HOUSTON – What may seem like a regular brick building on Cullen Boulevard is actually a historical landmark in the Sunnyside Houston community, filled with history dating back to the 1950s.
Recommended Videos
Poindexter Dental, located in the Sunnyside community, has been able to keep its markings in the community, thanks to its three generations of Black dental professionals.
Poindexter Dental is a full-service dental practice focusing on crowns, bridges, traditional and mini dental implants, orthodontics, fillings, surgeries, extractions, teeth cleaning and treating oral diseases.
Its roots started in 1956 when Dr. Zeb Poindexter Jr., the first Black person to graduate from the University of Texas Dental Branch, opened Poindexter Dental on Cullen Boulevard.
“All the things you see here now weren’t here, but there were businesses in the neighborhood. Black people had cleaners. We had our own stores. We had everything you could think of under the sun, our own plumbing companies. This was a vibrant area. What you see now, today, is somewhat desolate in this state here in Sunnyside,” said Dr. Zeb Poindexter III.
Zeb told KPRC 2 that he grew up learning everything about the dental business from his father and eventually followed in his footsteps, graduating from the same UT program in 1984, becoming the first father-son team to complete the doctoral dental program.
After his father retired in 2004, Zeb took over the business, and now, his son Blake is following the same path, working as a registered dental assistant.
“We are still here, and we stand as an institution for the people of Sunnyside,” said Zeb. “We are proud that we are three generations into the same profession. And for the practice, it’s 68 years old.”
Although being in the Sunnyside community has come with its fair share of challenges, Zeb said deciding to keep their roots in the Black community is vital to the legacy his father left and the legacy he plans to leave for the generations after him.
“My mother and father are the base of the pyramid, they created the first level of the business. Now we’ve gone on to move to the second level and third level,” Zeb explained. “It always says in the good book to never remove the ancient landmark, so we as a people have always got to value ourselves first before we can move up the ladder of economics. We have to give reverence to the past, plan and work the present so we can work towards the future. So, somebody is going to take my place. This is for the future generation.”