COMING BACK TO HER ROOTS

Don’t tell Dr. Maggie Grothe that there’s something she can’t do. With a sweet disposition, belief in herself, and the support of her family— she will prove you wrong.

“It’s pretty common for doctors and dentists to buy a practice when they are looking to start their own,” Grothe says. “That was originally my plan. But after coming so close to buying a practice and having that deal fall through at the last minute, I decided to build my own. I was tired of being dependent on someone else. I have to give credit to my husband, Ben, who believed I could do this before I did. He’s been an incredible support since the very beginning.”

The nice thing about hanging your own shingle is that you get to set the tone. You get to make the rules. And Dr. Grothe is taking a fresh approach with her office that will open in downtown Algonquin in December.

Although Dr. Grothe once entertained the idea of becoming a country singer and song writer, a human physiology class her senior year at Barrington High School changed all of that.

“Ever since that class where I learned the complexities of the human body and how everything has to work together in order for us to live, I knew that I had to be a part of it. Between my freshman and sophomore year in college at the University of Iowa, I shadowed a few practices and just fell in love with dentistry,” she says. “I loved the manual aspect of it. With dentistry, if there is a problem, you literally take it out with your hands. One of my foundations for my practice is holistic dentistry—I will try find the root cause for any issues. The amount that the mouth can tell you is really unbelievable. It can show signs of early stages of diabetes or heart disease or where there might be nutritional deficiencies. In dental school I remember one of my professors saying that you need to be like a detective and that’s really how I approach my work. It’s a lot of fun being a dentist.”

Dr. Grothe’s comprehensive practice will be for all members of your family, from the first dental appointments your children will have to any cosmetic dentistry you may want in your adult years. She describes herself as “super meticulous” and looks forward to having systems in place that will allow her to best care for her patients. When Dr. Grothe decided to open her own practice, she and her husband (who works in administration at the Cleveland Clinic and will help Dr. Grothe with some business development aspects of the practice) developed seven foundational values for Root Dental:

• Transparency: patient care based on honesty and open communication
• Professionalism: conducting oneself with appropriate attire, language, and conversation
• Respect: recognizing and valuing the inherent dignity and autonomy of patients and team members and treating them in a manner that fosters kindness and consideration
• Growth: staying up to date with current dental techniques, patient needs, and practice management
• Quality: holding ourselves to the highest standard of care with quality materials and best practices
• Compassion: treating patients with kindness and empathy
• Fun: fostering an environment in which joy and creativity thrive—making this a place where patients want to visit, employees want to work, and laughter is encouraged

“What will really separate my practice from others is the personal approach, I take the time to figure out what a patient wants and needs,” Dr. Grothe says. “Our approach is comprehensive—seeing the mouth as part of a whole system, not just a separate entity, and treating the root cause, not just the symptoms. As for the holistic aspect, I try to harness the power of the body through nutrition and lifestyle and focus on prevention instead of jumping to pharmaceuticals or surgery in order to heal it.”

Dr. Grothe and her husband have joined four chambers of commerce and have agreed to sponsor a number of fall events to spread the word that their new office will be opening soon. Dr. Grothe is chairing the health and wellness committee for the Barrington Junior Women’s Club, a committee that she started herself last year. She has also leaned into the importance of being savvy on social media and has an informative and vibrant Instagram page @gorootdental that she hopes future patients will give a follow.

Located just 12 minutes from downtown Barrington, Dr. Grothe looks forward to hosting patients in her office. “I have such a strong connection to this community, even more so now that we’re raising our two little girls, Evelyn (age 2) and Whitney (9 months), here. I’m committed to giving back to this place that has been so good to me.”

To learn more about Root Dental or to book an appointment, visit rootdental.net.