After 37 years, Dr. Mary Gajewski is hanging up her picks and mirrors.
The Westby-based dentist has been in the brick-and-mortar building on the corner of Main and Second St. for 17 years. Her first two decades in the industry were spent in the Bland Clinic before she bought and transformed the 214 Main St. building from a veterinarian clinic into a dentist office.
“It’s been a long time, and it is an exciting phase to enter, although it’s a little bittersweet,” said Gajewski. “I love everything about this place. I love the staff. I love the patients. I love the work.”
Taking over her practice is Dr. Mitch Splinter, a 2019 UW-La Crosse graduate who attended dental school at Marquette University. He’s spent the last two years providing care near his hometown of Dickeyville, Wisconsin.
“Mitch came along and it was the perfect opportunity. It’s the right timing,” said Gajewski. “It’s just the way it was supposed to be.”
Splinter says it was also the perfect opportunity for him as well.
“I feel like I’m ready to jump into it,” said Splinter. “I’m honored to continue the legacy of care that Dr. Gajewski has created.”
Splinter says he felt drawn to dentistry because it was different than other healthcare profession.
“I felt like it was what I wanted to do, what I needed to do,” said Splinter. “You get to work with your hands, you figure out a puzzle with everyone, and you get to form good bonds with people over time.”
Gajewski said she grew up knowing she would be a dentist.
“It wasn’t ever a conscious decision to go into dentistry, I just knew I was always going to do it,” said Gajewski. “I like everything about it. It’s been great. I love the small town setting. I love the patients. The staff has become family. Everything about it has been good.”
Splinter says patients can expect a seamless transition and continuation of current services as well as some new ones in the future.
“We’re keeping as much as we can the same,” said Splinter. “I’m going to slowly add some new services.”
As a rural healthcare advocate, Splinter says he’s looking to add extractions, root canals, and implants to his practice.
“I’m committed to being a long-term comprehensive provider here and supporting the oral health of this community,” said Splinter.
For now, the newly-named Westby Modern Dentistry offers preventative care, restorative treatments, and same-day crowns. Splinter says he’s passionate about maintaining access to high-quality dental services in small communities.
Gajewski says her plans for the future entail gardening and travel. She says she’ll be sticking around Westby, joking that she’ll camp out in the waiting room to visit with her former patients if she gets bored.
“I’ll still be around, I’ll still be involved,” said Gajewski. “In summer, it’s easy to find things to do... In winter, I’m going to sit here and drink coffee in the waiting room and greet patients, but they don’t know that yet.”
For more information or to schedule an appointment, call (608) 634-3128.
