In The News
Making a life together —
Couple shares a marriage, daughter and dental practice
Dominic Graziano
Craig Daily Press
Monday, July 10, 2006
Wood paneling and soothing music greet visitors to Yampa Valley Dental & Associates. For people afraid of going to the dentist, it is the perfect way to start a visit to the office of Jim and Wendy McCreight.
Eight years ago, the McCreights made the Yampa Valley their home. Opening up a practice in a rural area like Craig was a choice they made together.
"We wanted a small town, close to the outdoors," Jim said. "I love Craig. I grew up in Iowa, and it reminds me of my Midwestern roots."
The Washington Street building that the McCreights work in used to be two practices, Jim said. When they moved in, they knocked down some walls and created their practice.
Four years later, they opened a practice in Steamboat Springs.
Now, between the two of them, Jim and Wendy spend three days a week in Craig and four days a week in Steamboat.
"Initially, when we opened the Steamboat office, Craig was home and Steamboat was a hotel," Wendy said. "Now they're both home."
Wendy said she doesn't prefer one city to the other, because she has so many patients that commute to both offices.
Because they have to practice in two different cities, Wendy and Jim don't get to work together as often as they would like.
"A lot of people ask, ‘How do you work with your spouse?'" she said. "But I love it. I know I can trust him whole-heartedly."
Wendy said that she misses being in the same office as Jim, but at the same time, working separately has its perks.
"We have something to talk about when we get home at night," she said. "When you work together, your work life is the same."
When Jim and Wendy met in dental school at the University of Iowa, Jim was two years ahead of Wendy.
"Originally, I'm from Denver," she said. "I knew (we'd) be in Colorado. When I met him, he had a Colorado flag hanging on his wall."
When he graduated, Jim served with the U.S. military as a dentist for three years.
He said he got a lot of experience in the military because he helped with the Navy and Marine Corps.
When he got out of the military, Jim and Wendy moved to Yuma, Ariz.
"From Yuma, we moved directly to Northwest Colorado," Jim said.
Since moving to the Yampa Valley, the McCreights have found hobbies to fill their spare time.
"We like to hike and ski," Wendy said.
"I'm a big kayaker," Jim said. "In my opinion, if you don't enjoy the outdoors, Northwest Colorado will be very difficult for you."
Jim may love the outdoors, but he also likes to teach.
For two years, Jim has been attending seminars in Las Vegas aimed at getting the dental community together to learn about new technology and practices in the field of dentistry.
"It's an opportunity that accelerates the learning process," Jim said. "Dentists from across the world bring their patients."
Jim said that even though it sounds strange to be using their patients as "guinea pigs," dentists find it a good way to learn new things about their business.
Jim said that he was asked to be a clinical lecturer, which means he will be teaching 77 other instructors how to perform certain dental procedures.
Wendy also has been invited to teach at the seminars, but she said it probably won't happen anytime soon.
She said it would be a great experience to teach in Las Vegas, but it would be hard for both of them to do because of the practice and because of their 6-year-old daughter, Hannah Alexis.
"It's his turn now," she said. "Maybe in the future I will be a part of it, too."
Jim said that he wants a partner for their businesses because it would mean more time for him and Wendy to be together.
"It's a lot of work for two people," he said. "And it would be nice if she could relax a bit."
Dominic Graziano can be reached at 824-7031, ext. 209, or dgraziano@craigdailypress.com.