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Everyone's Favorite Dentist

In an age of non-invasive surgery and stress-free rehabilitation, a visit to the dentist can become a shocking exploration of one’s emotional and physical thresholds. After all, comedians have built careers on the humiliation of using a porcelain spittoon while toothpaste makers have built advertising campaigns around people’s fear of the hook. Which is precisely the reason dental school graduate Kris Volcheck decided he did not want to go into private practice.

“Private practice dentistry did not suit my personality,” Volcheck said. “I didn’t like the stress and anxiety due to the perception of pain associated with the patients.”

After returning to school and earning a degree in business, Volcheck volunteered at the Central Arizona Shelter Services as a dentist to the homeless. What started out as a way to keep up with changes in dentistry eventually became a way of life. In 2001, Volcheck opened his own two-chair dental trailer for homeless people, enlisting 20 volunteer dentists and hygienists.

Here’s where the MBA comes in: Four years later, Volcheck opened a $1.3 million dental clinic, now with over 300 volunteers working with state-of-the-art equipment. He sits on the faculty of the Arizona School of Dentistry and last year received the Dentist of the Year Award from the Arizona Dental Association. Not a bad alternative to private practice.