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Family Matters

Silver Creek Family Dental brings a familiar touch to community dentistry

Silver Creek Family Dental isn’t hyperbole—it really is a family affair.

Dr. Rick Hargrave is a second-generation dentist. Starting in 1965, his father also practiced in Las Vegas for almost 40 years. For the senior Dr. Hargrave, dental school seemed like the perfect avenue to earn a good living while also allowing for plenty of time to golf. After all, he noticed that doctors would get paged and have to leave the golf course to go see patients. Dentists wouldn’t have that problem. Of course, by the time he finished school, he fell in love with the practice.

For Rick, it was only natural to follow in his footsteps. He even attended the same dental school as his father at the University of Missouri in Kansas City. After graduating, he returned home to work beside his dad. When he flew the coop, it was to start his own practice in Southern Highlands. That practice, Silver Creek Family Dentistry, will be celebrating its 20th-anniversary next summer.

Hargrave considers his business to be an “old school” family practice. And by that, he means: he grew up in the area, as did his mother, and he’s the only dentist in the practice. His name is on the building: Rick D. Hargrave.

Employee retention certainly isn’t a problem for Silver Creek Family Dental. The numbers speak for themselves. Danielle, their office manager, has been with them since their inception. One of his hygienists, Roberta, has been with the practice for almost 17 years. Rafa, one of his lead assistants, has worked alongside him now for 25 years; she even practiced alongside him and his father at their former practice. Emily started with them six years ago, while Erica’s been there for 11 years, respectively. He rattles these details off without pausing to think about it.

When you’ve been seeing the same practitioners and hygienists for a long time, they notice when something goes awry: they know you. “Patients like seeing our faces,” he explains. “It’s like a family. And that’s how we treat people. We’re very big on their health history. Not just their oral health, but their overall health, and how it’s entwined.”

For many of Dr. Hargrave’s younger patients, he’s been seeing them since their first checkup as toddlers. “From the very first visit, we take a photograph of them and put it in their chart,” Hargrave explains. When they get to be teenagers, he’ll show patients that picture from their first visit. “They get a kick out of seeing how much they’ve grown up. We’ve been a part of their lives [since then].”

For Dr. Hargrave, some of the most meaningful patient stories come from his cosmetic dentistry cases. Many patients looking for veneers have learned to mask their smiles and hide their teeth behind their lips while they speak for most of their lives.

After they are finished at Silver Creek Family Dental, smiling becomes second nature. “It’s extremely emotional,” Hargrave elaborates. “It’s life-changing.”

For one patient in her 50s, improving her smile improved her confidence to such a degree that it had a profound impact on her overall health. “She felt so good about herself that she started to exercise and lost 50 pounds in the process.”

It all started with her smile.

Good oral health doesn’t happen by accident—it’s a habit.

Above all else, Dr. Hargrave recommends consistency.

For those looking to improve oral health at home, he recommends investing in a water flossing device. He explains that it can flush out debris much better than traditional floss. Incorporating this device into your routine can have a tremendous effect on preventing tooth decay. That is when used regularly.

The same goes for using an electric toothbrush. For those of you that use mouthwash, he has a tip: use it before you brush your teeth, not after. “It helps bring the plaque to the surface, and then you can brush it away.” Keeping your tongue clean, as well, is also essential.

But when it comes to oral health, healthy habits extend beyond your bathroom sink. “Your diet is very important,” Hargrave asserts, as is drinking plenty of water.

While it’s up to his patients to maintain their oral health habits, you’re in good hands when you walk into Silver Creek Family Dental.

“We do care about each and every patient that walks through the door,” Hargrave remarks. “I get to know patients. We know about their families, about their jobs.”

The longer he’s been in practice, the better he’s gotten to know many of his patients. And not only does that have an impact on how comfortable they feel under his care, but he also offers support to his patients through many difficult stages in their lives—whether that’s about the loss of their spouse or their kids leaving for college. “They share their lives,” he adds. “There’s a lot of emotional investment.”

While it’s still unclear if one of his children will join the family practice down the line, Dr. Hargrave has hope. No matter what, family matters at Silver Creek Family Dental.

It’s like a family. And that’s how we treat people. [It’s] not just their oral health, [it’s] their overall health, and how it’s entwined.

We do care about each and every patient that walks through the door. We know about their families, about their jobs.

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