I started in engineering, and that’s what my brother did, and it seemed like a natural fit for me. And really growing up, you know, we didn’t know any doctors, lawyers, dentists. Our family was a poor farming family in southern Indiana, and I’d never given it any thought.
After college, and after doing engineering for a few years, there was a lot of travel, a lot of different things. I realized if I wanted to have a family and be there for my family, I probably needed something where I didn’t travel around the country so much. And I had known a dentist at that point, and I started talking to him about, you know, what it was like, and it seemed like a natural transition.
And so now I have this joke I tell people, I used to build big bridges, now I build little ones. And they love that, you know, especially the guys. I don’t know if my resume was with the dad jokes that they like to tell.
It’s a natural fit, I never look back. You can get somebody out of physical pain, but you can get them out of emotional pain. When you are embarrassed to smile, you’re not able to go to a job interview, you’re not able to smile in your family pictures, you know, at your kid’s graduation or wedding.
It’s great to give somebody that smile back, and when they hug you at the end of their treatment, it’s worth its weight in gold.
Dr. Chet Swartzentruber Is a Patient-Oriented Dentist
Chet Swartzentruber, DMD believes quality dentistry can change peoples’ lives. If you look better, you are going to feel better about yourself. If you eat better, you are going to be healthier, and your quality of life is going to improve. If you find that you have a cancer before it has spread, a life can be saved. Dr. Chet has helped patients live real stories like these, and their life-changing gratitude fuels his passion to help you too.
Quality and relationships are two pillars of Dr. Chet’s practice philosophy. In other words, if you’re going to do something, do it well. In addition, he always remembers that there is a real person with real feelings and emotions connected to that tooth. He wants to recognize the needs of the whole person and, if possible, use his gifts to help change that life for the better.
Dr. Swartzentruber obtained a degree in civil engineering from Purdue University and worked some years in the real world before deciding to go to dental school. Sometimes he jokes that he used to build big bridges; now he builds little ones.
Dr. Chet’s engineering and dentistry talents have allowed him to help others in Africa and Central America. After college he lived six months in Uganda volunteering with Engineering Ministries International. During dental school, he traveled to Honduras and Costa Rica, extracting painful teeth for poor villagers. He looks forward to one day taking his kids to another country so they can gain some perspective on how blessed they truly are to live in America.
Although often credited to his engineering training, Dr. Chet will tell you that his problem-solving and creative abilities are a result of his farm upbringing. It’s one thing to have book knowledge of a subject matter, it’s another to be able to apply that knowledge in a useful way. It is yet another to have the hand skills to artistically create physically what the mind has conceived. These are some of the qualities that make up a good clinical dentist.
Originally from rural southern Indiana, Dr. Swartzentruber attributes much of his values and character to the life lessons learned on the family farm. Hard work and dedication are two of his core beliefs. His most important conviction is that Jesus is Lord and God raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9). Dr. Chet, his wife Ashley, and their family attend Centerpoint Fellowship Church and would love for you to join them for worship sometime. Dr. Chet plays the drums in the worship band most Sundays.
Dr. Swartzentruber is in several professional associations, including the American Dental Association, the Alabama Dental Association, the Academy of General Dentistry, and the American Academy of Facial Esthetics. He is certified by the American Board of Laser Surgery in dental laser proficiency.