I have been practicing dentistry since 2003. I received my dental education from the Oregon Health and Sciences University School of Dentistry. I had the privilege of taking over Dr. David Summers dental practice in 2004. Dr. Summers practiced in Grand Junction since 1967 prior to his retirement. I love that some of our patients have been coming to us for nearly 50 years! I work diligently to stay current on all the latest advancements in dentistry. I am a member of multiple dental study clubs with other dentists. I enjoy dentistry and I enjoy surprising patients with how pleasant going to the dentist can actually be.

Besides dentistry, I enjoy spending time with my family. I have five children from ages 11 to 23. We enjoy going on trips together. Recent excursions have included Mount Rushmore (my son's interest), Teton National Park (my interest), and most recently Washington D.C. (my wife's interest). I also enjoy backpacking and have recently hikes toMaroon Bells, Chicago Basin, Mount Whetterhorn, and a 50 miler up on the Flat Top Mountains. It's great to live on the Western Slope of Colorado with all the spectacular scenery! I

I also like to run, and run, and run. After years of jogging around my small neighborhood block, I decided to get more serious about running. I completed my first 26-mile marathon race in 2010 and have run 25 additional marathons since. This year I will complete 14 years and nearly 14,000 miles of running! Here is a quick picture of me just finishing my very first Marathon in St. George Utah. Don't let the smile fool you, I was just barely making it across the finish line!

Recently, I traveled with a dental team, and my dental-assistant-daughter Elise, to provide dental care to undeserved people in Solala, Guatemala. That was an amazing 7 day experience, treating people who were willing to stand in line and wait all day in hopes of just getting their teeth treated. The experience reminded me of how fortunate we are to live in country that affords us so many freedoms and opportunities that we often take for granted. I love being able to help people achieve the level of oral health they desire.

Shawna has been with our office since 2007. Patients love her. She received her dental-hygiene degree from Colorado Northwestern Community College and has over 25 years of experience as a dental hygienist. Shawnas goal as a hygienist is to provide comfortable and comprehensive care to all our patients. When she is not working, she enjoys camping and boating at Lake Powell and spending time with her friends and family.

Shasta joined our dental practice in 2012. She has been practicing dental hygiene since 2005. She loves being a hygienist because of the relationships she makes with patients. Shasta is a busy mom of two children. In her free-time she enjoys the outdoors and even is pretty good at archery.

Shelda has worked in the dental field since 2008. She is particularly good at navigating the complexities of dental insurance and helping patients understand and get the most of their dental benefits. She enjoys spending time with family, cooking amazing food, travel, and reading a good book.

Joy came to Grand Junction in 2005 from California and she has worked for Dr. Larsen as a dental assistant since 2007. She enjoys working with patients and making them feel comfortable. Her hobbies are mountain biking and going to classic car shows. She has worked for Dr Larsen as a dental assistant since 2007. She enjoys working with patients and making them feel comfortable.

Stephanie has worked in the Dental field for 6 years. She enjoys meeting new patients and establishing relationships with long-term patients. She moved to Grand Junction in 2018 and has 2 little ones at home. She enjoys traveling, hiking, karate, and just being in Colorado's great outdoors!

I am from Mesa, Arizona. I love being a dental assistant and helping patients achieve beautiful and healthy smiles. Dr. Larsen is a fantastic dentist to work with. I enjoy working with him and the whole team every day. When I am not at work, I love being with my family. I have an amazing husband and three beautiful kids. Always remember, 'you don't have to floss, all of your teeth, just the ones you want to keep!'

In 2004 I had the honor of taking over Dr. David Summers dental practice. Dr. Summers had practiced in Grand Junction since 1967. As a result, many of our patient have been treated by the same two dentists (either Dr. Summers or me), for over 50 years - and they still have their teeth Success!

This patient loyalty and longevity reflects the type of dental practice that we strive for. We are not a high-volume- revolving door -retail dental office. We seek for long-term patient relationships and that is reflected in the patients who have been with us for decades. While in todays market many dental practices are being purchased and managed by corporate dental managers, our office retains its autonomy and therefore can focus exclusively on patient care and patient satisfaction.

After practicing dentistry in the same building Dr. Summers practiced in for 30 years, Larsen Dental built and expanded into our new state-of-the-art facility in 2011, which allowed us to offer even more updated services to our patients, including more digital services, such as digital x-rays.

Over the years, I have been told by many patients, they have appreciated our tailored style of dental treatment. By tailored I mean, we realize different patients have different desires when it comes to their dental care and treatment. We respect our patients desires. We see our role as dental providers to simply let you know what dental problems we see, what problems may arise in the future, and provide a menu of options for treatment. We never dictate treatment or make a patient feel uncomfortable when they choose differently than our top recommendations. Frankly, we do an excellent job, not just in providing high-quality dental procedures, but also in helping patients find a strategy for their dental care that meets their expectations for the future. Give us a call and let us help you with your dental challenges and goals!

Our most important goal is to help each patient achieve the highest level of oral and dental care possible, that is right for them. We recognize different people have different desires and different goals when it comes to their oral health. We also understand and respect that for many patients, financial and insurance factors are an important consideration in this process. Our purpose is to help each patient achieve the level of care that is right for them and their individual circumstances.

A second goal is to be user friendly. Our staff has been trained to think like a patient. This means we will communicate treatment options in ways that are comfortable and easy for patients to understand. We believe patients need more dental procedure, but rather they need a short-term, and often long-term strategy, for their oral health, that is tailored to their own goals. This is where our office excels.

In our practice, we believe with the helpful education, patients should be able to select the level of oral care that is appropriate for them. Many patients have found the following guidelines to be helpful as they communicate the level of dental care they would like:

Level 1: Urgent Care Patients at this level choose treatment only when they experience a dental emergency such as pain, swelling, or bleeding, that requires immediate treatment. Urgent care patients are generally not focused on taking steps to ensure future urgencies do not occur. They come to the dental office when they know they have a major problem to deal with, and the condition has developed to a point of urgency in order to control pain or save the tooth.

Level 2: Corrective Care Patients at this level choose treatment for obvious problems such as broken or cracked teeth, cavities, sensitivity, discomfort, or concerns that are creating issues in the mouth right now. Corrective care patients are usually not focused on taking steps to prevent new concerns or improve their health over time. They only want to deal with concerns that have already developed into conditions that require treatment to remove existing disease or repair the teeth back to the most basic level of health.

Level 3: Proactive Care Patients at this level seek treatment for existing concerns just like corrective care patients, but they are also concerned about conditions that may likely create problems soon. These patients generally want to maintain the health of each tooth at a basic level, so they also do what they can to prevent new concerns from developing. When treatment is recommended, proactive care patients usually prioritize their treatment to manage their costs, but still take care of things soon enough so that known concerns are less likely to develop into major problems.

Level 4: Complete Dentistry Complete dentistry patients are concerned with being confident they are taking every step possible to maintain their teeth and oral health for their entire life. They want to know their full treatment options so they can become and remain healthy as possible, thereby minimizing long-term dental costs. These patients often choose a step-by-step master strategy that is focused on restoring their mouths to an optimum level of health. They are also focused on prevention and regular care to achieve long-term dental health and improved appearance of their smile over time. Complete dentistry may also include optional esthetic dentistry as well.

It is not uncommon for people to being at one level and progress to higher levels when they are ready. We are here to help you discover what is right for you so your teeth, smile, and mouth remain as healthy as they can be for life based on you your own individual goals.

For people with complex dental problems there are always multiple options available to them. That is both the good news, because its nice to have multiple options to meet different peoples needs/wants, but it is also the bad news, because things can get complicated if we are not careful. Over the years, I have found it is often helpful to patients with multiple treatment options to break the potential treatment into three broad categories - MUST DO, SHOULD DO, COULD DO.

Must Do: This includes treating conditions which are painful or causing active destruction. Left untreated, these conditions could damage your overall body health and lead to more extensive and costly dental care in a short time. Examples include Pain, Swelling, Infection, active decay, sever gum disease, severe cracks in teeth.

Should Do: This includes treating conditions that proactively minded patient would like to know about and would like to address from a prevention standpoint. Although there is no active destruction occurring necessitating treatment, it is likely the condition will only continue to get worse if not address very soon. Examples include teeth with large fillings that are breaking down or leaking, teeth with moderate cracks, replacing missing teeth that are jeopardizing other teeth.

Could Do: This includes optional treatment, which may prolong the longevity of your teeth, improve the appearance of your smile, or improved chewing efficiency. Examples include Night Guards, Partial Dentures, Dentures, Replacing Missing Teeth, Esthetic treatment options.

In the end, our goal and our professional satisfaction comes from treating our patients well and providing them the level of treatment consistent with their goals. We look forward to working with you!