I consider myself lucky to be able to say that without a doubt, I love what I do.Being a dentist isnt just about treating teeth and gums. Every day I have the opportunity to meet new people give them the opportunity to get healthy and to stay healthy.
I was born in Tokyo and have lived all over the world including Africa and Australia. My family finally settled in Colorado in 1982. I graduated from Ponderosa High School in 1989 and spent four years in the U.S. Navy. Being in the Navy gave me the opportunity to connect with so many people from many unique backgrounds.
When I was stationed overseas at Lajes Field AFB, Azores, I was part of the team that closed the Naval Security Group there. It was interesting to see the different directions that all of my shipmates were headed. I learned that each of us had different goals and objectives and that there wasnt a recipe for happiness that fit all of us. While finishing out my assignment overseas, my family had been sent home, and we were separated for a number of months. I always knew that my wife and daughters were important, but nothing could have shown me just how important until they were no longer there. Back in the early 90s, there were no cell phones or e-mail. The only way to communicate was via a call twice a month and handwritten letters, which took a few weeks to get to our island. The lack of direct contact made the distance seem much farther than it actually was. The things that matter the most become crystal clear when they are no longer there. Needless to say, I love and value my family for many reasons, and they remain the central part of my everyday life.
Following my navy days, I continued my education at Utah State University. After graduation, I came back to Colorado to pursue my dental education. I am a proud alumni of the University of Colorado earning my bachelors degree in Health Sciences and doctorate in Dental Surgery. I really felt ready to go to work when I graduated in 2001 and started Castle Valley Dental in August of 2001.
My large family is a constant source of inspiration as we face lifes triumphs and challenges together. My wife Stacie and I were married in 1990 and have six children with a growing number of son and daughter in laws, and grandbabies.
I consider myself to be a person who is always willing to try new things. I love to travel, camp, cycle, boat and try anything that involves my friends and family being together. I love spending time with people, but also enjoy time to myself reading and listening to great music.
I strive every day to help people live better by learning what it takes to have healthy teeth. We achieve this by understanding what is important to our patients and improving the way that they feel about themselves. There is no better feeling than seeing a patient feel confident about their smile.
I love to help others and enjoy fixing things which make dentistry the perfect job for me. I really enjoy the technical aspect of dentistry and learning new things. Orthodontics has become a specialty of mine and I very much enjoy straightening teeth.
I was born in Japan while my father was serving in the Air Force and have had the opportunity to live all over the world growing up.I have strong family roots here in Colorado with relatives dating back to the mid 1800s. I attended BYU for undergraduate attended University of Colorado School of Dentistry for my dental education.
After attending dental school I went directly to the Air Force and underwent officer training for a month in Montgomery AL. I served for 4 years in Mountain Home, ID doing general dentistry. I was fortunate to be accepted into a Prosthetic mini-residency and studied for six weeks at Lackland AFB in San Antonio TX.
Following my four years of military service, I worked doing dentistry with a company called Dental One. After ten years of working with the company, I finally gave in to my brother (who had talked to me for years about working with him) and joined him in Castle Rock at Castle Valley Dental.
I have been involved with the Boy Scouts of America for almost 20 years and I am an Eagle Scout myself. I have enjoyed seeing the difference it makes in the lives of many boys. I was recognized with the Scout Master of the year award a few years ago.
Last summer I had the opportunity to take some young boys scouts on a climbing trip to do a fourteener and was inspired by the all-out effort it took for several of the boys to complete this challenge. In life, there are easy things and hard things but every now and then there is something that we do that requires us to dig deeper. Have you ever done anything that seemed impossible and mid-way through you wanted to give up and quit? A task, challenge or job that pushed you to your absolute limit and beyond? I was inspired by the gargantuan effort these boys put into climbing this huge mountain.At the start, they were very much full of excitement, energy, wonder, and awe. That soon fades as the trail becomes steeper and unrelenting. I was amazed at the deep inner personal struggle that a 12-year-old goes through. Should I quit, rest longer or push just another 10 steps? I dont think I can go one more step they would say over and over again. Rest a little longer and give me 10 more steps. Again and again, over and over the struggle went on. Eventually, we reached the peak! But wait now we have to hike all the way down? I know that all of us have limits. However, its amazing watching ourselves and others push beyond those limits and accomplish things that seemed impossible.