Growing Niwot Dental practice brings on new dentist

Seventeen years ago, Dr. Adam Saeks, DDS, became the owner of Niwot Dental, a practice originally established in 1985 by Dr. David Meisner.

Saeks, a Minnesota native and 1998 graduate of the University of Minnesota Dental School, moved the practice in 2016 from its Second Avenue location to a fully remodeled, contemporary dental facility in the professional building located in Cottonwood Square Shopping Center (6800 N. 79th Street, Ste. 203).

Saeks was the sole dentist within the office until this past August when the practice expanded to include an associate, Dr. Peter Zwickey, DDS.

Zwickey, 31, is a fellow Minnesotan, but the two dentists didn't know each other until Saeks' in-laws, who are acquainted with Zwickey's parents, suggested the Colorado dentists meet over lunch. It turns out the two men grew up just five minutes apart.

The meeting was intended to be an opportunity for Zwickey, who had just completed a one-year general practice residency at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, to consult with the more experienced dentist about what his next career move might be.

But the synchronicity of their dental practice philosophies, along with Saeks' desire to grow his practice to keep up with the needs of the community, led to him extend a job offer to Zwickey.

"He's very empathetic and I felt like the fit was really good... mostly coming from similar backgrounds in the midwest and our similar upbringing, that was very important to me," Saeks said.

Zwickey attended CU Boulder for his undergraduate studies in Biological Anthropology and went on to work for the Bureau of Land Management. Later, he worked for a couple of years as a dental assistant, but ultimately decided he'd rather be a dentist.

Medicine in general runs in Zwickey's family; his father is a retired ophthalmologist, his mother is a nurse, his sister is a physician's associate, and his uncle is in hospital administration.

In 2021 Zwickey graduated from New York's Touro College of Dental Medicine. Being an avid skier and having a love for all things out in nature (fishing, hiking, mountaineering, rafting), he was thrilled to come back to Colorado with his wife Samantha, a native Boulderite, for a residency with CU Anschutz.

Niwot Dental specializes in general dentistry in addition to restorative, reconstructive, aesthetic and periodontal procedures, along with treatment for TMJ (temporomandibular joint) disorders for adults and children.

Oral surgery, extractions, implants, root canals, and biopsies are in Zwickey's wheelhouse thanks to his one-year residency at CU Anschutz where he performed hospital dentistry on emergency room patients and those who were medically compromised.

Zwickey explained, "It was intense stuff...working in concert with cardiology teams or oncology teams, trauma, motorcycle, bike, car accidents and gunshot wounds. It was kind of all the scarier stuff. It was extremely beneficial and I feel like I got a lot of experience in a really fast-paced environment."

Following such a rigorous residency, Zwickey was hoping his next gig would be more reasonably paced. "I was lucky to find exactly what I was looking for," Zwickey said as he discussed his appreciation for this small town office.

Zwickey says he's in tune with the patients who have dental anxiety, making him adept at adding the right amount of levity, informing patients what he's doing while allowing them to be in control, and taking things slowly to bring a sense of calmness to each appointment.

Niwot Dental is also growing in other ways. "During COVID, obviously things got tricky with hygienists and it became exceedingly challenging," Saeks said. "I was down to one hygienist for a period of time. We now have two full-time hygienists who can serve all of our existing patients' needs as well as our new patients."

Zwickey and Saeks are both working full-time, allowing the practice to take on new patients. Each dentist has an assistant, and with hygienists and front desk staff, the practice is now up to 8 employees.

"We have the capacity now to see everyone in a timely manner," Saeks said "and to be here to meet the needs of the community."