KINGSTON — Dr. Steven Hippeli and his wife, Lindsay, were anxious to begin their new life together, and they wanted to come home.
Home was Mountain Top where they both grew up and went to high school. Their families were here, as were their friends. For the Hippelis, it was an easy decision.
Hippeli had been working with — shadowing they call it — at the offices of Dr. Loren Grossman in Kingston for almost two years. So when Hippeli finished dental school at the University of Pittsburgh this spring, he asked Grossman if he could join the practice.
Grossman, 60, had never taken on an associate in the 35 years of his successful dental practice at 375 Pierce St., but this time he said it felt like the right time.
“With Steven here now we can expand our business,” Grossman said. “We can increase the number of patients, and there will be no delays on treatment for anybody.”
Grossman said he has no plans to retire or even cut back on his time in the office.
“I will continue to work full-time,” Grossman said. “I have no plans to retire or even reduce my hours.”
Hippeli, 25, said he has only been full-time with Grossman since May, but he said he already knows it was the right decision for him.
“My wife and I really wanted to come back to the area,” he said. “And this was a great opportunity for me here.”
Hippeli’s wife, the former Lindsay Metzger, is a registered nurse with Geisinger. He said family is important to them.
“Both of our families are large,” Hippeli said. “We love it here, and we wanted to live and work here.”
Hippeli said the area has a lot of aging dentists nearing retirement. He said he wanted to help fill the void.
Grossman and Hippeli said the practice is open Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and every Saturday 8:30 a.m. to noon.
Hippeli said there is a dental lab on-site and there are 10 employees, including four full-time dental hygienists and one part-time employee.
“It makes scheduling easy,” Hippeli said. “Patients don’t have to wait a long time to be seen — usually we can accommodate them on the same day they call.”
