June 7th marked the last day of dental practice for Dr. Greg Steed of Pincher Creek. His retirement comes as he is replaced by Dr. Regan Evanson, who has now started at Ascent Dental and will be practicing with Dr. Mark Leishman and Dr. David Baker.
Dr. Steed has been a dentist in Pincher Creek for 41 years. He took his education at the University of Alberta, where he received his undergraduate science degree and his doctorate of dentistry. Following graduation, he worked in Fort Macleod for one year before moving with his family to Pincher Creek, where he has resided since.
Dr. Steed and his wife, Cheralyn, have four daughters. Their oldest, Rashelle, is married to Dr. Leishman, so there is a family connection that remains at the dental clinic. Their other daughters live in Edmonton, Georgia, and Tennessee. Greg and Cheralyn greatly appreciate their decision to come to Pincher Creek. It has been a great place to live and raise a family, and they plan on continuing to live here. The community has provided opportunities for their family and many positive associations.
According to Dr. Steed, dentistry has made many advancements over the years. When he was in dental school, there was no availability or training in light-cured tooth coloured restorative materials, but these materials have gradually developed so that they are now very reliable. Articaine is a local anesthetic that was developed years after his graduation and has brought much quicker and deeper anesthesia for dental procedures. New full tooth colored crown materials are now strong and very esthetic compared to the previous alternatives of full metal or porcelain fused to metal crowns. Dr. Steed took an interest in orthodontics early in his career in Pincher Creek, because of the distance and time to see specialists elsewhere. He took hundreds of hours of additional training over the years in the techniques to straighten teeth and he and his staff have found orthodontics to be challenging and rewarding. He is quick to give credit to the many wonderful staff who have worked with him over the years who have been integral to his practice of dentistry. Ultimately, he would like to thank those many patients who have put their trust in him. His patients have come mostly from the Pincher Creek, Crowsnest Pass, and Piikani Nation areas. Dentistry is famously unattractive to many individuals and Dr. Steed is appreciative of those who he was able to work with as patients. He always felt he gave his best effort at any given time. He will miss his associations with patients, but will not miss the stress he shared with patients in challenging situations, but is grateful for the many positive outcomes where he felt he made a difference.
Dr. Steed is looking forward to having more freedom in his schedule to pursue time on his acreage outside of Pincher Creek, being involved in the community, spending more time with family, and being on the mountain trails and lakes this summer.
Dr. Evanson has started seeing patients at Ascent Dental and will be moving to the Town of Pincher Creek next week with his wife and three children. Dr Evanson and his wife are from southern Alberta and are excited to have the opportunity to be in Pincher Creek with its small-town advantages and recreational opportunities in the nearby foothills and mountains. Dr. Steed wishes Dr. Evanson the best as he practices in Pincher Creek and serves this area of southwestern Alberta.
