Kensington dentist honored for work in native Thailand

Unlike many others, however, Bunnag was able to immediately conceive of a working plan to help at least the thousands affected in Thailand.

This evening, Bunnag is scheduled to receive the Sapphire Award from the Women Business Owners of Montgomery County for her humanitarian work in Thailand and elsewhere.

When the tsunami struck, she already knew that Thailand, a newly industrialized nation, still had a poorly developed health system.

Two weeks after the disaster, she led a team of medical volunteers from the Washington, D.C., area to help with relief efforts. She had raised $10,000 for immediate food relief, while Holy Cross and Suburban hospitals in Montgomery County donated medical supplies for the mission. Since then, Bunnag has continued to help the Thai victims gain back their livelihoods.

Since 2003, she has organized medical and dental missions to Thailand twice a year while managing her sole proprietor dental practice in Bethesda. She established the nonprofit Smiles on Wings foundation to provide medical and dental care to the poor in Thailand.

She also supports Thailand craftsmen and artisans, selling their products at her boutique, Thai Crossing, in Kensington’s Antique Row. Bunnag also gives hours of her time each week to help low-income county residents with their dental needs.

She credits her late mother in Thailand for instilling in her a strong work ethic, compassion in her humanitarian work and a dogged determination in both. ‘‘My mom always said, ‘You can make it work,’” she said. Her parents divorced when she was 5, leaving her mother to raise five children.

When she was 14, her father, who then worked on the staff of the Thai Embassy in Washington, D.C., brought her to the United States to live with him and his new wife. She couldn’t afford to return to see her mother again, though the two corresponded.

Though she knew no English, Bunnag entered Montgomery Blair High School. She left home when she was 18 and a year later landed a job as a dental assistant. At 21, she married Aurachun Bunnag, an auto mechanic from Thailand. He encouraged her with her pre-med studies at Montgomery College. She attended dental school at Howard University.

The Bunnags have raised two sons, Raj, 22, and Kris, 19, both of whom attend Montgomery College. Kris is teaching English in remote villages of Thailand for a year. ‘‘I am very proud of my heritage and I’m so happy that my sons are embracing our roots.”

Her retail career began with a one-time silent auction of Thai merchandise at her dental office. Then one of her regular patients approached her about renting the patient’s commercial building in Kensington to open a shop.

She was cautious and ‘‘I just signed a one year lease to see how it would work,” she said. This weekend, the shop is moving to Woodmont Triangle in Bethesda.

Michelle L. Bender, president of the women’s business group, said Bunnag deserves the award because ‘‘like a sapphire, Usa is a true gem. Montgomery County is fortunate to have her as a business owner and resident.”

‘‘I was surprised by the award,” Bunnag said. ‘‘I know there are a lot of people out there doing what I do.”

She plans to use the $1,000 award money to build a school in Thailand.