Ok, now, open wide!"

Chances are, you’ve sat in a dentist’s chair at least once in your life and have had your teeth cleaned, poked, prodded and examined carefully by a dentist.

The chances are greater that you have never thought twice about why one chooses to become a dentist or what the road to becoming a dentist looks like.

Dr. Matthew Maggio, D.D.S., a local dentist, has been practicing dentistry in the Fort Dodge area for 26 years. Dr. Maggio has followed in his father’s footsteps; his father was a dentist for 60 years also in Fort Dodge.

Matthew decided to pursue dentistry when he was 23. He attended four years of undergraduate school at Grinnell College. His four years at Grinnell earned him a Bachelor’s degree in science. While at Grinnell, he studied abroad in St. Andrews, Scotland. He took a year off of schooling after attending Grinnell to work at a hospital.

While working at the hospitol, he realized that specializing in medicine was too demanding of an occupation for his interests so he then chose to pursue dentistry. After his years at Grinnell, he attended the University of Iowa’s School of
Dentistry for four years.

"This is the schooling requirement for being a general dentist," Matthew stated. "You can take two to four more years of school if you want to specialize in dentistry."

Matthew also said that going to college should not be a burden for young students.

"It’s very enjoyable and productive. It should not be a negative for people; it’s a good time in your life."

Each year, there are 77 seats open for the University of Iowa dental school but the school generally receives about 1500 applicants. Because the dental school for the University of Iowa is in need of more professors to teach dental school, they often encourage their students to pursue a career in becoming a dental professor. The school is more than willing to train more students to become dental professors.

Matthew said that he likes being a dentist because he has the opportunity to work with people of all ages. Also, his days are enjoyable because his staff is "like a family."

He also likes the fact that he is his own boss. Because he is his own boss, Matthew gets to manage his own vacation time. But, along with being his own boss, Matthew is also in charge of hiring employees, firing employees and purchasing equipment, which he says are some of the downfalls of the job.

A day in the life of a dentist, particularly the life of Matthew, starts with arriving at the dental office at 7 a.m. Matthew and his seven staff members generally begin seeing patients at 7:45. On a normal day, Matthew sees an average of 30 patients a day. Between 7 in the morning and 5 when the office closes, Matthew’s day is filled with check-ups, cleanings, root canals and extractions.

"I pride myself on my ethics. I treat people well and refer them to specialists often," said Matthew.

When asked about how Dentistry has changed over the years, Matthew responded, "Things change every year. We use updated digital x-rays and we are some of the first in this area to do so. Digital x-rays use less radiation that regular x-rays, they are faster and use less time, they can email, enlarge crop and print x-rays. It is a good, big change."

Matthew also says that there is a great need for dentists, now more than ever. "There is more of a need for dental care than ever because more people are keeping their teeth longer due to new protective and preventative measures and procedures."

"Being a Dentist keeps life interesting," Matthew added. "It keeps you up to date. More women are choosing dentistry than ever before, because of the working hours and the flexible schedules."

Matthew stated that there is a nationwide shortage of dentists. "If one is able to get into dental school, there is job security."