and we invited our patients and their families through social media and text messages to come down and enjoy some snow cones,” said office manager Debbie Silveira, who has been with First Step Dental since 1996.

According to Silveira, First Step Dental annually hosts field trips for elementary school students – typically second grade and younger – and will also visit schools to conduct free dental screenings.

“It’s mostly educating kids and getting them comfortable coming to the dentist at a very young age,” said Silveira. “We want to make it fun for them, so they’re not scared visiting the dentist; we like to start them before their first birthday.”

On Tuesday afternoon, with the temperature sitting just over 100 degrees (probably much hotter on the dark asphalt parking lot), kids danced, colored, blew bubbles and waited in a long line for the snow cones.

“We’ve watched little patients grow up and become parents and bring their ‘littles’ back,” said Director of Operations Aileen Crone, who has also been with the firm for 30 years. “That’s probably the most rewarding thing.”

In addition to Niranjan, there are two other dentists on site – Armita Akbarnejad, DDS, and Alfonse Doan, DDS – and two hygienists, as well as 16 other staff members.

“I started working here two days a week, then went to three days, then to four,” said Niranjan, who said it was not initially her intention to buy the practice when she joined the firm. “I was just so in love with the team here. All of my staff are amazing. They’re what makes this place special.”