Dr. Nick Matthews

Well, originally what had made me decide to get into dentistry was my local dentist as a kid. I grew up in a smaller town about 20 minutes from here. At the time, there was only one or two dentists in that area, and one of them happened to be a good family friend. So, he worked just a short ways from school. I was able to go over there. He was gracious enough to let me come hang out in his office, kill some time, look over his shoulder. So, as a pretty young kid, I was really interested in watching what he did. He worked with his hands all the time. The hands-on part of it was always very appealing to me. The other side that I really liked is the social aspect. He knew everybody in town. Being from a small town, I also knew everyone in town. So, you know, everyone that was coming and going from his office was a friend or a family member or at least someone I had some sort of community with. So, I just really enjoyed both aspects of it. It seemed like a great fit.

The most rewarding aspect of being a dentist, really, to me, it’s when I get to take or get to work – I shouldn’t say take, but get to work with somebody who is really kind of in a tough spot. So, whether it was their fault or not and they found themselves in a situation where they’re just either in a lot of pain or their teeth are somehow interfering with their life, or they just have realized that wherever they’re at, it’s not sustainable, and they want it to get better. They want to improve their situation. So, if I can, when people like that come in, I can work with them to get them to a spot where they’re just not all thinking about their teeth all the time, it really is rewarding. So, if we can get them out of pain or get infection out of their lives or just get them where they’re comfortable and they’re confident, then it makes everything worthwhile.

So, my educational background is I grew up here at a local high school. From there, spent some time at Drury University here in town and then did dental school training at UMKC in Kansas City, and those were all pretty positive experiences for me. Then, really since I’ve been out of school, I’ve kind of become a lifelong student. I love it, and we’re required to have 24 or 25 hours of continued education a year. I usually average more like 140. I really enjoy just getting after it and learning it as much as I can. I spend a considerable amount of time training and learning more about implantology, a myriad of dental procedures, especially from a surgical basis, and have loved that and just have really never … really have never stopped continuing to advance in that field.