Dr. Marvin Swan to retire after serving dental needs of community for past 46 years
By Becky Uehling
Grant Tribune Correspondent
After 46 years of serving the dentistry needs of Perkins County and the surrounding area, Dr. Marvin Swan is retiring, with his last day scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 27. A retirement reception will be held that day at Zion Lutheran Church in Grant from 2-4 p.m.
A Perkins County native, Dr. Swan opened his business in Grant right out of college from the University of Nebraska College of Dentistry in 1979. He and his wife Marcia knew they wanted to live in a rural area, and were open to various locations. But, it so happened that Dr. Larry Haisch, who had served as a dentist for 10 years in Grant, had just decided to move, which gave Dr. Swan the opportunity to open a practice.
On June 4, 1979, Dr. Swan opened his business in a few offices owned by Dr. L.C. Pott’s in his medical building located at 115 West 3rd, which is the current First Insight Eyecare building. Dr. Swan remained there until 2002, when he purchased a building at 242 Central Ave., from the Fitzgerald family and renovated it into his current office. The move to a Central Ave. location was a good choice, he said.
His goal for his office was and is the same from when he started, which is to help his patients have a healthy smile and healthy teeth.
“We still have the question of decay, which has three factors—genetics, proper homecare and diet,” he said. He commented that southwest Nebraska is lucky to have natural fluoride in its water, which does help to prevent decay, but personal care and genetics are always a determining factor, he said.
Dr. Swan said he has not had a lot of challenges over the year, but the biggest challenges came in the form of the diseases of AIDS and COVID, which changed some of the techniques he used and made him cognizant of the legalities of treating patients during a pandemic.
Technology in dentistry has changed over the years, he said, but much of it has not negatively affected him. Some of the new changes have involved the introduction of computer technology for compiling and storing records, and cosmetic services offered. He admits he never changed his practice much because of the new technology, but has remained true to simple processes in recording records and outsourcing cosmetic needs.
Dr. Swan praises his staff over the years, saying he has had a lot of good people work for him. Some of the more long-term staff include Deb Bounds, who served as office manager from 1979 to 2020, and Bev Kreis, who has been with Dr. Swan since 1990 as a dental assistant. Others who have worked for many years for Dr. Swan included Kathy Sperling and Susan Spicer. Current employees include Kreis, Judy Kurkowski, Sydney Wesely, Jolene Engel, and Dani Day. Each of the women have plans after the office is closed, he said.
Dr. Swan said three years prior to deciding the date to close his practice, he attempted to find someone to take over the business in Grant, but was unsuccessful. He then decided to sell the business to Maple Park Dentistry out of North Platte, which will be opening an office in Ogallala soon.
The sale of the business did not include most of the equipment in the office, however, and Dr. Swan is currently looking into donating the equipment to the Lutheran charitable organization Orphan Grain Train to potentially be used in disadvantaged countries across the world. After he is through with moving the equipment, he will put the building up for sale.
Dr. Swan thanks his many patients over the years.
“It has been very rewarding serving as dentist for Perkins County,” he said. “I have been very fortunate to have wonderful patients, and good dental teams, and I want to thank everyone for their support and allowing me the opportunity to help them have healthy smiles.”
During retirement, Dr. Swan and Marcia plan to spend much more time with their 10 grandchildren, five in Montana and five in Omaha.